Adrienne and Gerry Forrest open their flat in Portomaso to First.
If it were a novel it would have sounded implausible: an English woman who after buying an apartment in Portomaso decides to open a shop here and all this with no retail experience. However some women seem to bring to business a certain pizzazz which makes even seemingly hair brained schemes work!
I met the lady in question in her fashionable apartment overlooking the Yacht Marina.
Adrienne Forrest went to Catering College to study French Cuisine after finishing school and at the age of 22 found herself in charge of catering at Waddington’s – a large company perhaps better known for being the producers of the board game ‘Monopoly’. More importantly this company employed over 1,000 workers and Adrienne had to oversee their food requirements from Directors’ Boardroom level to staff canteens. “As Group Catering Manager I used to supervise the production of 1,000 breakfasts before 10.00 a.m. every day,” she recalls calmly. Some years later she met Gerry who was an agent in menswear. “She always was a strong personality and I believed she would be a natural for a career in sales and marketing. I managed to convince her to leave catering and come into partnership with me in the fashion business”, he says. Adrienne adds, smilingly, that it was his idea of cheap labour! “No, but we complemented each other and the business prospered.”
Adrienne first came to Malta in 1977 and in 1984 she and Gerry tied the knot at the Phoenicia Hotel. “The late Sonny Monte, a wonderful singer and entertainer was a very good friend and as a wedding present he and three chums supplied the music – very jazzy and lots of dancing,” Gerry reminisces.
“I simply love the people and we have a similar sense of humour. In the many years I have been here I have never had a serious disagreement with any Maltese person; well perhaps with the exception of one or two tradesmen who tend to be a bit lax when it comes to getting jobs done in time. But, of course, this problem occurs in any country, doesn’t it?”
At that time Gerry and Adrienne had a place in
Bahar-ic-Caghaq and it was only two years ago that they bought a small studio apartment in Portomaso. “The idea was to use it for holidays as we were coming here four times a year. Last year Madame Butterfly was featured as the ‘Opera On The Water’ production in the Yacht Marina and we were invited by some friends to view the opera from their apartment. We immediately fell in love with the place and, to cut a long story short, we ended up living here – a decision we will never regret. We both absolutely adore it.”
How did Adrienne end up opening a shop here? “It was a seamless operation. Porto is a specialist shop offering fashionable exclusive designer collections of ladies’ handbags, fashion jewellery and accessories and due to the fact that we concentrate solely on these products we are able to offer a very great variety of styles and colour.
We were never in the retail side of the fashion business before and it is a tribute to our wonderful manager, Mary Arrigo and her excellent staff that we are able to make regular business trips back to U.K. where we still run our fashion agency marketing the Gaby’s Fashion Jewellery range to stores over there.
“This involves around six trips annually.” Going back to the Porto shop Adrienne tells me that her clients are comprised mainly of fashionable Maltese ladies, foreigners who live and work here and 5 star hotel guests.
Our conversation turns back to the apartment and Adrienne tells me they chose Portomaso as they felt it was a fantastic environment. “There are some good restaurants and a beach club all of which are available without really going far. We can use all the Hilton facilities and we hardly ever have to travel around because there is always something going on here.”
The apartment itself is located magnificently with the view of the whole marina and the sea beyond, which today is choppy in the brisk April breeze.
Daffodils, which Adrienne brought over from her home near the Lake District, add charm with their exuberance and I share a late breakfast with Gerry and Adrienne on the veranda overlooking the splendid view. “The kitchen is my favourite room because I can look out at the view whilst cooking. What a bonus, eh,”?
Gerry tells me they are now spending around 50% of the year in Malta and as they have been coming for so long they feel half Maltese.
I ask Adrienne about her typical day here and she tells me she goes for a swim in the indoor pool followed by a work-out in the gym and then her day starts: “I work with my U.K. clients by phone on a daily basis whilst in Malta”.
Life was not always rosy for Adrienne. “My parents were farmers and I was orphaned at the age of 16 in the mid-60’s. I had to quickly learn to stand on my own two feet and create a living for myself. It made me a stronger person and I worked every day after college. For example Saturday mornings were spent helping out in my Aunt’s poultry shop plucking chickens and skinning rabbits! Not the most glamorous job, but very character building.”
We have finished breakfast; the sun has come out again and I ask Gerry how they see their future. Adrienne says that her retail outlet is doing so well she is looking further afield and may consider plans for expanding. “I seem never to have grown out of the enthusiasm that gripped me when I was still young and naïve and made the switch from catering to the more exciting environment of fashion!”
• Stylists: Alice Reagan and Lesley Harrison