Caroline Gladstone

Caroline Gladstone is one of the founders of Some Good Ideas. Her career started in product design at the then thriving Laura Ashley.

She also co-founded Pedlars, the Good Life Society and Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages. She is an author and a freelance restaurant consultant.

She’s a mother of six and keeper of chickens, dogs and various equines.

Photo by Department Two

Please tell us what your role in the business is?

My job title is Senior Style and Food Director at The Good Life Society and Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages.

This rather general title means that in terms of style, I choose all the colours for all our business locations, and all the lighting, and I have an input into the general overview of how everything looks.

In terms of food, I am involved from the very outset in the balance of the menus and the direction of the development of any new dishes.

I am also co-founder of The Good Life Experience and the Good Life Society. Oh, and I look after the hens at Glen Dye.

Where do you do most of your work?

It varies depending on what I have going on. Sometimes it’s the kitchen table, sometimes, it’s the office, at the end of the drive, sometimes it’s in our farm shop or pub.

How many people do you work with closely on a day-to-day basis?

I work very closely with the members of our core hospitality and food team, which is two or three at Glen Dye and six or seven at Hawarden, as well as daily digital communication with the creative team, four or five, who are spread across the country.

What is the biggest challenge that you face at work every day?

Knowing how to prioritise my daily To Do list, and to avoid being distracted from that prioritisation.

Talk us through lunch. A sandwich at your desk or a full hour in the park?

Something in between. I like to go home for lunch and take the dog for a walk.

What is the biggest lesson that you’ve learned that you wish you’d known when you started your career?

Confidence in my ability.

Email. Friend or foe?

A few years ago, in London, I caught myself obsessively answering five emails that came in as I was walking from my desk to the shop to buy lunch, emails that weren’t urgent, that could have waited the five minutes it took me to run my errand. I deleted email from my phone, there and then, so now I feel I have some degree of control. 

Do you use a digital or paper To Do List? And how effective are you at getting everything done?

I use a paper notebook and a paper diary. Provided that I can avoid being distracted by incoming tasks (see question 4!) then I am very effective at getting everything done.

Do you leave work at a set time each day?

No, it really depends on what is going on. Sometimes I’ll have a Zoom call very early in the morning as I do a lot of work with Japanese clients and that always heralds a really long day.

How do you relax? Do you look after yourself properly?

Cooking, reading, knitting, walking and talking to friends relaxes me. Yes, I do look after myself properly. I know the value of a good diet and exercise and what effect that can have.

How confident are you about the future of your business?

I feel very confident about the future of all our businesses. The hospitality industry was hit very hard by the pandemic, but we used the time to refocus and update the farm shop and the pub and used the time to refurbish a couple of new holiday cottages as well as looking at different areas of the business and how to maximise what we have.

We focused on the positives and as we now emerge into a post-pandemic world, I feel we are very well-placed to move all the businesses forward.

What is your secret time-wasting technique at your desk?

Online shopping, staring out of the window and daydreaming. Oh, and WhatsApp. Luckily, I don’t have Instagram on my laptop. 

Do you listen to music as you work and if so, what has been playing today?

No, I don’t listen to music as I work, which is strange as the rest of my life is filled with music.