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Happy New Year and Sale
4th January, 2012
The weather here is very cold and wet and along with the rest of the country very windy, not very nice! So we have been looking at our stocks and wondering what we can put on offer. Fortunately we do not have a lot left. We have put into the Sale some garments where we only have limited sizes left or have run out of fabric and have put them at a good discount, hopefully there will be something to suit you.
Although the weather isn't very inspiring Spring is just around the corner and we are now back at work and are busy designing our new Spring Collections.
Wishing all our customers a very happy and healthy New Year and we look forward to seeing some of you at the Hotel Shows as Spring approaches.
Christmas
21st December, 2011
Today we close the workrooms for the holiday break. We'll be back on the 4th January so orders taken from today may not be sent out until after the 4th. Our shop at Thirsk will be open until 3.30 on Christmas Eve then closed until Wednesday the 28th December. We will be closed again on New Years Day and Monday the 2nd January. Back to normal 9.30 a.m.to 5 p.m. on Tuesday 3rd January.
Today is the 2lst December and the shortest day, so we are then on the way back. It has been a very cold and damp month here but at least we haven't had the snow we had last year.
We will be starting work on our new Spring collections as soon as we return to work and will be working again with crepe, great for spring/summer weddings and we will have some new colours. We will also be using our ever popular linen/cotton fabrics and quite a lot of pure linen. We have found some lovely fine crinkle linen which will be great for overshirts. Sizes again will be up to a 28.
We have had a lovely season and have so enjoyed meeting up with old and new customers at our Hotel shows, we will adding some new venues for spring, so don't forget to sign up for updates. The new collections will start to go on line from early March and the shows will start at the end of March early April, so we look forward to catching up with you then.
Wishing you a happy and peaceful Christmas and with very best wishes for the New Year.
Pat
November
11th November, 2011
Well its that time of year again!
We start with the Crafts for Christmas show on the Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate this Thursday, always a lovely show with a good atmosphere. We always meet up with lots of you there and always enjoy catching up with whats happened to you over the year. Next Thursday the 17th sees the start of the big Country Living Fair in Glasgow, one of our favourite Shows where we meet up with lots of our Scottish customers.
We have some lovely new products for the run up to Christmas including some new fleeces. We have updated our VUF Fleece which we is now called Kirkdale, we have trimmed it with some great checked fleece and given it cuffs, very cosy and very useful. We have also used this same autumn checked fleece for our ever popular Kilnsey and Hawkshead styles and this year Hawkshead has been given cuffs, they act like wristwarmers and make the top even cosier.
Again for this season we have also resurrected our Leisure suit, in Jersey. Batwing sleeves with pockets with hip and cuff bands, it looks great with either the new style Coast pants, now with pockets, or a for a smarter look with the Stratford Jersy skirt. With the pants it makes a great outfit for travelling and comes in six colours. They can be found in the Autumn/winter collection.
For the smarter occasion we have the Braemar Jacket in pure wool. Done in plain purple and also in a rust check it is just perfect for wearing over a polo sweater and smart trousers, a jacket to take you to lots of places over the Christmas period and beyond.
We hope you find something of interest on our website and hope to see some of you at one of the Shows over the next couple of weeks.
Best wishes
Pat
Last Sunday.
5th October, 2011
A big thank you to everyone who turned out last Sunday in Edinburgh. The weather was appalling and seemed much worse after we had had such a lovely sunny week, we were thankful we were not taking part in the Edinburgh Run. A particular big thank you to Helen for making the 5 hour trip! and arriving before we closed.
A quieter week this week to get ready for our London trip on the 15th and 16th October.
We have added some new items to the New arrivals page, particularly the Palermo skirt and top. We making a jacket to match and should have it photgraphed and on the site within the week. It makes a supbert outfit as it is jersey and doesn't crush.
Pat
This weekend.
29th September, 2011
What fabulous weather we are having, it is better than the summer, apart from the early morning mist which signals Autumn is surely on its way, that and the beautiful colours the leaves on the trees are turning to.
A big thank you to all those who came to the Swan Hotel in Harrogate last Sunday. We had a very busy day and the new collections were well received.
We have just taken delivery of two new colours in fleece, bright red and purple - terrific colours and we are rapidly making up the new styles, Fluted cape, Swaledale top and Swaledale swing jacket in them, so that we have them with us at Braids Hotel in Edinburgh this Sunday, 2nd October. I am sure we will be needing our fleeces before too long. The Rowan jacket and fluted cape are just perfect for this time of year. We have had quite a lot of customers purchasing these garments to take abroad, for a little cover up in the early evenings.
We always enjoy our trips to Edinburgh and look forward to seeing you there. We will be open from 10 a.m. earlier if you are around but finish this time at 3.30 p.m.
Pat
New Arrivals for Autumn.
22nd September, 2011
It is a lovely Autumn morning here with the sun out and a nip in the air, just the time for thinking about warmer clothing and cosy fleeces.
The photoshoot is now behind us and the Website is being updated with lots of new designs.
In our Fleece Collection we have included two fabulous new Fleeces - the Swaledale coat and the Swaledale swing top. The swing jacket has a high collar, cosy turned back cuffs and deep patch pockets, it also has Raglan sleeves so it goes over that heavy winter knitwear. The swing top, also with raglan sleeves, has a loose deep cowl collar, pockets and cuffs and looks stunning in cerise and silver grey.
We also have a different selection in our Autumn/winter collection, with some interesting jackets and smock tops, most of which go up to a size 26/28 all are very generous fitting.
We have produced a new mini Brochure with a selection of our new designs, if you would like to receive a copy please email or ring us.
Our new list of Hotel shows is also now complete and the list is in the Show venue section. Hopefully we will be at a venue near you. We will also be attending the Crafts for Christmas show in Harrogate and also the Country Living Fair in Glasgow where we have two stands back to back, one with a selection of Fleeces and the other with our general fashion range - Stands B27 and B31 both Shows are in November and we are looking forward to meeting up with customers old and new at all the events. We start this Sunday the 25th September in Harrogate at the Old Swan Hotel. As always, if you are attending a show and wish to try a certain item please email or telephone us before the event so that we have it with us.
We will continue to add new designs over the next few weeks, so keep an eye on the New Arrivals section.
Autumn
7th September, 2011
Autumn is certainly now with us and yesterday was the day of our first photoshoot. We couldn't have chosen a more wet or windy day but fortunately the Studio session went well and the sun did come out briefly for some outside shots, although the wind was still a bit of a problem. However, our new face Sheila being the professional she is took it all in her stride as did photographer Tony.
The first of our Autumn updates will be on the web by next week. We are very pleased with the range and think you will be too, especially our larger customers as we have increased the size range up to a 28 and as Sheila is our larger model these are portrayed well.
We have also booked some new show dates and these will be on the site by early next week. We are starting in Harrogate at the Old Swan on Sunday 25th September.
Prize draw
16th August, 2011
A very big thank you to all those who took the time and trouble to answer our recent survey and congratulations to Donna Eaton from Chester for winning the price draw! We had a great response and the information we received will be of terrific value to us over the next few months as we complete our Autumn/Winter plans. Many of you stated that we do need to produce a new printed brochure and I'm pleased to confirm this will be done this Autumn, please email us your name and address if you wish to receive one or have friends who you think would also like a copy.
From the interest you have shown we will be adding a few more venues to our Hotel shows, which we hope to start mid September, we are looking forward to meeting existing customers and hopefully some new faces. If you would like to suggest a new location please do drop us an email and we will try to consider this in our plans.
The Autumn story is well under way. We have lots of lovely new jerseys this time, both prints and plains which are so comfortable and easy to wear, these are now going to be available up to size 28 .We hope to have some updates on the website within the next two or three weeks.
A big thank you once again.
Pat
Autumn
14th July, 2011
We are now well on our way to having a really super collection ready for early Autumn. Lots of interesting Jerseys which are looking fabulous in our new 'Plus Size Collection'. The great thing about the new jerseys is that any size can wear them. Depending on how you like your garments to fit you can go for a smaller size for a tighter look or a size larger for a looser line.
As always these will be available in multiple choice lengths, or a length specifically for you.
Our website will be updated in August so watch for the 'New Collection' email
Pat
Summer Sale
14th July, 2011
We have started our Summer Sale in the Shop and our Sale Page has now been updated.
We have added quite a lot of new items, including the Ocean collection which is a lovely weight for the warmer months. Made of 45% Cotton 55% Polyester it is very easy to care for and great for packing and now mostly half price. Our Calypso pants are probably one of best selling lines in the summer together with the Calypso pants in cotton seersucker, which are also now well reduced in the plain colours from £39. per pair to £25. A good time to stock up ready for next year, or that winter holiday in the sun. We also have a few pairs of Calypso crops left in turquoise stripe, again reduced down to £25.
Check out the Sale page there might just be the bargain you are looking for.
Any queries just give us a ring.
Happy bargain hunting.
Pat
What a weekend!
14th July, 2011
What an awful weekend we have just had, I am glad it is over and we now up and working again. Due to heavy rain last Friday afternoon we found ourselves under 3" of water. What a mess! Fortunately we are on two levels and only the lower level was affected, but we have to look on the bright side, we now have a very clean and organised machine room with super new flooring, one which will not be affected should the same thing happen again. Until it happens to you you cannot conceive what a mess a sudden downpour can leave in its wake. Luckily it did not effect our orders being despatched.
Pat
10% Discount
9th June, 2011
If you are ordering from us for the first time we can now offer a 10% discount off your first order. To take this offer up your order has to be placed over the telephone and the offer is only going to be available for a limited period of time.
Sunday 19th June
9th June, 2011
We will be back at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate on Sunday 19th June from 10a.m. to
4 p.m Our 'New Arrivals' will be with us. Looking forward to seeing you there.
Edinburgh.
9th June, 2011
What a lovely day we had last Sunday at Braids Hill Hotel in Edinburgh. It was lovely to meet up with so many of you again and to have so much more room for trying on and exchanging ideas. Thank you so much for coming and supporting us and we look forward to meeting up with you when we come with the Autumn collection in September/October.
Pat
New arrivals.
2nd June, 2011
We have just updated the website with some lovely New Arrivals. Why not take a look!
We have added some new pictures of the Duck egg blue crepe, such a lovely soft colour, perfert for a summer wedding outfit and available in Jacket styles - Charlotte, Sophia, Iona and the Stratford skirt as well as all the tops. We have also just done a fabulous new Jacket called Amalfi, it can be found in the Special Occasion section. Lovely fabric which is crease resistant and washable and great for our larger ladies as it has a deep swing to the hem and deep splits in the sides. We have aslo added a lovely new embroidered Linen and Cotton fabric in four super colours.
We will have all these new styles with us in Edinbugh at Braid Hills Hotel on Sunday, 5th June. Hope to see you there.
Braid Hills Hotel, Edinburgh.
30th May, 2011
Sorry we will not be at Gardening Scotland next weekend but we are coming to Edinburgh next Sunday, the 5th June and will be at The Braid Hills Hotel, Braid Road, Edinburgh EH10 6JD from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. We have some lovely new designs, not yet on the website, as they were only photographed at the end of last week, we should have the website updated later this week.
We very much look forward to meeting up with our Scottish customers next Sunday. See you there!
Bank Holiday Monday 30tth May
30th May, 2011
Sorry our shop will be closed Bank Holiday Monday. Open again as usual Tuesday 31st.
Hotel Show
20th May, 2011
Our next Hotel show will be at The Old Swan Hotel, Swan Road, Harrogate on Sunday 19th June from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday 15th May
13th May, 2011
Just a reminder to our customers in the Cheshire area. We will be at Cottons Hotel, Manchester Road, Knutsford on Sunday the 15th May from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Looking forward to seeing you there. We have a lovely new colour in the Crepe, Duck egg blue and will have the garments with us, great for a summer wedding. We also have a new mock button thru' Denim skirt, something we have been asked for, a great basic in lovely soft washed denim.
Early May
4th May, 2011
Well what a lovely spell of weather we have been enjoying and it has made us all think of summer clothing and for those wanting summer wedding outfits you have certainly felt more inspired into choosing the lighter colours.
We have just added a lovely new reversible quilted jacket to our New Arrivals page which is in shades of blues and greens on an off white background. The reverse is the pattern of the trim down the front edging. A great little jacket for the season, but we have a limited amount of them, so we don't expect to have them long.
On Sunday the 15th May we will be back at Cottons Hotel, Manchester Road, Knutsford, Cheshire from 10 a.m. to 4 -p.m. and look forward to seeing our customers from that part of the world.
By request from so many of you we are putting together a range of clothing especially for our larger customers. We think this will be quite exciting and can't wait to get some of them into production. Keep a lookout on the New Arrivals page as they will be starting to appear any day now.
Spring Hotel shows.
14th April, 2011
What a lovely day we had at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate last Sunday, the sun shone and we saw lots of old and new customers, we will be back there in June, the date will be on our Calendar page shortly.
Next Sunday, the 17th April, we will be at the Cedar Court Hotel, Ainley Top, Huddersfield from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and are looking forward to seeing our customers from that part of the area.
Our new dropped waisted skirt is proving very popular and we have a new Smock very much designed for the larger lady. The sample we had with us on Sunday was snapped up by the first customer to try it! we will have more with us this Sunday.
Spring updates
31st March, 2011
Its the 3lst March and you can hardly stand up here the wind is so strong. However, it is April the lst tomorrow and we have just updated our website with some lovely new designs for the Spring. A super new addition to the collection is the D.W. skirt - dropped waisted. The pleats hang from a basque which fits smoothly over the hips and has a very slimming effect. We have teamed the skirts with plain 3/4 sleeved tops and with each skirt comes a separate loose cowl collar which can be worn over the Tops to make a complete outfit, great because you can vary the colours of the Tops and still have matching outfits. We have also done a Kaftan this spring. It is made of embroidered cotton and comes in three stunning colourways, Turquoise Pink and Green. It is large fitting but as with all Kaftans they are meant to be worn loose. Jan, our model, is wearing the one size, which although very big on her still looks great. Next Sunday, 10th April, sees the start of our Hotel shows with the first one being here in Harrogate at the Old Swan Hotel, we will be in the Library room from 10 am. to 4 pm and look forward to meeting up with customers old and new.
Spring 2011
24th March, 2011
Well we are now into Spring and the weather here is lovely, the daffodils are out on the roadsides and there are lambs in the fields. Tomorrow we have a new photo shoot with Jan so by early next week we will have some lovely new colours in cotton and linen on the website. We will also have some new skirts. Now that pleats are back we have reinvented a skirt which we use to make and which was very popular, it is softly pleated and has a dropped waistline and it has a 3/4 length sleeved top in contrasting colours. Watch the site next week!
We have now started to update our calendar and the first show will be at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate on Sunday the 10th April followed the next Sunday the 17th at Cedar Court Hotel Ainley Top Huddersfield. More details on the website from next week.
Spring 2011
17th February, 2011
We have glorious sunshine outside the workshop today and the crocuses are popping through but the weatherman has just said it is going to snow at the weekend, we hope he is wrong because we have just updated the website with some lovely new garments for Spring.
To simplify navigating the site we have taken some collections and put them in a catagory of their own. i.e. we know how much some of you love the Cotton and Linen story so it now has a section devoted just to this fabric. We have chosen some terrific colours which just make you think of sunshine, such as turquoise and coral. We have a lovely new jacket called Sophia which works brilliantly over the new sleeveless Lucy dress. As usual if there is a style from the past which you would like it will probably still be available, just ring and ask.
We also have a section dedicated to the lovely Crepe fabric, which is so good for special occasion outfits. At the moment we have Grey and Turquoise as new colours, more may follow later.
Linen has always been a favourite fabric with us and this season we have designed several pieces just for this fabric. The Andes pants are a particular favourite.
The Spring/summer collection now has a varied selection from tapestry jackets to fine cotton shirts and skirts, items which will take you somewhere special and some lovely designs for holidaywear.
We are in the process of booking our Hotel venues, which will start in April so make sure we have your email addresses to that we can keep you informed of where we will be.
We would love to receive your comments on the new collections, particularly any items which you think are missing. We would also like to know if you find the new site arrangements easier to navigate.
Lets hope we have an early Spring and a good summer this year.
DON'T FORGET - you don't have to order on line if you are not happy with this, either ring us with your order or there is an Order form on the website which you can print off and post to us.
Best wishes
Pat
January SALE
17th January, 2011
SALE
17th January, 2011
We have now added a Sales area to our website and have put on sale some of the Jersey collection in the winter colours. We have also added some super little jackets from our shop. They are by Oscar B and are well reduced, they are Autumn /winter stock but all make great little jackets for Spring. We also have on sale some PVC type rainwear from Junge of Denmark, fabulous coats that are classics. Our new Spring collection will start to appear in about 3 weeks time and we are in the process of arranging our early Hotel show venues, which we are really looking forward to.
Pat
December 2010
17th January, 2011
Well the photo shoot went well last Wednesday despite the awful weather, it snowed every bit of the day which kept us in the studio, which was warmer, but we didn't get our outside shots, I guess we will have to wait until Spring for that.
We have some lovely new items now online including some new fleeces and some fabulous new colours in the fleece - Tobacco, Magenta, Leaf and Violet, they look great and when teamed with scarves and hats in contrasting colours making for a very individual look.
We have added some fleece pants to our collection. We have usually made these to order for customers, but as the weather is so cold and these are so cosy we thought it time we offered these online. They are made of the same fleece as the jackets so are quite thick and very warm. We have also made a super one size Cape which is great for wearing while sitting at the computer! and a very elegant long fleece coat which again looks great when teamed with a matching hat and scarf. We now have an accessories page and we have shown this coat with a lovely shawl from Oscar B and we think it looks stunning.
We have also done a more leisurely version of the Stella top using a contrasting trim for the cowl collar. Some of you will probably remember us making this style many years ago but in sweatshirting and I know that some of you are still wearing them. These are made in heavy jersey fabric but the style is still the same - including the pockets in the side seams.
Next week we are having a new section for Trousers as we have found some lovely stretch cord but more of this next week.
Meanwhile we are on target with orders which will all be delivered on time. The only restriction on deliveries now is the last posting date given by the Post Office so any orders received up to the end of next week will arrive in time for Christmas.
Best wishes
Pat
Snow
29th November, 2010
Hi everyone
Well what a lovely run of shows we had starting at the beginning of the month in Newmarket then the Crafts for Christmas show here in Harrogate and ending at the Country Living Fair in Glasgow. It was great to meet up with so many old customers and to meet new ones.
Back to work last week and all your orders from Newmarket were sent out.
Today however there is only me here as no one can get to work because of the snow. It started at about 4 p.m. yesterday and within half an hour it was chaos, with cars unable to get up the hills - living on the edge of the dales we do have a lot of hills, so it is going to delay our order despatch from Yorkshire but hopefully by just today. The main roads are clearing and with the aid of snow tyres we should be able to ferry everyone in tomorrow.
Wednesday, weather permitting, we are having another photoshoot. We have some lovely new colours in fleece which all the styles can be made up in and which make great Christmas presents. We will also have some new arrivals which we hope you will find interesting. It will all be on the website by the weekend.
Best wishes
Pat
3rd November, 2010
Like everywhere else in the country the trees outside work have been magnificent this autumn but now that we have dark nights when we leave work we start to think of our Christmas show dates. We start this weekend in Newmarket at the Art Craft and Design show at the Millennium Grandstand on the racecourse. We will have a good selection from the website with us and hope to see some of you there.
On the New Arrivals page we have two lovely little wrap cum jackets. We have been selling these in the shop for sometime but decided to share them with a wider audience. They are very finely knit and although they only come in one size they do stretch up to a size 16. We sell them in the store all year round as they pack into very little space and are great for holidays as they provide a lovely coverup but are still see through. This makes them perfect for the Christmas period as we all love our little evening vests and camisoles but like to keep our arms covered. We also have a vest and scarf to match, these will be on the website shortly together with a shorter version of style Indi.
It is pouring down here today and very windy, hopefully it will not take all the leaves from the trees just yet.
Looking forward to renewing acquaitances and meeting new customers at one of the Christmas fairs.
Pat
18th October, 2010
What a lovely time we had in Scotland last week. The weather was perfect, particularly on Saturday and Sunday. We had Saturday off so the run down from Inverness to Edinburgh was particularly good as the trees are beginning to turn and the colours are lovely. It was great to meet up with customers we hadn't seen for a while and the Edinburgh show was particularly lively. On Sunday morning we had a fox outside the window of the Hotel room and it was completely unperturbed by the fact that a dozen peope were watching it.
We have decided to attend the Crafts for Christmas show in Harrogate in November. We will be in our usual spot and there will be a Fashion show and our model Jan will be modelling as usual.
Hope to meet up with some of you there - 11th - 14 November The Yorkshire Event Centre, Wetherby Road, Harrogate.