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.

New Goodies

I really love it when we add new stock - as a buyer you are always looking forward to a new season, new colourways, and just something new to look at and photograph!! So it's been a great week this week, as not only did I pick up our new pure beeswax terracotta candle pots from the beekeeper this morning, but our new leather placemats also arrived!
As the Doug, the beekeeper lives over in Gloucestershire we tend to meet halfway - this time we met in the carpark of the Air Balloon, by Gloucester. We must have looked very shady, as I pulled up next to his landrover, and I loaded up the boxes of the sweet smelling honey pots.
Just after I got back, the leather placemats and coasters were dropped off - so once we had checked off the stock -I could set to and photograph them. See the results online now!
I love real leather - one of my first buyerships were I really cut my teeth was mens leather jackets, and I learnt alot about the different skins and markings. I also learnt about some of the more dodgy curing processes involved in hides from India, hence I was paricularly keen to get British leather, as the animal has had a good life and would be humanely killed, and you ge excellent quality hides. I love the fact you get stretch marks, just like humans - it all adds to the character of the skin.
The timing of the new deliveries was perfect for the show this weekend - it will be the first time anyone will have been able to try our honey hand wash and hand lotion as well - so fingers crossed for a good response. Have a great Bank Holiday!

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!

Cheltenham Food festival

Life is slowly getting back to normal, after we spent 3 days over the weekend at the Cheltenham Food Festival, with Ochre & Ocre.
We had a really great reaction to our new Organic Italian Linen range, with people really understanding the beautiful finish.
It was a really nice show, and the other exhibitors were very friendly. Our friends from Riverford Organics were there with their great value, organic veg boxes. Whilst chatting with Marc, I sampled their Italian Organic white wine, and fresh strawberries, which were yummy.
It always suprises me how much work there is after a show - it took me several hours yesterday to pack away the stock and all our shelving etc. I also had to wash and iron all the display stock, as we were quite close to crepes stand, so everything had a foody smell about it!
Our new honey handwash and hand lotion is ready to go - I just need to pull together the labelling information. The organic essential oils smell divine, with fresh lemon, basil and bergamot.