For Earth’s Sake is the shared vision of Vanessa Ford-Robbins (below centre), Nik Huddy (below left) and Charlie Edwards (below right) who all live in Cranleigh and are well known in the area. Vanessa and Nik were featured on George Clarke’s Restoration Man (2013 & 2015). Longhurst Lodge on Horsham Road, Surrey which had been left abandoned for almost fifty years, was painstakingly restored over six years, with Vanessa and Nik learning many new crafts in the process; Vanessa is now a glass and leaded-window maker and restorer and Nik (BSc Hons BioTechnology) is rather good at lots of things, and particularly making terracotta dragons! Charlie Edwards, Nik’s nephew, manages the store daily. Fluent in Mandarin and having been in China teaching and translating for six years.
VANESSA FORD-ROBBINS
Vanessa has always run her own destiny. For a number of decades, she was one of the leading theatrical producers in the UK, touring many highly successful productions and transferring a number profitably to London’s West End. Vanessa secured the exclusive touring and West End rights for her production of The Hobbit in early 2000, at the height of the frenzy of the release of the first Lord of the Rings film. In 2004 Vanessa became General Manager of the Electric Theatre in Guildford, working on behalf of Guildford Borough Council. With a number of unexpected, tragic life occurences, Vanessa changed tack and with her partner Nik, painstakingly restored Longhurst Lodge on Horsham Road, Surrey which had been left abandoned for almost fifty years. The restoration was featured on George Clarke’s Restoration Man (2013 & 2015).
Very used to running small and large budgets tightly, and understanding the need for on-time delivery, For Earth’s Sake is her new venture.
“For Earth’s Sake is all about the journey towards zero-waste, and we know that whilst some of our customers may be well on their way towards this goal others will just be starting out on their journey. Our job is to help people be at ease with their shopping experience. We are here to assist and let people know that, even by making small changes in daily habits, they too can have a big impact on our planet and our society. And it’s not just about what our customers can buy with us; we are also happy to discuss changes they can make outside of shopping that can make a real difference in putting our planet first.”
Very used to running small and large budgets tightly, and understanding the need for on-time delivery, For Earth’s Sake is her new venture.
“For Earth’s Sake is all about the journey towards zero-waste, and we know that whilst some of our customers may be well on their way towards this goal others will just be starting out on their journey. Our job is to help people be at ease with their shopping experience. We are here to assist and let people know that, even by making small changes in daily habits, they too can have a big impact on our planet and our society. And it’s not just about what our customers can buy with us; we are also happy to discuss changes they can make outside of shopping that can make a real difference in putting our planet first.”
NIK HUDDY
Nik is a craftsman and ecologist / environmentalist. Receiving a Bachelor of Science Honors in BioTechnology in 1994, Nik chose a career path that would see him learning many skills, some of which are being lost to the world. As an experienced carpenter and joiner, the painstaking restoration of Longhurst Lodge, saw it essential for other skills to be mastered, including watercolours, ceramics, silverworking, stonecarving and pottery. Being featured on George Clark’s Restoration Man continued to fire Nik’s interest in ecology and climate change, with the next step being the environmentally friendly build requirements of the interior of For Earth’s Sake, and its low carbon-footprint provenance.
CHARLIE EDWARDS
Charlie came back to the UK last year having lived and worked in Beijing, China for the past six years; firstly as an English teacher and then later as a translator. Due to the visible levels of air pollution in Beijing, he has changed his lifestyle and has greatly reduced his personal carbon footprint. He has lived a zero-waste lifestyle for just over a year, and he jumped at the chance to help launch and now be the manager of For Earth's Sake, Cranleigh's zero-waste and zero single-use plastic shop.