Spring has Sprung!

Yet again I look at the date of my last blog and see that it was over a month ago. I don't know how that happens, I was sure it had only been a couple of weeks or so!

Our craft fair season was kickstarted on Good Friday with a lovely little farmer's market in Melton Mowbray at the Grange Garden Centre. I wasn't expecting much with it being so early in the year and the bad weather, but I was was pleasantly surprised. It was a well organised event, and the rain held off until the afternoon giving us the opportunity to launch our new products and to have a good natter with some lovely people.

Our new heart garlands proved to be very popluar much to my relief....it's always a bit scary when you introduce something new! They look lovely hung on old beams, on shelves or over doors, and add a subtle touch of country chic. In complete comparison, we took along our new 'Little Tweets'. These little birdies are full of character and colour, and are fantastic hung in your car or on door handles as they are filled with lavender and are a great alternative to commercial air freshners. At only £3.95, they make perfect gifts for yourself or others!

Our next craft fair is at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire on the 2nd and 3rd May. It's a garden show set in beautiful surroundings both inside and outside on the terraces of the house. One of my favourite locations, we also go back to Ragley for the Christmas fair later in the year. If you fancy a nice day out, come and have a wander round, we would love to see you there.

Our new website www.pbdriedfruit.co.uk is up and running, and proving popular for our range of rose petals and buds. With the wedding season fast approaching, it's time to get organised. Our naturally dried petals and buds are perfect for confetti and table decorations as they not only look pretty, but smell beautiful too. We will be adding to the selection over the next few months, introducing new colours and sizes, so check back to see what's new.

Today is a sewing day. I need to replace the heart garlands that we sold the weekend, and build up a nice stock for next month. With fairs every weekend, I need plenty in reserve! I also have something new in mind, and I'm going to take advantage of a quiet day to experiment. I'll let you know how I get on!

Take care

Lyndsay xxx

New website

We finally finished it, PB Dried Fruit is up and running and waiting for your orders.....please?

I'll add more info about the site at a later date, but for now we have a huge THANK YOU to say to Meg at White Ochre Design. We are absolutely thrilled with how the site looks and works, and poor Meg has had to put up with my constant changes and demands. This is the second website that Meg has designed and built for us, and we can't recommended her highly enough. She is a star!!!

We are selling a large range of loose fruits, flowers, herbs and spices, as well as a selection of useful tools and sundries. We have various willow wreaths and hearts which are ideal as a basis for your craft projects, and we'll be adding a range of pre-packaged fruit bags that will help make that even easier to do!

Take a look and see what you think!

Lyndsay x

Events!!!

I promised that I would get round to it, and finally we have this years fairs confirmed! They're all posted on our 'Upcoming Events' page, and as always, there's still more to book, but the basics are in along with a couple of new ones. Foxton Locks, and Cosford Air Show are two that we're really looking forward to, especially Cosford......I have a bit of a thing for planes and flight suits ;) I'm not sure exactly how much work I'll get done that day, but my Mom and Chris will be helping out, so I'm sure I can disappear off for a bit without anyone noticing!

The new website will be launching sometime this week. Its nearly complete now, with just the final photos and pricing to finish. It's taken three days of photographing (is that even a word??) to get it done, but it's looking good, and has definitely been worth all the hard work. As soon as it goes live, I'll be posting the links, so look out for them, and then click away to your hearts content....please!

Speak to you soon
Linz x

Mother's Day and more......

Here it comes again, time to show the Mum's just how much we love and appreciate them (or risk a clip round the earhole!!)

We've been working hard to get our new Mother's Day cards and gifts ready for the shops and website, so take a look and let us know what you think.

The new scented hearts are proving popular. With their pocket detail, gorgeous buttons and pretty shabby chic style fabrics, they seem to suit all tastes. You can add your own small gift or keepsake in the pocket to make it a truly personal present for your Mum.

The new website is coming along, and with only a week until launch, its all the fiddly bits that are left to do. Each fruit is piled up in the office waiting to have it's photo taken, the new shipping bags have arrived, and the branding is nearly finished. There's still a mountain to climb, but with the help of my Mom, it's looking more like Snowdon than Everest! As soon as it's launched, I'll be updating the blog again. Any comments would be appreciated, and sales even more so :)

Our fairs for the year are nearly sorted now, and once the confirmations come through, I'll be updating the events page once again. As ever, it would be great if you could come down and see us, and then you can see our full range of goodies rather than the select few that reach the website.

Speak to you all soon

Lyndsay x

Such a long time!

It's been such a long time since I've had the chance to update the blog, I'm sorry!. Everything was crazy on the run up to Christmas, with fairs every weekend, shops to keep supplied, and website orders to fulfill. Every year I say 'never again' and 'I'm going to be more organised next year' but it just never happens and the headless chicken thing kicks in round about October. Once Christmas does arrive, my brain switches off for a couple of weeks and then I really struggle to kick start it again...or am I just lazy? I'm not really sure!!!

Anyway we are just back from a week in Cornwall, and I've come back ready to start afresh. We've already gained a couple more trade customers, and new products are being designed as we speak. A whole new range of garlands and scented hearts, and then some unknowns have got to be created from somewhere.....any ideas, just let me know! As soon as they are ready I'll post some pictures for your feedback, but in the meantime, I'll fill you in on our new website.

PB Dried Fruit will be our sister site selling dried fruit to the public and trade. Available in small to large quantities, we plan to offer a huge range of naturally dried fruits that can be used for all kinds of craft activities from pot pourri to wreaths. Hopefully we will be launching in a few weeks time (if I get my act together!) but as soon as we are up and running, I'll be posting more info and links. If there is anything that you want before then, just let me know as we already have most of the stock available to buy.

Other than that, life is slowly returning to normal. The house is in chaos as we are completely redecorating the bedroom and bathroom, new plaster, carpet, skirting boards, electrics, the works. Chris is sitting watching the football and yelling at the TV downstairs, and I'm working to keep out of the way and dreaming of a new house in Cornwall. Definitely back to normal!

Our first fair of the year is at Wollaton Hall in Nottingham on Valentine's weekend. If you're in the area and fancy a nice romantic stroll around the house and deer park, you'll find us down in the Yard Gallery. Pop in and say hello, and get a sneak preview of some of those new products.

Anyway, I'll try and blog more regularly, so I promise to speak to you all again soon

Lyndsay x