The train arriving at Platform 30…
Samford’s Handmade Fine Chocolates – The Train Carriage, 30 Station Street, Samford Village
On Station Street, past the Flying Nun Café, opposite the Samford Museum, you may have noticed an old railway carriage parked by the side of the road.
Laura Young noticed it and her first thought was “Chocolate”.
To be fair, Laura’s first thought most days is “Chocolate” – but on this occasion it was a somewhat more practical thought.
After much renovation, negotiation and other words ending in ‘ation’, the concept of “Platform 30 – First Class Chocolates” is coming to fruition.
Laura says “I loved the idea of a small Chocolate and Sweet shop in the village, but could never find a suitable home – then one day I saw a railway carriage being dropped off, and it all fell into place!”
The shop’s main focus is on hand-made Australian chocolates and imported sweets, but Laura’s other passion (besides chocolate) is handicrafts – and so a part of the carriage will be set up as a craft area. Laura explained:
“I know lots of people around Samford who regularly sew, embroider, cross-stitch and do other crafts – but sometimes it’s a lonely hobby. By making part of the shop available to anyone who wants to come in and craft and chat, I hope people will come and spend an hour or two amongst like-minded souls – offering and receiving advice and (of course) munching on chocolates!”
Laura also plans to sell some of her unique hand-made bags in the shop. “If you buy a bag, I will have to give you a chocolate to put in it!” she explains!
“It’s very exciting” says Laura. “Crafts and Chocolates may seem a strange mixture at first – but I hope Platform 30 will become a meeting place as well as a shop, and with the café and gift shop nearby, Station street will be the place to be in Samford!”