FTLOTN Blog

If you want to do Dad's Day locally this year, we've got a list of our favourite small businesses in the North East. 

From shaving creams to house plants, we've got you covered this Father's Day. 

We’re a family of four living in Whitley Bay; I’m Mum (Claire), married to Phil and we have two children who are five and seven.  Bay and Beyond was created to share our family adventures and showcase the places we enjoy visiting in the area and beyond.  As a family we love a good road trip; jumping in the car with a boot load of snacks and kids clothes for every eventuality! After a year of very few road trips we were so excited to be able to visit Stockeld Park near Wetherby.

We know how difficult shopping for Father's Day can be. We've got you covered for this year's Father's Day celebrations with our ultimate For the Love of the North Gift Guide. 

Take a look to see some of our favourite products for the Father figure in your life. 

Whitley Bay is increasingly celebrated as a home to independent businesses and there has been a surge in support for these businesses as they begin to re-open their doors.

Both of us love Corbridge. It’s always been one of a favourite places to enjoy a day out and indeed our very first blog post was about the village. It’s a very special village in such beautiful surroundings. It has a wonderful array of vibrant independent businesses and we would never have dreamt a few years ago that we would be joining these fabulous independents. 

An exclusive chat with the best interior designer in the North, the talented Julie Chambers! Whether you're interested in interiors or not, this is an excellent read that offers insight into the behind-the-scenes of interior design.

The countdown’s been on since my last trip away in November 2020 and I’ve finally been allowed to take the hand brake off my caravan.  Don’t know about you but if I haven’t done something for a while I can get a bit anxious about all the possible bad things that could happen. So this time I really worked on not catastrophizing and I actually had a good nights sleep before my trip away. Then it’s just going through my little mental checklist of all the things that need to be done before it’s ok to pull the caravan out of the safety of storage.

Well, if you're anything like us you'll have forgotten to prebook any restaurants for indoor eating. Instead of waiting even longer to see our family and friends, we've decided to host a Tea Party Fit For a Northerner. Take a look to find out how you can host your own.

Now our stock has grown to include artists from Yorkshire and beyond, it can be rather tricky to find what you're looking for. We wanted to give you a little helping hand with your For the Love of the North shopping by shortlisting some of our favourite prints inspired by North Tyneside's coastline. 

We care about sustainability at For the Love of the North. When we noticed our online orders were increasing rapidly in March 2020 we realised we had to update our packaging to make it more sustainable. Read our latest blog to find out how we wrap all of your orders and get them ready to post.

The first official day out in 2021! Join me for this week's blog where I'm visiting the beautiful seaside town, Seahouses.

Our team of For the Love of the North artists is constantly growing, take a look further into the amazing work of Kate Miller who uses techniques of linocut, monotype and collage to create her revolutionary designs.

In November 2019 I bought a towing caravan, not a very big one but it was mine.  This may not seem that significant but when I look back now, a year and half later, I think it was a pretty pivotal moment in my new life as a single Mum with twin girls (now 11yrs old). 

In the week we await our grand reopening we've decided to shortlist our favourite products online for those not ready to brave the outdoors.

The next instalment of our Meet the Artist series and a closer look into the life and work of Jane Jackson.

This blog will be the first in the mini-series 'Summer Is Coming' where we list the best places to eat, drink, visit and enjoy in the North East, take a look for some staycation inspiration.