Sunday 21 September 2008

You can choose your friends....

....but not your family, so how lucky I am to have such a wonderful selection of both. This week has been a resounding success. We started off early Tuesday morning and drove down to Tunbridge Wells to stay with Craig's aunt and uncle for a couple of nights. (the hippos are from Lego Land and not a picture of our family!)


Before heading off to London it was a quick visit to meet Rachel and Julie at the Tiny Box Company in East Grinstead. They have been rushed off their feet since their appearance on Dragons Den, and I could barely move in their office for new boxes and bags (all 100% recycled). They are in the process of moving to larger premises so good luck to them! I picked up some boxes for my knitting kits and some red bags for the CL fair.

We managed to pack in a trip to London to see more relatives. Craigs cousin Lorna has bought and refurbished a wonderful cottage on the Isle of Wight - Scallop Shell Cottage - 5 star accommodation available to rent. I think we will definitely go down next year as it looks such a lovely island to visit.

It was very interesting talking to Lorna about new business, she used to work in marketing before her daughter came along and she had lots of useful advice. Catalogue shopping seems to be very popular in London so this may be something I look at at the beginning of the year.


Next it was off to the Cotswolds and Burford to stay with more aunts and uncles. We visited the Cotswold Safari Park - where the sun shined and the flowers bloomed (see above). It was wonderful to feel the sun - all our summer packed into one day.


The next day was the long awaited trip to Lego Land and it didn't disappoint. It was fantastic and just right for our 4 year old, how unfortunate he had to be accompanied on all the rides by his parents! Above is a Lego model of Ramsay Gardens in Edinburgh, I worked on the top right apartment many years ago in my role as an architect. It's worth clicking on the pictures to enlarge them as they are so detailed.


The models were fantastic, and all in all it was a great day out. Avoid at high season at all cost though as the queuing for rides would be unbearable for small children (and parents)


Today we went into Milngavie to restock our bare cupboards and I found this coffee set at the car boot sale, I love it, a bit retro and the red is exactly the colour of the spotty mug I bought last week, which replaces a cup that is missing from the set. You can't beat a boot sale for a bargain.

A few years ago when I started out selling at craft fairs one of my main products were fingerless mittens. As usual I wrote the pattern and myself and another lady knitted some up and they sold well. I decided not to continue making them so you can imagine my dismay when I saw some today for sale in a craft shop.

Practically every blog I have read has at one time addressed copyright and how you can (or can't) protect your work. As I wrote the pattern for the gloves, as with all my designs, then surely I own the copyright? What irked me more is that the lady in question is local and could have easily contacted me to see if it was OK to use the pattern.

On a positive note watch this space as they are a perfect design to be added to my knitting kits!

Rant over, I am away to finish off some orders for The Posthouse Gallery and Homer and to find the disk that holds The Pattern of The Gloves (sounds a bit Harry Potter doesn't it!)

I have added a 'Follower' tab to the right of my blog for those of you who wish to be named and shamed as one of my blog followers!

1 comment:

Jane said...

Oh the copying thing!!!!
I have ranted privately over this in the past, but now I tend to feel sorry for the people who don't have ideas of their own; though I must say that Euan and a couple of my friends continue to rant on my behalf.
To be honest it is often when ideas rather than products, that are copied that it is most irritating, when you say to someone in person, or on the blog "Oh I am going to do such and such" and then that person works away (in the dark) to do exactly the same thing and launch at the same time. I'm a bit more wary of that now, but used to be very trusting and, like you, got burned.
I look forward to seeing the kits - on your stall, not the other local crafter's
Glad that legoland was fab
J
x