Today...

Today I'm working away at putting together bits for the shop and I thought I should share a little more of what I'm hoping to sell!

For a long time now, I have wanted to open up an online shop. I loved the idea of having my own handmade business but just couldn't decide what to sell...which is kind of an issue :) Since I love so many different crafts my ideas varied massively from stationary and cards to handmade masks and fancy dress to party decor. For some reason I steered clear of the one craft I really feel I know inside out...jewellery making.

I was worried about it being an over-saturated market...I mean, there are so many people selling beautiful handmade jewellery on the internet! But over time I realised that I needed to invest in something that I wouldn't lose interest in..and that this was far more important to me than trying to find a unique niche.

However I had also been toying with the idea of running craft parties and tutorials for some time. I have always loved helping people grow skills and confidence in creating items and crafts...and am a firm believer in the restorative and therapeutic nature of creating things with our hands (after all, I am an occupational therapist!).

So I decided to combine my love of jewellery making with my love of teaching crafts...and I will soon be selling "flat pack jewellery kits" on Etsy! I will be selling all the materials required for the jewellery with a PDF step by step tutorial.

I am SO excited about this new project and I really hope to expand it into craft parties at some point in the future.

So today is filled with shouting at photoshop, falling into my light box and pretending to know about product photography snapping away step by step pictures and putting together the tutorials!

I'll share more once I know the date of when I'll be opening up shop...There will be lots of giveaways and special offers to come!

Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!

a little introduction (4 months in)...

Those of you who follow Blackberry Grove on facebook may have noticed the updates about our new website and our online shop. This has been a long time coming and we're really excited to have this finally up and running! So I've decided that there is no better time than now to fully introduce you to Blackberry Grove...

                  "Blackberry Grove is a small business selling all sorts of loveliness for your home. We believe that you shouldn't have to pay the earth to make your home somewhere you love to be. The little touches are what makes your home your home - and we love finding those beautiful finishing touches for you.

We are Elizabeth & Ruth, we run the shop, and our talented & creative blogger, Hannah. We're mum's who were desperate to find a work-life balance that worked for our growing families, so Blackberry Grove was born...

And it's so exciting! We get to shop for a living, and sit with a cuppa looking through catalogues of gorgeous things whilst legitimately being able to say we're working - what girl wouldn't like this job!? OK, so there's long hours doing the not so glam stuff but we're hoping you like what you see and it'll all be worth it.

We are committed to bringing you the very best gifts and home wares from the very best designers with the very best service. 

We may be small right now, but we are building firm foundations for our growth ensuring we perfect each small step before moving on and are really excited about what the future holds.

You can shop with us through our Blackberry Grove Gifts eBay shop where we accept Paypal or personal cheque, or follow us on Facebook and you can see our full range and be updated with the latest news and simply email or call us to place your order.

If you would like to see our pretty things in person, we also have a concession in the lovely Cafe No.9 in Bishops Cleeve where you can peruse with a warm welcome and a huge selection of truly delicious cake to keep you company!

And to top it off we have the Blackberry Grove blog bringing us creative ideas and sharing know-how with a variety of projects, and pretty photography, have a look and brighten up your day. "

Ruth is my (I'm Hannah!) very talented big sister. When she told me that she and Liz were going to set up an online business I couldn't resist offering to write a blog for them. It gave me a chance to channel - and hopefully motivate - my crafting and also advertise their gorgeous business. It's been a fab four months for both the shop and the blog and we can't wait to keep bringing you beautiful things and ideas to fill your home with.

So take a look at the new website and shop, you can also access them on the tabs at the top of the page.

Thanks for all your support so far!

New stock! new stock!

I think I'm as confused as my fuschia plant today (which is still flowering despite all the wind and frost). Last night it felt like Friday night, this morning I woke up convinced it was Saturday and then, in a work meeting before lunch, I momentarily thought it was the end of the day! So I am very very happy to say that it is - finally - THE WEEKEND!!!

And to make things even better, there's brand new stock in the shop - and it's gorgeous! Here is a taster below:

1. Rough finished wooden heart hooks £3.99

2. Grey lime country wash clock £11.99

3. Summer garden washbag £8.99

4. 6 heart cluster £3.99

5. Antiqued insect resined coasters (set of 4) £9.99

6. Wooden chalkboard tags £2.49 per pair

7. Lime wash wooden compartment box with glass heart peephole lid £12.99

8. Set of 4 wooden coasters in a pretty wire holder £5.99

I don't know about you but 2012 seems to be the year of weddings...and these gorgeous labels are the perfect finishing touch to any present: 

wooden luggage gift tags £1.49 

For full details of these featured products simply click on either the link to the right or above to go to the shop. There you'll see the full range of new products too :)

Happy weekend!

A very exciting update...

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Mine involved discovering a gorgeous kitchen shop in Horsham, losing at Monopoly ( and it was all looking so hopeful!), a wonderful woodland walk and making a draught excluder...tutorial coming soon! But the most exciting thing of all this weekend is...

The Blackberry Grove facebook page has been born! You can check it out here.

This is the first step towards being fully up and running online. We are in the process of setting up our own website and ebay shop but the blog and facebook will be our main outlets for now.

I am so excited about all the beautiful things that we have found and I'm sure that you will love them.

These are happy companions in my sewing box and they brighten up my many misadventures with the sewing machine.

 And how cute is the tooth fairy cushion:

 I really hope you like what you see, the prices and more stock are available on the facebook page. There is plenty more to come so I will keep you updated :)