Shows and stuff

Ochre & Ocre were at the Stratford Food Festival for 3 days over the weekend. It is always interesting to get first hand reactions to new additions to our ranges. The Honey Handwash and hand lotion were really well received, and several people who wandered off rubbing some of the tester into their hands, came back to purchase.
Our new hampers also got a great reaction, and a few local businesses who normally send M&S hampers to their clients were pleased to find a local alternative.
Unfortunately the new Venetien Red did not make it in time, but a lot of people were thinking about Christmas already. Our Christmas gift ideas leaflet proved very popular.
Our Organic Linen Table linen drew a great response - as when you get to see and feel the quality peope really appreciate just how beautiful it is.
As always at shows you get to meet lots of interesting characters, as well as networking with other small businesses. We were opposite French Flavour - who had a lovely range of smoked garlic, sparkling cider and wines amongst other items. Look out for future collaborations on our newsletters.
We have a bit of a break from shows for a few weeks now before we get into the silly Christmas show season, with lots of charity fairs, as well as the big Good Food Show in November at the NEC.

Boxes & diggers

The normal peaceful working environment I enjoy has been shattered with the arrival of diggers / builders and rounds of tea making. I'm not complaining though - we moved in a year ago and the front badly needed to be finished. The nice thing is, that I know the lads, as we are using the same builder, Dean Manning, and they are a good bunch.
It was a bit of an unknown as to when they were going to turn up, so I had gone ahead and ordered my hamper boxes. Luckily for the delivery driver he managed to sneak into the drive in between concrete pours.
Empty boxes certainly take up a lot of room - and the wicker trays, hampers and outers are now stashed into every conceivable hiding place. I had also ordered some shrink wrap to go over the finished hampers - and I made a few up on Friday. They looked the bees knees - our American friend who was staying over the weekend, ended up taking a few of the finished sets away with him.
This week its prep for the Four Shires Show in Banbury, this Sunday. Fingers crossed the weather stays fine. I am also putting together some special offers, as it is our first birthday next week - keep an eye out for our newsletter.

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!