Page 56 - May 2023

WORK/LIFE

My 9-to-5

Rosamund de la Hey, the founder of The Mainstreet Trading
Company bookshop, deli and café in the Scottish Borders, shares
her daily life and career path.

Where do you call home? Ochiltree’s Café which has a stunning view of
I live about a mile away from the bookshop Abbotsford House, which was the home of Sir
which is located in St Boswells in the Scottish Walter Scott.
Borders. It is very idyllic here. for most of that. I worked on the Harry Potter
books and we broke boundaries as children’s About the Borders
My day starts with…
The bookshop is a former auction house and My alarm goes off at 7.30am and I intend to literature was seen as poorer in comparison to The Scottish Borders is a picturesque
adult fiction at the time.
has an interesting history. It’s on a crossroads get to work at 8.45am on an ideal day. There location where you can experience the
between Jedburgh, Melrose, Lauder and Kelso. is no typical working day but I work a lot with benefits of a slower pace of life, rural living
and easy access to Edinburgh via both the
The Borders has a very thriving business publishers planning events but my favourite I left Bloomsbury in 2007 after the last Harry A68 and the A7. If you enjoy being outdoors,
community. I enjoy going to The Hoebridge, a thing of all is selling books. Potter book was published. I moved back to the list of activities available is endless from
stunning restaurant in Gattonside. I also love Scotland and wanted to build something from
scratch. horse riding, hillwalking, fishing and golf to
The book scene goes through the entire clay pigeon shooting.
business. For example, if we sell a cookbook
we will have a cooking demo event, sell dishes We opened the bookshop in 2008 when there The area is also rich in heritage with
in the café and ingredients in the deli so the were so many pressures threatening the book Thirlestane Castle in Lauder, Manderston
customer can test the cookbook thoroughly industry – Amazon, e-books and the global House (with its impressive silver staircase)
before purchasing. recession and people doubted the idea but it
has worked out. near Duns, Jedburgh Abbey, Traquair
House at Innerleithen and, near Peebles,
My husband Bill runs the food side of the the beautiful gardens at Kailzie where, at
business and he picks deli items according to A bookseller once told me you need four the right time of year, you can view the
his taste in food. We sell wonderful bread which reasons for people to come – we have events, ospreys nesting, and Dawyck Botanic
pulls people in the door. books, coffee and an antiques and gift section. Garden at Stobo.

After work I…
I got my job…
It is hard to get a work/life balance but I enjoy £214,890 average selling price
I worked at Bloomsbury in London for a long
time and I was Children’s Marketing Director taking the dog for a walk. The changing of
the seasons and lighter nights makes an
enormous difference. 100.8% of Home Report valuation
Rosamund’s top five Scottish books attained
What’s the best piece of career advice
1. The Maiden by Kate Foster you’ve been given? The median time to under offer is
2. This is Not About Me by Janice Galloway I once read an interview with a magazine editor 35 days
3. Rose Nicolson by Andrew Greig where she said you spend so much time at
work that you should work somewhere where *Figures are based on properties marketed and sold
4. Where the World Ends by Geraldine through ESPC. Home Report valuations relate to properties
McCaughrean you like your colleagues. Finding the right where the Home Report was available on espc.com. Figures
people is crucial. relate to the three-month period ending on 30/04/2023.
5. Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

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