How We Met: The Couples Loving Indie Life In Oxfordshire

On the blog today, the couples behind some of your favourite Oxfordshire indies share how they met, what it’s like to work together, and the secret to juggling work and home life. >>

Laura and Pascal, owners of Pompette

Laura says:

Pascal and I met in 2011 through EHarmony – we both saw adverts on the tube, and thought what the heck! I worked in fashion and was working with mainly women and Pascal was working long weeks in the kitchen, so we weren’t meeting anyone through work. We’ve now been together twelve years this year.

We both love food, we come from family’s where food and eating round the table all together is a big thing, we liked the idea of having a restaurant, and after we had our son Ralph in 2016 we thought it would be a good thing to do, enabling us to have more time together. My job was also becoming difficult to do as I travelled a lot, and Pascal was working long hours – so we decided to start looking and think about a move out of London to Oxford, where Pascal had studied and eventually we found a site and opened Pompette in 2018.

Pascal and I are polar opposites, which I think helps as we each bring different things to the table in the business.

It has been a whirlwind…opening your own business and having eighteen staff has been hard work, then along came the pandemic. Not to mention a serious family illness. I would be lying through my teeth if I said it had been fun and easy, but that has been more to do with outside factors than Pascal and I. Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger – and I think that is true of our relationship through working and owning a business together. It has been hard, but it has been amazing doing it with Pascal as a support – and vice versa. Cheesy I know – but if we haven’t killed each other by now – I don’t think we ever will!

My advice for any couples considering opening a restaurant together is play to your strengths – and it is ok to have different opinions – but it is also good to talk all angles through. Pascal and I are polar opposites, which I think helps as we each bring different things to the table in the business.

Jessie and Olly, owners of Jessie’s Art Shed

Olly says:

Jessie and I met in secondary school. Jessie went on to study an art foundation diploma at Oxford Brookes whilst I worked in IT. Jessie was then planning on studying illustration at AUB but in her gap year got asked to teach a few children art in her village, over the course of the next few months the number of children grew and instead of going to uni Jessie decided to give teaching (and JAS – Jessie’s Art Shed) a go. After a few years of growth, Jessie took the plunge to get her own shop and at this time I decided, ‘why not make this even more daunting and stressful?’ and quit my job to join her! We’ve grown from there and now have an amazing team and two shops, it was the best decision we both ever made.

We’ve grown from there and now have an amazing team and two shops, it was the best decision we both ever made.

Working together is fab in all honesty! We compliment each other pretty well in what we bring to the business with Jess mostly creative and myself mostly business minded. It can definitely be a challenge but we’re both so invested and excited about JAS that it’s more like a hobby to us both rather than just a career.

Kat and Patrick, owners of Walton Street Wellness

Patrick and Kat celebrated twenty years together in 2023. Kat shares their story:

We met at uni, in a terrible nightclub, and instantly clicked. Within a month, Patrick had suggested marriage after I fell down some stairs. We say suggested as maybe proposed isn’t quite the right term when a few drinks had been had. We had a much better proposal two years later in Amsterdam and finally got married on a small Greek island called Symi.

We both remember wanting to help others, even back when we first met. I went into the NHS for many years, with Patrick becoming an Osteopath. We never imagined we’d be working in our very own clinic, but couldn’t love it more.

We never imagined we’d be working in our very own clinic, but couldn’t love it more.

It feels like it’s where we’re meant to be and we feel so lucky to be able to make a difference to the people we treat.

We still get excited to work together and look forward to the adventures the next twenty years have in store for us.

Roshni and Sam, owners of Tikka and Tadka

Roshni says:

Myself and Sam met in school. Having grown up together we were already very good friends before we became a couple. Then in 2013 we got married. As we had already known each other for a very long time we love working together and we both bring our own unique experiences to the business. Sam is more of an ideas person whilst I’m very practical. Our opposite ways of working perfectly compliment each other’s strengths.

Our opposite ways of working perfectly compliment each other’s strengths.

One of the challenges we faced early on was starting a business while being in lockdown. We also had full time jobs and childcare while managing the business. We overcame this with meticulous planning, working long hours and supporting each other. We both have itchy travel feet and make sure we travel regularly to keep our relationship alive.

Luciana and Christian, owners of The Market Cellar Door

Luciana says:

Christian and I met at school in São Paulo, we were 12 years old. We were in the same class all through primary and secondary school. We finished University (civil engineering and law) got married, had 2 kids and he decided to do a MBA in London in 2003. We had no plans to live in the UK but he was offered an interesting job and we stayed. We started brewing and working together in 2015. It was all new to us, hard in the beginning, but we met some amazing people like the guys from Eynsham Cellars and we kept going.

We opened the Teardrop Bar in 2018 and The Market Cellar Door in 2020, both in The Covered Market. The best thing about working together is trust and the challenge is to stop talking about work.

The best thing about working together is trust and the challenge is to stop talking about work.

Lizzie and James, owners of Jericho Coffee Traders

It all started at the Royal College of Music in London, where Lizzie was an undergraduate saxophonist and James was doing a PG Dip in voice.

Initially Lizzie thought James was “a rather camp bloke in a bright orange jersey who sat behind her in chamber choir and sang like a girl” – but after a year or so singing together in a small consort, their friendship blossomed and she ended up kissing him at the number 49 bus stop in Shepherd’s Bush, on March 7th 2006.

…she ended up kissing him at the number 49 bus stop in Shepherd’s Bush, on March 7th 2006.

Their mutual love of coffee shops meant that most days involved a coffee or a hot chocolate at their local Starbucks – funnily enough the one that was in the Albert Hall, now “Verdi” Italian restaurant, which is using Jericho Coffee Trader’s beans.

Full circle!

Lizzie and James got married in 2011, and now have a little (very energetic) boy called Alfie, and a cat called Joey. They love having a business in Oxford, and love being part of the vibrant community.

They love long car journeys together because it encourages them to “scheme” and come up with cool ideas for the business. They’re at their happiest when they’re working behind the till together, or talking about coffee with potential clients. Their quirky nature means that they are easy to talk to, and everyone ends up having a laugh. The tricky side to living and breathing the same business is the fact that it’s hard to switch off. It can be 10 pm, having a long chat about invoices – not that great to float off to sleep to.

Luke and Abby, owners of Hampton Gay Organic Farm

Abby says:

We met 5 years ago, Luke was 45 minutes late for our first date! I obviously knew he was worth waiting for as I waited…

Both of us have a love of the outdoors and adventure and our farming journey started as a couple about 18 months later when we talked about getting pigs. Within 24 hours Luke had not only sourced rare breed Gloucester Old Spots but made contact with the seller and we were due to pick them up in 3 weeks. The pigs were soon followed by rare breed (and very feral) Hebridean sheep. Luke is a doer and I definitely wouldn’t have started farming without him. For that I can’t thank him enough. His knowledge and natural affinity to turn his hand at anything makes him the perfect person to farm with. Working together has its challenges though. Farming can be a high pressured environment and if something doesn’t quite go to plan (think escapee sheep etc.) then communication is key but not always possible when you’re an acre apart and shouting in driving rain! Neither of us has quite perfected mind reading yet…

We met 5 years ago, Luke was 45 minutes late for our first date! I obviously knew he was worth waiting for as I waited…

Luke says:

We met online although it turns out we both lived in Oxford in the early 2000s so I have no doubt we “met” in the Bridge way before our first date. Abby was 45 minutes early for our first date – I thought it was weird at the time. What do I love about working together? Abby is super loyal and also super compassionate. It makes her a great farmer because it means everything (including me) lives life to the highest standards of welfare, and we are quickly forgiven when we escape, break something or over commit.

There are challenges: it’s very hard to farm together and not talk about farming 24/7, apart from making us a boring couple I’d say the biggest challenge about farming/running a business together and being married is stepping outside the business at the end of the day and not just running ideas past Abby as they pop into my head.

Yaz and Jamie, owners of Align Events

Yaz says:

We met pre-pandemic at the (sadly no more) Jam Factory a few days before my birthday and once we had got the awkward bits out of the way (I’m a teetotal vegan, and Jamie is not teetotal and loves his mum’s pork tonkatsu) we bonded over our love of nature, music and anime.

 We love working together because we each have a role in the business that we couldn’t do without the other; we get to riff ideas off one another and celebrate the highs and the lows together.

One of the challenges we face is not letting business take over every aspect of our lives. We try to go on date nights/days when we have a free moment. Nothing fancy just walking in the park or buying a yummy pastry from Hamblin for Sunday breakfast. Little things that remind us to reconnect.

We try to go on date nights/days when we have a free moment.