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Gazing at the sun…

Afternoon from a bright and breezy Barbican, and welcome to our first blog of 2016! (On 21st February… shameful).

We’re now happily set up in our new home at the front of The House that Jack Built, and have spent the last 6 weeks enjoying THE WINDOW. We love THE WINDOW. We can wave at passers by, scowl at overly loud motorbikes screaming down Southside Street, survey (and often tut at) the weather and generally be part of the rest of the window-owning community. We loved our first shop, but having access to natural daylight really is a game-changer. Yesterday a lovely lady came running in to buy a bag we had in our window display, which she had seen the night before whilst out on the Barbican for dinner. All hail the power of THE WINDOW.

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If I had one criticism of the beloved window it is that it desperately needs a clean – there’s a point around 3.30pm when the sun begins to set and peaks through the lane opposite and the shop is bathed in beautiful sunlight (when the clouds allow). However, its on occasions like this that I realise the window looks like it hasn’t seen the mercy of a squeegee since Mr Drake himself was wondering round looking for a nice flat patch of grass and wondering why everyone else is getting so het up. If only there was someone you could pay to do this kind of thing for you…

Anyway, we’re very happy in our new home and have had lovely feedback on the new shop. And the move isn’t the only new change for 2016; we now have the lovely Louise working in the shop on Mondays, meaning we’re now open 6 days a week. Louise is the mastermind behind Everyday Wonders, one of our very popular crafty suppliers, so she loves chatting about all things handmade.

We also have a couple of new stockists in the pipeline which should be hitting our shelves in March – keep your eyes on our social media for further info!

Right, I’m off in search of a sponge and bucket. 🙂

 

 

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To Did and To Do…

Seasons Greetings Rockhoppers! I trust this post finds you well, if not a little stressed (if you’re lucky) or downright desperate (if you’re anything like me and have only bought a pathetic smattering of gifts so far). Still – fractiousness, desperation, staying up until 3am wrapping gifts or making the cake – its all part of the Christmas tradition, right? RIGHT?!

Anyway – as the sun sets on 2015, I thought it would be nice to reflect on what, I think we can all agree, has been a pretty bonkers year for Rockpool. But no one wants to read a blog post about “these are all our achievements in the last 12 months, aren’t we great??,  so in order to keep it brief, I’ve done what I always do; I’ve made a list. (One can never go wrong with a list).

“To Did List in 2015”:

1. Said goodbye to a job which wasn’t really my cup of tea, despite the lovely people I worked with.

2. Realised I no longer had an income and that, for some pinickity people (like the bank manager), this might be a problem, so agreed a lease on a small shop on The Barbican in Plymouth.

3. Turned said shop into a cosy little home for Rockpool Trading.

4. Grew.

5. Grew some more.

6. Ended up with double the number of stockists we had when we first opened, covering a broader range of products from candles to cushions, bags to bunting, spoon fish mobiles to fairy doors and everything in between, all of which are lovingly handcrafted in Devon & Cornwall.

7. Had a lovely summer chatting to folk from all over the planet who were visiting Plymouth, as well as broadening our customer base in the city.

8. Got nominated for a Plymouth Herald City & Waterfront Business award for Rockpool. Terribly exciting – never been nominated for anything before. Celebrated with a piece of red velvet cake.

9. Got shortlisted for a Plymouth Herald City & Waterfront Business award for Rockpool. Even more exciting. Bought a posh frock and attended our first ever awards ceremony where were were Commended in the category of “Best homeware, gift shop, arts and crafts, hobbies and interests retailer”. Celebrated with lots of bubbly.

10. Attended the Plymouth Christmas Market and met lots of lovely local folk and publicised our cosy Rockpool home on The Barbican. Also ate a LOT to keep warm. Nearly lost Christmas cheer, having to listen to Christmas hits solidly for 11 days.

11. Rediscovered Christmas cheer, and made the most of the festive season by selling at fairs in Plymouth, Tavistock and Edinburgh, bookending the country with our handmade wares, as well as online and of course in the shop.

12. Waved a sad goodbye to our buddies at Funky Poppy who are moving out of the House that Jack Built at the end of the year after 5 happy years in the wonderful independent shopping arcade.

“To do lists for 2016”:

1. Move Rockpool into the front shop at the House that Jack Built, and make it as cosy and comfy as our first shop was. (Squeeeeeeeeeee! SO excited!!!).

2. Sleep more.

See you in our new pad in 2016 folks!

This one!