Inspired. I believe that everything we create is inspired by a thought, an idea, a picture, creation or words. I am not original; everything I bake, sew or paint has grown from the inspiration of the world around me. I love nature from the smallest creatures that crawl upon the earth, to the vastness of the Universe that leaves us in awe. I am always observing the beauty that I see and I desire to learn and develop my inspiration to be a blessing to others.

 

As a child, I was most content when I was outside, observing the flowers and their delicate petals. I would remove the seeds from plants and dig them into the earth in the hopes that they would grow. There has always been something within me to reproduce the beauty that I see. With sketch book in hand, I would sit and copy the intricate designs of flowers, plants, trees and shrubs. The richness of the colours and diversity of the many types, drew me outside for hours. 

​

My love for baking was planted within me when I was a young child. My Gran owned a bakery in Nottinghamshire and passed her passion and gifts to our family. It is my dear Gran who 'inspired' me to bake and experiment with 'healthier' ingredients. During my teenage years and into my early twenties, I spent a considerable amount of time in her home and it was during these years that she shared her knowledge and recipes with me. When I think back to the smell of rising-yeasted bread dough under the tea towel in the airing cupboard or cinnamon, spices and dried fruit as they are stirred into the batter to make the Christmas pudding, I am taken back to where the seed for what has become Inspired Market Bakery was first planted in my young heart. 

 

The Seed. The plants, the food we eat, the creation around us all came from a seed. 

 

‘And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food’.

Genesis 1:29. 

 

A seed is a copy of the plant with all the information needed to grow into a plant. It is all there; the embryo and food store, all surrounded by an outer seed coat for protection. Within each of us, I believe that there’s a seed that was planted sometime during our lives. It is a thought, a dream, a word once spoken to us, an idea and a hope. For the seed to grow, there are five basic physical conditions for germination to take place; soil, time, light, temperature and water. When these things are present, the outer seed coat begins to break open and the roots burst forth producing something new. 

 

However, in my own life, my seeds of ideas lay dormant for many, many years. Life became busy with the gifts of marriage and children which are wonderful and fruitful. I taught my children to bake as soon as they could hold a wooden spoon and to paint and create the world around them. Other unexpected ‘seeds’ began growing in our family through adoption. We embarked on many adventures and moved from place to place. We faced trials and difficulties which humbled and challenged us. We experienced disappointments and false expectations and we learned that before something has life, it first must die….’unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain’. 

 John 12:24.

 

Yet the seed remained, waiting patiently for the time when it would come forth from the dark ground into the light of divine inspiration. 

 

Time and preparation are essential for any idea, thought or dream to grow. The years of waiting are not wasted, for along the way, I gleaned many ideas and inspiration from others. My years spent living in America, influenced my love for baking and shaped new ideas. Growing up in England, I baked the traditional Victoria sponges, scones, biscuits, jam tarts and fruit cakes but I had never baked an ‘American’ cookie. Shortly after I married my American husband, he presented me with a ‘Mrs Field’s Cookie Book’! My world opened up and I began experimenting, trying every single recipe in the book. My first attempt was a disaster; the cookie appeared from the oven more like a cake than a cookie. Yet I was determined to succeed and my husband’s waistline soon began to show my success and determination. Eventually, I was inspired to bake many of the iconic American desserts, brownies, pumpkin pies, muffins and doughnuts. Back home in the UK, in the late 1990’s, very few people had tasted the sweetness of a cookie or a brownie and most people had never heard of a pumpkin pie! 

 

With our six-month-old son, we moved back to England in 1999, bringing with me, a new love for baking and a repertoire of new recipes. Over the years and three beautiful children later, we moved across the big pond five times. With each move, I brought new ideas with me, much like the merchant ships of the past who brought new spices and wares into different countries. I realised that my passion for baking and creating different recipes was inspired by the world around me. My love for painting and textiles began to grow and develop as we visited new places. Our travels to China and Uganda for the adoptions of three of our six children, stirred the seed within. The time we spent in Israel gave new perspective and vision for the desires that had been planted in our hearts many years ago. But it was during the months spent in Ireland that the seed began to germinate. 

 

I worked for a lady called Josephine who bakes breads made with spelt and she inspired me to explore different techniques and methods using spelt flour. I discovered sourdough which tasted much better than the commercial sourdough breads found in local supermarkets. My own sourdough starter known as ‘Jane’ was born and our family began to benefit from this healthier bread option. 

 

In March 2016, our family set sail across the Irish Sea for our last move back to England. Bath, Somerset, a place I loved to visit frequently as a teenager, has now become our home. We are so thankful to be here surrounded by hills and valleys, fruit trees and hedgerows filled with blackberries, and wildlife literally on my doorstep which inspire me to be creative. 

 

Healthier options have always been on my radar after having health issues in 2003 when I was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. In 2004, I began baking cakes without added sugar by using dates and fruit. It was also a time when allergies to gluten were starting to emerge and so I began experimenting with both gluten and dairy-free options for my friends who suffered with intolerances. From 2010 to 2014, whilst living in North Carolina, I began to bake with coconut sugar, agave syrup, chia seeds and hemp. I discovered alternative flour options such as coconut, quinoa, oat and spelt. During the two years that my husband worked for a super food company here in Bath, another seed began to grow. Nutrient dense powders made from superfoods were suddenly making their way into the supermarkets and consumers kitchens. People were becoming aware of their need to eat healthier options and to take care of their ‘gut’. We returned to the UK in 2016, to discover that people were being encouraged to switch to healthier options and eliminate sugar where possible. Inspired by natural products such as spirulina, chlorella, lucuma, moringa, baobab and maca, I once again began to research and experiment to find ways to incorporate these into my baked goods. We created 'Superfood Smoothies' which we sell from our home every Saturday. The health benefits are undeniable and even small changes to our diet make a difference. Whenever guests would come to stay, I would try to create products that were both nutritious and delicious.  I also enjoy helping others discover new flavours and ingredients that they might never have heard of, let alone tasted. I am not a nutritionist nor qualified to advise others and the information that I share is purely based on my own research. I am a work in progress, always learning from others and growing in my knowledge every day. 

 

I believe that we are all inspired by one another and the beauty we see around us. There are seeds that have been sown in all our hearts that are just waiting to burst forth. 

 

After years of laying dormant, the seed has begun to grow and we are excited to see it developing into Inspired Market.

​

'Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.'

​

2 Corinthians 9:10

​