The Sunday Post // we're back!

27th May - the last time I published a post on our blog. Not very impressive! But what can I say, it has so far been a beautiful summer; we've been working on lovely orders, new things for our stockists & whilst also secretly working on our Christmas range. There's been a lot going on!

If you haven't taken a look at our website recently, check it out! We are now selling gorgeous coasters & placemats, locally made & available in a lovely selection of our designs. As for Christmas, the range is very nearly ready, but we obviously can't launch it yet - August is a little early, even for me! 

So stay tuned for weekly studio & product news, Christmas launch updates & hopefully more blogging goodness (sorry again for the huge hiatus between posts) - until next time! cx

a week of launches...

HELLO and happy Sunday! This week has been a week of launches - from our new natural linen tea towels (lovely and rustic, we're so pleased with them) to our Christmas Shop! And I'm excited to say that the Christmas orders have been coming in already... yesterday was our busiest day of the year so far!

Our 2012 Christmas Shop features everything from jolly figgy pudding napkins, to tea towels, cosies and Christmas gift tags - that I started last night. Each one is hand-drawn and painted and this year I am doing three designs: robins, puddings and penguins. It was great to pack my first festive tags of the season!

This year we are also producing a range of 3 Christmas cards: Merry Christmas (below), Let it Snow and of course, Figgy Pudding. They are available individually and also in a Pack of 6, which includes 2 of each design and lovely recycled brown envelopes too. On that festive note, I am off to pack a few more cards... have a wonderful week and catch you all next Sunday! x

Home & Gift 2012

For the majority of last week we were exhibiting at the Home & Gift trade show in Harrogate. We headed north last Saturday to set up, and it doesn't matter how many trade fairs I do, being faced with the bare stand always seems a little daunting at first... but we got there!

We had a great few days, meeting new and potential stockists, as well as lovely fellow exhibitors and new friends. We even squeezed in a couple of trips to Betty's for some 'tea room blend' before the show opened in the mornings!

We are now home safe and sound and have been invoicing and sorting through post-fair admin...

...and celebrating my birthday! I was even treated to a surprise birthday chocolate cake on the last day of Home & Gift (clearly the girls I met already know me too well!), which was delicious... but back to work tomorrow, we have orders to get cracking on!

Midsummer Sale!

It's Midsummer Sale time here at CMT HQ, and we have added some one-off (or last remaining) items to our SALE page. Our spotty bunting (above) - available in either spotty teal, charcoal or blue is now only £14, and our last 2 sets of croissant napkins (below) are also £14!

We've been Jubilee and Union Jack crazy for a while now, but we've decided to add our Union Jack tea cosies to the SALE too... 

WAS £38, NOW £25!

 Our white cotton beach hut aprons are also, yep you guessed it, £14 

(bit of a price theme going on here!)

And last but by no means least... we have a couple of navy daisy tea cosies left in stock, now only £18 (£20 off!) So pop on over to our SALE page and have a browse, now is the time to stock up on birthday presents, or even to get in early for Christmas (sorry, Christmas is on the brain!)

The Sunday Post: Spring Edition

Good morning! With the arrival of snowdrops I feel it is now just about appropriate to celebrate the arrival of Spring! So I've put together a little blog post dedicated to all things 'Spring-y'... I hope you like!

I'd also like to mention the wonderful Selvedge Spring Fair, being held on Saturday 2nd April at the lovely St Augustine's Church Hall, across the road from the Selvedge shop. I am more than excited to be one of the 30 designers and makers selected for this fantastic event and had better start making in preparation! (Click on the Spring Fair banner to go to the Selvedge website for further info!)

So without further ado, here is my Spring Selection...

Croissant napkins, perfect for Spring breakfasts, inspired by some time I spent in France a few years ago and reminiscent of eating croissants and jam out in the French sunshine...

Spotty Eggs Tea Towel and co-ordinating Spotty Eggs Card - the perfect gifts to give friends this Easter or to use in your own kitchen! New additions to my range, spotty eggs are solely inspired by my favourite meal-time of the day, breakfast!!

And last but not least, my range of lovely floral cosies ~ available as a tea cosy, coffee cosy, or even an egg cosy! They look lovely dotted around the kitchen. I hope you all have a wonderful week and I'll catch up with you next Sunday! x 

41 days...

Firstly I would like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who voted for Stitch Tales in the Dorset Cereals little blog awards, the results were announced this week and to my huge surprise, I came 5TH!!! Yippee.

So there are 41 days to go til Christmas... the air is getting chilly, shops are playing Christmas music and Christmas shopping is now in full flow. So I thought I would share a few seasonal snaps with you!

Fake snow outside the Mall at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol... (it looked so real!)

Stockings, mince pies and even a sleigh, at the Country Living Christmas Fair this week...

And on a product-related note I have now added natural wine glass napkins to my napkin range, you can browse all my napkins and other products on my NEW website, I hope you enjoy it :)

less than 24 hours to go!

Good morning! Exciting news from the studio... it is less than 24 hours til the launch of my 'puddings' range for Christmas 2010. Tomorrow my website will be re-launched with all manner of Christmassy items, and even an all-new 'Christmas Shop'. I will be tweeting all about it during the day, probably quite excitedly (!) so join me if you can!

Ahead of the launch here is a sneaky snippet of info for you...

New for Christmas will be an exciting range of tea and coffee cosies, cotton napkins, a delightfully festive limited edition stocking, 'pud' egg cosies, cotton aprons (for little ones and grown-ups), linen and cotton tea towels, red stripe bunting, and of course... hand-illustrated Christmas tags :)

Here are a couple of sneaky pics to tide you over til tomorrow... x

"The Sunday Post"

I'm sitting here drinking a delicious and hearty cup of tea, this morning and as it's been a custom-design sort of week, I thought I would share with you on this sunny Sunday the bits and pieces I have made...

Top: wine glass napkins - wedding gift customised with names and added bubbles to turn my wine glasses into champagne flutes!
Below: linen 'croissant' tea towel. An entirely custom-made design, requested by a lovely lady from Cornwall.

Take a look at the commissions page on my website for further details of custom designs for weddings, anniversaries, or birthdays!

I am still ploughing my way through Home & Gift orders, and have also had a couple of post-show orders too, which is fantastic! This week more goodies have left the studio bound for The Wendy House, Kirriemuir (second order for some Christmas stock!), and Dolly's Country Larder, Cottingham, one of my lovely current stockists. Here are a couple of photos from Dolly's, see if you can spot my tea towels and cosies on the shelves!

On Wednesday I am popping down to South Devon for a little bit of coastal inspiration and sea air... I'm looking forward to crab jacket potatoes, salty hair, and line dancing, in that order of course! If you know of any exciting places/things to visit around the South Devon area I'd love to hear about them :) last year I visited the South Devon Chilli Farm and sampled some of their delicious chocolate, this year... who knows!

N.B. Keep your eyes peeled... Christmas goodies are coming to my shop soon! I'm so excited, and have been getting all festive whilst making my Christmassy items. But for now I shall have to restrain myself, more on this to come!

"The Sunday Post"

Happy Sunday everyone, I hope you are all enjoying a restful weekend, and perhaps avoiding the rain today if you are in the South West like me! The last few warm days have been super distracting on the work front, and in a way I am almost relishing this cooler weather, to knuckle down and prepare for the We Make Summer Fair, and the Selvedge Summer Fair, both on Saturday 26th June in London. With only a few weeks to go there is much to do...!

I have added an exciting new product to my current range this week... wine glass napkins, made from quality midweight white cotton, are each individually handmade, and available in sets of 4 or 6. If you are interested in a different number for your table and guests, do get in touch with me, I have just assumed a couple of table numbers to begin with! These are the second addition to my napkin range, and are also available in a 'beach hut' design. (All with co-ordinating tea towels too!) These make fantastic wedding gifts, and are perfect for Summer table decoration.

A lovely bit of blog press I received this week was part of the We Make Gift Guide blog feature written by Tracy Brown from White Lily Green:

"I'm so excited to have found so many talented Designers of homeware items exhibiting in the We Make Summer Fair. I think I enjoy seeking out original finishing touches for my house more than I enjoy looking for accessories or clothes! There's something rather gratifying about furnishing your home and making it a part of you.

Here are some of my favourites from the exhibiting Designers...

Charlotte Macey hand produces really quirky illustrated textile items and I love them all. Her work makes me think of sunny cottages. I adore the egg cosies, they are so cute! I would be hard pushed to choose one design, so the set of 4 would be perfect! I can just imagine being brought breakfast in bed with one of these cuties keeping my boiled eggs warm :)"

For other new press this week have a little look at the 'news' page on my website. And now onwards with my 'sewing Sunday'... starting with tea towels in readiness for the Summer Fair frenzy! x