Take 2 Working Mums and a Bottle of Wine - The BuggySnuggle blog

Working mums and childcare

2012-02-13T05:07:00.001-08:00

It’s half term again. The holidays seem to come round in a flash, and for once, I’m relatively organised in terms of child care this week. My daughter (2) has finally settled in to her new nursery; my youngest son, Sam, is skate boarding today, has a ‘Maths Challenge’ day tomorrow (making maths cool – how great is that?), he & I are going to London for a couple of days and then he has a footie day on Friday! My other 2 lovely lads (14 & 16) tend to either lay around playing Call of Duty, see their girlfriends, or surf, with very little in between!

Some holidays I seem to end up totally stressed, torn between doing something fun with my kids or answering all the emails that are filling up my in box. I mostly seem to end up doing neither very well and then just feel very guilty & useless! I don’t know how I’d get through most normal weeks, let alone holidays, without the help of my mum and dad or “Grandma & Papa” as they are known by my kids. I am incredibly fortunate that they live just 10 minutes away and they look after Lizzie when she’s not at nursery and I need to work. My wonderful mum also does my ironing and cleans for me once a week, and my dad is otherwise known as “John the Jobber” for, as marvellous as my ELSH (Extremely Long Suffering Hubby) is, a handyman he is not! So my dad is tasked with teaching my very handy middle son everything he knows! I rely on them both so much and they are amazing!

However, while I pay them for the ironing and cleaning I always feel a bit weird discussing paying for the child care. However, I suppose I really should pay them? I pay for Lizzie’s nursery, but not mum & dad – why? One answer is if I paid for 5 full days of childcare it would cost approx £640 per month, a huge amount of money. I guess grand parents = free child care. I’m sure I’m not the only parent taking advantage of willing grand parents, however it’s yet another tonne of guilt!

The government is currently considering giving vouchers to women who start their own business, so they can reclaim tax at the end of the year. There is also talk that these vouchers may be extended to grandparents which would be extremely helpful. I think they need to take it further than that. For many women it is impossibly expensive to go back to work, which is why so many female entrepreneurs start a business based at home, fitting work around when the baby is sleeping. Child care provision of 15 hours a week comes in when children reach 3 years, but what about those first 3 years which is often the time when we start our businesses? The business is unlikely to make money for at least the first year, and may well cost a fair amount to launch, so this is when help is needed most.

I found the report last week that David Cameron was considering tax breaks for working women who employ domestic staff, incredibly irritating. You wonder what planet these MP’s live on! They need to help us with the costs of child care – that is what stops so many women going out to work, not whether or not they can afford a cleaner!

Link to Working Mums Magazine: Government considering vouchers for working mums

Link to Telegraph article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9073334/Tax-breaks-for-hiring-a-cleaner-could-save-middle-class-thousands.html

One of those weeks...

2012-02-03T15:55:00.000-08:00

It's Friday night and I cannot believe another week has flown by. I have barely ticked a thing off my lists (I am a HUGE list maker) and the days have been a jumble of juggling things through a haze caused by lack of sleep.

Lizzie has been poorly all week, too poorly for nursery Wednesday,Thursday and today, so the sitting room has been turned into a sick bay office! I don't actually think I would have spent much time in my "official" office (the shed) as it has had frost on the inside of the windows for the last 2 days! I also think I may have developed chilblains from spending the days virtually sitting on my radiator (the joys of being a work at home parent, eh?!)

At least it has been sunny and crystal clear and I've escaped down to the beach a couple of late afternoons to drop my older lads off for a quick surf. Yes, they are nuts! They assure me that the water is fine (10-11 degrees) and the pain only starts when they get out of the water...

Today, with Lizzie on the mend and insisting on sitting on my lap whilst I was making vain attempts at phone calls and emails, I gave up & took her for a mini "photo shoot". We're about to launch a small limited edition collection to celebrate the Olympics and Queen's Jubilee and we needed to get some shots done, so it seemed a good time to kill 2 birds with one stone, so to speak!

We walked up the narrow lane, checking out the early Cornish lambs, to the old phone box (very British) where I wanted to take the photos. Lizzie co-operated for a while until she spotted some horses curiously watching us over their gate. So we fed them hay for a while, after which she refused point blank to get back in the buggy, and I gave up on the idea of getting any shots or doing any work and surrendered to being a mum and enjoying the weekend!

Warehouse move

2012-01-16T03:35:00.001-08:00

After 13 years of running our business and doing all the picking and packing ourselves, we have made the momentous decision to get someone else to do it! Fortunately we have some lovely friends who run a similar operation to us, and they are going to run our despatch operation from now on.

Last Saturday was moving day, with a 17.5 tonne truck at the ready (courtesy of another friend and driven by the awesome Baz) and minus 5 degrees outside at 9am, we started the huge job of emptying 2 warehouses. At least it was dry & sunny as we would have had a nightmare in the rain. Having optimistically thought we would be able to shift all the stock in 1 load, it soon became clear that there was no chance!

Load number one was driven to the new warehouse and rapidly unloaded, leaving a massive pile of boxes to get in to some sort of order! Andre (our new warehouse boss) had a look of utter panic on his face, which was exactly how I felt, though I was trying to hide it! Anyway, we got a system going and within a couple of hours the complete bedlam was looking reasonably organised. Until the second load arrived!

Jo’s baby is due in 5 weeks time, so we had to try & stop her lugging boxes around. We had a brilliant team of helpers – massive thanks to Dan (my son), Ruby (Jo’s daughter), Baz, Tom, George, Jon & Kate for helping us out – we would not have been able to do it without them!

The stock just about squeezed in & by 3.30pm we were reasonably straight & the panic was over! I’m sure it’ll take a few days to get everything running smoothly, but we’re looking forward to working with Justina, Andre & Jason and Jo will be able to have her baby without worrying about packing orders!

Sorted!

Winter walks

2012-01-09T03:07:00.000-08:00

Lizzie snuggled up in her gorgeous Wolf Buggysnuggle during a walk out along the beautiful Padstow estuary at the weekend!

Happy Christmas to all our lovely customers!

2011-12-14T06:34:00.001-08:00

Jo & I have been running our company for 14 years now and every year we forget just how busy it gets from August to December! By the time we get to Christmas week we are desperate for a holiday and this year is no exception!

Jo has been answering the phone, liaising with all our lovely stockists, doing the accounts, and despatching the orders despite being almost 7 months pregnant with her second baby! Yes I’ve been keeping this quiet, but we have another little Buggysnuggle baby (and future model!) due at the end of February! It’s very exciting! All 5 of our children have been used as models over the years, but Lizzie is now the smallest at 2 and a half, so it was time one of us had another and it was Jo’s turn!

Sarah (that’s me) is based down in Cornwall & I’ve been organising production, ordering fabrics, tweaking the website/Facebook page/blog/Twitter, designing gorgeous new fabrics for next winter - I’m working on dinosaurs, birds & moose for next winter! Of course what with the Olympics & the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee next year we’ve got a few patriotic limited edition Buggysnuggles in the pipeline for the New Year. I think 2012 will be a year of street parties & taking the kids out late, so Buggysnuggles will be put to good use on chilly British summer evenings!

We will be closed from noon 21st December until 4th January for a well earned break, so if you are planning to place an order - the sooner the better!

Thank you so much for your custom this year & for all the lovely feedback we get – I’ve said it before, but it really does make it all worthwhile!

Thank again Jo & Sarah xx

November Newsletter

2011-11-18T06:51:00.001-08:00

Free Hat or Strap Covers offer! Worth up to £15.00

Our Bsnug hats come in 5 fabulous designs – all of them fun, practical & warm. Between now and December 20^th if you spend over £39.00 you can choose a free hat worth up to £15.00*.

There are 6 hat designs in over 30 fabrics and 3 sizes (6-12M, 1-2Y & 3-4Y) to choose from: Pointy Hat, Crown Hat, Toggle Hat, Loopy Hat, Star Hat and Beany Hat! If you prefer, you can choose our new Reversible Strap Covers which come in 6 different colour options. Whatever item you go for, it’s FREE! Just use code: FRHAT

* One free hat per order & while stocks last – see T & C for details

5% off selected gift ideas for Christmas

As well as our gorgeous Buggysnuggles we design several lovely and useful items which make perfect gifts for Christmas. Simply use code: BSNUG5

5% off Bsnug Blankets – a very useful cot size (100cm x 75cm) and 2 styles: Luxury Fur lined with fleece or Gingham Edged fleece.

5% off Babysnuggles - so cute with a cosy hood with tassels and contrasting turn back cuffs. New this season is the split-leg version which is perfect for use with front and back carriers and bike seats as well as car seats! A perfect gift for babies!

5% off Dinkysnuggles – our mini buggysnuggles for use in first stage car seats. Keep your little one warm and cosy while you’re doing the Christmas shopping! 6 different eye catching designs.

5% off Flower Wraps – such a useful item! Literally wrap your baby up in our buggysnuggle flower and then open it up to use as a play mat when you arrive at your destination! Works with all 5 point harness straps and is reversible so you can have the plain fleece or the printed cotton side out.

Other Christmas shopping ideas

We were exhibiting at a trade show recently and I came across 2 products which my 2 year old daughter thinks are FANTASTIC!

The Cuddledry Cuddlemat is an amazing colour changing bath mat. When hot feet fresh out of the bath touch it, it changes colour! It really is amazing and Lizzie spends ages getting in & out of the bath to make new prints! (her favourite is her bottom print!) I think this would make a great Christmas present!

The Kidzzfarm Hoppers from Skibz – It’s like a kind of mini space hopper! Lizzie and Sam (8) love it and my dog is terrified of it! It has survived nearly 2 months of rigorous testing by these two, so I think it can survive anything! Bouncing round the kitchen is now nightly entertainment! Also Skibz fantastic bandanas make great stocking fillers!

Frugi is a lovely Cornish company with a great ethos who make lovely baby & children's clothes and have a really fab website! : www.welovefrugi.com

Ben Pentreath is a shop in London which I came across via my favourite blog http://www.weebirdy.com - I'm going up to the big smoke Christmas shopping next week & can't wait to visit it! It looks so full of ideas and the website just makes me just want to spend!

Another blog I love is all about unusual, vintage gift ideas: http://52flea.blogspot.com/

I hope these suggestions give you a bit of inspiration for your Christmas shopping!

Happy shopping!

Sarah & Jo at Buggysnuggle

Product Focus # 3–Bsnug Babysnuggle

2011-11-07T06:24:00.001-08:00

We make 3 different products for car seats: Babysnuggles, Dinkysnuggles & Flower Wraps) - this focus is on the Babysnuggle.

We currently have 2 types available: The original Babysnuggle and the Split-leg Babysnuggle. Both are available in 2 sizes: 0-6 months & 6-12 months.

The original Babysnuggle has a hole for the shoulder to crotch straps to be fastened through which are then neatly concealed by the pocket feature. It has a cute hood with tassles & contrast turn back cuffs. It can be used in car seats or when laid flat in a pram. It is available in Pink ‘LOVE’ embroidery, Blue ‘LOVE’ embroidery & Blue Stripe fleece. RRP £23.95.

The new Split-leg Babysnug has all the cute features of the original Babysnuggle but with the added benefit of split-legs. This means it can be used not only in car seats, but also in front & back carriers, buggies and bike seats too! It is available in Blue Stripe Fleece & Bright Bubbles Fleece RRP £24.95. Cow Fur & Strawberry Fur RRP £29.95.

They make really great presents for friends as well as being indispensible for the first few months with your own new baby!

Product Focus # 2–Bsnug Hats

2011-10-06T02:36:00.001-07:00

We’ve been making hats for years, but this year we decided to really expand our hat selection and improve their design. The Crown Hat and Pointy Hat have been very popular over the last few years and from various feedback from our lovely customers we discovered 2 things:

1. You love “ear flaps”!

2. You want hats to be fully lined not half lined (the Crown Hat & Pointy Hat are only half lined).

So this winter we have added 4 new hat designs, each in 4 colour ways. Each hat is fully lined and all have earflaps for extra cosy-ness! They are available in 3 sizes: 6-12 months (head circ. approx. 46cm) / 1-2 years (head circ. approx. 49.5cm) / 3-4 years (head circ. approx. 51cm)

The Toggle Hat: available in Cerise, Red, Turquoise & Charcoal, fully lined and with 5 cute toggles along the top. RRP £12.00

The Beany Hat: Available in Strawberry Fur, Candy Pink Fleece, Pink Pom Pom & Charcoal Pom Pom, fully lined and with tassels on the top and bottom of the ear flaps. RRP £12.00

The Loopy Hat: Available in Brown Cow Fur, Black Cow Fur, Blue Stripe Fleece & Warm Stripe Fleece, fully lined & with 3 long loopy tails from the top. RRP £15.00

The Star Hat: Available in Bright Bubbles Fleece, Navy/Red Fleece, Charcoal/Silver Melange Fleece & Pebble/Orange Fleece, fully lined and with a star applique on the front and fringe along the top. RRP £14.00

We think there is now a hat to compliment almost every Buggysnuggle, but they also make a lovely, unusual gift for birthdays or Christmas!

Product Focus #1–The Buggysnuggle footmuff

2011-09-27T06:33:00.001-07:00

We thought it would be helpful to write a series of product “close ups” to explain how our products work and why they are worth every penny!

Late in 2009 Jo & I spent a day in London doing “shop research” and visiting lots of big nursery shops to check out the latest pushchair designs and colours. One thing that became apparent was that quite a few buggies had changed how their harnesses worked and either didn’t unclip at all or were very tricky to un-do between the shoulder and the waist.

Our original Buggysnuggle had been a best selling nursery product for 12 years, but this discovery was still quite alarming, as the way our original Buggysnuggle design (and every other footmuff) worked was that you needed to unclip and thread the straps through the slits. But if the straps didn’t unclip, you wouldn’t be able to thread the straps, which would mean the Buggysnuggle would not fit these buggies. The whole strap threading palava was also a bit of a long winded affair and usually took a good 5 minutes. So we thought how great it would be if we could make the fitting quicker and easier for every buggy.

I therefore spent the winter of 2009/10 re-designing the Buggysnuggle and solving the strap threading problem. We made at least 20 different versions in the process and once we were happy with the finished re-design, we spent a lot of cash getting the design registered! (Registered Community Design No: 001690074-0001)

The advantages of the new Buggysnuggle design are:

It literally takes 30 seconds to fit into the pushchair, compared with 5 minutes before – this is one of our customers favourite things! The shoulder to waist straps pull through the vertical slots without having to be unclipped.

There is a flap at the back as well as corner ties, so you can hook the back over the seat or use the ties or even both, depending on what type of buggy you have.

The Buggysnuggle now has 2 zips which meet at the bottom. This means you can:

Remove the top completely and use the back as a liner in warmer weather and the front as an impromtu blanket.
Un-do both sides for extra ventilation in hot shops.
Un-do from the centre bottom to allow muddy feet or older children’s feet to stick out!
Useful zip pulls make the zip easy to grab.

The front flap hasn’t changed but is another great feature. When your child falls asleep you can tuck the flap in around their face to keep them extra cosy.

The Buggysnuggle is one of the longest footmuffs available: 100cm long and 46cm wide, it fits until at least 3 years of age. In fact as I never tire of telling customers, I have used Buggysnuggles for all 3 of my sons (who were tall for their age) until they outgrew their pushchairs (almost 4 years old) and once Dan got into his Buggysnuggle when he was 7! (though that was a bit of a tight fit!)

I also did a calculation: if you use your Buggysnuggle 5 days a week for 3 years, that would be 780 days, which means the “cost-per-use” is as little as 5p! We also hear from many customers who have used the same Buggysnuggle for 2 or 3 children making it even cheaper! That seems to me to make the Buggysnuggle footmuff a very reasonable product that you shouldn’t be without!

Heritage of the Buggysnuggle brand

2011-09-15T11:22:00.001-07:00

I was up at the warehouse this week and we had a look through some very old, damp boxes at the back of “Hub B”, our overflow warehouse. What a laugh we had – you should see some of the reject samples we found: Garish, shiny waterproofs; weird fake leather; some dreadful tartan efforts – honestly it did make us wonder what possessed us?!

We also came across the very first sample, the original Buggysnuggle, stitched by my fair hands way back in 1997! No zip, very tiny harness slits and an interesting bobbly red fleece fabric, but nevertheless still the same shape and size – thoroughly researched, developed and cut by me! (and sadly often copied entirely by other lazy companies ever since).

We also found our very first advert which we placed with Junior magazine in November 1998 – a cute photo of Jo’s daughter in the red Buggysnuggle sample. In those days we used to send out swatches of whatever fabrics we had got hold of! The retail price was £20.00 which we soon realised, was not enough if we wanted a viable business! So by the time our next advert came out in March 1999 the price had increased to £35.00! (I’d worked out by then I needed to cost in the time it took to make one! Ha ha!)

Then in a dusty old box we found loads of photos including these two – one taken at the very first trade show we did with Buggysnuggle in 1998, and another of our first “photo shoot” – basically an afternoon at Blenheim Palace with our kids in tow, modelling their Buggysnuggles! Dan is now 14 and Ruby 13 years old – how time flies when you’re having fun!

The Baby Race 2011 in aid of Tommys

2011-07-19T02:59:00.001-07:00

We are delighted to be supporting the Tommy’s Baby Races 2011. Tommy’s is a fantastic charity which funds research into miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth and provides pregnancy health information to parents-to-be. The money raised by taking part in the Baby Races will help save babies' lives.

The 1st, 2nd & 3rd across the line in every race will win a Buggysnuggle cosytoes! But there are also fabulous prizes for the top fundraisers from MamaBabyBliss, Boden, Jo Jo Maman and Snoozeshade, and everyone who raises sponsorship will be entered into a prize draw to win a miamoo hamper of natural products.

This year there are 5 sponsored Baby Races of 5km or 8km for mums and dads to run or power walk with their babies and pushchairs! Each event will start with an aerobic warm-up with Buggyfit (who we have mentioned in our blog before!), and everyone will receive a goody bag when they finish, plus all events have children's entertainment, so it’s a great day out for the whole family!

The 5 events are as follows:

Great Park, Windsor - 10 Sept, 10am (8k)

Pittville Park, Cheltenham - 10 Sept, 10am (4k or 8k)

Marbury Park, Northwich - 10 Sept, 10am (8k)

Preston Park, Brighton - 17 Sept, 10am (5k)

Bute Park, Cardiff - 25 Sept, 10am (8k)

It’s really straightforward to enter the Baby Race and the £14.50 entry fee includes a free t-shirt, training plan and the goody bag! Obviously the idea is that every participant raises at least £50 in sponsorship. To make this nice and easy, once you've registered, you will be directed to set up your personal fundraising page. This can then be emailed to your family and friends so that they can sponsor you securely and quickly online. You can add a photo and a personal message to your page and create a special 'Thank You' email to everyone who sponsors you.

The minimum £50 sponsorship is enough to pay for a midwife to answer calls for two hours, speaking to up to 20 worried mums-to-be. If 200 runners raised £50, this would bring in a staggering £10,000, an amount that could help fund a research assistant on a clinical trial. We all know someone who has suffered the trauma of a miscarriage and Tommy’s is doing vital research into why this happens, so come on, lets get our running shoes on and support a fantastic cause!

We really hope you’ll give it a go, 5km isn’t too taxing (especially if you walk it!) and your kids will have a lovely day out! Please send us in any photos of you taking part and GOOD LUCK!

Tennis!

2011-07-01T09:19:00.001-07:00

Sometimes you just can't beat knocking off early, grabbing a glass of wine & sitting down for a nail biting Wimbledon semi-final!!

Sent from my iPhone

Festivals with Kids

2011-06-21T16:09:00.001-07:00

Well festival season is in full swing and this weekend sees my 16 year old son going to Glastonbury for the first time! I’m truly terrified and will spend the whole weekend worrying but I’m sure he’ll have the best time of his life! (it’s just the letting go on my part that hurts!)

I spent last weekend at a really small but fantastic local festival called the Rock Oyster Festival. I took Sam & Lizzie and we “camped” in our van on the beautiful camp site next door Dinham Park Camp Site. A really lovely setting and very good showers! Slightly surreal at 1am having a pee with classical music playing in the toilet block!

There was so much to do: sample gorgeous food & wine from local producers (personal tipple of the weekend was Prosecco with raspberry & rose syrup from Hedgerow – sadly can’t find a link for them!); checking out food from several of our fantastic local restaurants (of which we are lucky enough to have more than our fair share!); the “celebrity chefs” strutted their stuff in the oyster shucking contest (which looked pretty dangerous!); lots of lovely gifts, clothes, & jewellery in the bazaar (we ended up with 3 strands of fantastic Disco Beads – they’re so cool and work in a similar way to cats eyes!); really unusual and beautiful art from WhalesongArt; and hoola hooping too - and that’s without mentioning all the artists who performed!

Saturday night and the marquee was buzzing! Easy Star All Stars are a brilliant reggae collective and they were followed later by The Destroyers who have to be seen to be believed! Crazy, wild, kind of Folk-Rock but like nothing you’ll have seen or heard before! Lizzie was asleep (somehow?!) tucked up in her Buggysnuggle but then approaching midnight Sam started to fade and wrapped himself inside the picnic rug!

The kids had a fab weekend running around and watching all the acts. Sam’s favourite was the trampoline act Le Botrio – BONKERS!

There are loads of small family festivals running all over the UK so sod the washing & hoovering & get yourself & the kids out there!!

Other Family Friendly Festivals:

Cornbury Festival July 1–3, Great Tew Park, Oxfordshire (http://www.cornburyfestival.com/).

Larmer Tree July 13–17, Salisbury (http://www.larmertreefestival.co.uk/).

Camp Bestival July 28–31, Lulworth Castle, Dorset (http://www.campbestival.net/).

Port Eliot Festival July 21-24, St Germans, Cornwall (http://www.porteliotfestival.com/).

Proper clothes for kids!

2011-06-06T05:29:00.001-07:00

With the sexualisation of kids all over the news today, and the government considering handing out guidance regarding kids clothing, I thought I’d recommend a couple of fabulous websites, which have gorgeous kids clothing! Flukekids was set up by friends of Claire (who used to work for us) and has really lovely, unusual “quintessentially British garments with a twist, beautiful attention to detail, using top quality fabrics and accessories”. My favourite is this lovely dip-dyed dress – it is truly beautiful!

Another website belongs to my favourite local shop www.birdkids.co.uk - Bird Kids have stores in Wadebridge and Fowey and sell kids clothing, accessories plus toys, books and all sorts of lovely stuff that you really have to have! I bought this shark dress for Lizzie and she LOVES it.

Both stores sell kids clothing that looks like kids clothing not mini adult clothes which I hate!

If you know any other stores which sell lovely children’s clothing please add them to the comments below – but no Spice Girls/Barbie please!

Beachbug Buggysnuggle Competition

2011-05-31T07:54:00.001-07:00

Check out the competition page at Pushchair Trader to have a chance of winning 1 of 3 Beachbug Buggysnuggles:

http://www.pushchairtrader.co.uk/en/Win-with-pushchairtrader/win-one-of-3-BeachBug--footmuffs/

St. Nectan’s Glen

2011-05-10T02:12:00.001-07:00

I heard about St Nectan’s Glen a few months ago via a facebook message and had been meaning to visit ever since. The Glen has been in the local Cornish news recently as it is on the market and the worry is that whoever buys it may close it to the public. There is currently a campaign to try to raise enough money to buy it and keep it open to the public. On Sunday I finally got around to visiting and it was well worth the wait!

St. Nectan is reputed to have lived here in this ancient sacred site, around 500AD. His hermitage was located just above a beautiful 60 foot waterfall which bursts through an amazing circular hole in the rocks. Pilgrims have visited for centuries and legend has it that knights from King Arthurs Round Table were anointed here, before and after their search for the holy grail. It is hoped that it will remain a place a pilgrimage for centuries to come.

You approach the Glen via a mile long walk along the stunning river valley. Everywhere along the route visitors have built little piles of stones and rocks or tied ribbons in trees, which gives the valley a magical feel long before you reach the actual waterfall! The last 100 metres or so climb steeply up steps through the trees to the tea garden at the entrance. After paying a small entry fee you descend down steps to the river and at the bottom you enter a magical glade surrounded by high cliffs. Trees are covered in ribbons, messages written on small pieces of rock are lined up along the cliff and a few candles were alight in a small nook in the rocks. I felt a powerful spiritual feeling about the place – you could literally feel the history around you!

Back up in the tea room we heard stories about the ghosts that reside at the Hermitage and in the valley, and also learnt about “orbs” (spirits) which appear in photographs taken down in the glade. My sister was spooked to find that a photo we had taken contained lots of orbs! (see the main waterfall photo) Are they spirits or are they water droplets? Who knows, but I defy anyone who visits not to be moved by the place!

Lets hope it remains a place that anyone can visit for many years to come.

The BeachBug page is live!

2011-05-06T09:20:00.001-07:00

Finally, after years of talking about it and months in planning, we have launched our first “small but sweet” collection of BeachBug products!

World Pilot Gig Championships 2011

2011-05-05T04:02:00.001-07:00

One of my passions is Pilot Gig Rowing – Gigs are six-oared rowing boats, built of elm, 32 feet (9.8 m) long with a beam of four feet ten inches. I started rowing for Padstow Gig Rowing Club in 2004 after moving to Cornwall and we train twice a week and race most weekends! Last weekend I was lucky enough to race at The World Pilot Gig Rowing Championships in the Isles of Scilly. I was part of the Ladies Vets Crew (over 40’s!) and we were aiming for a place in the top 30 out of around 60 crews. We had arrived on St Mary’s early Friday morning, then spent the day watching the Royal Wedding before getting our beautiful gig Petroc ready and going out to race late in the afternoon.

This Championships is unique and it is hard to describe the incredible atmosphere created by around 2500 rowers & supporters descending on the Islands! Rowing out to the start line is so exciting and we lined up with the other gigs with a mixture of nerves and adrenaline! The vets race is from St Agnes back to St Mary’s quay, a distance of 1.6 nautical miles and for once, conditions were pretty good and we had a great race coming in 16th place which we were very pleased with!

The Isles of Scilly are a beautiful and unique place which I would highly recommend visiting. It’s a bit like stepping back in time, to a quieter pace of life. For a beautiful calm weekend of walking or cycling, visiting gardens, swimming with seals or just lying on the sparkling sand, there is no better place!

I also managed a bit of retail therapy (never miss an opportunity!) when I was introduced by my friend Steph to her friend Fay’s stunning jewellery. I couldn’t resist the beautiful Sea Urchin charm necklace and haven’t taken it off since I bought it! Check out www.faypage.co.uk

Japan Disaster

2011-04-28T07:53:00.001-07:00

Like everyone, we were horrified by the events in Japan 7 weeks ago and the terrible images of the destruction were absolutely shocking. We were very concerned about our lovely distributors in Japan, Mayumi and Reiko. Mayumi lives in the Sendai region. Reiko emailed to let us know that they and their families were all ok and then we received this email from Mayumi, which I think gives a real insight into the realities of this awful disaster, and shows how people pulled together:

“Thank you all for your kind words, deep concerns and prayers for us regarding this terrible, horrible event on our part of the planet. It was nothing like any other earthquakes I’d experienced before. It sure shook us all and the shock from it will remain in our memory forever. The death toll is still rising. We just cannot believe the losses and damages caused by the earthquake and Tsunami...

As Reiko wrote to you earlier (sorry I couldn’t write sooner as there was no electricity here) we are all fine and so are all our families and friends. Even here in Sendai, we are in towns which managed to receive almost no damage compared to those seaside towns you’ve seen on TV. We are all living in our houses and not in shelters. We are, very very lucky ones.

The land still shakes every now and then (4-5 times a day) like it’s trembling for something. Food, water and gas for cars are still hard to get. People queue up for hours to get anything they can get. There are worries but there is no panic nor any act of a riot or anything. As for me, I’d made quite a lot of provision of food and had means of heating one room without electricity plus my block has been fortunate to have had water back only a day after the earthquake. I am receiving more than a dozen guests (friends, kids’ friends and neighbours. many of them I haven’t met before) every evening in the past 3 days to take a bath at my fortunate house. They leave me some food in return. Most of these people need gas to be restored to use hot water at their home and that, is going to take at least a month. So it’ll be that way every day at my house for a while and I’m making lots of friends now. :-)

Our warehouse is also ok. It survived the tsunami. (Thank God!!) We only have to wait for the surrounding roads to to be cleared away and we’ll be back in full business. We are expecting it to take a few weeks but I will keep you posted with how this cleaning work goes in that area and how everything gets restored.

Many many thanks and regards,

Mayumi” – 16th March 2011

We were surprised when Mayumi decided to go ahead with her planned trip to visit the UK and we had a meeting and lovely lunch with her at the end of March. It was sad to hear all the stories first hand. She returned to Japan and has recently sent us this update:

“When I came back from my trip, there was still no gas in the kitchen. The petrol was still very difficult to get and all the stores were open only parts of them and for only a few hours every day. But those things improved very quickly in the following week. And today,the bullet train between Tokyo and Sendai finally re-started its operation, after a little more than 6 weeks since the earthquake. They fixed more than 1000 parts/places/problems on the railroad of about 500km. It feels good to know our major transportation is restored. Although some parts/things in life still remain unrecovered or half recovered, we are not in need of anything anymore. Then again, we do keep thinking and praying for those at costal areas. We still hear more and more sad stories from people or the media everyday.

Not sure if I’ve told you this before but we donated all the sample snuggles we had at our office to the Tsunami victims almost right after it happened. I am sure they helped at least 40 babies to keep warm at the shelters when it was still very cold last month or even some evenings now.

Kindest regards

Mayumi” – 25th April 2011

We hope you find it interesting to read about Mayumi’s on going experience.

Post Holiday Blues

2011-04-18T08:15:00.001-07:00

Well after 5 days following my surf bums and staying at Casa D’Arriba in Portugal (which, incidentally, I cannot recommend more!) I am now back in the office beavering away! It’s always horrible getting back to reality, but I think because the weather’s so gorgeous here, it makes it worse! My friend Claire who looks after Lizzie, has been on the beach with her today and I’m suffering from the serious working mum guilt! (I should be there with her!) I know Jo is also charging about doing a few hours in the office, then attempting to entertain Ruby, whilst knowing the 100 or so emails need answering and the year end is looming... Looking forward to next weeks’ guilt free 3 day week though! Ha ha! Bank holidays are officially fun days!

Does anyone else have any ideas for getting your work/fun balance right in the holidays? I’d love any suggestions because after 4 kids over 16 years I still seem to find it a constant struggle!

Still, at least one of the great things about working for yourself is that you can knock off early which is what I’m planning to do shortly!

Snoop Dog Babysits!

2011-04-01T06:12:00.001-07:00

I didn’t have anyone to babysit Lizzie today, but needn’t have worried! Snoop Dog (our kitten) was looking after her very closely! Bless!

Never work with children and animals!

2011-03-30T07:40:00.001-07:00

Having been asked by quite a few customers whether we could make an instructional video about the Buggysnuggle, we decided to take the plunge! I contacted a local company iKandi Media, down here in Cornwall, had a quick meeting with Tom and Toby, and before we knew it we were at local beach Trevone, filming what turned out to be more of a mini-movie, with a group of friends and their lovely babies! We were really lucky that the day of filming was completely gorgeous (though freezing!) – clear blue skies and sunshine!

I wish we could have made an out-takes version as we had a few hilarious moments, such as a very sudden double nostril snot attack from one baby; the moment doing the “city shots” when 2 tractors ruined the shot; watching Toby playing spelling with the alphabetti spagetti; and at the end of the day, when Lizzie had her moment of glory and smiled and shouted “BUM” very loudly for no apparent reason!

I have to admit, when we’d finished filming I did wonder how on earth they were going to turn it into something professional, as to me it had seemed like organised chaos all day! The saying “never work with children and animals” comes to mind! However, ikandi are miracle workers and when we saw the end results we were delighted!

Having filmed the “movie” we got Sam to show us how to fit a Buggysnuggle and ikandi made this into another short film. Sam was great and really made us laugh when we’d asked him to end with “ta-da!” and he changed it to “ker-ching”!

We’re really pleased with the results and really hope you like them too!

Strawberry dilemma!

2011-03-18T03:28:00.001-07:00

We're in a right dilemma about one of our new designs for Winter 2011. After many requests, we are bringing back our strawberry design again (after a few years off) but we can’t decide between these 2 colour ways – RED or PINK STRAWBERRY! Can you let me know on the Facebook link which Strawberry you prefer! Thanks!

Buggyfit

2011-03-16T03:14:00.001-07:00

Here’s another photo of a Buggyfit class taking place! It has to be the answer to getting back into shape after having a baby!

Buggyfit- the word on the lips of Mums in the know!!

2011-03-15T05:11:00.001-07:00

We love promoting other businesses run by mums and this one is especially close to our hearts as both Jo & I went to school with Emma, the founder of Buggyfit!

Buggyfit has become the most popular way to lose the post baby weight and get back into shape while still being a devoted Mum.

Buggyfit is an outdoor fitness class completely designed with the needs of new Mums in mind. All lead by trained fitness professionals, buggyfit classes are based on power walking with some optional jogging too and are proving to be the best way to get back to fitness, while baby enjoys the fresh air too. It is easy to see why buggyfit is taking the country by storm with classes cropping up in most major towns.

No crèche or babysitting expenses needed, just a great mix of fat-burning and re-toning with baby by your side and friends to chat to. Emma Redding the founder of buggyfit, is a qualified personal trainer and member of The Guild of Post-natal Exercise Teachers. Buggyfit was launched after the birth of her son in 2002. As featured in all the leading press, Buggyfit classes are opening every month around the UK to provide a social, fitness class for Mums and babies with the perfect mix of cardio vascular fat burning exercises and strengthening, toning and stretching. The buggyfit trainers use their expertise to make use of outdoor objects such as farm gates and park benches to instruct exercises to re-tone muscles.

“We especially target areas that have been weakened in pregnancy and childbirth such as butts, thighs, arms and abs, with particular emphasis on good posture while we do them” says Emma.

Buggyfit Information

Buggyfit classes cost between £3 and £8 depending on geographical area. Most areas offer discounted block booking options. Watch out for the new ‘Buggyfit blitz’- and intense course of sessions to really get you in the zone and help accelerate results.

For more information on becoming a buggyfit trainer or for a class near you visit www.buggyfit.co.uk or call Emma Redding on 01844 202081, emma@buggyfit.co.uk

A Buggysnuggle is perfect for keeping your baby tucked up nice and warm whilst you burn off the calories and get toned in your Buggyfit class!