The (extremely belated!) Sunday Post

Gosh, my last post was in October - I honestly can't believe it's been that long! But it just goes to show what a busy time we've had here since then. There is so much to sum up, that the best way to describe it all is in a series of photo montages! 

First up (above) - Christmas 2012... our best Christmas ever, it was frenzied but wonderful from start to finish, we had a fantastic feature (5 pages!!) in Country Homes & Interiors magazine, and rounded off the year with a wonderful snowy trip to the mountains in France with all of our family, eating and relaxing - it was pure heaven.

2013. No sooner had we landed back on UK soil and it was time to get ready for our first trade show of the year, Top Drawer. And so two weeks into January I headed off to London with our product range and props in tow, and had a lovely few days meeting buyers, interesting contacts and having early morning catch-ups with all of my 'fair friends', old and new. I eventually made it back home with a broken car and a chest infection... and then the snow arrived!

It's been a beautiful snowy week here in the Cotswolds... I have been recuperating, (my car is now fixed, yippee), making troops of egg cosies, and venturing out on treacherous trips to the Post Office! We had a lot of rain overnight, and awoke this morning to green grass and blue skies... I could almost be fooled into thinking Spring might be on the way! cx

Top Drawer S/S 2012

I arrived home from Top Drawer on Tuesday evening, exhausted but extremely happy. I don't set any targets order-wise, as you can never tell what a trade fair will bring, and especially having never done Top Drawer before, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect...

But I was far from disappointed... each day seemed to pick up pace, as stockists new (and old) came to chat to me and loved my work, and placed orders too, which was fantastic!

One of the highlights for me was meeting so many lovely people over the 3 days... twitter people you know who you are and it was fabulous to see you all again, or to meet you for the first time! Although I was ready to go home after 3 intense days (4 including setting up - a tough job when you are doing it on your own!), I was also a little bit sad, as it had been such a thoroughly enjoyable show!

Preparations...

As we busily prepare for Top Drawer, which starts this weekend (opening on Sunday to be precise), I have just realised how slack I have been with our lovely little blog of late, oops!!

What with recovering from the Christmas rush, being worn out from a succession of festive fairs, and then putting my 'designing' cap back on to decide on new lines for 2012, I'm not sure where the time has gone...

  

So until we get back from Top Drawer mid-next-week (we will be at  stand L100 if you are popping by!), here are a few sneak peeks of new items / card designs / ideas and a trial run set up snap to keep you busy til then... have a wonderful week x