Fairs and Filing

There seems to be a never ending pile of admin at Ochre HQ at the moment - orders to be logged and stock updated, bills to be paid and filed, and what feels like piles and piles of paper. Although we strive to be green in all aspects of our business, we recycle, shred and reuse, and try to do as much as possible online, we still seem to end up with a desk covered in stuff.
We have occasional purges where afterwards we feel very self righteous and Monica like, then we go back into the spiral of mounting piles of stuff.
With the big Spring Fair approaching at the Nec next month, we have extra piles dotted around - piles of samples requiring ironing and labelling, paperwork that needs to be taken(more paper!), and random props - a few mannequins dotted around and a ladder!
Going from working all day in the beautiful Malverns, with stunning views and the ability to get up and stretch your legs in fresh air when ever the want takes you, to spending a very long 6 days in the NEC, with no daylight and recycled air is not something we are looking forward to - but it will be the first chance we will get to get a reaction to our new design and feedback from existing retailers of the Ochre And Ocre brand, so we are weirdly excited.
Right better get on with reducing the next pile....it's nearly the weekend!

Forward Planning

Well we survived the Country Living Spring Fair - all rather more accurately the long suffering Mr Ochre survived the fair, as I spent most of last week in hospital, proving that you don't always know what is around the corner!
He did an absolute sterling job, especially when you consider the stand was in part of the Women In Rural Enterprise (WIRE) group. A huge thank you to all the group who I know where "keeping an eye on him" through the week! Surprise sellers this year where our new Aga pads, with several orders having to be sent out after the show.

Above: Thank you to Robyn who helped out at the weekend.

With baby Ochre fast approaching, my la la la worry about it when it happens attitude has had to be a bit more focused, especially when it comes to ensuring the day to day running of Ochre And Ocre continues smoothly. Having an online business rather than bricks and mortar does mean you are more flexible, but only to the limitations of technology. So even though I had my Ipad with me, and could access emails, making phone calls and sending out orders is a bit more tricky from a hospital bed, especially with an intermittent signal. Our lovely customers were more than accommodating, and were happy to wait a few days for their orders, but it is not ideal.
Not knowing what is around the corner, has made me forward plan even more than usual; writing the bones of the monthly newsletters, (it is so hard to keep them different and not just pure marketing), planning promotions, press and our Autumn brochure, and juggling the stocks, (not too much that we are stock heavy, but enough that we can fulfill retail and wholesale orders). Once again Mr Ochre will be stepping into the breech, along with our multi skilled book keeper Amy, and I will be holding mini refresher courses on how to wrap and despatch our orders!
I've also started the long process of new designs and colourways for next Spring, knowing that the photography will need to be done early Autumn, to allow for Press and photography, it's not actually that far away.
If nothing else the past few weeks have taught me that I need to be more flexible, and dare I say it, go with the flow sometimes, a hard lesson to learn for a self confessed control freak!

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!