Sue Meades & Colin Shearer – Cheese Aboard inc Mugs Afloat

Sue & Colin - Cheese Aboard inc Mugs Afloat

Sue Meades & Colin Shearer are entering their 4th year as Roving Canal Traders on their narrowboat

That’s D’riculous.

mugs afloatWe have travelled the Leeds & Liverpool canal, the Shropshire Union, The Staffs & Worcs, The River Severn, The Trent & Mersey, the River Soar, the Grand Union, the Ashby Canal, the Coventry canal & some of the Oxford Canal during the time we have been traders.

We started off selling personalised mugs & mugs printed with our own bespoke designs along with up cycled jewellery.  Gradually we added some wooden goods as Colin started to learn how to do Pyrography.

It soon transpired that Colin's love of Celtic designs was going to be a good seller for us at festivals & markets.

mugs & chopping boardsThis developed into the range of beautiful chopping boards that we currently sell alongside our mugs. We have made many personalised mugs for customers at events & also boaters especially other traders who seem to want mugs with their own logo on.   

After only a few months of trading we joined the RCTA (Roving Canal Traders Association) as they seemed to be a helpful organisation, little did I know that 3 years later I would be a committee member & responsible for organising floating market events for other traders in the Association! Who are currently organising approximately 16 events for their members over the 2020 season.   

We love trading at festivals & floating markets, the atmosphere is wonderful & the camaraderie of the trading community is amazing.  This has been a fabulous journey as I have met many very talented traders, attended & organised lots of events.  

For the past 3 winters we have worked as self employed operators for www.calendarclub.co.uk to boost our income when it is too cold & wet to trade from the boat, they welcome traders as operators & have units all over the country if you need extra winter income.  

We were trying to think of a way of streamlining our stock & the items we sell at the end of last season when we heard that the Cheese Boat that covered the Shropshire area had retired from canal trading. 

With a lot of deliberation, we decided this was a perfect addition to our existing wares. 

Coffee mugs, wine racks, cheese/pizza boards what a perfect combination to add actual cheese to! Hence the birth of Cheese Aboard our new trading name. For the near future we will be Cheese Aboard inc. Mugs Afloat 

We have sourced a fabulous chiller, found a supplier that suits our trading ideas, achieved our 5 star food rating & made the long overdue rain canopy so we are set for the 2020 trading season to start. 

You can find us on Facebook where you will find our trading schedule for the season. 

Sue Meades & Colin Shearer

Sue Meades & Colin Shearer

Sue Meades and Colin Shearer have been Roving Canal Traders for the last three years, and have become very well known on the cut on their narrowboat D'riculous. Sue also volunteers with the RCTA.

You can like and follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mugsafloat or https://www.facebook.com/cheeseaboard1/