It's CHRISTMAS (soon)

Another four weeks has whizzed by, although for us it's been busy outside of work with our daughter getting married at the beautiful Doxford Hall in Northumberland - can certainly recommend it, what a beautiful place, and the staff are fab.

So while she is now sunning herself in Thailand, I am focusing my mind on Christmas as I suddenly discovered that it's just five weeks away!

The website is getting busy with lots of views on lots of different products and as it's a new site, our lovely customers are starting to now leave new reviews, so make sure you leave a review when you pop by.

Our new Pet Tins are popular, with everyone treating their dog or cat this autumn. It's hard with the darker evenings to get out so much with the dogs, so it's nice to be able to play inside with them with a few treats - we've been hiding the shale and Rattle treats and our chocolate lab seems to have turned into a sniffer dog!

Our lovely handmade soy candle gifts are proving popular too, a beautiful soft glow and lovely fragrance is just right on a winter's dark night.



So I've made my present list now and need to start ordering. I do find nowadays, I do most of my shopping online - it's just easier to be honest. Living in the North East, the thought of going to the MetroCentre to do my shopping at this time of year fills me with dread - the car parks are scenes from Terminator, and the gridlock is frustrating.

No, for me, it's sitting in front of the lit fire, doggy lying on the rug, and my laptop and credit card - couldn't be more pleasurable.

So if you're an online shopper too - don't forget we've got a special Christmas offer running where if you buy three or more Gift Tins, delivery is free - excellent value if I say so myself! You just need to type in CHRISTMAS2013 in the voucher box when you check out for free postage.

Happy online Christmas shopping everyone.

Anne

Autumn has arrived here in Northumberland with lots of wind and rain! So what better time to start your latest knitting project.

Here in the Gift in a Tin office our new Commercial Manager, Amy, has just been telling us about Daisy Lowe being spotted in a leather mini and a chunky hand knitted jumper. Apparently Daisy is a huge knitting fan and loves to knit, so we're sending her one of our Knit Gift Tins of beautiful British Alpaca so she can have fun knitting herself a trendy scarf. Maybe we'll see it when she gets papped next.

This is our Daisy Lowe, aka Helen, a friend of Gift in a Tin who kindly does a spot of modelling for us. She's wearing the scarf made from our Beginners' knitting kit Gift Tin. It's really simple to make and super cosy to wear.

We've also been looking at the Innocent Smoothies' campaign to knit little woolley hats for their drinks. They've teamed up with Age Concern to keep our elderly people warm and cosy this winter by getting people to knit hats and donating money. What a great idea.

Knitting is really surging again in popularity. People love to make their own accessories. It means what you have on, is not only made by hand, by you, but not everyone else is wearing the same thing! You know what it's like when you spot a lovely hat or scarf in a high street shop and the next time you wear it, you spot at least five other people wearing exactly the same thing!

So why not try your hand at a spot of knitting as these nights draw in?

See you at Gift in a Tin soon.

Anne

Well, to be honest, it's time Gift in a Tin got it's act together as far as blogging goes.

We love to read other blogs, we leave comments, and we think blogging is great. For these reasons, autumn 2013 will see the resurgence of the Gift in a Tin Blog!

The past month we've been very busy preparing the new autumn range and we've seen some large orders coming in early as retailers are gearing themselves up for the Christmas shopping period.

It always amases me that Christmas starts so early, but it just goes to show how organised some people are - how fantastic to calmly tell your friends 'oh yet, all my Christmas shopping is done, and it's all wrapped too' in early November!

So whet's new this autumn at Gift in a Tin?

We've some really beautiful new Candle Gift Tin gifts. My favourite is the Sweet Violet , English Rose, and Honeysuckle and Jasmine English Candle Tin gift. Really amazing hand poured soy candles in their own individual tins. A terrific gift, and the most beautiful scents.

All our candles are hand poured by Peter in Corbridge, just three miles from Gift in a Tin HQ. So they're pretty green too, as they don't come far! Always na excuse to pop in and say hi to Peter and pick up our latest order.

We've also got some great new Gift Tin gifts coming you way including our Pet Tin for Dogs and Cats. There's also a great new Tin for kids, our Rainy Day Tin, stuffed full of fun crafty stuff to do when the weather's not that great or you're on a long journey.

Well, enjoy your last day of August. Me? I am putting the last few bits together for the new website which will be live very soon.

Have a good one.
Anne

So, here we are, and it's gone past the longest day. That means that 2012 is half way done. Every year (for the past 20 years or so), it always surprises me when Christmas comes so fast as I have a habit of thinking half way through the year is really September time.

But having a really seasonal business sellling gifts, helps to focus my mind. My spring range has looked  great on the site and I'm looking forward to exhibiting at Harrogate Home and Gift in July with the new range. I feel like maybe I have now sorted out the sort of range and gifts which sell really well, so it should be good! But I am already thinking of the Christmas range and have some great ideas already in the process.

As for today, I'm putting finishing touches to the new labels for the new ranges. Getting to grips with my design software has tested the old patience...but I finally have it sussed, so am  nearly finished. Then, to be honest, it's tools doon (as they say up here). This time next week I'll be heading west...way west, to Vancouver and the Rockies - can't wait! A few weeks R&R, I really am so excited. So the business reigns passed to Number One Daughter and Number One Son and their Respective Partners to hold the fort while I am off - they also have dogs, chickens, chicks, fish and a hamster to take care of! I'm sure they'll manage, they know the business inside out, and the cleaner has full instructions.

All the work I've pulled together over the past two months will gently fall into place and when I return to head straight to Harrogate for a few days (with one day off to attend Number One Son's graduation - 2:1 MEng - clever boy), I will be at home for a few weeks before a little jaunt to France - oh la la!

New gift ranges for Spring

I'm very excited this week. We're having lots of new arrivals daily being delivered.

Last week our new bamboo socks arrived and are now on the website for sale. I tested these socks out on all my relatives at Christmas so everyone got an extra present of a pair of socks! The feedback was amazing, everyone just loved them, they are so comfortable, with extra padding on the sole and they are light yet warm at the same time. So check out our new SockTins.

So what else in new? We've just delivered our latest corporate branded order to Egger UK, for their customer golf day at the fabulous Close House in Northumberland, they were very pleased with the gifts, and so different from the usual boring stuff you get at golf days, well done Egger for thinking of giving something memorable to their customers to remind of them of the day long after it's gone.

So today is delivery time for our new GardenTins. One for Her, one for Him and one for Kids - lovely gift ideas for those friends and family who love to garden and you;re just lacking in inspiration of what to buy them this year for their birthday! GardenTins will be launching in the next two weeks.

And last, our new ScentTins will launch this weekend. Two pretty sachets and two magnetic radiator clips.....with the most beautiful fragrances for your home or office. The sachets provide a beautiful aroma and then when the heating comes on you get a burst of fragrance - wonderful. And to complete the gift, you get a matching, soy candle in the same fragrance. The ScentTins are really a fab gift for teachers end of year, house moving, job leaving, birthdays - you name it, they fit the bill. We'll wrap in our GiftTins, and even deliver for you all in the price.

Happy Gifting everyone!

Anne

Well, it's almost half way through April, how did that happen?

Harrogate Home and Gift is starting to loom large and I have ordered and designed all my new ranges for launch at the show. All I have to do now is design and print a new catalogues, review labelling - what a trouble that is in my life - why is packaging and labelling so difficult!! Then I have to find a lovely friend to work the stand while I am at my son's graduation one day, while my daughter is erecting and manning the stand for two days....it's all go - but good!

I'm in a good routine now as I only work three days each week, then I can spend four days a week in the business which is starting to pay dividends - more orders, more marketing and selling, more creativity and meeting some great new people on Twitter - I'd like to know how many exactly, small businesses run by less than five people are out there in the UK. I believe we're a very entrepreneurial nation, and it would be fantastic if we could all be stored somewhere in a directory which was free and very accessible - one day...

But for now, I am awarding myself the afternoon off, so it's back to uploading details for Amazon, and packing 50 GolfTins for a corporate golf day - logo'd towels arriving this morning!

Wishing the world a great weekend.

So, it's Monday morning, bright and breezy (which is slightly odd for me...). I have been up since 6am packing off my first deliveries for today for Mother's Day on Sunday - all men clearly buying for their Mums, that's so sweet, and Mums will be so happy with all the beautiful handmade bath bombs and blasters coming their way!

Tonight I'm at Poplar Tree Garden Centre just South of Durham for a special evening shopping event - with Sunday coming up for last minute purchases. It looks a fantastic garden centre so I may well be tempted to do some shopping myself!

The rest of the week will involve updating my business plan and financials - I can't divulge why, but it's quite an exciting development - more news to come! I also need to be ordering my news ranges, get my new brochure sorted and start thinking about letting my wholesalers know of the new products we've got available from April - lots to do - but first of all, it's off to the day job to help others with their businesses!

Happy Monday!