Sitting Down!

After five days at the NEC - catching up in the office today is a welcome respite for my legs!
We had a great show - after the initial hiccup of a poorly located stand.
We moved the stand from The Countryfile area to a great spot next to Debbie and Andrews sausages! Unfortunately Paul was at a meeting Thursday night, so I had to set up the stand again by myself, although Darren, and a few of his friends from the show organisers office did help me to carry the stock over.
The new location was not great for our waistlines, (yummy sausage sandwiches for breakfast), but it did mean we had a constant flow of customers, and we handed out over 500 leaflets. My lovely friend Kim, from Lavender Ladies helped me on the Thursday and Friday, so it gave us time to talk about our new project as well. (Watch this space, more info coming soon!).
We did a bit of star spotting as well - James Martin wandered by several times, as well as Adam from Countryfile, and John Craven!
We had been warned that breaking down and getting out on the Sunday night was manic, so we had a great plan to drag all of our stand and stock to the car park, rather than queuing to get into the back door. We looked more like travelling gypsies, as we left the show - with everything piled high on our trolley - but it did mean we were home by 8.30pm Sunday night, which was a big bonus.
Adriano, our lovely Portugese supplier came to stay on Monday, and we had an interesting visit to John Lewis, where he could see a lot of his ranges being sold. We took him to a local pub on the Monday night, which was quite amusing, as it has been run by a Portugese family since 1972! Adriano had been in the UK for over a week, so it was a nice break for him to be able to chat to the staff in his own language.
One day to catch up in the office, and then we are off to Cheltenham tomorrow to set up for The Food Festival. I am looking forward to it, as it is only 3 days, and after the NEC, it will seem like a breeze!

Set up & raring to go!

Phew! We certainly were not going to fit anything else in the car this morning - it was full to the brim!
As you can see from the pics above, we are now set up ready for the Good food show which starts tomorrow. At the end of last week they had sold 78k tickets, so the expected amount is 115k people.
We have a great location on a corner between the Food Theatre stage and The Country File stage, just opposite one of the cafes.
Wish us luck!

Sunday Afternnon Photoshoot

Paul & I had an unusual afternoon on Sunday doing a spot of modelling for the photoshoot of our house. Although as usual Gert was the star turn, when she could be bothered to drag herself from her box.
I had laid the table with or Organic Ochre & Ocre table linen, as well as some jugs of our Herefordshire Homegrown flowers in the different rooms.
We were lucky with the weather and the rain held off so we were able to grab some pictures outside.
The photographer was David Giles, who has done loads of interesting interior pieces, check out his website. Pat Garratt was the stylist / free lance journalist, who had first made contact with me at The Country Living Fair last March.
Paul & I have built the house in the back garden of an old cottage, that we had bought at auction a few years ago. When we bought the plot it already had planning permission - so we were able to get going quite quickly with some small amends. I was actually in Hong Kong at the time of the auction. I remember sitting in my room, watching HK harbour at about 3 in the morning, nervously waiting for the phonecall from Paul to find out where we were going to live next! He was bidding on 2 plots that evening, so it was a really nail biting time waiting to see which one, (if any!), we got.
We moved in last August, after just over a year building it - still work to be done at the front, but it is a lovely home.
Fingers crossed they are able to sell our house and story to a magazine in the near future - we will keep you posted.
Don't forget to come and see us at The Good food show if you are at the NEC this week!

Dressing Up

I suddenly realised yesterday I'd better find something appropriate to wear for the photoshoot tomorrow - so did a quick scout around my favourite websites at lunchtime, and came across a really nice range by Caro.
Described as dressing up for winding down, the edited range has some nicely cut pieces, with simple wood block prints. The ethics behind the company aren't bad either.
Working with a small factory in India, Caro has been able to build a good relationship with her team of tailors and has been keen to make sure that good working conditions are maintained. On the ground floor, a breakfast and after school club exists for local children and is funded through charitable donations. The workforce in this unit has grown as Caro has become more established and the small business has provided more employment opportunities in the area.
It is small businesses like this, that have more chance of changing peoples lives, than larger firms, who work with the bigger factories.
Anyway don't just take my word for it, check out their website, www.carolondon.co.uk

Travel Blog - Mr & Mrs Smith Boutique & Luxury Hotels

Travel Blog - Mr & Mrs Smith Boutique & Luxury Hotels

Shared via AddThis

Yet another photoshoot!

It's strange how things always seem to happen at once. I've spent the last few days trying to finish off the tickets and point of sale for the Good Food show next week.
Marc from Riverford Organics dropped me a note Tuesday night to say that they want to go ahead with the link up with their veg boxes, both in Gloucestershire and Warwickshire, which is fantastic news. I had a late night designing the leaflet we are going to use, so that Riverford can approve it.
Another call yesterday from a freelance journalist, who had come to see our house a few months ago -to possibly feature in a home mag, and she wanted to bring a photographer here on Tuesday.
Unfortunately that is our day to set up at the NEC, so we've agreed that they will come here Sunday instead.
I know my friends will say I have Monica like tendencies most of the time anyway - (I am a Virgo after all!), but even I know it is slightly crazy to iron pillowcases. I've been up since 6 this morning, cleaning windows, the oven,washing the floors...... and I've still got the garden to tackle! Plus organise the stock ready for the show - I just hope the new Organic Linen range gets here in time, now I that I have sent the press releases out!
We've had a lot of interest already for our Homegrown flowers, and were featured on Sheerluxe, Buy it today, as well as the Little Green Blog.
Fingers crossed the weather stays sunny for Sunday....

The Perfect Photoshoot

We had a brilliant time doing the pics last week, and the weather was glorious. Being Wales it was still windy, so we had to use strategically placed objects to weight the cloths down, to stop them blowing away.
I picked the flowers up from Charlie on Thursday morning, and headed straight to Peter's studio so we could do some inside pics. Peter (Joyce), is a professional photographer, I was lucky to have him photograph my wedding. I have know his daughter Glenys since primary school, so it is lovely to still be in touch.
After doing our inside pics, Paul & I headed up to Hay Bluff to do some scenic pics. Hay Festival was on, so Hay itself was quite busy. We certainly got some strange looks from the passing walkers up on the hill! We also did quite a few pics around my parents farm, it's funny how you view your home differently when you are trying to shoot product.
The new Organic Linen range does look fab - it has a really nice handle and drape, and the small stitching detail makes it quite special. It is always a relief when you see the finished samples and they are what you were hoping for! They worked really well combined with the Organic Cotton colours. I'm just waiting for the main delivery, then it will be available to order on the site.
We took the "props" with us to Aberaeron, and managed to get some nice shots overlooking Mwnt Beach.
After all the hardwork of the photoshoot we made the most of our weekend at The Harbourmaster. As always the staff there were really friendly, and the food excellent. We had the old Harbourmaster's room on the very top floor, with a dual aspect over the coast and the harbour. With the sound of the waves and the cooling sea breeze it was the perfect end to a busy week.
The flowers are now available to order online!!