Blog
Burghley Horse Trials
Posted by Gilly on Tuesday 9th September 2008
We have safely returned from our weekend at Burghley Horse Trials. It was, shall we say, a real adventure!
As we headed to Stamford on Wednesday, we
didn’t quite realise what
the weather would hold in store for us! Straight away we happily set up
our Garden Divas trade stand and met our retail neighbours in the Lifestyle
Pavilion. Everything ran smoothly and that evening we fell in love with
our cosy cottage where we were staying for the weekend. At Burghley, we
spent four days converting many more ladies to become Garden Divas!
The displays were refreshed daily to make sure those of you who stayed all weekend had something new to look at. We even got the chance to meet some of our previous online customers- it was lovely to meet you and thank you for your support.
However, at the start of Friday, I don’t think anybody was really prepared for the day ahead… As we awoke to the pouring rain, it continued all day to create what can only be described as a muddy mess! The photo below shows only the beginnings. We were luckily placed well inside the marquee and many brave customers continued to shop and shelter from the rain. As you can see from the photos waterproofs and boots became a must!
The next day in fact, this was our walk to work…
We were pleased
to discover that this did not deter the shoppers over the weekend and many
of you came to join us in this muddy adventure. We even managed to spot
a few celebs, including Katie Price, who was there launching her new equestrian
range. (However we think our new pink fleeces soon to be launched onto
our website are much better than Katies!!!!)
Even the famous couldn’t avoid the mud slide and faced a careful walk through the shopping isles and a delightful view of the ladies loos! By Sunday night we were packing up and looking forward to getting home to the warm and dry, but having laughed at many cars being towed out by giant tractors, we were soon faced with our own car troubles and had to be jump started by a kindly Land Rover owner!!!
Despite the weather, we really loved working at Burghley Horse Trials and are thrilled by all the positive feedback we received. Thank you to all of you who visited us - we do hope you will shop with us again.
Sandringham Show!
Posted by Gilly on Thursday 7th August
2008
Well we are now back home and thoroughly exhausted from an enjoyable trip with Garden Divas to Sandringham Show! We are pleased to say that it all ran smoothly and we even managed to sneak a break to catch a glimpse of the royals as they came past us in their horse and carriage!
After
weeks of planning we headed up to Norfolk in our Garden Divas van early
Tuesday morning, in order to set up our stand for the Wednesday show. It
was great fun driving the van all that way!
As we arrived at Sandringham we faced the prospect of putting up our own marquee- and despite the bright sunshine it proved quite a challenge with the winds. (Luckily we'd bought some help along)!
The van was filled with all our products so the next stage was to set up the displays. As expected this took quite a while but we were thrilled with the results and left mid evening tired but happy and excited about the following day! Here are a few snaps of our efforts- what do you think?
The Wednesday morning bought us an early start and we arrived on site
at 7.30am! The show didn't open until 9 o'clock so we took
a walk around the event to see the other stalls and fabulous show gardens.
At the start of the day we looked like this...
By lunchtime there were thousands
of people attending the event! The weather stayed hot and sunny and it
couldn't have been more perfect for the day. We were situated right by
the main arena, and our bright colourful stand stood out to those passing
by. We loved meeting new people and taking Garden Divas to Norfolk! The
Camouflage shop boxes proved a strong favourite as were the new V and A
watering cans. Here's a photo of just a few of the people we met during
the day...
We'd like to thank all of you who came to support Garden Divas at Sandringham Show and a special thanks to our volunteers- we couldn't have done it without you! Now we have the success of Sandringham behind us, we eagerly await our trip to Burghley Horse Trials in early September. We hope to see some familiar faces and convert some more of you into Garden Divas!
Garden Divas becomes a "Growing
Friend"
Posted by Gilly on Tuesday 1st July 2008
Garden Divas is pleased to announce that we have become a "Growing
Friend" supporting the work of the "Growing People" Horticultural
Therapy Programme, based at the Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living. Horticultural
therapy helps individuals to engage in gardening activities in as passive
or active way as they wish, but all focused on improving their quality
of life. Initially working with people with severe mental health problems,
the Programme is being expanded to provide a broader range of opportunities
and run a range of projects working with a wide variety of disabled or
disadvantaged individuals and groups.
In
order to become a "Growing Friend" we have made a financial
contribution to the project and we are also donating £1 from every
sale of the American Modern Growing Wishes
Kit.
We hope you will help us support this charity- every gardener realises the health benefits that gardening can bring and we hope you will feel as passionate about this cause as we do at Garden Divas.
Kim Wilde tests Garden Divas
Posted by Gilly on Tuesday 24th June 2008
I just wanted to let you know that we have been lucky enough to have some of our products tested by the female celebrity gardener Kim Wilde. We are thrilled to discover that not only does she love our products but also the website itself. Here's what Kim had to say...
"This is a fantastic web site, brilliant for
buying original and inspirational gifts from the comfort of your own chair!
My goody box was a real treat, beautifully packaged and packed with useful
and stylish things. I especially love the Camouflage shop box (perfect
for impulse buys at my local plant nursery!) and the skin tight gardening
Atlas Glove. I shall certainly be using this web-site in future, especially
around Xmas : )"
Kim
Wilde.
If you would like to treat yourself to the products Kim has recommended, here's a direct link to the pages...
Our
pink packaged boxes - soon to become available in a variety of sizes!
Atlas
Nitrile Touch Garden Gloves - also now reduced to £7.50!
Camouflage
Shop Box - the perfect way to package the shopping!
Networking
Posted by Gilly on Wednesday 18th June 2008
Well the aim of today has been to try and get to grips with the concept of social networking! Following on from the launch of the blog last week I decided to seek help from my daughter in trying to get Garden Divas promoted on some networking sites. Indeed we have had some success so I now just need all you computer savvy people to join and become a Garden Divas friend!
First off we have now become a business on www.linkedin.com. In fact here is the link to my very own page www.linkedin.com/in/gardendivas.
Another big step is the creation of a Facebook group for us
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=26239266468.
This link takes you straight to our group so please do become a member.
My daughter will be running this for me so you can leave her a comment
or email me directly (all details are displayed).
Should you already be a member on either of these sites do just log in and search for us and become connected to Garden Divas. And if you are not already a member, it may be worth taking ten minutes to create your own profile. Both networks are great for business and to keep in touch or get reunited with old friends. In fact I can see where my time is going to be wasted...
Floral Hits The Catwalk!
Posted by Gilly on Tuesday
10th June 2008
Just a quick note to mention how even the catwalk is becoming garden inspired this summer! With a vast range of designs available you can pick a floral perfect for your own unique style. Retro bold prints are in, creating an energetic refreshing look for the season. In fact this trend perfectly matches the Garden Divas style! Here are a few of my favourite designer pieces and remember to keep an eye out for this look which will soon be hitting the high street. Let's hope this encourages the sunshine!
Images taken from www.vogue.co.uk.
Garden Divas Events!
Posted by Gilly on Monday 9th June 2008
Hello,
Well today is the start of the Garden Divas blog! Here we will keep you regularly updated with news and events, advice and all things garden related!
At present we are busy getting prepared to exhibit at two of our favourite and most beautiful venues. In fact look at our fab new marquee for our first event- it's currently up in our garden!
We won't show you anymore of our trade stand
yet as we want it to be a bold and beautiful surprise-
so please do come and visit us!
Firstly we are taking a trip to Sandringham Flower Show, on Wednesday 30th July. The show offers a full programme of arena events, craft tents, show gardens and trade stands combining the best in horticulture and family entertainment. You will find Garden Divas located near the Main Arena so pop along to browse our products and on the day don't forget to pick up your £2.50 discount voucher which can be spent online.
We are also pleased to announce that on 4th-8th September, we will be attending the famous Burghley Horse Trials at Stamford, Lincolnshire. Situated in the Burghley Lifestyle Pavilion, you won't be able to miss us with all the work we are doing to make our exhibition perfectly suitable for a Diva! Take a look at the official website for further information. Should you be a horse lover or a shopping fanatic I guarantee this is the perfect day out for you. In fact my daughter, having a passion for both, is a tad overexcited!
Finally we just wanted to mention how pleased we are to now be listed on the Good Web Guide. Here's a link to our website review. It really makes our hard work worthwhile so thanks for all your support!