Monica's Unite!

Image via WikipediaHands up all you Monica's out there - there are a lot of you I know, sometimes closet Monica's, some who are very much out there! For those of you wondering what I'm talking about, Monica is a character of the US sitcom Friends, who likes to clean, some say even finds it therapeutic. I have to admit to having Monica like leanings, which is why I am finding it really hard at the moment. With the arrival of Baby Ochre I was willing to let standards slip slightly - but with builders, plumbers and plasterers in every room of the house bar one, I feel like I am coming out in a rash due to the need to hoover and polish. We are now hopefully on countdown, signalled by the plasterers being here, but unfortunately with plastering comes that fine white dust that hovers in the air and settles everywhere, white footprints up and down the stairs, plus the odd bit of old render which has been pulled off the wall, dragged through the house and dropped down the stairs.
Everyday I think, "maybe I'll get the hoover out this morning, whilst the baby sleeps", then by mid day I've given up, slumping into despair at the state of the house. I'm also a Barefoot Monica, normally I wander around the house barefoot, bliss after wearing heels in my previous life. But a few well placed splinters, and bits of cement have soon put paid to that; instead of my bohemian feet, they are more slumdog. I know, I know it will be worth it in the end - but it seems to never come at the moment!
If you are a Monica, and feel the need, the need to clean, you will be more than welcome to help when we are done!

Visitors

We have had lots of visitors to Ochre And Ocre HQ recently; as well as the numerous well wishers for Baby Ochre, there have been some of the winged variety.
We were surprised to come across a swarm of bees that had decided to make their home in the end of a roll of fencing wire in our orchard. Fortunately we have a friendly local beekeeper, who came to investigate. It turns out the bees were probably from one of the pollinating hives on a nearby field of oil seed rape. Unfortunately the Queen Bee was no where in sight, and without their queen the swarm was slowly dying, and there was nothing that could be done to help them. The bees were tipped onto the grass and as the beekeeper rather quaintly put it, they could go back into the life cycle as bird feed. Later on that evening the orchard was filled with 100's of little songbirds eating up the bees.
Apologies for the poor image but Baby Ochre and I were advised to stay well back whilst the bee keeper investigated.

Also recently arrived are our own mini flock of sheep and lambs; whose main employment is to eat the grass in the orchard, thus saving time mowing. (We are very keen for any time saving schemes at the moment!). The lambs are at an age when they are just starting to play independently from their mums, and have spent the first few days roaming their new home, checking out all the places to hide and jump off!

With all the sun and rain we are having at the moment everything seems to be growing very quickly - Baby Ochre is nearly out of his newborn sleepsuits, and our veg plot is quickly filling up with radishes and lettuce. If only our new kitchen extension would grow so quickly!

Baby Ochre

I think I have a fairly good excuse for not updating my blog for nearly a month - we were somewhat taken by surprise by the early arrival of Baby Ochre. 4 weeks early, and weighing in at a light 5lb 8oz, our daily routine has been slightly disrupted.

Fortunately he sleeps most of the day, unfortunately not much at night time. So although I have peace to sort things out in the office, make calls and pack orders during the daytime, lack of sleep is making it hard to concentrate, and stay awake!
I know the common advice given is to sleep during the day, but unfortunately it wasn't just us who were caught out by the early arrivals, the builders were still in full demolishing mode, so during the day jack hammers, steel saws and cement mixers whirl. Whilst Baby Ochre seems blissfully unaware, and snores away softly, I cannot sleep through the noise. So instead I blurringly try to continue with my daily jobs, inbetween feeding, nappy changing, and making countless cups of tea for the builders.
Once again our lovely customers have been very understanding, and patiently leaving phone messages with the answer service, so that I can call them back when I have a free hand, (I quickly realised I couldn't hold the phone, baby and write at the same time!). I also had to time the calls in between the power tools, so I could at least hear the customer at the other end of the line!
I know when it's all done it will be fab - I'm hoping it will be ready in time for an Autumn photoshoot with the lovely Miss Spivey, so we can shoot the new ranges for our Spring brochure. In the meantime I am getting quite adept at cooking on a single ring camping stove, and typing one handed as Baby Ochre snores softly in the crook of my arm.

Spring babies

Spring has well and truly sprung in the Malverns -  we currently have the cutest pair of baby rabbits living under our store. They race up and down the drive, nibbling the weeds, and generally looking cute. I know if they appeared near my newly planted veg patch I wouldn't be quite so keen on them.
The lambs are also roaming the common. We had a bunch hanging around our gate last night - they've got to that age where they are more confident and cheeky; racing each other up and down the hills, and trying their luck at getting into our garden!

There are lots of baby calves too, all gangly legs, and completely fearless when it comes to road sense! Once again my daily trip to the Post Office has become a game of chicken. They tend to wait until you are almost driving past them, before making a bolt across the road.
Even the pigeons are at it -there was a very cute pair necking on the fence last night.
We are also on our own countdown for Baby Ochre, suddenly it's no longer a distant date, but a fast approaching reality! But sitting in my office, looking out at the blossom on the trees, and the Malvern hills, it's a pretty cool place for a baby to be brought up. 

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!

Spring Has Sprung!

Loads has happened since my last post in the world of Ochre And Ocre. Our shiny new brochure was sent out last week. I was fortunate that my Mum came to visit at an opportune time, so I had an extra pair of hands to deal with the mammoth task of sticking on stamps and address labels and stuffing the brochures. It's a monotonous task, and I know there are companies you can pay to do it, but as a small company every penny counts!

The new colourways also went live online - and they have had an instant reaction which has been fab. I had expected the Isabella red to get a good response, but have been pleasantly surprised that customers have been loving the Madelaine Ochre spot as well. There are going to be some very pretty tables around this Easter, laid with our polka dot table runners and napkins.

It is especially lovely when we get notes and phone calls back from our customers saying how much they love their new deliveries - it really does give you one of those warm fuzzy feelings!
Although the NEC Spring Fair is over, the follow up work continues, and we've been busy packing up the wholesale orders, and sending them out. We are thrilled that our new ranges are going to be in so many lovely shops across the UK including, RHS Wisley, The Golden Goose in Frome, The Hen House in Southwell, Etcetera in Guernsey, Home Sweet Home in Sherbourne, Kettles in Dunkeld, Cornflower and Calico in Stroud, and Country Corner in Swanage.
We have also sent our Isabella Blue peg bags out for a promotion being run with an eco friendly washing powder  which is a great link up for Ochre And Ocre.
We are excitedly waiting for our new Melamine placemats to arrive, made in the UK, with our pretty Isabella and Madelaine designs on them, we should have just enough time to get them labelled up and packaged in time for the Country Living Spring Fair which is fast approaching.....!

Highs And Lows

If you ever want to extend your life, take a stand at a show! I find you have to exercise extreme willpower not to look at your watch during the quiet periods, otherwise you will literally find yourself counting the minutes.

That said we had a really good time at the Spring Fair in Birmingham last week. We had a record number of wholesale orders, and some really positive enquiries from retailers ranging from London department stores to Garden Centres and some lovely independent shops. I already know from last year that some of the enquiries can be real slow burners, taking months to come to fruition, but it gives us chance to manage our stock levels, as cotton prices have risen yet again, and it is getting harder to get hold of Organic Cotton yarn.
It was really nice to hear so many positive comments about our ranges from trade professionals, and it was really gratifying that so many could see the quality difference immediately.
After such a high, our week at the show ended on a sad low, with the loss of Gertrude, our gorgeous bulldog. We have had her from 8 weeks until nearly her 14th Birthday, so we are very aware how lucky we've been, and anyone who has met her will know what a character she was, always making her presence known. If you had called the office you are very likely to have had loud snoring in the background - I promise you that was Gert not me! Since I gave up my "proper job" to run Ochre And Ocre, Gert and I have spent most days together in the Ochre And Ocre office, so I have to admit to finding it a very quiet space this week. Luckily there is much to do following up from the show, catching up on office work, and sorting out stock and displays for our next big retail show, Country Living Spring Fair, keeping me occupied and my mind busy.