“One Christmas, about 12 years ago, my husband, Tom, bought a can of snow spray and painted a little house on one of our windows. He has never had any formal artistic training, but he was good. All of our friends loved his design, and everyone started asking if he would do their windows too. It became a bit of a tradition every Christmas,” says Keri Baker.
The Bakers – Tom, Keri, and their children, Rae, nine, and Isaac, seven – then went to live in Australia, so Tom could pursue his music career but returned home to Berkshire after five years.
“The Christmas we came back, Tom started painting friends’ and families’ windows again, and it kind of snowballed,” says Keri. “I posted a picture of one of his windows on the Wokingham Gossip Girls group on Facebook – and it got 800 comments. Then it was picked up by CNN and the Daily Mail. We couldn’t believe how far news of our windows had spread. We were blown away.”
Keri has a marketing background, and the couple decided they should start a business out of their snow windows, and they haven’t looked back since.
Each window is unique. Tom started out creating traditional winter scenes, with a Dickensian theme, or of St Paul’s Cathedral, but now he can create whatever his customers would like.
Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Berkshire Life.
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Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Berkshire Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
A Home For Keeps - Reader At Home
Alex and James Fielden were looking for a forever home. Their search ended as soon as they pulled up outside this Georgian property in Berkshire
Duke & Duchess Of Berkshire?
They are the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge but should they really be the Duke and Duchess of Berkshire, which is, of course, a Royal county?
A national hero
He started out like many other children born in Reading, but mention Justin Fletcher to any kid in the land these days and their eyes will light up
Fruitful thinking
Ryan Simpson believes the world is our orchard. A project that began over a pint in his local is making the county more fruity
THE BERKSHIRE BOMBSHELL
Berkshire has had more than its fair share of famous inhabitants. However, few had such an explosive reputation as Diana Dors
“I'll always be a Berkshire girl”
Despite her international acclaim as the star of TV’s Tracy Beaker, Dani Harmer has never strayed far from her roots
Remembering the fallen
The most destructive war in human history lasted for six years and cost 60 million lives, the majority non-combatants. It is easy to understand why those who had survived wanted to celebrate the end of that conflict
HIDDEN WONDERS
Berkshire photographer Matt Emmett has made it his mission to explore the forgotten architecture and heritage many people miss in their home towns
EXPLORING BERKSHIRE - Majestic Maidenhead
Rejuvenation and revival; two buzz words surrounding the biggest town in the Royal borough. With riverside views and a vibrant arts and dining out scene, this high-class town is well worth a look
A good grounding
Berkshire has some of the best homes in the land, so perhaps it is no coincidence that the nation’s favourite property guru went to school in Wokingham
