An Ode to the Artisans of The Old Mushroom Farm

In the scale and pace of modern life, it's easy to forget that everything we hold has a story— its origins in materials grown and harvested, shaped by hands and tools, through processes refined over generations. At The Old Mushroom Farm, we believe there is a potency in knowing who has produced your goods or prepared your food. There is a richness to appreciation that goes beyond the item's quality, extending to an acknowledgement of the personhood of the maker and the materials themselves.

Hand Made Candles at The Old Mushroom Farm

Sour dough bread baked fresh Howick Bakery on location at The Old Mushroom Farm Howick

Hand Made Soap artisan Old Mushroom Farm Howick

Being handed a warm loaf by the baker at Home Slice feels more like mutual appreciation than a transaction. An interaction rich with intimacy and accountability. “I see you, I appreciate you”, it says. If you witnessed the hours a chocolatier put into crafting your bonbon, you might be more inclined to savour it. Mindful consumption isn't about giving something up—it's about gaining a deeper connection. Eating a handmade chocolate from Onyx Rain in Tunnel 9a, for example, is a small, near-divine reminder of that.

Hand made chocolate at The Old Mushroom Farm, Howick

Delicious chocolate at The Old Mushroom Farm, Howick

Artisan chocolate at The Old Mushroom Farm, Howick

So, when did artefacts become stuff? Maybe it happened when we lost sight of how things are made, when the hands behind our everyday objects were hidden behind anonymous production lines in faceless factories.

Alkaline Designs, Artisans of The Old Mushroom Farm

Alkaline Product design, Artisans of The Old Mushroom Farm

Artisans of The Old Mushroom Farm, Makers behind Alkaline homeware

At The Old Mushroom Farm, that distance collapses. The fourth wall drops when you step into an artisan’s open studio. There’s something priceless about seeing the artisans of The Old Mushroom Farm occupied with the work they love— you'll often find the Alkaline team, in aprons flecked with Jesmonite, chatting and laughing while sanding by hand. It’s a scene that speaks for itself. No need for smoke and mirrors when the process is so thoroughly considered.

In a world where large companies often obscure their value chains, transparency has become a virtue of integrity. Here, it's part of the everyday.

The Old Mushroom Farm’s spirit of transparency and connection isn’t new to the Midlands. Forty years ago, a handful of local crafters decided to open their studios to the public, not to sell more, but to share more. That simple act of invitation became the Midlands Meander.

Midlands Meander celebrates Artisans of The Old Mushroom Farm

Visit the Artisan shops and eateries of The Old Mushroom Farm

Some would say the Midlands Meander started as a gentle resistance to mass production and faceless retail, and has since grown into a richly woven network of creativity. Several mapped routes now thread through the region’s hills and valleys, forming a living network that connects makers, artists, and small producers with the people who come here to feel the human touch behind each piece. The Meander helped carve out space for a slower, more connected way of living, and we’re proud to carry that spirit forward at The Old Mushroom Farm.

Artisans of The Old Mushroom Farm

Artisans of The Old Mushroom Farm, A community of Makers in Howick

Artisans of The Old Mushroom Farm, Howick

Nick, the owner of The Old Mushroom Farm, sets the tone with a modus operandi of various creative projects on the go- from renovating a dilapidated farm building to designing a piece of steel furniture- Nick is a maker at heart.

The Old Mushroom Farm is an active, vibrant space for small businesses, and it’s the collective spirit of the TOMF community that carries the tune. Visitors are often struck by the potential the space seems to hold, inspired by the herbs drying in Nude Soaps studio, encaustic tiles curing beside the CROOKS press, or catching a glimpse of pre-loved novels being sorted onto the shelves at Midlands Books & Collectables. These moments help us relate to the process behind every product and the person behind every process.

To know the journey is to deepen the joy. Cherishing the things we own because of how and why they were made offers a slower, more lasting kind of fulfilment.