Whatever the weather

Well it's Easter and last year we were mostly basking in sunshine: but in 2010 the weather gods have decided to give us a little reminder of the past 4 months by throwing down a vast amount of water in the past 24 hours and the possibility of snow tomorrow. On the bright side, any rumours of a hosepipe ban have fizzled away and it's perfect weather for shopping at Love the Lakes! Many guesthouses in Bowness seem to be fully booked for the bank holiday weekend so we'll all be praying for better weather at the end of the week - there's nothing so miserable as dripping wet folk trudging around the village and crowding into the bottom deck of the ferries only to endure steamed up windows and no view whatsoever! Come on weather gods, give us a break....
Louise

Where has the week gone?

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I last blogged. Half term hit us like a whirlwind (not that we need another weather related extraordinary incident) as droves of people descended on Bowness to enjoy themselves despite the very dodgy weather. Jules and Julie coped brilliantly as usual whilst I played a very minor role in proceedings as updating the website has been my main priority. At home we have been watching the Olympics with half an eye (well, maybe with both eyes when the Ski Cross was on yesterday: fantastic!) as Sean and I have both been crouched over computers creating new products and uploading images. We've now some great ideas for Mothers Day including gorgeous new body products, lovely jewellery, the latest limited edition prints from Sean, fabulously fragranced candles and reed diffusers from Pintail and the shop's best selling jams, chutneys etc. which, when you buy 3, come in a Love the Lakes gift box. Please take a look at lovethelakes.net and see what we've been up to!
Louise
 

New shop on the horizon

After 9 months of searching, we think we've found the location for our 2nd Love the Lakes. The deliberation that has gone into it has surpassed the thought that went into the Bowness store (and that made our brains hurt!). At the end of the day you can only go for the best you can do without breaking the bank and after many months of studying footfall, the local retail competition, catchment area, tourist income etc., etc. (not forgetting the new potential hazards of flood level and accesibility during snow!) we've come to a decision. Now the easy (ha, ha) bit starts: bank manager to woo, lease to sort out, shopfitters to pin down, suppliers to coordinate and staff to find. Can we get open for Easter? We shall see.
Louise
 

What a load of tat

We've just got back from Britain's largest gift trade show at the NEC - it's over 100 miles to walk round the entire show so very, very tiring. In a previous life I used to attend this show as an exhibitor and, as we were always quite busy, didn't get round the rest of the show. This time it struck me what a load of useless rubbish is peddled in the name of "gifts". There were large numbers of Chinese stands and large numbers of British companies selling Chinese stuff. Good quality gifts made in the UK were few and far between and the so called "British Design" section was risable. It seems "buy local" hasn't got as far as gifts yet...shame....but you can check out LovetheLakes.net in the next few days for more lovely (British made) gift ideas for Mothers Day.
Louise

Mel's last day

Our Saturday/Sunday shop stalwart, Mel, is leaving today, boo hoo. She's gone and got herself a "proper" job teaching in Keswick. Since she joined us last April she's proved to be invaluable not just at weekends but any time we need an extra pair of hands and, not content in running the shop, she's also developed her own line of jewellery (guided by our master jewellery maker, Jules). Mel's Sparkly Swarovski Bracelets ("handmade with love in the English Lake District" of course) are really popular, particularly with young girls. We've never put them on LovetheLakes.net but, in her honour, I'm going go get them on the site in all their glory next week. Mel was due to work tomorrow but the lure of a wedding fair at the Low Wood hotel beckons as she and Mike are getting married. We're gonna miss that girl.
Louise

Internet sales

Many independent retailers fear the rise of internet shopping. We set up our site, lovethelakes.net, not long after we opened the shop nearly 2 years ago. Specialising in locally sourced gifts, we knew we could offer something a bit different and after a lot of hard work, we got it to the top of the list when you google “lake district gifts”. Having worked in the gift industry for over 25 years, I was fed up of the influx of products made in China and I’m now really proud that we can support local, quality businesses both in our shop and on the site. Today, in deepest, darkest January, a dead month for retail in the Lakes, I’m sending out the most internet orders I’ve received in one day since we launched the site……Love the Lakes loves the internet.
Louise
P.S. Have sorted out a new electricity contract with, guess who, British Gas. That was a waste of approx. 6 hours of my life!

Louise

The effects of the flood start to hit home

I heard from Adam at Mr Vikki's last night. He's based at Eamont Bridge near Penrith and couldn't get insurance after the last floods in 2005. Unfortunately, he's been flooded again and now has to start up his business all over again. His range of hot pickles, relishes and jams is fantastic and he was going from strength to strength after winning a plethora of national Gold Taste awards. He and his partner, Mary, are dynamic entrepreneurs and I sincerely hope they're up and running very quickly. Here in the south of the Lakes the rainfall predicted for today is light so far and it's quite warm, around 13 degrees. Other than the Windermere Marina, where I noticed today on my journey in that they've erected portacabins whilst the offices are cleared out, the biggest casualties in our area seem to be 3 large hotels at the foot of the lake (Whitewater, The Swan and Lakeside), all of whom are predicting that it will be weeks until they're fully operational again, and the Lakeside Aquarium which only escaped last year's flood by a couple of inches. It's supposed to get colder by the end of the week and Metcheck is showing snow showers over the weekend. Whatever next? A plague of locusts? We still have plenty of visitors around and yesterday our sales were 25% up over last year. Lots of customers are reporting that low level walks are quite interesting in these conditions!
Louise

Bustling Bowness

The journey to work today was a lot less traumatic than the past few days. The Newby Bridge to Bowness road was passable with care, allowing for a diversion around the Marina which is still under water. In Bowness itself the lake has retreated by about a metre and access to the town from the south is proving not to be a problem as many of the guest houses and small hotels are full for the weekend. The couple of premises on our street that had problems with water on Thursday are open for business and, despite persistent rain in the afternoon, trade was brisk. I heard many tales from people who were supposed to be travelling further north in the county but had been forced to stay in our area for the weekend: a couple of ladies who spent over £100 between them laughed as they confessed that, as they hadn't been able to walk on the fells since Wednesday, they'd more than blown their week's budget on shopping in Bowness and Windermere. One couple visited the shop four times today in between sessions in the nearest pub, spending more money on each occasion!
Louise

Photos from yesterday...

I took a few photos yesterday, firtsly in the shop - your gorgeous host Louise...

These little Herdy money banks always make me laugh - 'Please set us free!' they seem to be saying:

Why should the pigs have all the money indeed!

I had the dogs with me so on the way home I couldn't resist a visit to an Autumnal Fell Foot, well worth a visit whilst the leaves are still on the trees and if the sun shines those colours will be magnificent:

 

Sean

Up close and personal with Reed Diffusers

Reed Diffusers are a brilliant invention: they're glass jars filled with fragranced oil and bamboo reeds that - once inserted in the oil - draw up the oil which then evaporates leaving the fragrance to infuse your room day after day. They look great and smell wonderful and we sell lots of them. However, one customer yesterday got more than he bargained for when he indulged in the popular pastime of our customers: smelling all the testers that are dotted around the store. His wife passed him the "Warm Embrace" tester and he enthusiastically brought it up to his nose to get a good whiff, only to get one of the reeds stuck in his nostril! Jules and I stifled laughter by disappearing into the office, holding hands over mouths and letting the tears roll down our cheeks: however, be assured that the unfortunate gentleman's wife and rest of his family were bent over double with mirth.
Louise
P.S. They bought the diffuser