Blog
April 24th, 2012
Tonight myself, my other half and the teen set off for something to eat at Frankie & Benny’s at Teesside Park. It was packed out with diners but they had a table available & our order was taken and we sat waiting for our food to arrive. To be honest it was quite a long wait and we were becoming quite restless and very hungry! Suddenly the fire alarm started to ring and along with everyone else we started to look around to see what the problem was. A member of staff opened a door and what looked like smoke poured out of the room but it transpired quite quickly it was steam. The dishwasher had flooded the room and staem had set of the alarm and no one knew how to disconnect it.
At this point our food arrived and whilst I was desperate to leave the teen was desperate to eat & so we sat and ate with the fire alarm screaming around us! Diners who hadn’t received their food at that point left very quickly & only our table and a couple of others remained. I have to offer up praise to the staff who kept us informed throughout and were extremely apologetic.
The outcome: No such thing as a free meal? Well we were given our meal completely free and also given a voucher for another free meal for the three of us to use. Excellent customer service and a meal we won’t forget in a hurry!
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April 24th, 2012
Today is National Stationery Day! Now I’m not sure who comes up with these themed days but I have to say I love this one as it allows me to wallow in my love of stationery. I don’t like generalising but I have a feeling not many blokes get that excited over stationery but I know lots of women who just love it. 
To be able to wander through the likes of Paperchase or the stationery in Liberty’s is just heavenly. The vibrant, quirky and captivating range of notebooks, pencils, pens, files etc is every stationery addicts dream. 
Over the years I have collected nu
merous notebooks that I know I will never use but they look simply gorgeous stacked up. I also have a soft spot for pencils and some of my favourite stationery is from the Classic Penguin book collection as it combines two of my loves, reading and stationery.
Tags: books, diary, expander file, files, journals, notebook, pencils, recipe files, Stationery
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April 17th, 2012
Recently there has been a lot of local press and national press with regards to the phantom knitter of Saltburn who has produced an amazing50 metreknitted representation of this year’s Olympic Games. So I decided I would go off and take a look at what everyone is talking about and I arrived on a glorious sunnyYorkshiremorning, along with my partner & Custard the dog. We could see as we were parking the crowds building up on the pier where the knitting had been attached in the dead of night. People still don’t know who produced this piece of artwork, and whether it is the work of a solo knitter or a team effort. To have stitched all the50 metresof knitting into place on the hand rail of the pier must have taken ages. 
Firstly we took Custard for a walk along the gorgeous sands of Saltburn and by the time we returned the crowds had grown significantly. We walked onto the pier not really knowing what to expect but by the time we left we were smiling and full of admiration for the person/s that had produced a wonderful piece of textile art. The hours of work that must have gone into knitting was obvious to everyone. People of all ages were talking animatedly about the work and many photos were being taken. 
What I really love about this is that someone has gone to a lot of effort to bring pleasure to so many people. I wonder if they had any idea of the impact this guerrilla knitting would have and how much joy it would bring. So many things are organised by the local councils, groups etc who can only dream of a response like this and I say bravo to the local council who have left the artwork in place for everyone to enjoy. 
Tags: Gueriila Knitting, knitting, London 2012, olympics, Saltburn, sport
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February 14th, 2012
Whitby is a gorgeous north east coastal town that isn’t very far from the office and from my home so I love to drive across the moors for a visit. So when I spied these gorgeous ceramics at the Top Drawer trade show in London I knew I wanted to sell them.
The range is called Whitby and the design evokes the stormy & chilly North Sea and the design captures the movement of the sea. 
The range features all you would need for those afternoon tea purposes & includes, mugs, tea cups and saucers, side plates and a simply stunning cake stand.
Tags: afternoon tea, anchors, cake plates, cake stand, coastal, fishing boats, lighthouse, mugs, North Yorkshire, seagulls, seaside, side plates, tea cups and saucers, whitby
Posted in Just Arrived, Kitchen & Dining | No Comments »
October 16th, 2011
One of my loves in life is art, modern art to be more exact. I know it’s not everybody’s cup of tea but ever since my first visit to Tate Modern I fell in love with modern art. Up to that point my understanding of art had been stuffy portraits, sea battles and terribly dull landscapes and they just didn’t hold any appeal for me. My first loves were Mark Rothko, Tracy Emin, Anthony Gormley and Jackson Pollock. For the first time ever I felt moved by a piece of art. I felt it talking it to me and it resonated something within me that I had never experienced through art. 
I know a lot of people like to just scoff at modern art and to be honest I don’t understand a lot about it but I do know lots of it has an effect on me. I am very fortunate to live not too far from the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and have spent many a happy day wondering around the gorgeous grounds & admiring such a diverse amount of sculpture. 
Another favourite haunt is The Baltic in Newcastle which has staged some great shows and of course is hosting the Turner Prize very soon. And of course being based in the North East on a regular basis I get to see The Angel of The North which I love just for it’s sheer scale. Public art is one area of life that I think should be encouraged as it brings something special to towns and cities that always get people thinking and lifts your day out of the mundane.
Tags: angel of the north, anthony gormley, art. modern art, jackson pollock, newcastle, tate modern, the baltic, tracy emin
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September 16th, 2011
Not too long ago we started to stock bunting products which are designed and made in the UK by a fabulous designer, Gabrielle Treanor. Gabrielle has a combined love for gorgeous and eco friendly products using FSC certified paper for her designs which are made in an ethical and environmentally-friendly way in her garden studio in Surrey. The bunting has proved to be very popular and her Wedding Wildflower Paper Heart Bunting is a firm favourite. 
A few weeks ago we approached Gabrielle and asked her if she would be happy to produce a product just for us and the most obvious thing we wanted was penguin bunting! We gave Gabrielle a very vague (!) design brief and when we saw her idea we were absolutely thrilled with it. We love the design of the penguins and the colour range is gorgeous. The bunting will be exclusive to us and we think it will be loved by penguin lovers far and wide.
Tags: bunting, eco friendly, new arrivals, paper bunting, penguin, penguin bunting, penguins
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August 23rd, 2011
We absolutely love these new additions to our shop. The ‘Pintie’ Milk Jugs are creatively upcycled from used, vintage milk bottles. Each and every jug has been hand crafted and manipulated using the highest levels of glass-making skills. The bottles for these jugs have been sourced from garages, lofts and sheds from households throughout Devon. They are available in a range of decal designs from the 1980′s, including Kellogg’s Cornflakes, Ready Brek, Weetabix, local dairies, Crusha Milkshake, Typhoo Tea, PG Tips and many others. 
The company that produces these gorgeoius products is an environmentally aware glass-making company that specialises in unique, handcrafted recycled glassware. Their fundamental ethos is to make the upcycling of a used glass bottle as environmentally friendly as possible – to transform a waste consumer container, destined for landfill, into a desirable and contemporary glassware product with a definite and purposeful eco stance.
There are just so many to choose from I don’t know which one I love the most!
Tags: breakfast, cornflakes, dairies, eco friendly, environmentally friendly, jug, made in the uk, pinties, recycled, recycled glass
Posted in Just Arrived, Kitchen & Dining | No Comments »
August 16th, 2011
Do you think there is such a condition as social media burnout? Companies these days are told you need to be on Facebook, you need to be on Twitter, you need to be doing a blog, and now google+ has arrived on the scene I just feel a little overwhelmed by it all. I also have a feeling it’s not going to stop there. Do our customers really care whether we tweet, blog, + and follow things or are they just concerned with finding the ideal product at the ideal price? Part of me thinks it’s my age (!) and the fast changing nature of internet selling can seem a little overwhelming at times. That’s why I am so pleased to have on board a fantastic website company who keep us up to date with all the latest developments and bring about the changes we need as a company. Our next move with them is to get our mcommerce site up and running. 
It’s not all a big chore though. The really positive thing I have gained from Twitter is fabulous new suppliers. There are some really talented artists, designer & product makers who are working so hard to bring their products to market and Twitter helps them to find a voice and a following. The smaller designers bring something fresh and extremely appealing to our website and I love the fact they are designed and made in the UK. The other positive thing I’ve gained from Twitter is support when you are having a tough day or just feeling a little low. Someone always comes along and offers you a much needed virtual cup of tea and a few wise words!
I think the reality for me is some days I love it and other days it’s a chore. Now time for that cup of tea! 
Tags: blog, Facebook, google+, mcommerce, social media, twitter
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July 22nd, 2011
A new area in the gift range market we are moving into is jewellery. It’s always a bit of a risky prospect starting to sell something you’ve never sold before. You are not sure whether it’s a product your customers expect or want to see but we felt it was a range we could offer something a little special in. We approached the young designer Alyssa Smith about stocking some of her range because her beautiful handmade pieces stood out from the mass produced items on offer from retailers. 
Handcrafted to the highest quality in her Hertfordshire studio, she creates a range of stunning and unique jewellery in silver, gold and gemstones. Her jewellery is loved and worn by women and celebrities around the globe, so you will be sure to discover a little luxury that you will treasure forever in our great jewellery collection. Each hand-made piece of jewellery comes in a beautifully gift wrapped in a box with decorative ribbons.
Tags: bangle, bracelet, earrings, gemstones, gifts for her, handcrafted, jewellery, necklace, silver
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July 15th, 2011
Sunday sees us off to the Home & Gift show in Harrogate to have a look for new products and suppliers for the gifted penguin. I really enjoy trade fairs (I suppose that’s why I’m the buyer!) enjoy meeting suppliers and I enjoy the challenge of buying the right type of products for our site. I don’t always get it right & to be honest I don’t believe I am any different to any other buyer, otherwise there would never be sales. Over the past couple of years I have seen a proliferation in the number of people setting up ecommerce sites and the never ending growth of ebay sellers, some of whom don’t seem to have a basic grasp of the fact that turnover doesn’t equal profit! All of this brings a challenge to any existing company and so the key is to be ahead of the game with your purchasing and also look outside of the trade fair option of purchasing. I have been exploring new routes to finding suppliers of unusual and quality goods and will continue to do so. I have people contact me directly and I am always happy to take a look and am often amazed at the extremely talented people out there trying to build and establish themselves. There a number of key issues that I keep in mind when I purchase apart from the obvious one, cost(!), and the main one is what do our customers want to see on the site? What do they hope to find when they hunt for that key home accessory or that perfect gift?
I shall let you know how the trade fair pans out but just to let you know we have a great new product coming in soon that we are really excited about and it’s British made which is great.
Tags: buying, Harrogate, Home & Gift, new arrivals, products, trade fair
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