What a wonderful experience to be brand sponsors of Wild Well Being at Wilderness Festival this year. The sun shined, it smelt wonderful thanks to Neals Yard and Pukka tea, the yoga flowed and we all felt revived by a massage, what a great weekend. 

This week we will be heading to London,


Old Spitalfields Vintage Flea Market Thursday 26th June,
Bermondsey Square Antiques Market Friday 27th June.




As usual we will be at Stroud Farmers Market Saturday 28th June.






Looking forward to seeing you!

We got very excited about this creative Easton extravaganza! Our home was transformed into a pop-up shop for the weekend, full of all our latest vintage finds and bespoke creations. We met so many wonderful people, drank a lot of tea, ate a lot of flapjack and hosted a great street barbecue on saturday night. It was a moment for us to connect with our local community and celebrate how far we have come in just over six months. Here are a few highlights ...

Summing what it means to work from home! 
The facade of our pop-up shop

The Divine Saint Therese, vintage clocks, great enamel and bespoke mirrors.

The cabinet of curiosities!

Hand created lamp, hot off the press bespoke coffee table and beautifully renovated 1930s cinema seats.

Bon Appétit
Super street barbecue with Tom Hunt

Have a look at this great article written by BonnieF on Spabreaks.com 

http://hottub.spabreaks.com/2014/06/next-big-thing-bimblot/

So we are nearing the famous Easton Arts Trail. This is our first year in Easton, Bristol and so our very first Easton Arts Trail.

The energy in Easton is pretty magical even on a very normal rainy day in the middle of January. As the summer creeps in people start smiling even more than usual, there is a gorgeous scent of roses in this slightly crusty corner of Bristol, the doors of homes open. Back gardens cheep with birds, shrieks of kids playing football in the evening, barbecue smells, festival tunes and cello practice waft over the victorian brick walls. Snippets of creativity can be spotted all over Easton, it is buzzing with unique people who are following their hearts. This weekend peoples doors are wide open and the Easton Arts Trail feels like the most brilliant moment to celebrate this creative buzz, share it and to inspire each other. 14th -15th June www.eastonartstrail.co.uk

The weather is set to be beautiful, we are going to get out the festoon lighting and start scribbling on our big black board wall. We are feeling so excited about this magical thing called an Arts Trail, and to be a part of it is such a treat. 

By the sounds of things we are all going to be eating a lot of cake, too much perhaps! I am getting baking tomorrow to contribute to the big cake overdose! 

Come down and see us, 11am - 6pm Saturday and Sunday at 34 Bruce Avenue BS5 6EF .... there will be cake and even some wine for the French touch! 

Last weekend we attended the Good Story, Festival of Creativity near to Bury St Edmunds. The charity has taken us under their wing to be part of a wonderful project that helps young start-up business to find their feet and get off the ground. The charity was founded in memory of Mimi Watts, who died in a tragic skiing accident just over a year ago. It was amazing for us to be surrounded by her family and friends to be partaking in something so positive and joyous. 
Here is a great article by the BBC here that tells a little bit more about Good Story and the Festival of Creativity. 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-27160297


The weekend was an wonderful opportunity to meet all the other great Good Story applicants, to share experiences and see if we could help each other out. After a whole day of lectures on saturday, by a varied selection of inspiring business people, we all felt full of thoughts and ideas and reassured by the the experiences of our elders!  Not only did we learn a lot, but we met loads of great people, felt part of a support network and sold some pieces too - there should definitely be more things like this for new businesses!! Well done and thank you Good Story!



We were there with all our Reclaimed Creations , picture fames and mirrors made from reclaimed hotel doors from central France, reclaimed and renovated vintage cinema chairs, creative lighting using discarded, yet beautiful, objects. 

All the creations are made using materials that would have ended up in landfill, but with a good eye and some very exacting skills they have been brought back to life to make wonderfully ethical pieces for the home that can be treasured for many more years to come. 

Picture frames reveal layers of paint that tell the story of the changing decor of the hotel over the years. The frames also come with a lovely snippet from 1950s women's magazine Echo de la Mode, bonus! 

A mirror, also made from the reclaimed hotel door frames, with good quality, beautiful, old mirror glass. 

Very stylish wall lights made from interesting enamel pan lids who have lost their pans! The wall mounts are made to a very high standard with vintage copper piping and a solid wood, easy fix, wall mount. These lights come with a lovely vintage light bulbs too which look wonderful on a dimmer switch.

Two unique,  hand crafted floor lights. They are both made entirely from reclaimed materials, apart from new, yet vintage style, red fabric covered electrical cable.  

Want to turn your creative passion into a business? 

Good Story can help


The Good Story Festival of Creativity - Saturday 26th April

Bimblot is one of 20 businesses to have received support from the charity Good Story – giving creative, passionate people aged 18 to 30 business mentoring and funding. 

On 25th – 27th April, Good Story will host its first ever Festival of Creativity, which aims to inspire other young people to take their creative passion and turn it into a business.

And we’re taking part. 

So if like us, you’ve got a creative idea for a business, and need help to get it off the ground, this event is for you. 

On Saturday 26th April, a packed day of seminars and one-to-one networking has been arranged at The Highwaymans Gallery, Risby, Suffolk, to help aspiring young entrepreneurs get their business ideas going.   

At £15 each, tickets are limited to 50 and open to anyone aged 18 to 30.  

Your ticket will gain you exclusive access to a panel of high-profile business speakers. 

Covering topics from how to get noticed through PR and social media, the essentials of starting up in business and how to get your finances in order, the talks will be delivered from people who have been there and done it. 

And will finish with food, drink and live music with sets from funked up rock and roll band Juke & the All-Drunk Orchestra plus hip hop artist Rex Domino. 

The full line-up of business speakers includes:

Ted Ridgway-Watt - Digital expert and ex-head of Digital Jersey 

Alastair Whatley - Theatre producer and founder of The Original Theatre Company 

James Baker - Founder of Waterless Media  

Suzy Pettican - MD and founder of award-winning PR agency Reflection PR 

Richard Tribe - MD and founder of events company Revolution Events

Claire Johnsen - Business advisor and trainer from NWES

Kathryn Fletcher – Owner of Fletcher Thompson Chartered Accountants

Jill McCulloch –  Personal and business coach  

Good Story was set up in early 2013 by Malcolm and Nicky McAllister from Lavenham in loving memory of Nicky’s daughter, Mimi Watts. A talented clothing designer, Mimi sadly died in a snowboarding accident in Chamonix in December 2012. At just 26, she was in the midst of launching her own business.  Sitting at her hospital bedside, Mimi’s brother Rory Watts first had the idea for the charity, determined to see her dreams live on. 

The charity now supports other likeminded young people.  Raising £50,000 in its first year, it has supported more than 20 young businesses. And we are lucky enough to have been one of them. 

The following day, 20 creative young businesses like us will be selling their creative goods, including fruit juices, photography, vintage fashion, poetry, musical instruments and so much more, to the general public. 

So if you’re in Suffolk, please come and support us on Sunday 27th April. 

Rory Watts, founder and trustee says: “We want to give others the opportunities that Mimi didn’t have, guiding them through their first steps of running a business and helping them with their applications for funding, inspiring and supporting young people to succeed. And Saturday’s sessions will give creative young people lots of practical ideas, advice and inspiration from business leaders who have been there and done it.”

Tickets are going quick (we’ve got ours!) and limited to 50 spaces. 

To book, email [email protected] or call 01787 247265. 

Venue: The Highwaymans Gallery, Risby, Bury St Edmunds, IP28 6QP

Directions

Time: 10am – 5pm with live music, food and drinks into the evening. 

Visit the Good Story website, Facebook page and Twitter for more details. 

We have been at Stroud Farmers Market this weekend in the most glorious sunshine, such a treat for a weekend in March! 
Stroud Farmers Market was voted the best farmers market in the country in 2013 and we were delighted to be able to be a part of it, selling in the threadneedle flea market.

The market has got a REALLY French feel, all the stalls are local the quality of food is exceptional and it is even all situated in a gorgeous place du marche, just like in France. It is paradise if you are craving a holiday, a mini break in a morning!
John was in his element with a coffee and apricot croissant to start the day and then we treated ourselves to a delicious selection of local English cheeses to take on a picnic in the afternoon, I think this may become a Saturday ritual as we enjoyed it so much! 
This week we chose:  goats cheese from the Windrush Valley Goat Dairy, really funky  and goaty, in a good way and so soft and smooth we had the peppered one and the chive they were both great, particularly the chive. The  Bath  Soft Cheese was our favourite, delicious brie like cheese, so creamy. And Jonathan Crump's Single Gloucester Cheese , we described it as a Tomme du Savoie but a bit more chalky, quite unusual and we discovered that it is delicious with nettle soup!

Here are a few photos of our stall this week, the Spring stock is coming out and we are definitely going to be doing the market in Stroud weekly until the end of the summer.

Papa's made a gorgeous horse out of all reclaimed wood to go to the park... Happy Birthday!