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!

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 numerous 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.