Poundbury Good Things: A Wonderful Beginning — Thank You, Everyone

By Emily Taylor

As we approach the end of the year, it feels like the perfect moment to pause, look back, and celebrate the remarkable start of the Poundbury Good Things initiative. What began as a spark of an idea in April has grown into a vibrant, collaborative project that has already made a positive impact in our community. In just a few months, we've seen creativity flourish, partnerships strengthen, and countless acts of kindness and support from the people who make Poundbury such a special place.

From the outset, the vision of our small team of volunteers was clear: to celebrate Poundbury, champion local talent, and raise funds for community projects. A central part of that vision has been our creative direction—capturing Poundbury's unique combination of community spirit, natural beauty and ancient heritage. Volunteer Mary O'Flaherty has brought this vision vividly to life through four completely original designs, each infused with the stories and textures of our surroundings, along with a distinctive logo featuring Spirit the hare. Mary's work has become the heartbeat of the initiative.

Local expertise helping us shine

To share these designs with the world, we teamed up with Poundbury's own Minuteman Press. Their advice, skill, and enthusiasm have been invaluable, and thanks to their expertise we've produced nearly a thousand cards—including 600 Christmas cards now brightening homes across the community.

We've also been fortunate to collaborate with two wonderful local artisan makers: the Rhubarb Candle Company, creators of beautiful small-batch candles, and potter Liz Kerslake, whose handmade pieces have captured many hearts.

Out and about with Good Things

This year has also been about stepping out into the community and listening. We dipped our toe in the water at the Dorset Food Festival in August, Poundbury Good Things' first ever market. Since then, we've found our rhythm at markets in Crown Square and Queen Mother Square, where we've loved meeting people, hearing their ideas, and simply saying hello. Those conversations have been some of the most rewarding moments of the year. Thank you to the new volunteers who helped us on busy markets days! 

Our retail partners have played a hugely important role. We're proud to be stocked by high-profile businesses in Dorchester and Poundbury who share our passion for quality and community benefit—including the Dorset Museum, Shire Hall, Brace of Butchers, Crossroads, and Buttermarket Stores & Post Office. Their support has helped introduce Poundbury Good Things to a wider audience and added real momentum to our first months.

A major milestone arrived this autumn with our very first donation, supporting the inspiring programme of events and clubs at the Pavilion in the Park. Seeing our work already making a difference is a joyful reminder of why this project began.

And there is much more ahead. At the AGM in January, we'll be sharing our plans for 2026, including new collaborations, a special community project, and more stunning designs from Mary.

To everyone who has supported us—our makers, manufacturers, retail partners, volunteers, event helpers, followers, and customers—thank you. Whether you bought a product, shared a post, or simply cheered us on, you've helped these Good Things flourish. We can't wait for what comes next.

You can find out more about Poundbury Good Things on our brand new webpage at https://www.lovepoundbury.org/poundbury-good-things, or follow our latest updates on our social channels Instagram : #LovePoundbury

Facebook : #LovePoundbury