Snapdragon's garden

Things that make me smile.

Recently I have been thinking about photographs.  About creating a largely visual record without all the words that make up blogs and twitter and Facebook.

There has been a lot in the press lately about Pinterest but I'm afraid that its something that I just haven't been drawn into.  I have had an account for several months but have pinned absolutely nothing.  I can see the point if you want to collate images towards a project . . . but for me . . . no.

But I was thinking a lot about photographs and then Rachelle Blondel tweeted a link to this gorgeous one of her daughter holding a Snapdragon mug.

It was taken with Instagram - an i-phone photography app that I had actually used before as it improved the look of my phone photos no end.

What I had missed, however is that it is much more than a way of giving your photographs a jazzy retro vibe, there is a community of people whose days you can share in images.

I did a bit of research and found that it is also possible to get physical photo books made from your images. 

And so I decided this would be an ideal way to record the things that make me smile - the tiny parts of my day that pass fleetingly.  Its not business (though as that often makes me smile it will no doubt feature), its not styled, its not about owning or coveting "stuff"

Its just a load of snaps taken with my phone - which I always tend to have - of things which make me smile - like Dougal back in the drive after the winter.

and grape hyacinths being replanted in the lawn

These are some which I took over the weekend

A weekend which was spent outside weeding

picking flowers

and watering seedlings.

And I like the idea that in a year - or perhaps sooner - I shall be able to upload all these random images into a book and look back through them from time to time and remember the small things that make me smile.

I am "snapdragonjane" on Instagram and I would love to connect - its been great linking to some people I vaguely know through the internet and getting a real feel for their days - much more so than through Facebook

I'd love to know what makes you smile.

Easter is coming

Today I have been embroidering lots of chickens sheep and bunnies and it reminded me that Easter is very soon and that I should really do a little round up here on the blog of all the luverly Easter presents that we sell which will last longer than chocolate.

(Not that there is anything wrong with a bit of chocolate . . .)

In fact our mugs are just the right size for a fistfull of chocolate eggs.

These have been so popular that we ran out last week but I'm delighted to say that they are now back in stock - from £7.95

I have also been embroidering a lot of personalised bunny and chicken egg cosies - from £9.95 and you can have a special message embroidered on the back.

We do lots of Easter mirrors - sheep, chickens, rabbits

They cost from £5.95 and again we can embroider a personal message onto the pouch,

We are dispatching retail orders next day at the moment - but please do get Easter orders in in plenty of time as it always seems to become a rush!

But if you are a bit short of time we are happy to wrap for you (even orders where there are gifts for several people at the same address) and send things directly to the recipients - just let us know in the notes field on the order.

Flowers

For the past couple of weeks I've been getting emails asking when the flowers are going to reappear on this blog (probably a bit of mug fatigue setting in)

but until this week (excepting the snow drops and crocus) we have had no flowers at all

Even now they are a bit sparse - but perhaps more treasured for all that

This is my favourite pulmonaria - Blue Ensign

and the leucojum Gravetye Giants are about to bloom.

but apart from that its all about promise for the rest of the year as fluffy mounds appear in the beds - columbines, delphiniums, thalictrum and these ladies mantles.

Soon we shall be surrounded by colour.

Karen McPhail

Last year - standing behind my stall at the Green Gallery Christmas Fair - I was near a table full of slip decorated ceramics by Karen McPhail.  I have rarely liked a whole collection so much - they are simple, yet complex, and fit with all my Scandi stuff and my 1950s stuff and the 30s prints . . . and well they are just gorgeous.

It was a busy, busy show and by the time I made my way over to the table it was rather depleted.  I managed to buy a lidded pot for my brother, but all jugs, mugs and bowls were sold.

Yesterday I popped back up to The Green Gallery as I knew that Becky had had another delivery

and bought my Mum a beautiful blackbird jug and my brother a couple of mugs to go with his pot.

I also treated myself to a lidded pot (reward for hitting March's sales target) for keeping coffee beans in.

If you can't get up to Buchlyvie you can buy them here . . .

http://www.greengallery.com/lifestyle/decorated-jug/

I'm now just hoping I hit those April targets - for the jugs are very covetable and you can never have too many jugs . . .

Take your dog to work day.

We always have 2 dogs in the workroom - Jasmine sleeps in a basket at my feet all day

and Dixie annoys everyone by wanting in and out and in and out.

But today we have been joined by Bailey (Valerie's gorgeous lab)

and Corry (Fiona's devoted spaniel)

 They stayed mostly in the dispatch area and away from the sewing

Mugs . . .

One of the things that I have always found most difficult is deciding exactly what Snapdragon is.  It evolved from a completely different business (growing cut flowers) and I've always been a bit woolly when asked what exactly I do. Most of the past five years have been spent narrowing down, focusing, finding the essence - saying No.

That sounds a bit poncy I know - for in reality I embroider stuff - but this sifting is the thing that drives the business more than any other.

Last year I began to recognise that what the retail side of Snapdragon does best is short run bespoke.  The way that we work, making to order as a team, means that we can embroider messages, incorporate customers' fabrics, tweak designs without having to alter the work flow, without having to charge a lot for the personalisation.  We now do it so well that this is now the fastest growing part of our wholesale business too.

However I wanted to be able to expand this into non-sewn things.  Specifically I wanted to be able to do the same with mugs.  A few years ago I designed a few mugs with McLaggan Smith and I loved the way that the embroidery looked on the ceramic.  However, I wanted not only to be able to put my embroideries onto mugs, I wanted to be able to have each mug with a personalised message.  I wanted the messages to be embroidered rather than a computer typeface. I wanted them to be something no-one else was doing, something obviously "Snapdragon". I wanted the mugs to be dishwasher and microwave safe. I wanted a lot.

I did a LOT of research - but last week we finally unpacked the kit that we needed and began to experiment.

And I am delighted, it is working even better than I hoped - I can embroider the messages and then incorporate them into an image which is printed inhouse directly onto the mugs - no transfers that can scratch off - the process I am using makes the colour part of the fabric of the mugs and is guaranteed dishwasher safe for a year.

We have put the first two designs - a gingham heart and retro initials - up onto the website here.

You can chose any message for the back - up to 9 words works best - whether it is a loving message to your mother, a thank you to a teacher, or a witty in joke for a friend.

Isn't it great when something you have been dreaming about comes together?