Exciting times 8th September 2010
September is always an exciting time for us here, we love the changing of the seasons and it's the month we start to look for new stock and (dare we say it...) Christmas stock. We visited the Autumn Fair at the NEC last week and we are off to Top Drawer soon to hopefully find some exciting new products to add to our site in time for Christmas gift buying.
We are always looking at keeping things new and fresh and are delighted at how well our personalised jewellery range has gone since adding it to our site. Our Love Knot Friendship bracelets were featured in FLYBE magazine which was exciting and we were very pleased to see the art of romance is still very much alive with the lovely personalised wording people chose.
We are always pleased to get customer feedback and this month have had some lovely comments from customers - I know sometimes the internet can be a slightly faceless way to shop and we are always concious to let our customers know that there is a person behind the Swings & Pretty Things name, we were therefore delighted to get the following comment in relation to one of our personalised Canvas's..
Ms L Berry - Buckinghamshire... We can't thank you enough, the service has been amazing so I will be recommending you to my friends and family. Can't wait to see the finished article!.
A lovely start to September!
On-line survey & customer feedback 6th July 2010
We have decided to do a short on-line survey to find out a little more about what our customer's want, what they have been happy with (hopefully lots) and unhappy with (hopefully nothing!) and what they look for when buying on-line. Already we have had some amazing feedback and interesting to. We really do appreciate the time taken to complete it
One comment that made us smile was from Ms Campbell from Surrey and I quote - Excellent service & always happy to help - really good "old fashioned" customer service that you don't find in many places these days (even in Harrods!!) :0) Praise indeed!.
There is still time to take part in our survey just click on this link and complete the answers. You have until Friday 9th July to complete it and we will be giving everyone who enters (and leaves contact details) a chance to win a gift - so what have you got to lose, have your say and help us be what you want
It is always lovely to get feedback from customers, the internet can be quite faceless at times so it's nice to know we are getting it right and you like what we sell. Thank-you to those who have passed on your comments and your thanks it really makes our day!
Miss J Bradley - Lincolnshire: Many thanks to you for your wonderful and personal service, I'll certainly recommend you to my friends and be sure I keep browsing your site
Ms M Davison - London: It is so nice to find somewhere with more individual pieces for gifts etc !
Additions for you 26th April 2010
We know that sometimes finding that special gift isn’t easy especially when it's for a special occasion or indeed for yourself (sometimes the most special gift of all!). Our home & garden accessories offer an unusual range of ideas, but we still wanted something different. So after much deliberation on our part we decided to broaden our gift range to include personalised silver jewellery.
Over the next few weeks we will be adding to what is already shown to include several different necklace options, silver key rings and shirt coller stiffeners - all of which can be personalised. We will also be adding some querky little gift ideas which will be sure to add a smile.
So now as well as being able to choose from a selection of home & garden accessories you can also find something a little more personal should the occasion call for it...
Keeping in touch 15th March 2010
We do have a rather large lovely mailing list now and e-mailing is still a great way to keep in touch, a way of letting you know about our new products & promotions and we have had some lovely feedback recently over our recent mail shots. However we now have some new ways to see what we are up to at S&PT HQ!.
You can become a fan by visiting Facebook. http://tinyurl.com/yhq6mts
and you will see our new products as they arrive, see where our next events are and how to even host your own Swings and Pretty Things party.
You can also follow us on Twitter, @swingsandpretty. We have to admit this is rather an addiction, but a great form of Networking and keeping up with what we are up to, a great way to enter any prize draws to!
We love feedback, hearing from our customers and we appreciate comments so please keep in touch it really brightens our day to hear from you!
Exciting Times ahead 8th February 2010
We have just had some professional photographs taken of our new carved oak swing, hand carved by the famous Marnie Moyle exclusively for Swings and Pretty Things. Our new swing is carved with the wording "When I grow up I want to be a ..." there is a choice of wording for the end such as Pirate, Knight, Cowboy or Princess. This makes a fabulous gift and we think it will be as popular for Christenings as our other's have been for weddings. We are very excited about this having generated lots of press interest - so watch out for us in a magazine or newspaper soon!.
We visited the Spring Fair at the NEC yesterday and found some beautiful new products which will be with us shortly, we found a lovely mix of both home and garden accessories from current suppliers and new. The next few weeks will pass in a flurry of boxes and packaging as we try to keep up with new products arriving and orders leaving. Our sale this year has kept is all busy with lots of customers old and new taking advantage of great discounts.
Finally, if you would like to meet us a Swings and Pretty Things party is a perfect way to browse a selection of our products and if you host a party before 31st March 2010 we are giving a discount of 15% off all products. Contact one of our sales team for available dates and further details.
The New Year is upon us 3rd January 2010
Happy New Year!. We have been very busy adding products to our SALE great prices on some of our favourites for 2009 making it a perfect time to treat yourself to brighten up the winter months. Our sale makes room for new and exciting products we have chosen for Spring. We are looking forward to our visit to Top Drawer to meet current suppliers and find new and exciting products for both your home and garden. We have some fabulous things coming in soon, new grow your own products for the budding gardener, funky picnic ware and fabulous home accessories. Keep checking back on our Sneaky Peek category where our new ranges will be appearing soon, in the meantime grab a bargain in the Swings and Pretty Things sale!.
Thank you and Merry Christmas... 16th December 2009
We would like to take a moment out of the madness that has become December and say a HUGE Thank you to our customers for their support throughout 2009 and to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Christmas madness... 8th December 2009
What a start to the month we've had!, after a rather manic November wrapping and dispatching orders at an amazing rate December started in a frenzy of tissue paper, holly and string - It feels like we may have wrapped a good proportion of the UK's gifts this year and we have loved every minute. We know times are still hard for many people so we'd like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all of our customers new and old for supporting us during this year. We hope your gifts are greeted with a smile on Christmas Day and we'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Fantastic New Year!. ... thank you all so much for your custom.
Gift buying made easy... 15th November 2009
We know how difficult it can be to choose the perfect gift for someone, books, CD's and socks are all very nice, but if you want something different this year let us help you. E-mail us a list of the people you need to buy a gift for along with their age. One of our sales team will then e-mail you back a selection of gift idea's.
All you have to do then is either order on line or e-mail us back with your choices and we will gift wrap them, free of charge, and send them to you - we'll even post them direct to the person the gift is for!.
So let us help make Christmas gift buying easy this year and e-mail us your list.
PERIOD IDEAS Garden Expert 1st November 2009
We were delighted to be asked to write a small piece for PERIOD IDEAS magazine for December giving hints and tips on how to foster the grow your own bug in children. (page 11). With a great range of products available now for children it is easy to give them a head start - our Burgon & Ball children's tools are perfect for small hands and looking just like Mum and Dad's are sure to be an instant hit. Our children's cotton smocks are ideal for keeping clothes clean and have great pocket in for all of those important collectables.So give something different this Christmas and who knows you could be inspiring the next Alan Titchmarsh
Draught Excluders, throws & Candles...Autumn is here! 7th October 2009
Our recent order's and pre orders have hinted to us that everyone is getting ready for Autumn and we can't say we blame them with more than a hint of chilly air in the morning.
Our candles arrived only recently and the smell was gorgeous - as we posted our 1st orders we could imagine several post men and women sniffing at the parcel's as they deliver them. The Orange and Cinnamon was my particular favourite bringing just the right amount of Christmas feel with it, yet not so much that you couldn't use now.
Our candy stripe draught excluders have also arrived along with coal buckets all continuing with the Autumn theme and we are eagerly awaiting our new throws, perfect for any room, although since we ordered them I've wondered if you could get away with wearing one...time will tell.
So, all that's left is to wish you a happy Autumn - go collect conkers, fallen leaves, dress up for halloween and enjoy the bright mornings Autumn often brings...and if on your travels you see a lady with 2 Basset Hounds wrapped in a rather large, but gorgeous woollen throw, pop over and say Hello
Exciting start to Autumn 8th September 2009
August ended with lots of new products being sourced for our new home category and September began with a flurry of deliveries. The last few days has had a slight festive feel to it with being surrounded with so many boxes and so much excitement as we unwrap our latest additions to our product range.
Our visit to the Autumn Fair at the NEC this year was a good one with some really lovely new suppliers and products found for both Home & Garden. We have taken delivery of our apple bird feeders, doorstops, bread tins and matching cake and biscuit tins and any day now we should have yet more lovely boxes of niceness arriving including our draught excluders, candles and garden twine holders. We are also excited to be stocking the amazing oak chopping boards, and judging by pre orders you are to!.
With our new products coming in and our sale items going out it has felt at times like we haven't known if we are coming or going! - thankfully though we've had chocolate to get us through!. So keep checking our Sneaky Peek catagory for new products coming in and don't forget to grab a bargain - an early Christmas gift maybe - from our lovely selection in our Offer of the Month category.
Memories and milestones... 31st August 2009
As I sit here looking out of the window trying to decide which offer would be good for September I realise that this time last year I was in Norway with good friends and family, fishing on the fjords and that also Swings and Pretty Things has passed it's 1st year milestone. Where has the time gone!, think maybe in a flurry of late nights, gift wrapping & laughter - and of course some tiredness and lots of chocolate!
So we have lots of lovely products this month in our offers category, from wasp catchers to lanterns to ice buckets, but as I sit and reminisce I decide one of our products is just perfect for our September offer and that is our Hobby Notebooks - perfect for writing memories, keeping pictures, old cinema tickets and photographs of what has been, I hope, a fabulous summer for you all...enjoy....
Basset's and Gumboots... 18th August 20009
Our gumboots may be suitable for all terrains and can withstand the coldest day and the muddiest puddle, but we have found one thing that they can't survive.... an 8 month old naughty Basset Hound!. Our latest addition is probably the naughtiest hound I know and makes the other 2 look positively angelic. Yesterday I walked into the office to see lots of dark objects all over the floor, on closer inspection I find that the dark objects are infact blue and once made part of a Gumboot. Thankfully these were an old pair that had long since been outgrown. So, we think we may have to change our advert to say "Gumboots, good for every weather every day, and clearly make a delicious snack for Basset hounds too".
August chatter... 4th August 2009
We can only hope that August brings us some sunshine, after a lovely warm sunny start to July the weather turned decidedly Autumn like and our new coal bucket suddenly seemed more in keeping than our picnic rugs!. We had a great July though in spite of the poor weather, attending Bosworth Country Show & Stoneleigh Park Guide Dog Event where we met some lovely people. Our Garden Parties were all held outside except one, but I'm glad to say the Pimms tasted just as nice as did the cakes. We've broadened our product range to now include home-ware so we've had some fun locating and choosing new products which can be seen on our Sneaky Peek Category and can be pre-ordered. Keep checking back as we will be adding further products to both our home and garden range shortly. We hope like us you had chance to enjoy the sunshine whilst it was here. We've enjoyed our home grown vegetables and our sweet peas gave a lovely scent to both our garden and office. We look forward to a lovely sunny August for us all. Happy August
Press & PR18th February 2009
We are getting quite excited over the recent journalist interest in Swings & Pretty Things. We have had our Pollinating Bee Log featured in Fusion Flower Magazine recently and our Carved Oak Swing is on Bauer Media website http://www.downtown.co.uk/Article.asp?id=1105346& spid=31154 in a Valentines Day feature. We also have have products appearing in Exclusive Magazine, Period idea''''s, The Irish Garden, Essentials Magazine, Elite, Flybe Inflight Magazine, Home Angels, Midlands Homes & Interiors, Build It, Mums in Control, Irelands Homes, Interiors & Living, Cambridgeshire Agenda. An exciting time for us here. We are also, after a visit to the NEC recently (just before the snow hit!) are waiting for new products to arrive. These can be seen on our Sneaky Peek category on our website and all are available for pre order.
Candles, Bees and giving something back... 10th February 2009
We have just ordered our new range of candles... Bee Good Candles are a great idea - a terracotta pot with a natural beeswax candle, when the candle is used use the pot to grow the accompanying seeds in to give something back to the Bees. These will be available from the end of March and are available now for pre order. See www.swingsandprettythings.co.uk/index.php/sneaky-peek for further details
Home allotments, Trees & Spring 20th January 2009
We are currently awaiting delivery of our Home Allotments which should be arriving any day now along with our Grow me a Tree products. These will all makes excellent gift idea''s and certainly something slightly different for Mothers Day!. We have also been busy ordering new products for the Spring ahead including new outdoor candles by Sy Eval which are gorgeous, Sun Jars (we are optimistic about getting some sunshine this year!), Recycling boxes & bags ( so much nicer than the plastic alternative) and a range of handmade cards. January is a busy time for us attending Trade Fairs and booking Country Fairs and County Shows and finding new products, all of which can be viewed on our Sneaky Peek category and all can be pre-ordered
Diets, SALES and all things January!. 4th January 2009
Happy New Year!,
If like us you started it slightly merry (well, who can resist that extra glass of New Year Champagne!), but are no longer able to deny your jeans are slightly tighter than a few days ago (and we all know we don''t have damp in the wardrobe nor a dodgy washer that has shrunk just the waist~line) then this is the month for the start of our New Year resolutions the majority including a healthier lifestyle and a better diet. (Although I have heard jogging and learning French mentioned! ~ I blame that last glass of Champagne!) January is not the cheeriest of months with Christmas festivities all done (but not forgotten) for another year and calories and pennies all being watched so to add a little post Christmas cheer we have a SALE at Swings & Pretty Things. Visit our website at www.swingsandprettythings.co.uk and look at our offer of the month category. Here we have discounted some of our products so grab a stick of celery (code for '' bar of chocolate'') and settle down in your favourite arm chair and browse our lovely items in our January SALE
Happy New Year from Swings & Pretty Things
Gingerbread hearts and all things Christmasy December 2008
Our Gingerbread hearts are decorated and hanging u, trees are decorated and have just finished the wrapping of gifts so we just wanted to take this opportunity to say a HUGE Thank - you to our customers, friends & family who have supported us. We have enjoyed every minute from Country Fairs, County Shows, Ladies party evenings & Charity Events and have met some amazing people. All of us at Swings & Pretty Things wish you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Have fun in whatever you are doing and we look forward to sharing our new products with you in the New Year!.
Gift Wrap & festive thoughts... November 2008
With the arrival of lots of lovely new products this week and updating our sneaky peak category on our website to include products we are eagerly awaiting we have stopped being in denial that Christmas is coming and are now embracing it fully. The Christmas CD is on and are more than happy to start eating Mince Pies (well, to be honest, we are ALWAYS happy to eat mince pies!) For the last few days we have been very busy doing ladies shopping evenings and have enjoyed every minute - we especially loved the lady who has bought her husband a gift ~ a sign saying ''Her Shed'' So, surrounded by boxes, packaging, tissue paper (& mince pie crumbs!) hearing the odd tinkle of a Rustic Jingle Bell decoration as we move boxes around we are finally dreaming of a white Christmas, or in our case a ''wrapped in pink tissue, brown paper & gardeners string Christmas!'' Enjoy your festive preparations and if you are struggling with one of those ''''don''t know what to buy'''' moments, why not pop in and see us at Cattows Farm, Heather, Leicestershire on Saturday 29th Nov & Saturday 13th Dec . We are there from 9am to 4pm with a range of unusual gift idea''''s.... go on surprise them with a Horse tyre swing, a set of slate markers, a gardeners journal, or maybe a ladybird tower... all certainly make a change from the usual socks or CD idea that''s for sure, plus when wrapped and under the tree it will make guessing what it is more fun!
Frost, Leaves and Hedgehogs 7th October 2008
Since we took delivery of our Hedgehog Houses, Ladybird Towers & Bee Logs my children have been pestering me to have some in our garden. The Ladybird House has been outside for a while as has the Bee Log and now the weather is turning frosty and Autumn is here we decided now was a good time for a Hedgehog House so we placed it near our hedge, covered it in leaves and made a cosy bed inside with straw (nothing but the best for the hedgehogs in our garden of course!). We also put some cat food outside (by this time my husband was muttering something about being better looked after than him!) And we waited..... and waited... and waited.... this morning we put on our Gumboots, coats and scarves and had a sneaky peek and something has visited!. The cat food is mostly gone and the straw has been disturbed. My children were beyond excited (and I must admit I was too!) Our own Mrs Tiggy Winkle!. Let's hope that tomorrow she stays for the whole night and my children will have the experience of seeing a Hedgehog close up. Fingers crossed we are successful with the Bee Log & Ladybird Tower too!.