Day to Day

In the world of Ochre And Ocre this week its been the normal day to day stuff - eg. you never know what each day will bring!
I spent a pleasant day stuffing the new stock of Lavender Bags, that arrived this week. My desk slowly disappeared under a mound of the sweet smelling bags. Tying neat bows is quite a time consuming process - but at least you can sit there with a glass of wine in the evening, and some music.
Having builders around again feels more normal - with my day punctuated with tea making - how they aren't all toothless I'll never know, they all have at least 2 or 3 sugars in their tea! It's been nice to see the garage go up at long last, it finally feels like the house is almost finished. They are doing a really tidy job as well - as its timber its going up a lot quicker than masonry.
I went to my local WIRE meeting yesterday, it's good to get out and network, and correspond on a one to one basis as opposed to email and Skype. It was a nice chance to catch up with Kim from Lavender Ladies, (who supplies the Lavender I used to stuff the bags), and Emma from The Naked Soap Co.
I was trying to talk to our agent over in Portugal the other evening over Skype, when the bulldog decided she would start barking, and rolling around on her back growling, then my husband came home and I had locked him out, so I had to pause the conversation to let him in the door! Other times I am trying to have conversations on the phone, and the bulldog starts snoring, loudly. To give you an idea of the volume she can reach, you can hear her several rooms away, on a different floor. I'm sure the person on the other end of the phone must wonder what on earth is happening in the office.
Prep is well underway for the Spring Fair at the NEC, pulling together customer enquiry forms, price lists, backdrop quotes etc. I know February will be here really quickly, and there is so much work to do before then.
I'm back training again this week, after injuring my hamstring at Free Fighting the previous week. My running is a bit lopsided, but its good to get those natural endorphins going again.
So as you can see a week of normality at Ochre And Ocre HQ!

Christmas Prep

This week has been mostly in preparation for the forthcoming Christmas shows. It feels like the lull before the storm, starting with an intimate shopping evening that Jo Verity and Elaine, from Glass On Glass are organising. Ochre And Ocre were thrilled to be asked to join them, and it's for a really good cause, the Breast Cancer Haven. The WIRE team have been supportive as always, and have managed to squeeze an ad in for us in the next issue of the WIRE magazine.
There are another two fairs that week, over 5 days, so getting organised now is crucial.
Knowing how much stock is needed is a tricky one, and we've already had some sales on the new Venetien Red, its proving to be a really popular colour. I was overly cautious with the organic cotton table cloth stocks so I think I might get caught out on that one.
It was also accounts this week, which is always painful, the only nice thing is I get to catch up with my friend Amy, and her cute pup Darcey, (as seen with the new red pictures), as Amy is book keeper extraordinaire!
Believe it or not, preparation is already underway for the NEC Spring Fair, with several new ranges being planned. I will keep you posted on their progress.

POETS DAY

Even though I now work from home, I still get that same old Friday feeling. Which is quite bizarre, as more often than not I work over the weekend as well. I suppose the difference is that on a Saturday or Sunday it is highly unlikely that you will get pestered by the phone, and I don't feel I have to be at the gym by 7am.
Since going self employed I've been very conscious about sticking to a set routine, if nothing else to stop myself from that slippery slope of watching daytime tv. So ok, I might go and put a load of washing in during the day, and take a break to hang it up, but what I don't get now is that hour lunch break, or a 10 min gossip about what everyone watched on tv last night. So even though I worked long hours at my old job, I probably have a more concentrated working time now, as I have fewer distractions.
Worryingly I now seem to know the delivery guys quite well - and the staff in the local post office, but it is nice to see more local people, than when you disappear at 6.30 in the morning, and get back at 7pm you don't really feel part of a community.
This week we have been finalising the last few Christmas shows - I will add prompts as we get closer. It becomes a real juggling act to work out logistically where you need to be and what to take, as every venue is different. Now we are a year older though, the Christmas Fairs certainly seem less daunting this time around, and we will hopefully be more organised when we turn up!
I spent a day, labelling and gift boxing our latest candle delivery yesterday. The new soy wax in the oval glass holder looks lovely - at £8 it makes a great gift that won't break the bank.
Our link up with APC has also been finalised this week, so the impending Royal Mail deliveries seem less daunting. Plus the postage rates are a lot better. So even though they were paid by the customer, it feel better that they are more cost effective.
So back to that Friday feeling - I still need to take pictures of our new candles, set up the new items on the system, and update the shipping information, so I won't be shutting down early. But I will probably be pouring myself a glass of vino at 5pm, and catching up with my friend Mary, as she does her Friday night commute, just like I used to in the old days when I had a proper job! That certainly feels better than my old hour and a half drive home!

Customer Service - the goodies and baddies!

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Why is it some people do exactly what they say they are going to do, whilst other companies are absolutely useless. I've experienced at first hand this week both good and bad customer service.
Lets start with the baddies - as the owner of an online shop I like to support other online businesses, so with my other half's birthday approaching, a quick google and I came across Fur, Feather And Fin - www.furfeatherandfin.com - an outlet for sporting goods. I placed my order, easy to use site and waited, and waited, after a week I thought I had better chase it, as there was only 5 days to go before the birthday. I was told what I'd ordered was out of stock, (why they never thought to tell me??), offered me a replacement, and told it would be with me in 3 days time.
So again I waited - no news and unfortunately the birthday has come and gone - and still no present. I have had to resort to contacting them again, to be told it's being despatched tomorrow(heard that one before!), so we shall see.
(Note I am not actually saying what the item is, as it was / is supposed to be a surprise!)
On the goodies side, with the addition of our new hamper range, plus impending postal strike, I thought it prudent to get an alternative delivery service organised. The guy from APC came out to see me, went through the range, and with one simple form the account was set up - simples!!
I still intend to use Royal Mail for the smaller packages, but at least with a fall back of a courier, I can avoid disappointing customers if a strike happens.
The star baddy award though has to go to a building company - no surprise there I hear many of you cry! Roundwood Construction have got appalling customer service.
We booked a garage back in July, and were advised that it was 6 - 8 weeks delivery, so end of September for delivery. Yes, you've guessed it, the end of September has come and gone, the delivery date was revised to this week, and yesterday we were told that suddenly the wood is only just being cut, and it will be another two weeks before they come to erect the frame.
Once again, poor communication has really let a company down, and instead of telling us last week that there was not a cats chance that the garage would be here this week, they decided the head in the sand route was the better option! Will they redeem themselves?? I will keep you posted, but at the moment it looks like end of September delivery is really end of October....

Another photoshoot

It was nice to catch up with David & Pat again yesterday - as they came back to shoot my bathrooms. It's always interesting to see your home through someone else's eyes, and in the top floor bathroom they had decided to introduce a shot of peacock blue - the starting point was a very pretty pair of wooden sandles I had bought on a trip to the market in Vietnam, hand painted with sparkly bits. Rarely worn, but they look gorgeous - having wooden soles they make a bit of a din when you walk around!!
I had added a few of my blue glass pieces I used to collect - along with some perfume bottles, and flowers in the lovely Linda Bloomfield jug. Plus of course our zesty honey hand wash and hand lotion, and soy wax candles. Emma from The Naked Soap company had sent along some of her gorgeous soaps - (they smell divine), and suddenly the bathroom looked very different.
The worst bit is always having to pose for the pictures - there are only so many ways you can pretend to be folding a towel, as if it was normal behaviour!
David now has to edit / photoshop and generally work his magic, whilst Pat puts together a synopsis to entice the mags onboard. I will keep you posted as to when and where the article will appear.

Autumn Leaves

I love this time of year - its that half light and beautiful Autumnal trees that makes you want to get outside for a long walk, wrapped up in a warm coat.
Ok, it was partly an excuse to get outside for half an hour - I popped over to Compton Verney this afternoon, to pick up some of the lovely Autumn leaves. They compliment our Ochre textiles so well - I just had to get my camera out, and do a few pics. Our beeswax candles have been doing so well recently, I thought it would help give people ideas how they could "decorate" them for their dining tables.
It does also feel like you are on a bit of a countdown to Christmas from here on in -especially as I need to start fine tuning the Christmas gift guide and newsletter.
I hope the Riverford Organic offer on the October newsletter has spurred a few of you on to try one of their veg boxes - it will certainly make for more adventurous menus!
I'm meeting up with the lovely Kim from Lavender Ladies later in the week - our new Lavender bags have arrived in the lush Rouge Venetien, so I'm going to pick up the stuffing!! It will be a nice fragrant job filling the Lavender Bags.