About Us
Meet the Team!
| Tony Pitham: Owner | |
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Tony became a partner in 1998 and has since made frequent visits to Japan. Last year he had the accolade of being asked to judge at the All Japan Show in Tokyo and has become respected as being one of the top in the UK for Koi Appreciation. |
| Jackie Pitham |
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| My husband John was a keen fresh water fisherman from a very young age and it was no surprise to me when he built a pond in the garden to keep Koi. That was in 1975 and in 1984 his hobby turned into a business for him when he opened Koi Water Barn.He worked very hard to get the business running and over the years gained the respect from many Koi people. My job was to see to all the bookwork which I still do today.
Nicky and Keith Phipps joined us in 1988 and stayed until 1995.Maureen and Bill Mcgurk joined us in1996 until July 1998. Sadly John died in November 1998 aged 50 wanting our son to be my partner and to take over the business. With the help of all our staff Koi Water Barn is one of the most successful Koi businesses today. |
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| Keith Holmes: Manager | |
| I joined Koi Water Barn in June 1996 after being offered a job with the company during a 10 week work placemnt earlier that year. Before starting at Koi Water Barn I had worked for 4 years part time in the aquatic trade, then I was half way through a two year couse at Sparsholt Collage studying aquatic and ornamental fish managemnt which I left after complaiting the first year to accept the offer at Koi water Barn. Over the years I have now worked my way up to manager, which involves most of the office and paper work, and has recently included the sale of console fish. Along with this I have an active role in advertising along with the maintance and update of the Koi water Barns website. Despite now spending most of my time behind a PC, I still maintain an active interest in all areas of the aquatic hobby with particular emphasies on Koi health. Along with this I have a particular interest in the design and implementation of new and innovotive products for the aquatic hobby, and this has recently included, Sattelite heaters, the Digi-Pro thermostat, and Remote Control switch boxes to name a few. I have also recently started writting articles for Koi and other aquatic magazines. My interest in fish is not only limited to Koi, but all coldwater fish in general along with tropicals, with aparticular interest in catfish and Chichlids of which I used to be a regular contributor of articles to the British Cihclid assoscition and the now no longer Catfish Association of GB. |
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| Andrew Logan: Assisstant Manager | |
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I began working for Koi Water Barn as a Saturday lad, and was then offered a full time job in 2000, which i accepted. My job involves the general day to day runiing of a larger retail outlet, plus recently I have started to organise and escort customers on buying trips to Japan |
| Ray Tucker: Part Time Assisstant | |
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I began working for Koi Water Barn in November 2000. I have been keeping Koi since 1983 and knew John Pitham ( Founder of Koi Water Barn ) from 1985. My main interests are in Koi Appreciation with particular interest in the Go Sanke varieties. I am available to help in selection of particular Koi and also any topics regarding Koi health. With regards to pond design and implementation I have a wide range of knowledge and have advised and assisted with some of the largest and most sophisticated Koi systems undertaken in the UK. |
| Dave Wallington | |
| Dave has been a keen Koi keeper since 1986. He's been in the industry for over 10 years, 3 of which have been here with Koi Water Barn in a part time role. Dave handles sales and is always on hand to give general advice on Filters, pond construction and design. |
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| Bartosz Wojciechowski: Koi Water Farm Manager | |
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In 2001 I finished studying aquaculture and fisheries at the University of Agriculture in Szczecin, Poland. I was awarded a Master of Science degree in aquaculture. After this I started work for the Polish Fisheries Society, spawning wild salmon for a project to return them to the wild to substantiate native stock levels; I was there for six months. In January 2002 I then started to work for a friend of mine who had a farm specialising in Clarias batrachus (walking catfi sh) and ornamental fish, and it was here that I learnt about farming and growing fish in polytunnels. I worked here for over a year and then took some time out to travel in Europe. When I finished my travels a friend of mine advised me of a farm near Lodz in Poland that specialised in the production of tropical fish species and Koi. It was while working here that I met Jarek. In late 2004 Jarek called me from England to advise me of his new job at Koi Water Barn and asked if I wanted to join him the following year. I left Poland to live and work in England in February 2005. Since then I have taken over as Farm manager and hve also taken the role of the Koi Water Barn consultant which means that I am on call to assits customer with any problems that they may have with there pond, on a call out basis.
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