Where did December and January go?!

Ooh er! I have just seen that my last post was on 3rd December - and I honestly can't tell you where the time in between has gone. Frightening! What with winding up after all the sales and then a huge Christmas here for the family and then trying to get back on track, it has just whizzed by.

January has been really good for Twice - there have been bits about us in Period Living (cushions), Good Housekeeping (pretty covered hangers) and the Scotsman Magazine (last Saturday - all about the January Sale) all of which have been great for spreading the word. Amazingly, there have been more visits to the website in January than there were in December - and sales are nearly as good. I was looking back at the figures for last January and it is amazing how things have built up.

I'm holding a sale here at home, near Perth, next Thursday 7th Feb to clear out a bit more stock so that I have room to get lots of new in. If anyone is interested and near enough the invitation is below - you're welcome to come along - just give me a call on 01738 860066 and I'll give you directions and details.

















The new stock is going to be great. We've got lots of wonderful things coming - my lovely sewers are busy making Lavender Hearts in the most delicious pink and red stripey French tickings and we're also making lots more keyrings. I made the first batch myself a few months ago and the whole lot went within days at the Christmas sales so they haven't ever made it onto the website - but the next lot will. We're also going to be putting things like our Range Towels on to the website - this is something Twice has always done with great success but again, didn't ever make it onto the site. And on Thursday I'm off to the tannery in Glasgow to organise the next editions of the Eleanor and Silvie bags and also, something which I'm very excited about, to work on the design of a new bag.

On the personal side, January has been incredibly frustrating. My New Year's resolution was to complete a dressage test on my horse. That might not sound like much but to put this in context I need to tell you a bit about the two of us. I have ridden all my life but I'm not good and have never learnt anything properly. My horse is Henry, a 14 year old ex-racer (he raced under the name Hailstorm which could also have described his character when he came to us). He has had tendon problems in both his front legs and when I got him three years ago he had been on bed-rest for 6 months. He was everything you might expect in a thoroughbred and there were moments when I thought I must be mad for even thinking about riding him as a hack. However, three years down the line, he is a different beast - gentle, incredibly willing to learn and, so far (touch wood), he has never done anything too unpredictable with me. So, this year these two aging rank amateurs at this new discipline are going to learn dressage - neither of us has the foggiest idea what we are doing but both of us are thrilled when we start to get something right. I will report back if (sorry, when) we fulfill my ambition - but this weather has meant that there has hardly been any riding - it's either too cold and hard or too wet and soft. My fingers are firmly crossed for something more normal.

I am feeling much more positive in January than I was in the 'Ups & Downs' post - which is surely wrong!? Shouldn't I be feeling blue and depressed at this time of year? But I just have a feeling that there are going to be all sorts of interesting developments at Twice this year

Anyway, a very belated Happy New Year to everyone -

Caroline x