photos what photos!!

Ok we are officially useless....
Sunday saw the last Martin and The Magpie Course for 2012...seven lovely ladies dropped in on a Sunday morning when they could have been having  a lie in and got seriously stuck into spruce....ivy...berries.....all manor of dried fruit and spices...drank coffee and ate cake and had a laugh...and as per usual we didn't photograph it......for goodness sake.

Thankfully one of our course regulars did and if you pop over to Georgies blog (here) you can see the mess we all made!!!! and some of the divine floral artistry that was on show.....you guys always amaze us with your creativity....thank you!!!

AND

in an effort to get to it on our photography....we are exposing ourselves ( in the best possible taste!) to ridicule by taking part in this project.......in the hope that we can manage to take 25 consecutive photos up to Christmas....

 

Hopefully it will give you an insight into the shop and work we do up to 25/12/12...or it may just be random images of our lunch and half empty wine glasses.....watch this space!!

If you fancy keeping us company and having a go this is the link.

In the shop today we changed the window...slightly Christmassy but we are saving the proper Xmas window for the Extravaganza night competition......don't tell anyone but we don't have a clue yet.....moved everything around AGAIN.......had another massive delivery of spruce and holly........we have been happy ...we have been angsty......the blue eyed boy had lunch with us....we made bouquets.....made a vignette in a lantern? ((see tomorrows post).....had the awning repaired ( it twisted in last weeks storms).......generally recovered from a freezing night out at the Queens Arms Charity Christmas .Fair......one of us mused a lot as to whether seeing two barn owls at 7 am this morning was a good or bad omen.......another wondered whether to shave off the moustache that has been growing throughout (M)November.....just another day then....xx

tropical versus traditional

Martins new pets.......day of the triffids or what??

Lots of assorted loveliness for your Christmas decorating....really, I can't believe I am saying this, surely it was only just September?

However today we were asked for a Christmas tree so it must be.

A few of the colour combinations for today's mass of bouquets.

This weekend sees our one and only wreath making course,  we are tripping over bags of foliage, berries and spruce, and need to tidy the shop up big time, but all will be well because Martin is possibly baking a cake.

Also we are attending The Christmas Market at The Queens Arms Hotel on Thursday 29th November from 7pm-9pm, we would love it if you called in and say hello, we will have lots of goodies for sale and also taking Christmas orders. Click on link for more info.

Shopping spree

Just a small selection of what we bought this morning!

Planters, candles, a hint of Christmas (don't you just love our Victorian couple??) and some more lovely decorative items!

Meanwhile in the shop the preparations for Christmas have begun! The wreath rings are mossed, the cones have been wired, the cinnamon has been bundled.... 

Christmas is coming!

Views and News!

 Just to let you see whats just up the road from the shop......Hungerford Common, the most beautiful place, which looks an absolute picture at the moment with all the autumn colours, this was sunrise on Sunday morning...a heavy frost and slight mist hovering........It is the Shop Dogs favourite walk...truffling through the fallen leaves for lovely sniffs!!!

 And LOOK at we can do now....( its been a long time sorting this out, I mean how difficult can it be??)..we can send our gorgeous flowers anywhere in mainland  UK....next day delivery Tuesday to Friday, give us a ring if you want details or just pop in and we will sort it out for you...Hurrah!!

 a suitcase full of the first Jasmine of the season...delicious...and also the first hyacinth bulbs.....can it really be??

 buy in the pot or let us arrange them in a vintage container for you, this is a 1930's oval planter, white hyacinths and of course moss...we love it....the old whisky jars ( was that a song?) are left over from a wedding we did in the summer and we have just a few left...a bargain at £5 each and don't you think they would make a great stocking filler for the chaps??....add whisky of course!

 ......lastly, we are stockists of St Eval candles all handmade in Cornwall, we have stocked St Eval since the day we opened and they are a firm favorite, beautifully scented, long lasting and a great present.....

.....presents.....stocking fillers...whats going on???     x

Lest We Forget

The start of the week.....

red roses and autumn foliage for an old soldier....

...our Remembrance Day window ................

 we have always dressed the window for it ..ever since Miss Magpie had her first shop in Dorset....and we always will....

.....as usual impossible to photograph with the street reflections......we made a cross with moss and lovely twisted hazel......a posy of flowers at the center.....hung vintage tea-light holders at various heights all with a white rose in them.....fashioned a non-lethal fence of mock barbed wire and hung labels on this  heroes......brave......queen and county...... 11-11......lest we forget.....remember......with of course our old union jack flag......( its had quite a few outings this year!!)

 The label idea was taken from The Enchanted Palace at Kensington Palace Exhibition last year, if you went you will recognise it!!
It is from the Room of Tears.....a candlelit princess's bedroom with hundreds of glass bottles ( filled with tears) and thousands and thousands of labels strung with words written by the public. They had to write the last thing that made them cry onto the label....the total 'en masse' effect was breathtaking and hugely emotional.....
so thank you whoever had that idea as it lead to us remembering it and using it here......
So to all those who have and still keep us safe while putting themselves in danger..thank you.

Happy Birthday To Us!

Today we are two!....where have those two years gone? It seems like yesterday we opened the door for the first time and served our very first customer.

So a BIG thank you to all our lovely customers.....floristry is such a personal business.. 

We see you happy and sad....commemorating all the major events in your lives.....big bouquets or just a little pot of prettiness for the kitchen window....

We love every minute and look forward to the future with gratitude..xxx