My month in Instagrams

This month has been a whirlwind of birthdays and a busy day job and so plenty of Instagram worthy pictures to post.  So I thought it would be good to show you an insight into my month.

I have already posted about our trip to Rock & Rose and so I won't say it again, but it was a great highlight of the month.

More food came on our visit to Renegade, when we popped into Rosa's, which has by far my favourite ever fresh spring rolls and so I always try and get a visit in at some point in my visits into London.

Then, Sammy and I took a trip to Ikea, for a few of those little bits that I just really needed for my flat - I didn't really need most of them, but thought a visit would be good.  Plus a good excuse to get some of those meatballs!  Who doesn't love a trip just for that!

This picture of my niece's holding hands, just makes me heart melt, so I couldn't resist sharing it with you.

I went to a work conference this month and we got to take a look around the new wing to the Lyric in Hammersmith, which was ace.  We also got to see a preview of their latest show, Bugsy Malone, which is one of my all time favourites and they did so well.  All of the young people involved in the production were so good and they even had the energy at the end to do some impromptu dancing to finish.

Last but by no means least, at work we had the Young Curators co-curate the Planes, Trains and Automobiles exhibition.  We got it all up and added their ideas, like a zebra crossing and Belisha Beacon, aswell as a trail and lots of fun facts around the exhibition to name just a few.  I love seeing how the Young people involved in Young Curators decide on the pictures and what they want out of an exhibition, adds a different element to the exhibitions we have.

So, a fun packed full month there.  I think I might need a big long sleep after all that lot.

H

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Make it: XO Valentines Gift Boxes

It is almost that time again where I have to engage my romantic side and come up with a gift idea for my hubby that doesn't involve my go-to Lego or Star Wars. It can be hard after 10 years together to come up with new ways to make your other half smile but I always think that the memories you share are the best way to celebrate Valentines. This year I have made my Steve a couple of little gift boxes, one filled with his fave chocolate and the other with my favourite memories of our time together.

I am going to give it to him before our traditional Shepherds pie dinner, then we can open them up and go through them all whilst we eat so we can enjoy remembering our best times together.

What are you planning for Valentines? In searching around for inspiration I found some great ideas from some of my favourite bloggers. Click over to the links to get some ideas for your loved one.
Head to Lovely Indeed for the perfect 'Galentines' prep, Sugar and Cloth for these cool Lipstick glasses, The Crafted Life for a collection of great printable Valentines cards, Oh Happy Day for these adorable crackers, Paper and Stitch for gorgeous gift bags, and Handmade Charlotte for the perfect fun dessert.

Sammy xoxo


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Hidden Treasures: Alexandra Vintage

This month's Hidden Treasure hails from Reading and is a definite favourite haunt of H's when she has a rare visit to Reading.

"Alexandra Vintage is a vintage network taking pride in its group of passionate vintage Buyers. A love for all-things vintage, Alexandra Vintage’s Buyers hand-pick pieces of vintage fashion from across the globe, offering affordable collections of quality vintage clothing & accessories for men and women."

Basically, Alexandra Vintage is a Studio in the Town Centre, where you can shop by appointment to have a browse around the rails.  They also have a great Online shop which has just recently won the National Vintage Awards 2014, so it is definitely worth a visit.

The store also got a mention in Episode 2 of Dawn O'Porter's new Channel 4 show 'This old Thing', where she introduces the virtues of Vintage to people who are normally high street junkies.

There are clothes on offer, alongside buttons, jewellery, bags, scarves, pretty much anything your vintage self could want really.  Alexandra can be found in store and handpicks everything that goes into her shop and so you know that it has been chosen.  There are even wedding dresses on offer and Alexandra can help you find something for any kind of occasion.

In an office block just around the corner from the main high street, Alexandra Vintage is a gem of a find for all you Vintage lovers, and if you can't get there, remember there is her online shop to drool over too.

I have my eye on a nice blue paisley print dress, now what to wear it to!
H

 Live, Love, Make, Like, Share, Follow, Tweet, Pin, Add, Enjoy. 

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Live it: The Makery Re-visited

When we visited Bath a few weeks ago, we just had to go visit The Makery again.  Since we last went for a visit, they have moved to larger premises and so been able to expand what they do.  Plus they now have a gorgeous bright yellow door and a rainbow staircase!

They gave us such a great welcome and let us wander around checking out all their different rooms they now have.  'The Snug' and the larger workspace were our favourites.

We also got to have a chat with the lovely owner Kate about everything that has been going on lately...

For everyone who doesn't already know how long has The Makery been a business?  and a passion?
As a business - since 2009. We got the keys to our first location just 10 days after we had our first baby! We had been planning for a couple of years at that though.
As a passion - lifelong. It sounds so cliche, but it's really in my blood. My mum, Gran and Grandma were are/were all keen seamstresses.

How has the business changed since you started your journey? 
It's changed dramatically - reading our first business plan from 2008 the direction of the company was very different. We were purely workshop-based at the beginning. Our aim was (and still is) to teach as many people the joy of crafting as possible. Over the years, we have just keep finding more and more ways of doing that. 
We've just signed a deal with a company which has licensed our brand to release a range of kits and haberdashery in the UK and internationally, which is something we would never have dreamed would happen already. We'd never have thought we'd go on Dragons Den - I mean, seriously! But it turned out to be a great move for our business and a big learning curve for us too. In fact, we'd never have dreamed about the books either really - it's all exceeded our wildest expectations!

What are your most popular workshops? And what is your best seller in the Emporium ?
The sewing workshops always sell well, and upholstery has always been popular too. I suppose it feels like a really meaty skill where you can have fun revamping furniture. In the shop, we always try and stock a beautiful range of fabrics so they're probably our best seller. And our book sells really well too!

You have just moved premises, what motivated the move?
We hadn't anticipated having 2 premises at the start, but opened the shop just a year after we opened the workshop. It used a lot of energy and resources (financial and human) running the 2 separate premises. And we just felt that it would be beneficial in so many ways to house everything under one roof. It's not been an easy road though - the amount of space we needed in a central location was a big ask! We'd been looking for over a year. It's been incredibly stressful, but our team of staff have been wonderful. 

What is your favourite space in your new building? 
Ridiculously, I love the stock room! We've never had a proper stock room before! But in terms of the space it has to be our largest workshop room. It's so large, it gives us the opportunity to host all sorts of events that we could never have dreamed of before. Things like our weekly yoga classes that we run for all our staff members too - it's truly multi-purpose!

Any new furniture favourites you have picked up for the new space?
We salvage and get donated all sorts of things, and a couple of items are favourites in the new place. Firstly, a very old display model singer sewing machine donated by our surveyor's wife. It belonged to her grandma called Maud, who was a demonstrator for Singer. It's beautiful, so has pride of place in our shop. And we've called it Maud too! Then a shop in Bath was refurbishing the other week and were throwing out their old drawers. They're beautiful - perfect for us! They are glass-fronted like old apothecary drawers. We display all our pretty buttons and ribbons in them!

Did you enjoy writing the book? How did you find the publishing process? 
I love writing the book! It's like the ultimate school project - a dream come true! Some people come in knowing about the book, others find out about it when they're here. The publishing process was great for me - I have an agent who kept on my back telling me what I needed to do and why by. She was wonderful. 

What advice would you give to someone starting their own workshop space now?
Don't underestimate the amount of work involved! You need to REALLY want to do this!
Have a clear vision of where you're going: Plan things, write them down. I modify our business plan frequently to suit our business, but it's always good to have a document that I can refer to whenever I'm having a wobble!

Some very sound advice there from Kate.  We really enjoyed our visit, all the staff we met were so very friendly and we got to meet Rufus the dog, how gorgeous is he?!  I think that having a pet around always makes a space really homely.

Have you been?  Do you have a space like this near you?  We always love finding new workshop spaces and so do let us know in the comments.

H & Sammy

Love it: Valentines

Firstly, Happy Valentine's Day!  Who will be getting all lovely today then for Valentine's Day?  Is it a flowers and hearts kind of day or more about doing something really extraordinary for each other?

We thought it might be nice to have a little moment and hear two sides of the romantic coin - although it turns out they might be quite similar after all!

H...

I am currently single but no, that does not mean that I hate Valentine's Day, it just doesn't have much of a feature in my life.  I don't buy or get anything on the day and it really just passes by without much thought.  Of course apart from the fact that every shop I go into, I am reminded that it is near!  It really doesn't help that my brother's birthday is close to the day either, as there is nothing more creepy than trying to find a card and present for your brother amid all the romantic stuff!

It's not a bitter thing, it's just the same as any other day for me.  My friends usually get a text though, but I don't go out and have a Valentines hate night, or cry into a tub of ice-cream, cos you know what it really isn't that bad!  Some single people might hate Valentines and feel sad about what they haven't got, but you know what, I have alot, I have my friends and family, my health, a job I love and to top it all I get to not feel bad about working all night on Valentines - yes really it will be that dull!

So all in all, I have always been a bit indifferent to Valentine's day with the feeling of forced romance and the over-the-top nature of it all and that's just not my view.  

I was reading an article this week in Company magazine about a woman who feels that romance has been commercialised and not actually romantic anymore and she is in a relationship, so those kind of comments aren't just for the single!  In fact my favourite bit is: 

'Candles, roses, chocolates, petals; these things are nice.  We all like a petal.  But - romantico? Christ.  Who invented this abysmal, predictable , sappy idea of romance?  And how did we become the morons who buy into it?'  Author: Afsaneh Knight.

Sammy was saying yesterday that being in a restaurant with lots of other couples fills her full of dread and I can totally relate to that.  I cannot imagine wanting to spend my evening with all the other couples, surely something a little closer to home would be nicer, a real bit of being in each others company.  Perhaps then Valentine's is for early stage couples as it could be that its the catalyst for those couples to show their true feelings for each other.  Perhaps when you get to the later stages of a relationship, it should be more about doing those romantic things all the time, not just on the one day a year when everyone else tells you to be romantic?

Sammy... 

So I am the Married one, so I should be counting down the days until Valentines... right? wrong. H is right, as I said yesterday, for me the thought of sitting in a restaurant with lots of other couples is the furthest thing from romantic. Shouldn't St Valentine's day be about sharing your love for others, not about how much money you can spend on romance? 

I am not good at remembering anniversaries, it wasn't an accident that when I choose the date for our wedding I made it the same date {two years after} we got engaged, exactly three years to the day that we met, so that I wouldn't have to remember three different anniversaries! I am also lucky that Steve and I share the same birthday, one less date to forget. He always jokes that I said to him one year as he handed me my Valentines card, and I stood there empty handed, 'But why do you need a card to tell you... I love you this much everyday' {sorry for that vomit inducing story... I have a point} It is great to have a day set aside to celebrate 'love' in all its forms, but I agree with Afsaneh's quote above money spent does not not equate to LOVE given... or received. 

My Steve always goes to a lot of effort to find me a card {note I say effort, not expense} and I always try and make him a card, and special Valentines dinner at home {shepherds pie with heart shaped mash potato topping} this years with the addition of the tray of goodies that you saw yesterday.  I often share a Valentines text with my friends and family. I am not a hater of romance, or Valentines day, but it doesn't have to be a competition on who gets the most gifts or biggest bunch of flowers. 

I am a big believer in giving your Love in time spent with your loved one, on the phone or Skype if your not together, tell them how much you love them, more importantly, tell them why you love them. It means so much more to hear it than to read it in a generic card. If you don't have a partner, phone a friend you haven't spoken to for a while, or a family member who lives far away. Valentines day is about Love.  Share it around <3

Happy Valentines Day all!

H & Sammy