Saturday 31 March 2012

Home sweet home.. inspiration, and other bloggers..

Much as I liked going to the Country Living Spring Fair in London, there is no place like the countryside itself once Spring arrives, and I super glad to be in the countryside with everything bursting into flower.
There is just nothing like it!
A nice walk in the countryside is definitely a good way to re-charge your batteries and there is so much to see..the first dandelion...

and then this lovely flower...broccoli I thought :-)

..but seen in the field where some are already flowering,you can tell it will be a whole filed of bright yellow, so this is rape seed, my dear friends ..I was so wrong there with the broccoli, hahaha.

I would not mind having a wallpaper that would be exactly like this, wouldn't you?


I feel very inspired by all that I have seen on the Country Living Spring Fair and have found a few really interesting blogs of fellow standholders which I can really recommend.
One , the Sea Garden, had such a stunning display that is has really made me think about how to plan your stand( instead of paiting the walls just plain white )..They painstakingly pinned the whole wall of their stand ( and quite big too) with old maps, pages from old books, old texts and old prints of flowers.It was magical ! Their blog is called A Mermaid's Tale.You must go and have a look.
You can read their experiences about the fair here and also see some of their work, their stand and their display.

                                              copyright and source picture The Mermaid'sTale
Just amazing, and if I had not gone to the show I probably would never have seen them, as they are based far away, in Cornwall.
Another blogger, whom I did not meet in person, but did "meet" through her blogpost about the Country Living Spring Fair, is Ali from Message in a teacup-Tales from Betty and Violet.
As I had a stand myself, I did not have much time to look at other stands, but I did pass by a stand that I loved with vintage embroidery, that Ali wrote about in her blogpost, from standholder Chloe Antiques or Chloe Vintage.
Such gorgeous cushions!

                          copyright and source picture Message in a teacup-Tales from Betty and Violet.

As we are so lucky with the glorious weather we are having right now it's fabulous to be able to relax in the garden with a nice coffee..and to ponder on all these creative people and their inspiring work...
                                             

And go for lots of walks....to relax and be inspired....there is nothing like a little walk in the countryside...


and if no-one is coming..then Maud will simply go on her own .Don't you just love this little bottom ;-)

Have a great weekend!
XOXO
Bea



                                                                  

Tuesday 27 March 2012

The fabulous adventure of the Country Living Spring Fair in London

Phew!I am sure you would love to know a little bit about the The Country Living Spring Fair in London last week and how it all went...It was a very busy week last week- and pretty exciting! ...The fair was pretty packed and super busy.There were more browsers than buyers and the fair had even been busier last year ..:-( I guess it's the recession which bites all of us ! )  ... but overall it was quite an exhilirating experience !!
Here's the fabulous architecture of St Pancras station near which we were staying...I just love the architecture in London, it's so amazing and impressive.
And here below is my stand for My Aunt Agatha on the Country Living Spring fair.


I am very glad I went and explored the Top Drawer Trade fair in January in London , as it showed me a stand without spotlights really does not stand out enough- so I decided to go for two spotlights .



Here below you see a bit of the hustle and bustle of the fair, it's sometimes a real stampede of people! And the fashion and the accessories the ladies are wearing are really something else- a real pleasure to look at!Not for nothing they call London the fashion capital of the world! 
I would not have been able to do the show without my fabulous and supportive mother-in-law to be, Theresa.
She decided to come with me at the spur of the moment when I , at the last minute realised that just manning one stand all by yourself could actually be quite difficult- as when you have to leave the stand for a break, or to chase things up.What a woman !

She was just so great to have around, as she has a great sense of humour, a good business sense and a super sweet disposition- and she is great with people.
We had some great and fun people around us on the stands in the same area,all with fabulous products.
We were right opposite Zinnia Shoes.



Aww!! Aren't these fabulous?I have stood opposite these shoes the whole show and I can't tell you how hard it was to resist them and how people love these!!You must check out their website!!Nagi, the fabulous chap who runs the business, was super and so supportive as this was my first year and he was full of handy and insightful tips about pricing, body langauage and running a business.It just makes the whole thing so enjoyable when you have great people around.
Next to me was Whinberry and Antler
I was so impressed as this was their first show and the stand looked super and had loads of sales and interest.
It was all really lovely with a rustic feel and so very well done.I think they did spectacularly well.

Then at the end of the row was St Gabriels , run by a lovely girl called Miranda.The stand was amazing and super clever , and the bags were just fabulous! You really must have a look and check out their website- this picture is a bit too small to get an idea.

Right next to us were two girls with their fabulous fake flowers, but sadly their business, "Funky Bunch" does not have a website yet!
To sum up the Country Living Spring Fair : not as many sales as I would wish- but that seems to be the case with others as well... but on the first day, and on Saturday, a lot of interest from the press, - about 4 journalist took my details and my card ( although you never know if this may come to anything but we will see..).. and some trade enquiries too, and some sales...so not too bad :-)

Here are some of my bestsellers at the fair by the way :
 
                                                                   and

                                                                           and ( Cafetiere warmer )

                                                                           and
                                                     


You can find all these on the My Aunt Agatha shop here


Sunday was a crazy busy day at the Country Living fair with people queueing around the block.... and in the evening the great surprise of being visited by the assistant editor for the "Home" section of the Evening Standard who wants to write about My Aunt Agatha ..AND a visit from the lovely lady from Country Living Magazine who would like to feature me in the "Emporium" pages.....!!!!! Yippee!!

I think it's time for a cup of tea and a relaxing evening in the garden after all the hustle and bustle in London,as the Spring weather has arrived while I was away..and then tomorrow we start with new plans and new designs!
Have a great week!
XOXO
Bea 


PS I just noticed there was already some coverage about My Aunt Agatha, in a review on the Sewing Directory Website..here is the link in case you would like to take a look!

Thursday 15 March 2012

Preparations ...



Phew! I can't believe I have neglected all your lovely people for so long, but I have been head down making stock for the Country Living Spring Fair show next week , so here are a few shots with apologies !!
 ..some embroidered hearts....


And some more Spring -themed ones...can't wait to get back into the garden !!

Some snowdrops to keep in Spring mood :-)


..cute little child's aprons and some more embroidered hearts..and of course there will be loads more on the show like tea cosies, oven gloves,laundry bags and all kind of pretty things ;-)


..and this is what I would like to say to all my lovely followers for keep on hanging on :-) : " Thank you, darling ! "



Hope you have a great week this week and .. keep your fingers crossed for me for next week!!
XOXO 
Bea