Well aren't these the strangest times? It still catches me by surprise that we're in a lockdown. We're so far away from the real craziness, out here in the countryside, that it's easy to forget until you hear that someone is self-isolating or old friends cross the road away from you before stopping for a chat.
One daily reminder is that my son and his wife, who had come for a visit last week because their trip to the States had been cancelled, are still with us and will be with us for some time to come. Both of their companies are on the high street and have closed for the foreseeable future. It's been a godsend in so many ways, not least because they live in London and we get to see so little of them, but because it just feels safer having them here with lots of space and fresh air.
Also, my wonderful, hard-working team, Carol and Jane, are not coming in to the shop to help with orders so my son has taken up the challenge and is proving quite the needlework natural! He's even interested in how the fabric is cut and the difference between fat and skinny and I can see him cutting fabric soon. It's wonderful to have the opportunity to spend some real time with him and see how he's grown into an intelligent, talented man and devoted husband.
As you know, I've been doing short weeks for a little while and this is because I've had some personal issues that I've been dealing with. I am studying for a maths degree with the Open University, which has been taking more time than I would like and been proving very stressful. I was also called for my first mammogram about a month ago and, unfortunately, they found something that needed further investigation. I needed an ultrasound and biopsy and I'm so relieved to say that I was given the all clear, but it was a very long 3 weeks during which I was very distracted and battling depression. I felt like I was finally getting back on top of things when my beautiful 19 year old cat, Banjo Lilywhite, suddenly took a turn for the worse and had to be put to sleep. Those pressures on top of the usual daily shop stresses, such as the plummeting pound and an entire shipment of Picture This Plus fabric arriving damaged as well as parcels taking much longer to get through customs, has just about finished me off. I really need a holiday!
And this brings me to the real reason for this post; your questions:
We are still shipping!
We are still very much open for online business, though, of course, the brick shop is closed to the public until further notice. I do very much need a holiday and was considering closing for a week, next week, but you're all still busy shopping so I feel like I can't let you down. I will keep you posted regarding any break we take, but I will need a break soon.
We also have the issue that some of our suppliers are closing down for the lockdown, but we will continue to do what we can.
We cannot ship same day
We have been moved to a "collection on delivery", so our afternoon collection has been moved to the morning at the same time as our postal delivery, therefore, each day's orders will ship the following morning, starting Monday 30th March.
We are getting Nashville releases
We will be getting releases from many designers. We did ask them to hold some orders when the pound plunged, but I've taken the decision that as long as I can continue without making a loss, I will. So, please do keep an eye on the website.
And, with that, I will sign off, wishing you all the best of health and hope you are able to make some small positives from this crisis.
