Ladder Club - Leigh on Sea - September 27 & 28 2012

 

Letter to Lynn Tait of The Lynn Tait Gallery whose brainchild is The Ladder Club, set up by Lynn to help new greeting card publishers.

Dear Lynn

I had such a wonderful time at the ladder club seminar and took away such valuable information that I thought I would write to you straight away to say a BIG THANK YOU. As a second time laddette, it was even better for me than last year - mostly because last year I hardly knew anyone but this time, walking into the bar on the Thursday evening for the pre dinner drink, I immediately saw other ladder club members that I had got to know last year  and others that I met at PG Live. The general consensus was how fast the year had gone and, as most of us launched our fledgling publishing companies at PG Live, a mere four months ago, how far in that short time we had come.

It was with great excitement that I woke up on the Friday, eager for all the nuggets of information and wisdom that would be coming my way. And I wasn't disappointed. As you know, initially I was worried that, with the same speakers as last year, there may be repetition. Well, there was a tiny bit,  but the bit there was was well worth hearing again. Claire and Karen of Paper Salad entertained and frightened me in equal measure, by giving a realistic and white knuckle account of what it is like to land a major retailer. Jeremy Corner from Blue Eyed Sun reiterated his famous  SMART goals which was really useful and seemed even more relevant to my business this year. Particularly, as the Specific part of it was to increase turnover from 10K to 100K!  Imagining my ideal day/week and ensuring a work/life balance is a valuable exercise and one that does no harm to air again. I love the "looking back from perfect" and making sure the main thing you like and enjoy doing is the main thing you actually do.  Jeremy is just so brilliant at getting down to the nitty gritty of running a business and what makes it a success and his pearls of wisdom kept on coming; I really could sit and listen to him all day.. But move on we did. I am so glad Soula Zavacopoulos from The London Studio overcame her nerves as she gave such a useful and thought provoking talk on social media, and was full of useful tips for increasing our brand awareness and getting ourselves known in all the right place - advice which I intend to put into practise asap. The usual suspects were there with their advice and help with printing and paper and having Jakki and Warren from Progressive Greetings and Sharon from the GCA just completes this circle of fine people.

Without any exaggeration, being at the Ladder Club feels like being a member of a close and loving family and we all have you to thank for that. You are quick to praise everyone else, Pauline and Trudi for their hard work, undeniable, Bob Short from The Imaging Centre and Steve Summers from Sherwood Press for their support and help, Mark and Janet from GF Smith for their generosity, again all undeniable, but it is you who have brought this all together and without you the whole shebang would not happen. You are a star! and in my view the matriach of the greeting card industry.

Love from Nina Green

Two More Card Ranges Now Available from Cherry Picked For You

Cherry Picked For You have just published a further two card ranges, making three in total.  Our first card range was Betty's Dollies which comprises of twenty designs featuring Betty Bib's beautiful handmade Polymer Clay Dolls. These blank cards are 150mm square and are printed on luxury callisto soft white board.  They come with a lovely ribbed craft brown envelope and are individually wrapped.

Buttercup

Our second range of cards are entitled: The Botanical Alphabet. This plant themed alphabet revels in the beauty of the natural world and was inspired by the decorative qualities of illuminated manuscripts and William Morris. Painted by Brighton artist, Lesley Buckingham, in watercolour and ink, each initial depicts a flower/leaf that starts with that letter, ie Japonica are entwined around the letter J. Printed on good quality soft white accent antique art board, these cards come with a brown ribbed craft envelope and are individually wrapped. They have been designed with a 8mm white border which makes them look like the original piece of artwork that they come from and so could be mounted and framed if desired.

J for Japonica

Our third range of cards is entitled: stitched artworks. Working with textile artist, Wendy Dolan, these cards are printed from original one off stitched artworks. Using fabric paint and freehand machine embroidery these beautiful cards have been printed on luxury 300gsm soft white accent antique art board and they come with a good quality white envelope and are individually wrapped.

The Royal Pavillion, Brighton

To save you time and money, www.cherrypickedforyou.co.uk  will send your card to your friend and family at no extra cost. The only cost is the price of the card you choose and the cost of a postage stamp. We save you the bother of visiting the shops, post office and post box. We dispatch the card immediately by first class Royal Mail.  We write a personal message of your choice in calligraphy script and send it to the recipient. All you have to do is complete the message box on the website with the message you want to send and type in the recipients name and address either in the message box or under the delivery address at checkout.

Happy card sending..

New Artist to join our website - Andy Driscoll of Andycrafts

New Artist to join our website is Andy Driscoll who makes beautiful wooden clocks, mirrors and home accessories.  Andy designs and creates each individual item with attention paid to each stage of the making process from inception through to the moment each piece leaves his workshop.

Hand crafted from solid English Oak

Andy works with only natural materials, recycled from sustainable sources where possible.

Whitewashed Timber Clock with Display Shelf

Driftwood Wall Mirror

Andy produces decoratively functional items which add a sense of character and syle to the home.

We Make Sending Cards to Your Friends and Loved Ones Easy

At www.cherrypickedforyou.co.uk we make sending cards to your friends and loved ones easy. For no extra cost we will send your cards to your friends, family and loved ones and we will write your own personal message in handwritten beautiful calligraphy script. Simply send us the recipients name and we will do the rest.


With over a hundred beautiful cards to choose from:

 So save yourself the trouble of going to the shops, the Post Office and the Post Box and visit us today!

Last Weekend to come down to Hove for Artists Open House

Halinka's Tree Top Fairies

We are approaching the last weekend to visit our Artists Open House in Hove. So why not make a day out and visit us at: 52 Carlisle Road, Hove, BN3 4FS. A warm welcome awaits you. We are displaying the products on our website: www.cherrypickedforyou.co.uk and many more new products that haven't been loaded on yet. We fling open our doors from 11am until 5pm this coming weekend. We have masses of handmade christmas decorations, handmade gifts and handmade christmas cards. We are also selling our new range of cards published by cherrypickedforyou.

Betty Bib's Organza Fairies £12 for four

Holly Berry's beautiful woven cushions

These images are a very small sample of the beautiful handmade gift ideas and christmas goodies you will be able to browse and buy this weekend.

Cherry Picked For You - Christmas Artists Open House in Hove

We are getting ready for our Open House as part of the Christmas Festival in Brighton and Hove. This is the chance to see all the lovely goodies on our website where they are available to buy. So..save the postage and packing costs and come along where a warm welcome will await you. 

We have wonderful gift ideas, handmade christmas decorations and cards.

 

 We fling open our doors at 11am until 5 pm. Why not make it a day out as there are lots of other venues taking part. The brochures are available all around Brighton and Hove which lists the venues and dates and times each house is open. We are on page three, and our house is listed as number 4 in the official brochure.

We look forward to seeing you.

Best wishes
Nina
only 42 days to go to Christmas!!

New Artist to join our website this week is Syke Meredith- Plant Dyed Handmade Dolls

Skye Meredith comes from a very creative family. Skye's mum uses plants to dye her Wensleydale wool and Skye delves into these abundant wool baskets, overflowing with gorgeous natural coloured wool and makes unique handmade dolls.

Green Doll £27.50

Green doll above has been made using a felting needle around a pipe cleaner frame. She has been plant dyed using chamomile, indigo and madder and her hair is naturally curly Wensleydale fleece dyed with onion skins.

Yellow Fairy Doll £27.50

Yellow Fairy Doll's dress is plant dyed chamomile and indigo and her hair is naturally curly Wensleydale fleece dyed with woad.

Rainbow Doll £27.50

Rainbow Doll's dress is dyed with cochineal, madder, chamomile and indigo.  Her hair is naturally curly Wensleydale fleece and has been dyed with onion skins.

Each doll is unique, handmade with love. Click on Textiles and then Dolls to see the whole range of Dolls that Skye is offering. Each one would make a wonderful gift for someone special or as a treat for yourself and your home.