Tired but happy!!

Life is starting to get back to normal after a hectic week at the Country Living Fair. It was our most successful show to date - mainly down to the new British Collection. (Thanks Lindsey for doing the designs!)
We had so many positive comments ; "so much nicer than Cath Kidston", (my fav!),  "lovely to see something fresh", "so nice to see such soft colours".....it was a huge boost to my confidence, and it wasn't just comments, the sales reflected the feedback as well. For the first time ever we have sold out of two lines; ironing board covers and peg bags. Repeat orders are already underway, but as a evangelic non ironer, I was amazed at peoples response to the ironing board. (By the way Garden Trading I think you owe me some commission - I could have sold 25 of your boards last week!).
It is a hard and tiring week, from dragging all your stock and props up two flights, to keeping your legs crossed waiting for an opportune moment to dash to the loo!
It was touch and go when we were loading up as to whether we would have to jettison some of our props, as despite having empty bags, in the rush to load the car it didn't all quite fit in the way it had when we loaded it at home! Resulting in me having to sit with the stool around my head, two bags under my feet and one on my lap - really pleased when it took ages getting out of town due to some major football match.
As always after such a hectic week, as soon as you stop your body says it needs a rest - so I am currently sneezing and sniffling at my desk! Needless to say the dog has left the room in protest to avoid the germs!
Very annoyed as I haven't had the energy to train with Sharon at BFFA this week, so missing my weekly aggression vent as well as gossip catch up!They are about to launch their new look and revamp the dojo which will look fantastic!

The only down side to being self employed is there is no one to do your work whilst you are away - although I have to admit my husband did a sterling job last week sending out orders whilst I was away, and I've not had any complaints so they must have been ok!!!

But we still have over 50 swatch cards to send out, newsletter to finish, and the horrible accounts so I'd better get on with it!

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!

Stratford Food Festival

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

It's prep time again this week for our next show - The Stratford Food Festival which is taking place in the heart of Stratford Upon Avon. On for 3 days - Fri / Sat / Sun, from 9 - 5.30, it promises to be a great show.
I spent a few hours this morning making up new hampers ready, as well as some of our new mini hampers. Our beeswax pots look like lovely egg yolks when they are nestling in the wood straw. The wood straw is a bit lethal though, as you do tend to get a few bits digging into your fingers when you try to rip it from the bale. Gert has got very intolerant of me doing anything other than sitting at my desk, and leaves the office in a huff as soon as I start rustling. Needless to say she was not a fan of the hairdryer when I was shrink wrapping the cellophane.
After our mini eco break at The Scarlet last week, my session with Sharon at BFFA I know is not going to be easy this week - it's not that I've been taking it easy - shovelling gravel does wonders for your abs and biceps, but I know I am woefully unprepared for my forms.
As you know I like to share any online gems I come across, and I was very impressed by the service I got recently from The Big Plant Nursery, in West Sussex. I was after 3 architecturally shaped plants, (I don't do names!), so I picked out a few I liked the look of on their website. The exact ones I chose were not in stock at the time, but they quickly sent me pics of the exact plants they could send me, complete with model(ok the bloke who had dug them up!). They arrived within a few days, and they've even managed to survive my adhoc plant care!
So check out their website if you ever need instant gardening: www.bigplantnursery.co.uk

Indian Summer

Image by Joriel "Joz" Jimenez via Flickr

Will we, won't we?? Everywhere I go, people gather to talk excitedly about....wait for it...the weather??? Ok, I know summer wasn't quite what was promised, but the excitement that a few days sun shine provokes is quite amazing.
I'm very pleased about the weather for a different reason, as it means that the brickies can crack on with the walls at the front of the house. I'm looking forward to the day, when instead of the battle of the Somme, I have a nice landscaped view!
I had a quick trip to the Autumn Gift Fair in Birmingham yesterday, mainly to see Nicola Wilkes, from Wales At Home give a presentation on trends for the next season. She did a really good presentation, and managed to keep going despite tannoy interruptions, and even a nearby stand collapsing. (Apparently some poor soul was trapped under the stand and knocked unconscious - mental note to self to check Ochre And Ocre's stand for the Good Food Show at the NEC is well secured!).
I had a quick whizz around, and caught up with some of our suppliers, and it was a chance to see what was new.
I had to rush back to take the estate agents, "show over" lady around the house, so she can take prospective buyers around. It is quite a strange situation, as you are selling your house, but when you walk around with someone pointing out all the nice bits, you do start to wonder, why I am moving again!
It is my 4th session at BFFA this morning - I find it is a really good way to switch off from everything and just focus for an hour on remembering the forms and just trying to breathe!

Happy Hampers!

I spent a few hours photographing our new Ochre And Ocre hampers today - you wouldn't think taking pictures of inanimate objects would be so difficult! Also trying to make soft textiles look good next to a box is not easy. I tried looking for inspiration on the web, but most hampers seemed to be filled with packets, cartons and bottles, and to be honest with you are fairly uninspiring. So you never know - maybe our new take on hampers with hit the mark!
I've got my third personal training session at BFFA tomorrow - after a week of a an annoying chest infection, I'm hoping I can keep up the pace. Especially as Sharon has had a week off, so she will be bouncier than ever.
The most exciting news of all though is that we are off to see U2 in Cardiff this weekend - I can't wait!

Rain, and yet more rain....

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Ochre & Ocre are taking a stand at Burwarton show this week - (Thursday). I just hope that it stops raining, otherwise we will be swimming to the marquee. We are there under the Wire umbrella. Our good friend Jo Verity is exhibiting as well - so it will be a chance to catch up if nothing else. She has been adding some really cool interior pieces to her range recently - check out her website to see her new ranges.

Keep an eye out for our newsletter later on this week - we have managed to secure a fantastic subscriber offer from Sage - Inspired by Life. I was so impressed by my recent purchase from their site - we approached them to see if they would be interested in running an offer for our newsletter subscribers. They have agreed to offer our subscribers an amazing 20% off. Well worth checking out - and even getting some very cool and unique gifts stashed ready for birthdays and Christmas.

It is with some trepidation that I approach my next training session at BFFA with Sharon. It was only 5 days later that I could start to walk normally, as opposed to a John Wayne walk. I just hope this week is less severe, otherwise setting up for Burwarton show may be more of a challenge than expected!

No Pain, No Gain

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This is going to hurt...I know if my legs are starting to ache now, only an hour after my first session, tomorrow is going to be really bad!
It was of course my first personal training session, with the very bouncy Sharon, from the BFFA team, in Bromsgrove. I had been feeling like my daily routine of gym sessions were getting mundane, and whilst they provide good thinking time, I still wasn't really switching off from Ochre & Ocre. So I bit the bullet and booked in with Sharon. Although they are essentially Martial Arts instructors, a lot of the techniques and moves can be used to improve your general fitness, posture etc, without the need for bruise inducing combat. Sharon is the better half of Andy Hopwood, a name you might well be hearing more of on your tv screens soon, I will keep you posted. Sharon as well as teaching at BFFA in Bromsgrove, has written childrens books, and is looking for a literary agent for her adult book, so another name to watch out for!
However, that doesn't mean I won't be tempted to practice a few moves on my other half - after all it was whilst I was practicing my Jiu Jitsu on my housemates at Uni, that we got together.
You certainly have to concentrate - and at least for one hour the world of Ochre & Ocre seemed far away! And its great fun learning to throw proper punches and kick.
It's now back to reality, and the day job. The beekeeper dropped off the new terracotta pots filled with beeswax yesterday, so I just need the right light to try to get some pics done. The hand wash and hand lotion are ready and waiting for their labels - I finally found a great supplier called Borble, who can do a really nice laminated label that will be waterproof.
I just now need to see if I can move from this chair - but it is very comfy....maybe I'll just stay here a bit!

More Press Coverage

Our cut flowers are certainly getting lots of attention, as they have now appeared on the Wales At Home website, under the coolly titled article, "Eco Flower Power". Those of you who haven't yet signed up for the sites weekly newsletter are missing out, as not only are there lots of great articles on interior design, you can also get special offers and discounts on lots of high street and more exclusive interior Homeware stores.
The Sheerluxe conference was really interesting, and I met some other lovely online retailers, so it was great to swap stories and pick up tips. The only problem is I came away with so many ideas, its hard to know what to do first.
Those of you wondering how Paul got on with his BFFA Dan grading, will be pleased to hear he passed, but I am even more pleased as it means we can now get on with finishing the house! We are going to look round two properties tomorrow, which look interesting, so I will keep you posted.

Press Coverage for Ochre & Ocre

Image by pixelized via Flickr

It is great that our new additions to the Ochre & Ocre range are getting some press coverage:
our lovely British cut flowers have made the press again this week - this time in the fun online magazine Daisy Green. Our Handcrafted Gifts range is also featured in this months Gloucestershire Preview.

No shows this weekend - but Paul has his Dan grading on Sunday, with the BFFA, (British Free Fighting Association), so we will be holding our breath until that is over!
I have threatened to turn up with Gert dressed as a cheerleader, but he was not very impressed - I don't know why, I thought she would look very cute in a ra ra skirt!

Online Shopping

The trouble with this self employed lark is that it is very hard to not think about Ochre And Ocre / Switch off and generally have some down time - hence its Sunday afternoon, and I'm updating this blog!
It may also due to the fact that my husband, is away this weekend, following yet another of his "mid life crises"! This weekend it is navigating at a speedboat race somewhere in North Wales. Ok - I could have gone to watch, but I'm still scarred by memories of freezing to death at Liverpool docks - husband nowhere in site, as he's hanging around with his other mistress somewhere, (caressing her prop that kind of thing!!). I know its good to have hobbies, the fact that his other hobby is beating people up, (well ok self defence, aka free fighting), he always seems to be coming home with some injury or other! Apparently it is a cut hand this weekend....
So what's a girl to do? I need to get my own hobby - apart from trawling the net for inspiration for hours / aka shopping online...
Now the need for me to learn french has passed - I'm keen to pick up my Italian again - although I seemed to pick it up best whilst bombing up and down the M1 to work, at 90mph.
Or I could do dressmaking again - I did a quick costing exercise yesterday, (occupational habit), and worked out I would be better buying the dress I love at Boden rather than making it! Fabric is so expensive - I do have some Ochre fabric left from making curtains, but I don't really want to look like a well upholstered sofa...
So why am I surfing on a Sunday night - its my new way of comp shopping - I'm forever tearing a page out of a magazine to check out a new website. My latest find is some really gorgeous interior fabric and wallpaper from Sarah Hardaker. Ex Osbourne and Little / Habitat, she has added a contemporary twist to some classic ideas. Even better is the fact that her fabric is printed here in the UK. Check out her website at www.sarahhardaker.co.uk. The only problem looking at lovely interior ideas like Sarah's you end up wanting to redo / build a new house....perhaps that is the hobby I am missing!!

It's good to share

I feel like I must have learnt something over the last few months since setting up Ochre & Ocre - certainly about SEO and website marketing. The fact I even use the acronym SEO now, as opposed to those not in the know who say "what?" when I say that's what I spend an awful lot of time doing!
(Ok- it means Search Engine optimisation!)
I've attended a few free courses over at Warwick University, and also one run by Anne Hallam which was excellent - and I can now help others and share my knowledge.
The one really nice thing about being a small business is helping other small businesses and trying to share what knowledge you have picked up - to hopefully make it easier for someone else.
It's a philosophy I've picked up from the cool team at Blue Earth Solutions, who created the website for Ochre And Ocre, who are always willing to give their advice - and not charge!
I spent the morning helping Sharon relook at her site - www.bffa.org.uk, as it was built a few years ago now, and using some of the simple things I've picked up on the courses to remarket it.
I know I'm no expert - not geeky enough! - but some of the SEO stuff is quite fun - as you feel like you're cracking a code. (Did I say I wasn't geeky?)
I love that warm fluffy feeling you get from helping other people - I'm a great believer in Karma - and in doing good, hopefully good will happen to me!
More about spreading the love tomorrow -as I'm already getting feedback from the new Ochre & Ocre newsletter which is great!