A FORMER restaurant manager who quit his 60-hour a week job to design sub-aquatic gardens is opening a gallery of underwater landscapes in Northwich.
Professional aquascaper, Matt Broadhurst, from Northwich, left a high-pressure job in hospitality management in February 2023 to set up The Aquascaping Company, with operates a shop and online store out of Cosgrove Business Park in Anderton.
An aquascape is a landscaped aquarium which uses, rocks, woods, sands, and soils, before being planted with aquatic vegetation to make a beautiful and natural underwater scene.
They’re usually home to fish too, and it can involve some high-tech equipment, like strong lights, carbon dioxide injectors, and powerful filters to help the aquascape thrive.
Matt currently shares a unit with his brother’s online sales business, but now demand for his services has increased, he needs to expand.
The 33-year-old is taking over his own unit, still on Cosgrove Business Park, where he’s planning an aquascape gallery so the public can drop in and learn about the gentle art of landscape gardening underwater.
Matt said: “As I’m going to have the displays as part of the shop anyway, I just thought it would be something a little bit different for Northwich folks to come and enjoy.
“Aquascaping is pretty big in Japan and Europe, and it’s getting pretty big here now too.
“There’re still only a handful of shops around the UK, so I think I’m doing the right thing.
“I learned the hard way. I started out with a few plastic plants and multicoloured gravel in my home aquarium, and gradually started experimenting with live plants - and usually killed them.
“But you eventually learn how to do it, and slowly, over the years, I just got better and better, then opened the shop inside my brother’s unit last year.
“I’m now looking to diversify the business a little bit by offering rentals in offices and restaurants, so I need the extra space.
“There'll be enough room for at least six tanks, and I want the public to be able to come in and see them. I’m picturing something like a gallery, with sofas and teas and coffees, that kind of thing.”
Matt’s switch to working for himself came at just at the right time, as he and partner, Emily Dunne, recently started a family.
Working in hospitality meant he often did 12-hour shifts and clocked up 60 hours a week, which was becoming a real strain with a new baby.
While he loves his new work, it also gives him more time to focus on being a dad.
He added: “My partner Emily was struggling a bit at home with our new baby, Holly, so we thought we'd do something crazy like open a business. We’ve got another baby on the way in July too.
“I have to work a lot less now, which is great. I’ve never had a work-life balance like this before, and I’m always excited to go to work now, which is brilliant.”
The Aquascape Company's new shop and gallery opens Good Friday, and will be open all Easter weekend, 9am - 3pm.
Normal opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Friday to Tuesday.
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