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!

Lunch At Baileys

Today was one of those days where it felt great to be self employed, as I got to meet Nicky, from Wales at Home for lunch at Baileys. For those of you who don't know Baileys, I would thoroughly recommend a visit. They are based just outside Ross On Wye, and have the most wonderful eclectic collection of home and garden "things!". From beautiful kitchen pots and dishes, vintage lights, and some very lovely galvanised kitchen stools, that I love, but don't have anywhere to put, it is a real home emporium. I managed to get away with buying two candles and some pencils - but I could easily have spent more.
It was also lovely to catch up with Nicky, as we "chat" by email a lot, but seldom meet up. Nicky wears many hats, from interior stylist, to journalist, as well as being the owner of the very stylish Wales At Home website. She also guest blogs on a number of other sites including My Deco. The ironic thing is that although we are both self employed, we rarely get the chance to go out for lunch, so it felt like a real treat.

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.

Sheer Luxe Conference

I am very excited to be attending the SheerLuxe conference this week, in Fulham. Titled "Gearing up for Christmas", it is aimed at online businesses, and covers a wide range of topics from some top industry pundits. I'm hoping to pick up some tips, as well as do some essential networking. There is a really interesting mix of people attending, from fashion companies, to homewares and food.

We have had more press coverage this month for our Cut Flower Bouquets. In the Western Mail Home section, our bouquets were recommended by Design Guru, Nicola Wilkes, as the answer to eco friendly and stylish flowers. Nicola runs a great interiors website, with large and small companies, as well as design advice, and news on the latest trends. go to www.WalesAtHome.co.uk to see more.
We have also been selected as Editors choice in the Gloucestershire Preview, summer edition, for our handcrafted wooden napkin rings.

I've had a preview of our house pictures, that David Giles took a few weeks ago, and they look fantastic. Our house looks so big and light, fingers crossed a magazine is interested. I also managed to get a few tips off David regarding photography, which I will put to the test next week, when, hopefully weather permitting I will be doing some wedding pictures in Kim's garden. Kim has a gorgeous garden, as you would expect from someone who sells lavender plants for a living. Check out her website, she has over 60 different varieties of lavender!