Across Tendring and the Stour Valley, creativity and entrepreneurship are alive and thriving. From independent retailers and skilled trades to designers, publishers and makers, our area is full of people turning passion and experience into something special. Tendring Made exists to celebrate those individuals, the ones investing their time, talent and belief into serving our local communities.
One such entrepreneur is Sheldon Chase, founder of mySpecialHome magazine, a free glossy publication bringing style, substance and a touch of luxury to homes across Tendring and the Stour Valley. Blending decades of national publishing experience with a genuine love for the area he now calls home, Sheldon has created a magazine that champions local businesses while giving residents something beautifully produced to enjoy.
Here’s how a lifetime in design and publishing is being poured into a community magazine with big ambitions.
Sheldon, 61, has decades of experience with leading advertisers and publishers. He began his career at 16 in 1980 as a studio junior for FalconCraft in Romford and then after a couple of years he made the move to London and joined the Magazine Publishers, Northern and Shell in Drury Lane, founded by media tycoon Richard Desmond in the mid-70s. By the age of 19 he was an Art editor and a Graphic Artist for famous magazines including Forum, Penthouse, and International Musician.
His talents saw him move to other publishers in London and he worked through the evolution from hands-on art to new technology. During his extensive career he worked for major Re- Branding agencies like Davies Baron, Wolff Olins and FutureBrand with clients including Marks and Spencer, British Airways, The London Eye, Next, Qatar Airways and Air New Zealand but in 2002, he made the move to Southern Spain where he lived with his family for 11 years. After moving back to the UK so his daughter, Arabella, could pursue her acting and dancing dream, he settled in Mistley in 2015 and said he simply loves the area. “I knew Manningtree and Mistley from when I was a child and it is a superb place. It is a great location by the estuary, very underrated. We love it, there are loads of walks to do and it is lovely to be on the coast. It really is a little gem.”
It was during the Covid pandemic Sheldon has his eureka moment. He felt the magazines coming through his door were a bit lacklustre and he believed he could do something better. “I chatted to people and businesses in the area and discussed the possibility of producing a more stylish, uplifting magazine for our special location, hense the name mySpecialHome” he said. “I knew I could put it together graphically, so I just had to find out how many businesses would get on board and be interested. The main thing was to give people the chance to advertise in a glossy style magazine, in a bigger format but for a better price than all the others and also to give the local people a more upmarket looking product, which the area deserves. I do about 80% of the artwork for the adverts with the advertisers submitting the copy. The magazine itself is put together solely by me”.
The magazine grew and grew packed with advertisements for businesses from the Stour Valley as well as local features. Many copies of the free bimonthly 40 page magazine, sit on coffee tables in the area, well-thumbed and well read, as well as the online free edition which is available at myspecialhomemagazine.co.uk.
The production has also become a family affair as Arabella, 26, an actress and dancer, also takes care of the social media for the publication.
Looking to the future, Sheldon hopes the magazine will continue to grow. He said: “It is small steps but hopefully it will get bigger and attract more advertising and we can create more content for our community and further afield to enjoy.”
To read mySpecialHome magazine online or to get in touch, go to myspecialhomemagazine.co.uk