Client: Emmetts on Exmoor
Location: Exmoor National Park
Year: 2022 – Present
Role: Creative and business development for the Threshers Barn
Overview
Emmetts on Exmoor is a remarkable estate high on the moor — a place where wild landscape meets quiet refinement. When the owners began exploring new ways to bring life and purpose to the Threshers Barn, I was invited to help shape ideas that would generate income while staying true to the estate’s identity and sense of place.
My focus was to imagine how the barn could become more than a building — a space for gathering, creativity, and community, grounded in the rhythms and stories of Exmoor.
Key Contributions
- Concept development
Re-imagined the Threshers Barn as a multi-use space for experiences that combine food, culture, and conversation — from intimate suppers to creative gatherings and seasonal celebrations. - Income-generation strategy
Developed practical ideas for earning potential through small-scale events, private hire, workshops, and collaborative partnerships with local makers and chefs — creating a model that values both community and commercial sustainability. - Event curation & delivery
Produced a series of pop-up dinners cooked by local chefs, literary evenings, and talks on creativity and adventure — each designed to bring people together in an atmosphere of warmth, curiosity, and connection. - Community engagement
Positioned the barn as a place that welcomes both guests and locals — a hub for regional creativity that supports Exmoor’s growing network of artists, writers, and producers. - Strategic framing
Helped define how the barn fits within the wider Emmetts offering — ensuring any new ventures remain aligned with the estate’s values of quiet luxury, craftsmanship, and respect for landscape.
Outcome
The Threshers Barn now has a clear direction for development — a blueprint for becoming an income-generating, community-centred, and creatively alive part of Emmetts. The pop-ups and gatherings have already established it as a destination for meaningful rural experiences: rooted in local talent, fuelled by good food and conversation, and always reflective of Exmoor’s character.
Reflection
This project brought together many of the things I value most — collaboration, creativity, and community. Helping to shape the future of the Threshers Barn was not about large-scale transformation, but about finding quiet, intelligent ways for a space to come alive: through food, words, and shared experience.
It’s a reminder that rural enterprise thrives where imagination meets hospitality — when a barn becomes a place for stories, ideas, and connection.
