Tuesday 12 January 2010

Newsletter - 8th January

Hi Everybody

Happy New Year to you all and what a start to the New Year.

Can I just say - Yea! We finished the stocktake this afternoon - at 2.55pm to be exact!! Considering the problems that we had with the snow this is quite an achievement and I want to thank all the girls very much for the hard work that they put in this week. They have all struggled to get in through the snow and the only day that we could not work was Wednesday, when we did not have any electricity or telephones at the shop.

I have a question for all the card makers amongst you: how many peel-offs do we have in the paper shop (to the nearest 100)?

And for the beaders - what is the total weight (in Kg) of seed beads in the sweet jars behind the counter?

Have a go at answering the questions - there is a prize on offer for the winning entry!!!!

Anyway, it means that the shops are now back open as normal. I have so missed you all. I hate the shops being empty. It's like cooking a dinner and finding that no one has come home to eat it!!

What a week it has been with all the snow. I expect a lot of you are becoming stir crazy with being stuck at home. I hope that you have all been making the most of the enforced home stay to catch up on some crafting. If you have and you are beginning to run out of supplies, do not worry - we are accessible. The A4 is pretty clear and we have a wonderful farm manager (we love you Nick!!) and he has done a great job of clearing the snow from the driveway & the farmyard. And, remember, it is due to snow (again!!) on Sunday so it might be an idea to get stocked up before the bad weather hits once more.

I have put some photos of the shop in the snow on the blog. Scroll down to older posts to see them!

Although the shop is accessible, I am worried about the stairs to the workshop and especially as the new term is due to start next week. It might be an idea to give us a call before the class just to check that we are able to use the stairs to the workshop.

So, here goes to this year and what it has to offer us. There is a copy of the new workshop listing on the website. Click for a copy.

Next week Nicky and I are going for some previews of the new Trimcraft products (hey, WE get to play!!), then in February we will be having our trip to our big trade show. Here come the girls, we are going to have fun!! Then we come back and let you all in on the secrets - hee, hee, hee.

The latest Promarker Challenge will be closing at the end of next week, 15th January. So there is still time to get your card in. Remember that the challenge was to make a 'Thank You' card using your Promarker pen. I did not give any further instruction other than that. So, make that card and get it sent in - thats an order!!

Deborah Foulkes won the last challenge with her card featuring the Indian Squaw stamp from the Ollifant set. Well done, Deborah!

What else? Well here is an idea that I am just throwing into the air. I did not run the coach to the NEC last November, mainly because of the lack of support that I had the previous year. But, I am willing to give it another go this year. If you would be interested in my running a coach for the Hobbycrafts show at the NEC in March and/or the one in November, can you let me know - depending on the response I will find out some details and see what can be done.

Next week I am hoping to get a questionaire out to you all. I need some input from you to enable me to make some decisions for the coming year. I am wanting to find out about which magazines you all read and where you look for your crafting inspirations (apart from your favourite craft shop). What type of classes would you like us to run and what time of the day/day of the week. Things like that.

I will send out the questionaire as soon as I have written it. Everybody that responds will receive a voucher and their names will be put into a prize draw to win a desk top magnifying lamp (worth £35). So get ready to answer those questions.

So there we go for now. Read it all over again and remember to send in your answer to the questions about the stock. You never know, you might be the winner. And watch out for next weeks prize draw questionaire.

Have a quiet weekend and take care in the snow. Happy crafting.

With best wishes

Lynn and the Star Girls.

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