Latest news with #Fitzrovia
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Nathalie Emmanuel is radiant in a chic sportswear look as she joins Clara Amfo at radio host's charity jewellery launch in London
Nathalie Emmanuel was radiant in a chic sportswear look as she joined Clara Amfo at a jewellery launch. The radio host, 41, has launched a new jewellery collection in support of international humanitarian charity Choose Love. Stars were out in force for the launch of Clara Amfo x Rachel Jackson for Choose Love at Before The Lights in London's Fitzrovia on Thursday. Among those was Game Of Thrones star Nathalie, 36, kept it casual for the event in a white oversized Umbro v-neck t-shirt with orange and green striped sleeves. She paired the t-shirt with an olive green pleated miniskirt, patent loafers, knee-high socks and a huge pair of silver hoop earrings. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Meanwhile Clara opted for a black ruched midi-dress with a racy thigh-high leg split and a pair of platform open-toed heels. Also in attendance was singer Ella Eyre, 31, who looked effortlessly chic in a boat-neck blue and orange patterned midi-dress layered over baggy blue denim jeans. She paired the look with denim flip flops and accessorised with a gold choker, chunky earrings and a bag - wit her hair styled in a 90s-style spiky updo. Meanwhile model Munroe Bergdorf, 37, turned heads in a ruched tan maxi dress featuring balloon-style arms and a pair of metallic stilettos. Comedian Michelle de Swarte, 44, also joined the stars and stepped out in a white button-up shirt and linen trousers, as well as multi-coloured loafers. Clara's product launch comes after she revealed that she 'debated having liposuction ' after 'getting in her own head' about her body image on Tuesday. The presenter candidly discussed her relationship with her body image as she covered the December edition of UK Women's Health. In the accompanying interview, Clara reflected on how she thought her career 'would be different' if she looked a certain way. The broadcaster explained how she 'tries to stop herself' from constantly thinking about her body in an industry that is 'obsessed' with people's appearances. She said: 'If I had done all these things but I existed in a different body, maybe had a looser hair pattern, or if I was a few shades lighter, I wonder if my career would be different, and I wonder if I would get treated better.' 'I'll be so real with you, I was debating having lipo. I won't lie, towards the end of last year – because I got in my head, I had the consultation and everything.' Explained what stopped her, she added: 'I obsessively research things, and I was just looking at all the times when it had gone wrong for people. 'I think I scared myself out of it, to be honest.' In the UK, private liposuction surgery can cost between £2,000 and £6,000. The op, which tends to last a few hours, involves removing unwanted body fat by inserting a tube under the skin and sucking out small areas of fat. After bruising and swelling from the operation has healed, the areas treated visibly shrink. Recovery can take weeks. Graduating with a media arts degree in 2006, Clara joined Kiss FM as a marketing intern in 2007, progressed to stand-in presenter. She then secured a role as drivetime host, leading to BBC Radio 1 Extra in 2013 and her daytime Radio 1 show in 2015.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lockdown businesses thriving five years after Covid
Five years ago, the Covid-19 lockdown was still in force, with wide-ranging impacts that are still being felt today. For some, thought, it was a chance to try something different and launch a business. How have they fared and was the gamble worth it? This weekend Leah Sigsworth will open a pop-up shop in London's Fitzrovia to mark five years since the birth of Ethereal Jewellery. Leah, 23, from Northamptonshire, started the company in her parents' back garden during lockdown. "When I started, it was really something to keep me busy. It was for my own mental health; it was something to do during the loneliness of the Covid lockdown," she says. By September 2020, she had begun a creative writing degree at the University of Lincoln, and carried on with the business, working with her boyfriend, Hugh Walker, also now 23. "Then, when I graduated, I sat down with Hugh, and my parents and said, 'Can we do this full-time?' and we did." Leah, who was was state educated at Sharnbrook Academy, Bedfordshire, says: "I fell in love with being a business owner. I liked the freedom. It's given us so much;it's actually insane thinking about it." "We only launched on Tiktok Shop in November last year, which went crazy, I now have about 227,000 followers. "We've been to TikTok headquarters a couple of times since. It's probably about 70% of our business, with the rest through website sales and Instagram, where I have 27,000 followers." The business now employs four people, including her mother Cara Sigsworth and occasionally her father Richard and sister Sophie, 20. "We're also looking at some new external hires as well," says Leah. Last year she decided to travel the world with Hugh while working remotely. "We were also saving for our own home. We found a cottage for sale when we came back from travelling, put an offer in, it was accepted and five months later, in December, we moved in." As the online face of the brand, she frequently appears in social media posts but prides herself on always being herself. "I don't always have a full face of makeup, and my hair sometimes looks absolutely hideous, and I'll make videos in my pyjamas," she says. "I think sharing every day on social media is sometimes tough because you are sharing when all the bad things happen, so I've tried to be really open and honest. "I'll say 'Look guys, I'm really struggling with anxiety this week', or if we've had a really rubbish week because of an email a customer has sent me." Mostly, though, life is good. "I've started a brand, it's given me a lot of hope and it all happened by accident," she says. Oksana Koryak, a lecturer in entrepreneurship at Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, says the Covid pandemic created "a window of time for people to actually concentrate, and create the mindspace to think about something that might be a viable business idea". She says: "It was a catalyst for some entrepreneurial soul-searching. "I think we all have it within us. It's not something that you're born with, it's a combination of the environment that you've been exposed to and opportunities that come your way." One thing for would-be entrepreneurs to remember, she says, is that younger people are very "TikTok-driven". She says: "It's creating a product that people might like and communicating what it is in the way that is relatable to that particular demographic; that is really important. "I generally believe that entrepreneurship could be a very rewarding career path for many people. "Even if we are in full employment, I think it's still important to be entrepreneurial, and to look out for opportunities on behalf of our employers, or even just as a side hustle." "It's been crazy," is how Aaron Shade, 34, from Bedford, describes the past five years. He and his fiancée Sarah Ball had successful careers in sales and marketing. Wanting to spend more time with their family, they started their own business within the travel industry. When Covid took hold, it was "wiped out", so they looked for a new challenge and started SAY Doughnuts in April 2020, from their home. It now employs 18 people and has two shops, in Bedford and Hitchin, Hertfordshire "We started with just the two of us, selling to friends and family, and then it spread really quickly and organically, and we also sold wholesale goods to cafes and delis in surrounding towns like, Ampthill, Maulden, Woburn Sands, Newport Pagnell, Stony Stratford, Olney and Hitchin," says Aaron. When they outgrew the family kitchen in March 2021, they got the keys to a retail unit that they converted into a bakery. For a year they also had a shop in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, but it closed in late 2024. "We will expand again, but we have to be cautious. I would like to be in Cambridge," he says. "I'm still normal, I still live in my same house but we've sold over £1m worth of coffee and doughnuts." "It sounds like we should be flying, but that's not how business works. "We've lost a lot in Berkhamsted and still have to live off this business with no salaries coming in from anywhere else." The business is "looking at the future", he says. "We're a household name in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, with 16,600 followers on Instagram. "It's insane. Not many businesses get this far. We've lent on friends and family to get us here. "It's been a bit of a rollercoaster. " Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Sisters turn to cakes and jewellery in lockdown 'People think I work in a cafe at 18 but I own it' 'We built a great business from Covid lockdown' Cranfield University
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lockdown businesses thriving five years after Covid
Five years ago, the Covid-19 lockdown was still in force, with wide-ranging impacts that are still being felt today. For some, thought, it was a chance to try something different and launch a business. How have they fared and was the gamble worth it? This weekend Leah Sigsworth will open a pop-up shop in London's Fitzrovia to mark five years since the birth of Ethereal Jewellery. Leah, 23, from Northamptonshire, started the company in her parents' back garden during lockdown. "When I started, it was really something to keep me busy. It was for my own mental health; it was something to do during the loneliness of the Covid lockdown," she says. By September 2020, she had begun a creative writing degree at the University of Lincoln, and carried on with the business, working with her boyfriend, Hugh Walker, also now 23. "Then, when I graduated, I sat down with Hugh, and my parents and said, 'Can we do this full-time?' and we did." Leah, who was was state educated at Sharnbrook Academy, Bedfordshire, says: "I fell in love with being a business owner. I liked the freedom. It's given us so much;it's actually insane thinking about it." "We only launched on Tiktok Shop in November last year, which went crazy, I now have about 227,000 followers. "We've been to TikTok headquarters a couple of times since. It's probably about 70% of our business, with the rest through website sales and Instagram, where I have 27,000 followers." The business now employs four people, including her mother Cara Sigsworth and occasionally her father Richard and sister Sophie, 20. "We're also looking at some new external hires as well," says Leah. Last year she decided to travel the world with Hugh while working remotely. "We were also saving for our own home. We found a cottage for sale when we came back from travelling, put an offer in, it was accepted and five months later, in December, we moved in." As the online face of the brand, she frequently appears in social media posts but prides herself on always being herself. "I don't always have a full face of makeup, and my hair sometimes looks absolutely hideous, and I'll make videos in my pyjamas," she says. "I think sharing every day on social media is sometimes tough because you are sharing when all the bad things happen, so I've tried to be really open and honest. "I'll say 'Look guys, I'm really struggling with anxiety this week', or if we've had a really rubbish week because of an email a customer has sent me." Mostly, though, life is good. "I've started a brand, it's given me a lot of hope and it all happened by accident," she says. Oksana Koryak, a lecturer in entrepreneurship at Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, says the Covid pandemic created "a window of time for people to actually concentrate, and create the mindspace to think about something that might be a viable business idea". She says: "It was a catalyst for some entrepreneurial soul-searching. "I think we all have it within us. It's not something that you're born with, it's a combination of the environment that you've been exposed to and opportunities that come your way." One thing for would-be entrepreneurs to remember, she says, is that younger people are very "TikTok-driven". She says: "It's creating a product that people might like and communicating what it is in the way that is relatable to that particular demographic; that is really important. "I generally believe that entrepreneurship could be a very rewarding career path for many people. "Even if we are in full employment, I think it's still important to be entrepreneurial, and to look out for opportunities on behalf of our employers, or even just as a side hustle." "It's been crazy," is how Aaron Shade, 34, from Bedford, describes the past five years. He and his fiancée Sarah Ball had successful careers in sales and marketing. Wanting to spend more time with their family, they started their own business within the travel industry. When Covid took hold, it was "wiped out", so they looked for a new challenge and started SAY Doughnuts in April 2020, from their home. It now employs 18 people and has two shops, in Bedford and Hitchin, Hertfordshire "We started with just the two of us, selling to friends and family, and then it spread really quickly and organically, and we also sold wholesale goods to cafes and delis in surrounding towns like, Ampthill, Maulden, Woburn Sands, Newport Pagnell, Stony Stratford, Olney and Hitchin," says Aaron. When they outgrew the family kitchen in March 2021, they got the keys to a retail unit that they converted into a bakery. For a year they also had a shop in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, but it closed in late 2024. "We will expand again, but we have to be cautious. I would like to be in Cambridge," he says. "I'm still normal, I still live in my same house but we've sold over £1m worth of coffee and doughnuts." "It sounds like we should be flying, but that's not how business works. "We've lost a lot in Berkhamsted and still have to live off this business with no salaries coming in from anywhere else." The business is "looking at the future", he says. "We're a household name in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, with 16,600 followers on Instagram. "It's insane. Not many businesses get this far. We've lent on friends and family to get us here. "It's been a bit of a rollercoaster. " Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Sisters turn to cakes and jewellery in lockdown 'People think I work in a cafe at 18 but I own it' 'We built a great business from Covid lockdown' Cranfield University
BBC News
07-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Lockdown businesses thriving five years after Covid
Five years ago, the Covid-19 lockdown was still in force, with wide-ranging impacts that are still being felt some, thought, it was a chance to try something different and launch a have they fared and was the gamble worth it? 'It was really something to keep me busy' This weekend Leah Sigsworth will open a pop-up shop in London's Fitzrovia to mark five years since the birth of Ethereal 23, from Northamptonshire, started the company in her parents' back garden during lockdown."When I started, it was really something to keep me busy. It was for my own mental health; it was something to do during the loneliness of the Covid lockdown," she September 2020, she had begun a creative writing degree at the University of Lincoln, and carried on with the business, working with her boyfriend, Hugh Walker, also now 23. "Then, when I graduated, I sat down with Hugh, and my parents and said, 'Can we do this full-time?' and we did."Leah, who was was state educated at Sharnbrook Academy, Bedfordshire, says: "I fell in love with being a business owner. I liked the freedom. It's given us so much;it's actually insane thinking about it.""We only launched on Tiktok Shop in November last year, which went crazy, I now have about 227,000 followers. "We've been to TikTok headquarters a couple of times since. It's probably about 70% of our business, with the rest through website sales and Instagram, where I have 27,000 followers." The business now employs four people, including her mother Cara Sigsworth and occasionally her father Richard and sister Sophie, 20."We're also looking at some new external hires as well," says year she decided to travel the world with Hugh while working remotely. "We were also saving for our own home. We found a cottage for sale when we came back from travelling, put an offer in, it was accepted and five months later, in December, we moved in." As the online face of the brand, she frequently appears in social media posts but prides herself on always being herself."I don't always have a full face of makeup, and my hair sometimes looks absolutely hideous, and I'll make videos in my pyjamas," she says."I think sharing every day on social media is sometimes tough because you are sharing when all the bad things happen, so I've tried to be really open and honest."I'll say 'Look guys, I'm really struggling with anxiety this week', or if we've had a really rubbish week because of an email a customer has sent me."Mostly, though, life is good."I've started a brand, it's given me a lot of hope and it all happened by accident," she says. 'Entrepreneurship could be a very rewarding career path' Oksana Koryak, a lecturer in entrepreneurship at Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, says the Covid pandemic created "a window of time for people to actually concentrate, and create the mindspace to think about something that might be a viable business idea".She says: "It was a catalyst for some entrepreneurial soul-searching."I think we all have it within us. It's not something that you're born with, it's a combination of the environment that you've been exposed to and opportunities that come your way."One thing for would-be entrepreneurs to remember, she says, is that younger people are very "TikTok-driven".She says: "It's creating a product that people might like and communicating what it is in the way that is relatable to that particular demographic; that is really important."I generally believe that entrepreneurship could be a very rewarding career path for many people."Even if we are in full employment, I think it's still important to be entrepreneurial, and to look out for opportunities on behalf of our employers, or even just as a side hustle." 'We've sold £1m worth of coffee and donuts' "It's been crazy," is how Aaron Shade, 34, from Bedford, describes the past five years. He and his fiancée Sarah Ball had successful careers in sales and to spend more time with their family, they started their own business within the travel industry. When Covid took hold, it was "wiped out", so they looked for a new challenge and started SAY Doughnuts in April 2020, from their now employs 18 people and has two shops, in Bedford and Hitchin, Hertfordshire"We started with just the two of us, selling to friends and family, and then it spread really quickly and organically, and we also sold wholesale goods to cafes and delis in surrounding towns like, Ampthill, Maulden, Woburn Sands, Newport Pagnell, Stony Stratford, Olney and Hitchin," says they outgrew the family kitchen in March 2021, they got the keys to a retail unit that they converted into a bakery. For a year they also had a shop in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, but it closed in late 2024. "We will expand again, but we have to be cautious. I would like to be in Cambridge," he says. "I'm still normal, I still live in my same house but we've sold over £1m worth of coffee and doughnuts.""It sounds like we should be flying, but that's not how business works."We've lost a lot in Berkhamsted and still have to live off this business with no salaries coming in from anywhere else."The business is "looking at the future", he says."We're a household name in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, with 16,600 followers on Instagram. "It's insane. Not many businesses get this far. We've lent on friends and family to get us here."It's been a bit of a rollercoaster. " Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Toronto Star
04-06-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
Rental developers are offering a new perk for Toronto tenants — private health care
It's always a perk having a pool, gym or parking space in your apartment building. But how about free virtual health-care services? Now, residents in Toronto have access to that niche offering in select rental buildings. Toronto purpose-built rental developer Fitzrovia has partnered with Cleveland Clinic Canada exclusively for 10 years to offer its virtual care services in three of their Toronto buildings — downtown's Elm-Ledbury and Waverley, and Parker in midtown — with a fourth building, Sloane, near Yorkdale mall, coming this fall. 'We help provide that essential service and have partnered with a strong health-care provider so that our residents don't have to go to a walk-in clinic ever again,' said Adrian Rocca, CEO of Fitzrovia. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The intersection of housing and health care is an emerging trend in the rental market. There's already been an expansion of companies offering privatized virtual-only health care services in Ontario workplaces, with more employers offering them to workers. But now developers are partnering with private health-care companies to offer these services as a perk to thousands of GTA tenants. Developers say these health-care services improve resident satisfaction, attract new tenants, and help newcomers navigate the health-care system. They also offer a competitive edge, especially as the rental market faces downward price pressures and rising vacancies. But further expansion of private virtual-only health care into the rental space doesn't address the root of Canada's family doctor shortage, a health-care professional warns, and could detract from finding real solutions in the province's public health system. 'It's important to recognize the crisis in primary care,' said Dr. Danyaal Raza, past chair of Canadian Doctors for Medicare, adding that more than two million Ontarians don't have access to a family doctor. 'People are desperate for care. So the question is what do we do about that? And how do we get people good care?' Developers and private health-care providers partner up Fitzrovia isn't the only developer dabbling in the health care space. For several years, Hazelview Properties has partnered with Maple, a Canadian virtual health-care company, to expand access to essential services for its residents across the country. In the GTA, Maple is available to seven properties — with the program expanding to another building in midtown Toronto this month. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Real Estate Nearly half of Canadian low- and moderate-income renters surveyed lack air conditioning National tenant union ACORN Canada is calling for national standards on cooling access and heat A few years ago, Hazelview formalized its social impact strategy and 'engaged with residents on what their socioeconomic needs were, and found that health and wellness was a priority,' said managing partner Colleen Krempulec, head of sustainability and brand. 'As a housing provider we asked ourselves, what more can we do?' Tenants must sign up to connect with health-care professionals. Residents access services through the Maple platform on a mobile device or computer and are paired with a health-care professional in minutes, Krempulec said. At Fitzrovia, residents also sign up for the service and have access to nurses who can diagnose up to 120 common ailments. Residents can access the virtual care appointment through their own personal devices or in the 'care room' in their building, which has diagnostic tools such as a blood pressure machine and a medical exam kit that can remotely review heart rate and temperature. To date, 30 per cent of Fitzrovia's residents have signed up for the health-care services, Rocca said. Rocca emphasized the service especially helps new immigrants, who typically rent when first moving to Canada and often struggle to access a family doctor. 'We want to do things right and commit to our civic duty as a long-term owner of the building,' Rocca said. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW From developers to insurers At both Fitzrovia and Hazelview, tenants do not pay out of pocket nor is it included in their rent. Instead, the developers almost act like a private insurer, covering the virtual appointment costs for residents — or in Hazelview's case, up to a limited number of free appointments. For Hazelview tenants, depending on the program they have access to, they have anywhere from two to six free sessions with a health-care professional covered per year, Krempulec said. Once a resident has used all sessions available in their plan, they can access care through Maple at their own cost, directly via the platform, a Hazelview spokesperson added. At Fitzrovia, Rocca said the cost is covered by Fitzrovia. Joanne Kearney, spokesperson for Fitzrovia, said that just as employers play a vital role in expanding access through health benefits plans Fitzrovia believes it can contribute to the well-being of their communities in a similar fashion. Around 30 to 60 per cent of Fitzrovia residents are newcomers to Canada and are subject to the mandatory three-month waiting period before qualifying for OHIP coverage, she said. 'This is before even starting the search for a family doctor, which can take several months to many years. Other residents, such as international students, may not be eligible for OHIP at all,' she said in a written statement. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Expanding private health-care comes at a cost The Canada Health Act prohibits people paying for medically necessary care delivered by a doctor or in a hospital. That leaves many areas open for private payment — such as paying a nurse practitioner for primary care — that have allowed private virtual health clinics to grow, with people signing up on their own or companies acting like private insurers. Real Estate 'Financial landlords' more aggressive on raising Toronto rents than other landlords, study finds Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), asset managers and private equity firms raised rents Private virtual-only walk-in clinics are growing rapidly as they're less expensive to operate with minimal overhead costs, said Raza, who's also a family physician at St. Michael's Hospital. There's a risk that virtual-only privatized services are drawing family doctors, nurse practitioners and other professionals away from publicly funded, in-person care that 'needs to be the backbone of our system,' he added. Having publicly funded primary care teams in all communities across the province is where investment and focus should be, he said. That means people are never more than a 15-to-20-minute journey from a health-care clinic with physicians, nurses and specialists they can access with ease. Raza said in his practice he uses a combination of in-person and virtual care, but when people use virtual-only care it can lead to higher rates of emergency department use. 'Primary care in Ontario is at a crossroad,' he said. 'We don't want to blame individuals (such as tenants) for doing what they can to get care. However, we do need to hold organizations and decision-makers accountable to make sure at the system level we make the right decisions, not the wrong ones.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Krempulec said Hazelview's partnership with Maple is not politically motivated. 'We absolutely believe in Canada's universal public health-care system,' she said. 'Offering our residents virtual care through Maple is not about undermining that principal. It's a complementary option, especially helping those who face a barrier to access to the publicly funded system,' she said. Fitzrovia's Kearney said the service can be vital for some residents, given the Ontario public system is scaling back its support for virtual care. Real Estate Ford government scrapped Toronto affordable housing requirements after pushback from three REITs, documents show Two of the REITs suggested the quotas for converted employment lands could result in no new In 2022, a new agreement in Ontario between doctors and the province came into effect that adjusted the fee codes for virtual care, with the aim of reducing the use of specific 'walk-in' virtual visits and to encourage virtual care in conjunction with in-person care. 'For individuals with physical disabilities or those facing mobility challenges, this is a serious setback. On-demand virtual care addresses some inequities by making access to care easier for those who have difficulty getting to a clinic, or difficulty finding a brick-and-mortar walk-in clinic,' Kearney said.
