willowswardrobe

2008-12-04T15:02:00.007Z

Sweetpea & Willow featured on Channel 4 The Home Show on Wednesday 4th December. The Home Show was doing a feature on French Style Furniture, so they came to Sweetpea & Willow and filmed in our showroom.
Glass classical style lamp

It was great fun having a film crew in and very flattering that they chose Sweetprea & Willow as having the best examples of French Furniture.

The Home Show filmed our Black Rococo chair, Black and white baroque style c hair, Classic lamps and white painted armoires.

We were delighted to advise Angela Brady of The Home Show on French Style Furniture and were really thrilled to see our showroom looking so lovely on screen.

IN the same week we were also on Homes and property show on ITV. Alison Cork kindly recommended our chandeliers.

We were also on 60 minute makeover in October with one of our Baroque style mirrors.

Also in October we were on Fashion 156 tv with the models using our dressing mirrors and dressing tables. all very glamorous!

2008-11-17T12:34:00.006Z

French Furniture from Sweetpea & Willow

Sweetpea & Willow have moved into a new showroom/office/warehouse complex!!

Harry packed everything onto the van, we followed on (dilly dallying in the coffee shop on the way), and we moved in the next day. Unfortunately we had to leave Mr Salmon the Christmas ghost behind, hope he’s not too lonely.

The new showroom is an absolute joy!So lovely to have a space that really does our furniture justice. We can now style each section with a new theme every season.
At the moment we have a glamorous black and pink entrance with mirrored wall lamps,

carved Japanese style screen

and new pearl velvet baroque chairs with pink cushions and a silver chaise.

The upper floors are very traditional French. French grey on the walls lit by some stunning chandeliers.

French carved dining tables and chairs with a selection of candelabra. And some inspiring bedroom sets.

We are featured in Evening Standard Homes and Bargains this week and so have a full diary of appointments. Ring our customer services dept. for availability. Hope to see you soon!

Heritage looks

2008-09-26T14:12:00.008+01:00

Decorating with Old English Charm

Betty has asked me to put together a design scheme for her winter drawing room based around an English eccentric theme.

Winter because she lives in her conservatory in the summer, which is trés français filled with white rattan furniture and bird cages (don’t like to tell her the parrots are a step too far, I’m sure she should have gone for song birds). From where she serves up her sundowners (gin and a slice) from porcelain tea cups.

So for Betty this winter it has to be a Heritage English look. At Sweetpea & Willow we are best known as experts in French style furniture but I think that we can pull off a Trad. English scheme with our usual élan.

I thought about putting in a carpet. See this website for some great ideas http://www.comebacktocarpet.com/makeover.html they are doing a lot to promote carpets in the press and have some amazing striped ones but I still prefer rugs. I saw The Rug Company at decorex http://www.therugcompany.info/default.aspx they have an absolutely perfect rug designed by Vivienne Westwood which is a faded Union Jack. Too British maybe or maybe just a bit tongue in cheek.

Walls will be pale grey/white with loads of oversized pictures of dogs!! Bulldogs, corgi’s, King Charles spaniels…specially screen printed in hyper real colours. Fierce!! Furniture is from the Sweetpea & Willow designer collection. This range is hand crafted from cherry wood, with real old fashioned craftsmanship -mortis and tenon joints and hand painted finishes.
Details, like the handles, which are antiqued brass really make you realise just how good the quality is. I have seen a few of the commodes in the Sweetpea & Willow showroom and the finish is excellent, I’ve played with the drawers and they glide beautifully and the paint work is like silk, really tactile.

There are three sets of drawers which fit the bill, the chest Anglaise, The Alexis chest and the Alfred chest.

Seating has got to look like it came from a Gentlemen's club, sweetpeaandwillow.com leather chairs and sofa have a lived in look that says 'I'm here to stay'I was hoping to get hold of some antlers to go above the door but no joy, so I’m making do with a brace of antler lamps.

As for the rest of the lighting I thought that we should have flickering candle light as well as side lamps and a central chandelier.

This wall sconce is great for making the light dance from its mirror around the room, very romantic and Victorian.
I love the brass finish on this chandelier which is a real statement piece, I hate to say the W word but it has wow factor in abundance. To finish the scheme I’m looking for a stuffed squirrel and three fishes to take the place of traditional ducks. Looks like the wellies and rod are going to get an outing!
Love

Jill xxx

100% Design

2008-09-26T11:34:00.004+01:00

Sweetpea & Willow visit London Design shows
I always think that summer is over when the interiors shows are on, but this year they really seem to have crept up on me far too early. This week I did 1oo% design http://www.100percentdesign.co.uk/page.cfm
and next week I’m hoping to fit in Decorex and Focus.

It’s great fun to check out what’s new and exciting in the design world.

100% design seemed quieter than usual but still had a lot of energy and some really inspirational things.

I was really taken with a few designers who were doing a new thing with decoration taking an almost Victorian vibe and subverting it.

I loved the cushions with cityscapes from conceptual textile designer Charlene Mullen using a hard edged modern scene and making it domestic with soft embroidery.

On a rather more disturbing note are the fantastical taxidermy pieces of Lighting designer Jericho Hands. She pitched a bedouin tent which had a few surprises inside. A flock of pigeons were stuffed and transformed into a fairytale thing of beauty, giving a new take on the chandelier. Even better were the stuffed squirrels running up the outside of the tent, each holding a little light. Squirrels are top of my squish list at the moment (having demoted slugs) so I was delighted to see them used for good purpose. No pics available unfortunately, but see website http://jerichohands.com/index.html

Animals were used for inspiration elsewhere, but not quite so literally (Stuffed!) http://www.petermusson.com/ had some witty little ‘Trophy Kills’ used to decorate the stand. I loved the silver hippopotamus head on purple velvet shield---really! You just had to be there!

It was great to see clock designer Paul Beckett www.paul-beckett.com He says that clock making is a dying art and I guess commissioning your own time piece is pretty expensive. This designer told me that he sells to the uber rich all over the world. His clock takes a very modern plastic composite and combines it with hand crafted bronze wheels for a very modern interpretation of an antique piece.
I also came across this in The Guardian on a clock theme http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/sep/18/corpus.clock about a truly amazing clock that has been designed for Corpus Christi.”it is terrifying, it is meant to be," said John Taylor, the creator and funder of an extraordinary new clock to be unveiled tomorrow by Stephen Hawking at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge. "Basically I view time as not on your side. He'll eat up every minute of your life, and as soon as one has gone he's salivating for the next. It's not a bad thing to remind students of. I never felt like this until I woke up on my 70th birthday, and was stricken at the thought of how much I still wanted to do, and how little time remained." Have a look at the article with a video of the clock.

Loads more inspired, am hoping to do a pop up Sweetpea & Willow shop in one of the blow up tents from inflate.co.uk…watch this space it could be popping up near you!1

Ta ta
Jillxx

Sunday Times

2008-09-09T14:37:00.012+01:00

Our drivers and delivery people are all swanning about in new togs!!
They have fleeces and shirts with a very tasteful sweetpeaandwillow logo subtlety embossed on the front. They also have baseball hats in pale grey, hmmm-this could be a step too far or a cunning plan designed to cover up bad hair. Think Harry looks a tad more dapper in his James Bond get up, but this is dreary, wet Britain, so he needs to dress suitably for the climate.

I think that they should have let me design the uniform. It’s an opportunity missed if you ask me; we could have had knee britches and velvet frock coats in our trade mark pale blue which would be trés elegant and head turningly chic. This could be you Harry, loading up your van!!

On another note we had some really great press this weekend. two of our mirrors appeared in The Sunday Times and one in The Mail on Sunday. It is lovely when journalists like our furniture enough to feature it. The phones haven’t stopped ringing with people wanting to buy them!!

Dressing Mirror

Bye for now

Jill

2008-08-15T12:49:00.003+01:00

Sweetpeaandwillow.com sale is on at the moment and I’ve seen lots of very tempting pieces of furniture that I want. It’s really hard to choose from all the gorgeous things especially as they are all at unbelievably low prices. Was £465 now £395

So I have a few guidelines to ask myself before I buy furniture…

Am I going to like this in a year’s time?
I don’t think that there is any danger of French Louis style furniture looking dated any time soon. This style has been around for a couple of centuries and is still looking fresh, it really has a great deal of charm and it can always be refreshed by adding a few cushions or accessories in the seasons fashion colour. Black chest Was £365 now £325

Is it great quality?
Sweetpea & Willow furniture goes through a rigorous quality control process before we send it out; you can often find one of our directors in our warehouse personally checking the furniture. Not many companies do that!

Do I trust this retailer?
Well I work here so I would! I think the best thing is to have a look at customer comments section and see that the website has an easy way to contact them if things go wrong. Sweetpea & Willow have a showroom and office address which should inspire confidence.

Is this the best price or should I pay a bit more for a quality service?
Sometimes the cheapest isn’t the best. At Sweetpea & Willow we know that our prices are the best for the service that we offer. We are always chatting to customers on the phone answering all sorts of questions from checking progress of orders to advising on interior schemes to go with our furniture. We aren’t a faceless company that you can only contact via email we really care about our customers, we love what we do and hope that we can pass on our passion for chic French furniture.

2008-07-25T10:52:00.005+01:00

SUMMER BLUES

Looks like summer has finally arrived and we have a month to cram in all the things we could have been doing all summer. I shall be chilling in the garden every evening, getting the most out of my new Sweetpea & Willow garden furniture, fortunately I ordered the Stone range so I will be able to leave it out side all year. You’re probably catch me sitting on it in the middle of winter wrapped up in my fleecey anorak ( joke! I’m going to be sporting a little prada number this Autumn!)

I have been chilling out at the Ealing Jazz festival. It’s close to the office so easy to grab a picnic and head down to Walpole Park and listen to some great live Jazz and Blues. It’s a real family occasion and a lovely atmosphere. Personally I think that Sweetpea & Willow should offer to decorate the main stage next year, it could definitely benefit from a bit of rococo style! Perhaps a couple of giant mirrors and a few Louis chairs for VIPS, (mentioning no names but rumour has it that our esteemed mayor, Boris Johnson will be visiting tonight).

Haven’t heard much from Betty and Doris recently, they have been to Slapton in Devon and no doubt are now planning a total décor over haul. Am expecting requests for Silver pieces as they like to be cutting edge nowadays. Lucky we have a sale on!! Check out this silver chaise longue which is a very affordable £237, I’m going to get them to buy one each.

L8er dudes!!

Jill x

2008-07-07T13:48:00.006+01:00

Have just spent a couple of days in lovely Liverpool, Exploring the incredible shopping centres and searching for superlambbananas! http://www.gosuperlambananas.co.uk/artists.html

I spotted the most and am owed bottle of champagne from Lenny who despite actually being a denizen of the city only managed to spot five! (Em was more interested in spotting sexy red shoes- on a mission to find the hottest pair in the whole of Liverpool).

We also got cultural and went to see the Klimt at the Liverpool Tate. I was expecting to see lots of the type of Klimt paintings that you see adorning student digs but in fact there were some rather surprising Interiors and furniture pieces on show from the Vienesse secession.
Particularly fab were the silver coffee sets and furniture by Josef Hoffman. The simple white and grey painted cabinetry had a very Sweetpea & Willow look.

www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/exhibitions/gustavklimt/ Shopping in Liverpool is a complete revelation. There are several beautiful new shopping centres with every imaginable fashion shop. The style is amazing, all the girls make a real effort and look just incredible, if you ever wanted to know how to run in seven inch platform shoes, these girls will show you how! http://www.visitliverpool.com/site/home There are more hair straighteners and fake bake kits sold in Liverpool than anywhere else in the known universe. We loved the look for massive hair rollers and teeny mini skirts worn with attitude. Totally fierce!

The Cavern Walks are full of quirky little boutiques and beloved by fashionista’s and wags alike. Vivienne Westwood (all hail the Queen) and the wags fave Cricket are here.

Cricket is a mecca for the glamourous citizens of Liverpool and it certainly stocks some hot labels. I thought the merchandising could do with a bit of sweetpeaandwillow.com magic. They need some of our display cases and dressing tables for a much needed boudouir touch. Otherwise that Mary Portas will be knocking on their door!! http://www.maryqueenofshops.com/

TA RA

Jill

2008-06-30T14:41:00.005+01:00

Wayne the cycling demon.

Wayne has taken to riding his bike into work. This is all the fault of Zoe who sits opposite him and has the pleasure of looking at him all day. She decided that she wanted to enhance the view and so devised a programme of improvement for Wayne.
Firstly he had to wear lycra, secondly he needs to get a tan, thirdly he needs muscular calves.

She decided to suggest a bit of cycling but didn’t expect Wayne to adopt it quite so enthusiastically.
His bike is now parked in the showroom and he has been providing us all with a great deal of amusement by riding it aroundthe showroom dodging between the armoires and dining tables.

Incidentally the tan is coming along nicely and we are all thinking of biking it to work. I have picked out a particularly fetching cycling outfit with divine floral helmet from the cyclechic website.

Love from a very fit Sweetpea & Willow team!

Sweetpea & Willow Expands

2008-06-27T13:46:00.007+01:00

What credit crunch?

If you’ve decided to stay put, and not sell your house for a while you’re in a great position to update your interior without spending a fortune.

It’s never been a better time to shop at Sweetpea & Willow; we have just introduced even more gorgeous home products at realistic, low prices. As well as a NEW Designer range which we have made for our most discerning and creative customers.

It may be doom and gloom for the traditional high street with big names like Ilva going under but newby’s on the block Sweetpea & Willow are fast proving that online etailing is the way to go.
The world of retailing is changing and customers are becoming far savvier to the fact that online shopping is secure and convenient. Sweetpea & Willow have the additional advantage of having a showroom where customers can come and see for themselves the quality and finish and amazing value of Sweetpea & Willow furniture.

We are confident in the future and are expanding steadily. Our Interior design clientele wanted us to source more exclusive furniture and now we are introducing a fabulous new designer range. Great news is that it’s available to everyone at the best price.

Hope you love the new collection as much as we do.

Jill x

Wayne's World

2008-06-13T13:52:00.004+01:00

Hi

I’ve just joined the lovely people (especially Jill) at Sweetpea & Willow as Customer Service manager.

I am really enjoying chatting to all the customers who ring up. Sometimes with some unusual requests. I spoke to someone the other day who has just converted a water tower into a house who wanted one of our gold gilt beds delivering to the sixth floor!! Happily we were able to accommodate her.

I have also been having an ongoing conversation with some people in Romania who are furnishing a castle!! You can imagine the look on Harry’s face when I told him to dust off the dinner jacket and opera cloak and get himself ready for a delivery to Romania.

We also get enquiries about the colour and finish of the furniture. As an online company it can be a bit difficult for clients to envisage the products. We are always happy to send out paint samples to help.

Speak soon
Wayne

2008-06-13T12:42:00.005+01:00

Bedside Tables

Period Living magazine asked me to do a little piece for their July issue about bedside tables. That got me thinking about these useful little tables.

Our bedsides are really versatile and are equally at home in your living room. Use them next to your sofa or armchair as a handy place to put a lamp: put one in your bathroom for an instant shot of glamour and of course put them on each side of your bed.

Tip
Hang a door toggle from the drawer handle in a complimentary colour to your cushions.

Jill Paterson

interior divine: Subdued Victorian style

2008-05-16T11:13:00.000+01:00

interior divine: Subdued Victorian style
Sweetpeaandwillow.com have some pieces that would help you to recreate this gorgeous style.

Crunchie Bar

2008-05-13T14:53:00.009+01:00

Precious Metals

Forget the credit crunch, here’s your chance to stay put and re-decorate your home with rich, luxurious precious metals.

Metallic finishes are a big theme in decorating this Spring and Sweetpea & Willow have got the furniture to give your home the Midas touch at bargain prices.
Gorgeous gilt chairs in Louis style are bang on trend and this range extends to beds and bedside tables.
With Sweetpea & Willow it’s easy style a whole bedroom in voluptuous fabrics and antique gold, French furniture at credit crunch prices.

Platinum and silver are just as desirable and these pieces are new additions to the website. The colour platinum is marvellous for introducing light and glamour into a scheme.
This Chaise would look equally good contrasted against a black wallpaper or with an icy blue scheme.
We like it in the bedroom, ideal for a bit of boudoir chic.
Upholstered in platinum velvet with black painted legs it is an amazing £395.
The silver leaf finish on this bombe chest has a glow that makes it a real stand out show stopper.

We think it works really well in a bedroom with this cheeky little bedside. (Bedside £174, chest of drawers £495.)

Elegant New Website

2008-04-04T14:19:00.017+01:00

Finally the day we have been waiting for has arrived! The new website is up and it works beautifully. I think that we are going to have to stop describing the site as a boutique, it’s grown into an emporium!!

I really like the little box that lets you search items in a hurry, was a bit mystified about using keywords, thought it might be some sort of code but it just means that you put in something simple like..silver or wardrobe…and the item appears(doesn’t work when you put in Johnny Depp tho’..damn!).

There are some fantastic new pieces on the site. Check out this on trend, vibrant pink, Louis style chair which is exclusive to sweetpeaandwillow.com.

As well as our signature style white painted French furniture we now have silver painted bedsides in a Louis style and silver leaf chests.

We also have some very glamourous chandeliers which are definite statement pieces. These are made from a type of shell which I in my total ignorance had never heard of, capiz, and are combined with gold. I think the large one is perfect for hall or stairwell, the smaller one could be used in any room but I rather fancy hanging three together over a dining table for total opulence!!

Ta ta for now

2008-03-17T15:50:00.001Z

Hi,
Have spent the weekend planning my garden. Not literally you understand, there’s a lot of fantasizing over garden catalogues and pretending to myself that I have a huge garden with rolling lawns and great long stretches of perennial border.
The reality is a tiny suburban plot with a handkerchief ‘lawn’ (muddy patch)! Even if I use loads of containers I’m still never going to fit in everything that I want. I think that the reality is that I need to be very firm with myself about colour and stick to a white and purple scheme with a bit of pink. So I’m buying alliums, hydrangea’s, passiflora, aquilegia’s and papaver orientalis poppies. (For now).

I have lots of seeds that I simply must get started, this year I’m determined to have spinach and rocket on the go all summer.

Love this this very grand planter that I've seen on the website ‘Stone effect urn with Cherubs ’ and I think that this would look fab planted up with some lilac bushes or perhaps a Sweetpea wigwam!

I also think that I can bring a little bit of chic French style to my garden with some wrought iron furniture. I adore this bench and I simply can’t believe that it’s only £225.
So I’m having two!

Ta ta

Jill xx

I Own Britain’s Best Home

2008-03-11T12:45:00.001Z

We had a camera crew in last Friday, filming in our showroom, for a new programme on channel 5 called ‘I Own Britain’s Best Home’.

They really liked our gold gilt range, good to know that our furniture is seen in the best homes but is still affordable enough for all of us people with ordinary homes (and great taste!).
Check out the show it goes out on Thursday 3rd April. Am dying to see inside all these gorgeous houses, as am very, very nosy. I always have a sneaky peek into peoples living rooms if they’ve left their curtains open!
Purely for research, of course, need to get as much décor inspiration as possible.
On another note, the showroom is looking particularly fab at the moment. Jacquie, Sweetpea’s founder and designer, has been busy styling the roomsets with some sumptuous cushions and lovely lights. We seem to be fast becoming the foremost supplier of French Louis style furniture to the Interior design trade. There always seems to be a designer popping in to see what’s new and they invariably walk away having placed an order.

We have some really seductive velvet chairs in mink velvet which are proving immensely popular. These will be up on the website soon.
PS Keep watching this site because we have some very exciting developments coming up…am the worlds worst gossip so am dying to tell … but will be sacked if I do!!!

Au revoir Cherry's

Jill

2008-02-12T16:00:00.001Z

Hello
Looks like spring might be on its way and my thoughts are turning to a total redecoration of my living room. Time to call on Betty for some style inspiration, I’m always happy to give a bit of direction for her home makeovers and save her from total style disasters- so let’s see if she can do the same for me?!!

I am getting really fed up with chalky white walls; they simply don’t mix with a house full of boys. I keep finding black finger marks at boy height, so now, unless they wear gloves, they are banned from my living room. In all seriousness I think I shall re-paint with a matt eggshell this time…gives pretty much the same matt effect (with a slight sheen) but is easy to maintain.
Soft white walls, an oak floor and linen curtains will give a neutral backdrop for the furniture.

Betty thinks that I should go for a mix of styles in a very calm, natural colour palette. Sounds very sensible to me, my natural inclination is to put in a slash of bright pink and a bit of disco dazzle but she just wont let me!!
So we’ve come up with a wish list which has a colour palette of stone, white and grey with a touch of silver and a tiny dash of black.

First seating, I want a comfortable squishy sofa that I can lie back on and chill out with a G&T and the TV remote to hand. The Peru L shaped leather sofa fits the bill and will look lovely opposite my windows.

Then I want two Cream French sofa chairs which I will have recovered in a cream linen with a black transfer of a chandelier on the back. That’s the seating taken care of.

Betty thinks I need a Nordic grey bookcase to keep my collection of Art books and objets trouvée (which she calls bits of old tat!).
I also want a couple of Nordic grey side tables for side lamps.
Was going to have a Nordic grey overmantle mirror but think it might be too matchy matchy. So I have gone for a classical French overmantle mirror. This will reflect a couple of still life paintings on the opposite wall.

I am going to put the television on a Nordic grey two drawer side table. Hopefully this will help pull the scheme together, there will be pieces of Nordic grey evenly around the room like punctuation marks.

The cream sofa will have grey silk and black floral cushions and floor will have a couple of reindeer hide rugs.

That’s all, Betty had better get her overalls on and get started with the painting-this looks like being a long job.

Ta ta for now

Doris XX

2008-01-22T11:07:00.001Z

Searching for a rococo radiator cover.

Have spent all morning trying to source a rococo style radiator for a customer in New York.
A rather unusual request but fortunately managed to track down something that will fit the bill. She’s delighted that we found one, it’s really lucky that she happened to phone us to check progress on another order, otherwise she would never have known that we have such a huge resource of suppliers that we can call on.
Flushed with that success decided to update our customers’ comments page. Like doing this as our customers come from all over and some orders really stand out, we had one recently from a delightful lady who is married to a well known footballer; she bought for the Spa that she’s opening.
Put a comment up from Victoria Gray who is the Homes and Interiors Editor for S magazine at the Daily Express. She must see Furniture from hundreds of designers so it’s great that she likes us.

Then onto the really BORING- the great desk tidy. Promised to do some filing and clear swatches and catalogues away but hey here I am writing this blog, so I can’t!!

See you soon!

Matt

sweetpea resolutions

2008-01-07T14:20:00.002Z

New Years Resolution

Have decided that now is the time to have a massive clear out and spring clean. Have taken down Christmas tree and decorations and the house is looking a bit sad and tired.
So decided to do a bit of hoovering and light dusting and get the curtain and rug cleaning man in. After putting some flowers in all the rooms and cleaning the mirrors and windows it looks much better, have also chucked out horrid Christmas pot pourri and put in some vanilla candles.

Also decided to tackle the horrible mess that is my wardrobe. This is a massive job and involves throwing everything on the floor, then organizing into colours and getting rid of everything that hasn’t been worn for two years. A dull job but the reward is that I find a lot of new outfits to wear that I’d forgotten I had.

Inspiration for all this tidying is my friend Lenny, she has one of our classical white mirrored armoires which come with three shelves. She added a couple of shelves and then covered lots of boxes with pretty wallpaper as storage for all of her jumpers and t-shirts. She even has different wallpaper for summer and winter boxes!
Really hope that all this effort results in my being able to look effortlessly chic for the foreseeable future having all these organized outfits to hand. But know I’ll never, ever keep it up, am natural slob.

Ta ta Jill.

Christmas Party!

2007-12-19T13:08:00.001Z

Well we are supposed to be winding down for Christmas and getting ourselves all set for 2008 - however there always seems soooo many things to do! Really looking forward to our Christmas party this evening, just hope that nobody expects too much of me tomorrow as I am sure I will be feeling slightly fragile :-) Looking at the van above, I knew I should have bought one with seats in the back, it would have saved us a fortune on cabs!

Please don't worry, I have checked my desk and it has a packet of Nurofen all ready! Laters- Matt

Christmas Ghost

2007-12-18T13:29:00.000Z

The new showroom is looking really fabulous with new things coming in all the time. It is an old building that used to be stables and still has a rustic charm with brick walls and a cobbled floor.

We have a whole row of mirrored armoires which I have to walk past every morning- not a good experience seeing yourself in triplicate with red nose and hair on end after walking thru freezing streets to get to work.

There was a very mysterious smell in the showroom yesterday which managed to permeate upstairs. Thought it was probably Matt’s fish and chips left from Friday but he swears blind that he’s on a diet and only eats one colour food a day and Friday was brown (i.e. chocolate).
Anyway I managed to convince Blandine(our lovely French customer service person) that the smell was from the ghost of Mr Salmon who used to drive the old milk cart that was kept here. Smell has gone now so imagine that Mr Salmon has gone off on his milk round. Funny thing is that things keep disappearing from the office Matt keeps asking where the choccy biccys have gone and we know nothing!

Have a stylish and happy Christmas, hope Santa brings you everything you desire.

Cheerio
Jill

Harry goes to Monaco

2007-12-04T11:40:00.000Z

Harry got his makeover and decided to hot foot it to Monaco!

Really think he’s taking the glamour thing a bit too far, think it was the tuxedo that did it, he is obviously having a James Bond moment. Let’s hope that he made the deliveries to our French clients before he hit the casinos.

He told me that an American couple took his photo while he was making the delivery, didn’t like to tell him that they were really taking a picture of the French Armoires that were lined up on the pavement and of the van so that they had our email address to order some! We do get enquiries from all over the world and we made our first delivery to New York last month, it’s really amazing to think that our website is being looked at by people all over the world.

Lets hope he doesn’t get carried away by the glamour and that he comes back with loads of champagne and yummy French cheese for those of us working hard in dreary old England (not that I’m bitter or anything).

Au revoir Ciao bye

Jill

Ou es-tu mon Prince?

2007-11-30T10:46:00.000Z

Quand j’étais petite, j’adorais les histoires de princesses. J’aimais les robes de fée, les tissus soyeux. Je me parais de colliers, de volants, d’étoles et de velours et je m’évanouissais telle une reine sur mon trop petit lit d’enfant. Je l’imaginais gigantesque mon lit. Je l’imaginais moelleux, capitonné de soie grise, orné de sculptures et de dorures. Il était magique mon lit de princesse, et je m’y endormais en attendant qu’un Prince Charmant me réveille en m’embrassant.
J’ai trente ans aujourd’hui, je n’ai toujours pas trouvé le Prince Charmant mais j’ai une vraie chambre de princesse ! Je l’ai trouvée en surfant sur http://www.sweetpeaandwillow.com/ et je l’adore ! Je m’endors tous les soirs dans le lit de mes rêves ! Trop beau mon lit, le « Gold Gilt Button Bed », le plus grand bien sur, le super king ! Et puis je me suis offert les super tables de nuit qui vont avec, un sublime fauteuil, un miroir qui me dit que je suis la plus belle, une coiffeuse et tout le tralala des princesses. Depuis, je n’arrête plus de surfer sur Sweetpea & Willow, surtout dans la partie « accessoires » où l’on trouve des coussins, des draps, des rideaux, des bougies…
Mon Prince ? Si tu te ballades sur Sweetpea, viens m’embrasser ! Je rêve d’aller casser notre tirelire chez « Little Sweetpeas » !

Sweetpea & Willow Deliveries get smarter

2007-11-27T14:27:00.000Z

Came in this morning to see a new van parked outside the showroom. No mistaking who it belongs to; it is emblazoned with the Sweetpea & Willow logo and the website address.

This van was being oohed and aahed over by Paul, our logistics manager and Matt, our Sales director. According to them it’s a top van, a VW kraftwork,(?) the longest, lowest, meanest van on the market.. I don’t know about all that top gear stuff but I do think that it looks rather elegant.
I also think that Harry our very charming driver will need a make-over as well, was thinking that a tuxedo and bow tie might be suitably gorgeous.
SO if you happen to see a very elegant delivery driver in a Sweetpea & Willow van that’ll be Harry. Give him a little wave!!

Tata Jill