Holding Pattern

Just a quick one to let everyone know that the website is offline and in a holding pattern as we progress through to the final stages before going live. We would also like to say thanks to those customers who have continued shopping with us online while we have been on our upgrade path.
Our last online sale on the old system went to a lucky customer in London this very afternoon so we will see in whose locale the new website lands in very soon for the first purchase on the new system.
When you hit the calico brook domain you will see the following image

This now means the only source of info will be via the blog so for the next few days this will be your window on Calico Brook. Hope you are all well because we are working at full tilt and it is not even Christmas yet.
By the way we have some nice gifts and presents for the whole yuletide season so either pop into our store in Gray Street or sit back and relax and wait for our new online store to come to you.

Rod

Signage, Synergy and Security

When you are a small company it is always important to have good corporate branding to help with the promoting of your business. We have always found it pays to have good tradesmen and craftsmen who get what you are striving to achieve. As a simple example, we use a laptop as a till point for our epos software but as I am sure you are all to well aware they can be quite obtrusive in the wrong sort of way! When we looked at the whole till point architecture it was quite obvious that function was not the over riding attribute that we wanted to convey to our customers. It had to be welcoming and somehow it had to be less obvious that a computer laptop was sitting on the counter.

In conjunction with our sign man we resolved this matter simply and elegantly by the use of our logo on a vinyl that covered the graphite casing and turned it into a Calico Brook ambassadorial beacon that was welcoming and meaningful to everyone. As a bonus it has helped us with security because it is not obvious that it is a laptop and secondly when we are at external events it is additional advertising and branding which can be no bad thing.

If you are in the Dundee or Tayside areas then give Barry Robertson over at Robertsons signs a call and tell him you would like to have him work his magic on your laptop - you will be glad you did. We can recommend the quality of work and the service you will receive. Look at the before and after and see for yourself.

                                                                             

V & A on the Tay

Well is this not the most exciting news that we have heard for a long time. Today, it has been announced that the winning design of the what will become V&A Dundee has been awarded to Kengo Kuma from Japan. Congratulations are in order to everyone concerned including the jury panel for picking such a fantastic design.
It will be great to see the fusion of work and art that our new links with London will underpin but even more will be the oriental energies that will seep from Kuma's influence. When you think of such works as the great wave of Kanagawa that symbolises modern Japan what are the main features that spring to mind, the mighty blue wave ( the Tay) and the snow capped peak of Mount Fuji ( the Law) then there is the fisherman - I know the were not hunting whales but it is still a nice contrived linkage is it not.

This is a great step forward for everyone in and around Dundee and all of us here at Calico Brook wish everyone the best of luck over the next few years.

We will be coming back to visit this story time and time again. But great news for everyone.

Web? - this way please...

At last,we are now getting to the point where our new website is ready to make its debut. We have now signed off the new colours and style formats which only leaves the nuts and bolts to be put back together again and a final road test before it can become live. It will certainly not be long now before you can dive headlong into our new look store and feast your eyes on lots of new images that will tell the story of the lovely products that we sell.

You will get a great cross section of what Calico Brook is all about both in its interior and gift ranges. So no matter what you are looking for whether it be for your home or for giving something to you and yours we will be able to give you a great selection of choices to whet your appetite. Even, for those hard to find things, if you give us an email  with a description or what information you have, we will try and source something from the ever growing list of contacts and suppliers that we have amassed  over our years in business.

To whet your appetite here is some screen shots of the new look website - remember, it is not live quite yet but it soon will be. More info and grand reveal will be on the blog so keep tuned.

Chair today gone tomorrow

Mini Chaise

It would seem that a lot of you dedicated followers of Calico Brook are enjoying what we are up to at this point in time. We are doing our chair thing at the moment and our wee stage in the window is certainly managing to wow the passers by as well as the ones that simply could not resist the style, quality and price of all that have graced the spotlight so far.
To start with,what do you think of this little mini chaise masterpiece? Retailing at only a mere £440 this is the lap of luxury for creating the look and style that you have always been dreaming about. Clearly, many of you have already been having that dream judging by the way that you have come in and said that you simply have to have it.
One of our customers has already had hers customised by changing both the fabric and the colour of its legs - so there is lots of possibilities. We already have had this on display but we have a fabric sample if you are passing the shop and would like to see and feel it. Pop in anytime, we will be glad to see you.

If you think the mini chaise was nice what about our one off silver high backed chair. It simply envelopes you and makes you feel comfy but also proud to have such a lovely sculptural addition to your room - throne room or otherwise.

As you might expect with such a lovely must have item, it has already been sold - I think it only lasted 3 days. If you were really interested in obtaining a similar chair we would be happy to discuss it further with you but you would have to be quite patient as it could be up to six months before we might be able to get such a delectable item again.


Anyway, at least you will be able to come into our shop and try out our latest chair, which is a lovely bedroom or occasional chair. The animal pattern is a zebra stripe which is very on trend at this moment in time but is also one of these designs that is ageless in as much that it is so natural so is always 'in the moment'. For such a great price of only £325, you could have this as quick as you like as we have a few available ex stock, just in case you wanted to try and use the excuse that if it is not available then it was not meant to be. It sure was meant to be, so you are very welcome to Calico Brook where you will be surrounded by lovely things to help dress the rest of your home because if we do not have it available from our shelves or our stock rooms then we can always call upon our trusty suppliers plus with our retinue of catalogues to hand we will be able to show you so many beautiful things - you will be amazed.

See you soon.....

Zebra Striped Chair

A Fish called Condo

One of the points of writing a blog is to try and keep you up to date with what is happening in and around all things Calico Brook. Another aspect of the blog is to try and time things so that all of you get a chance to get info and stories before anyone else - unfortunately this is going to be a case where you will get a story and not any news.

On Saturday we got our new goldfish from the helpful folks  at  http://www.discoveryaquatics.co.uk/ over in Manhattan Works. This was ideal because we had just secured the ultimate in designer fish tanks - they are so designer that you have to call them Condos - as in condominiums. The fish can then be be stacked in their condos and become a proper feature in your home. What is more, the fish can all see each other and that must be a good thing also.

But getting back to our story, everyone who came into the shop were intrigued by the whole thing so by the end of the day day we had only one little condo left for sale unless you need to buy a condo with a sitting tenant - only joking.

All I can do for you at the moment is give you a picture to see our four fish at home in their condos with the knowledge that if you want one you will really have to be quick if you want the one that is left. I can assure you that we will be getting more in before christmas but it might be a good idea to reserve one if you fancy one for one of your nearest and dearest.

Enjoy.

Sign of the times

Well, thankfully after poor weather and other delays, our new signage has been fully completed here at calico brook, 77 Gray Street, Broughty Ferry. Hope you like the pictures that we have published because we are now absolutely  thrilled to see all the hard work from design conception right through to completion now finally being  realized.

The colour tones of our shop are also reflected in our new stationery which you will be getting in the form of receipt wallets and when our new designed web site goes live very soon now it will also have the same branding and style also.

When you have been down to the shop please let us know what you think of the look or alternatively just do it through the blog  and give us you take on our new look.

Thanks from all at Calico Brook

Calico Brook - Business and Corporate Styling

When we are not busy remodelling our own shop we can be found out and about doing everything from the simple product placement up to a full corporate makeover. We will have details and pictures coming up shortly on our website which will be with you very very soon.

As a business you would want to convey a certain message to your clients through the things that surround you. Just as people tend to make assumptions about the way you dress or the company you keep they will usually also make judgements about your business premises and the way it looks and feels. In general it will be tend to be quite neutral which of course is not a bad thing but would it not be better if you were to get comments on how things have changed or where did you get that particular item be it some art for your walls or a nice bit of sculpture etc. Do you not agree, that you should always be striving for improvement at the best possible price? Generating positive feedback is perhaps one of the most cost effective ways of enhancing your business through word of mouth directly from your customers.

If you had a little spare money what would you do? List the things that you would like to change then simply email us and we will make up our list after our initial free consultation and we can then see where the most important areas of overlap are. Additionally try scoring the following out of 10 for your premises :
Window display area
Entrance / Foyer / Reception
Meeting areas
Walls or stairs
Everything else

Look through the eyes of a customer and be honest in your appraisal, even if you don't get as far as contacting us at Calico Brook, you may have taken the first step in looking critically at your own business. This is not like on television where after some dramatic makeover everything is all rosey it is more about trying to be coherent in what you do, what you say and what you project. If there is a mixed message out there or any one part of your message dominates the others, your customers will react in a like manner. Surely nobody wants either a confused customer or even worse no customer at all.

If you would just like us to come along and make your place all nice and bonnie then skip all of the above and drop us a line.

Thanks for reading.
Rod

New Suppliers

Apart from us doing all the remodelling work in our lovely little boutique store for which we are now in the home straight- thank the lord... we are also in the middle of bringing in our new autumn range of products as well as organising and scheduling our Christmas goodies for you to enjoy. I know a lot of you like to keep up to date with us via the blog - as our website has not been fully upgraded / updated as yet. I will make a separate blog about the ongoing progress of our website later this month to keep you all posted as to how it is progressing. For the time being all I can say it is 15 programming man hours away from completion - that probably equates to 2 - 3 of our earth weeks - ha ha.

In the meantime we have been busy sourcing new suppliers and new products and we are glad to tell you that over the following weeks and months not only will you will see these fantastic new pieces in our shop window and in store but you will be able to peruse new furniture, lighting and accessories catalogues to help you find that capricious and fickle piece that may have eluded you until now but with the help of Sandra this will all be no longer the case.

Also,we are also going to be able to offer you a great bespoke service in the very near future, of which we can say not a great deal at the moment, but we will do a grand reveal with this item once our web site is back up and running because we are so excited about it - we were wondering if all of you are even half as enthused as we are it might even crash our web site - that would be very strange eh. Stand by for more details and information as soon we can.

Rod

One, Two,Three.... wheee....eeeee

Happy Happiness

You know when they say that things happen in three's it is for a reason is it not. Well for us here at Calico Brook we have already passed the 3rd year of incorporation of our company and the third year of being in our fantastic shop in Broughty Ferry. Very soon now we will be completing our 3rd year of trading which for us has gone from strength to strength. For those of you who remember visiting us in the Overgate last summer, we are still here and doing very nicely - thank you. Apparently they tell us that 18 months is is the magic post to get past for a new company - well we have doubled that. Great.

One of the great things about getting older is that you get wiser from age and you can learn as much from what has been good and successful as from what has been less so. What is important for us is that we can display, talk and stand up for the products we like and the values that they reflect through us. It is obvious that a great many of you like what we do and what we aspire towards. So let us say hurrah for inspiration and aspiration and looking forward to many more years of Calico Brook.

We want you to be part of what makes us tick and look forward to seeing you in our shop soon.

Love from everyone at Calico Brook

Updating Updates

For all of you wondering what is happening with our website all I can say is - be patient. It is coming slow but sure. The unfortunate thing is that like taking your car to a garage, it starts off at a service but can quickly escalate into a lot lot more. What we have found is that even getting our new colour palette is a bit technical because they have to be different from our real colour paintwork by a set magnitude so that they will look the same when you visit the shop either physically in Gray Street, Broughty Ferry or online at our new website.
It has to be said that it is this kind of attention to detail that makes Calico Brook the kind of shop that it is. Because it is more than a shop.......
Speaking about the shop, it has had its new coat of paint and it is ready now for the new metal sign to go up - hopefully it will be within the next week or so as all our tradesmen tell us - subject to weather conditions. That is what the tiler has already told us twice but we are confident when it all comes together you will be amazed.
What I will say is that as soon as these final few things are done we will post some lovely pics for you to enjoy. It will be so worth the wait.

Rod

Window of Change

We have been very busy of late doing some remodelling work in the window area of the shop. First of all we had to remove the existing framework that supported our window display base. It was high and not very wide so did not really give us the kind of display area that was suitable for the fantastic products that we sold including our signature bling range. However with a little bit of thought and a lot of forward planning we thought we could sneak in the new window stage while we we were having our August sale which we had timed to last for the full two weeks.

Alas, like all good plans it failed miserably because we were sold out of all the sale items within two and a half days. So what were we to do - go  to plan B I hear you say.
Having no plan B we had to shut for a few days (due to health and safety really) while we made good all the electrics and the formed the new platform stage including the lovely deep piled deep black carpet.
We are now just waiting for the new lights and furniture pieces including some new accessories which we will only be to glad to show you pictures very very soon. This should be done over the next few days.

If you passed the shop recently and thought we were a) closed or b) done a runner the we can assure you by the time you get down Gray Street you will be gobsmacked as to the transformation. We will be putting pictures of all the new looks on the blog soon and the website  - when it is ready - very soon. However keep looking at our blog to see how the website updates are doing.

Rod

Website Update No.2

Changing Course

For the techies amongst you we are at the stage of transferring codes from one domain holder to another. Just like when you want to port your telephone number from one company to another you need a PUK code well it is just the same sort of thing. I am sure that you will also be familiar with the fact that when they tell you that it can be done within 72 hours say, you can generally count on them excluding you from that average timescale.
Well that is the case with us - our initial time frame has become a little more elastic but the good news is that other things are progressing in tandem with the transfer so it is not all doom and gloom.

Just to show that why have one little problem when you can have the possibility of many more - we are busy organising signage, repainting and rebranding of the front shop as well as the formation of a new internal window display zone.

Stand by for more updates and sagas over the next few weeks.

Rod

Redesigning the website

Redesigning & Reconstructing

This is the first of a series of helpful info as to how our website updates are progressing.

At present we are undergoing a major rebranding of our logo and colour palette. We have been working hard with our graphic designer professionals to achieve a look and feel that promotes Calico Brook into the next decade and beyond.

Once we have signed off on all the artwork and layouts we may even give you a sneak preview of how things are progressing.

Obviously we cannot fully implement these changes into our online shop and website until the design processes are complete and the correctly sized templates and logos are back from the typographic foundry.

Please keep looking back for more updates and progress reports.

The Calico Brook Team

Waiting for Felix

Our new studio space is complete and we are really pleased to say that all our hard work  has now come to fruition and even if we do say so ourselves - it looks fantastic. It has been Sandra's hard work that has finally pulled all the lighting and layouts together to make the room what it is  but we are now just waiting on the final piece of artwork that will finally make this little studio the best in the locale.

We are waiting on the piece of art that is called Felix. What is Felix you may ask? It is this stunning multi tonal representation of movement and space that simply just speaks to you. This gorgeous piece has to be seen to be believed and we will be glad to show this to you as soon as it arrives. The textures and tones of this piece work with any type of lighting and in fact can enhance it even more if you are really clever.

As always we are more than delighted to not only show you what we have actually in stock but also what we can source for you from some delightful suppliers. All it takes is for you to release your imagination. If you still find that a little difficult then I am sure Sandra will be more than delighted to give you food for thought.

Once Felix is in its rightful place we will let you all know.

Rod.

Truly Independent

Being an independent retailer is never easy - in fact it can sometimes be very difficult to ensure that the collections we have lovingly sought out for our customers to view and purchase along with the way we offer our services might not be different enough from any other retailer on the High Street.  However you our loyal and respected customers have made it very clear  not only to us but to your friends and family that you think Calico Brook is something very special indeed. For this we thank you very much indeed.

Over the last 3 years we have made constant efforts to ensure that we could obtain the best possible products at a wide variety of price points so that everyone could enjoy not only the pleasures of shopping with us but also looking forward to the opening a Calico Brook gift that has so much love behind it. We have a lovely range of gifts from France in stock at any given time all of which have the hallmark qualities of this Gallic land - quality, style and understated elegance. These are all qualities that Calico Brook aspire to and on this day of the 14th July - Bastille Day, we say to all our francophiles out there that we wish everyone the liberty, fraternity and equality which that trinity embraces.

Enjoy your summer.

Calico Brook - By Appointment.....

We spent last Friday meeting with one of our customers after our normal trading hours which was fun for him as well as us and we would just like to remind all of you that we offer this service as a matter of course by simply making an appointment with us so that you can shop and or discuss your requirements in more depth and at your convenience.


We realise that some of you work different hours and may also have travel time from work to the Ferry so if you would like to avail yourself of any of our services - just a reminder they include some of the following :-

• Homeware and giftware
• Wedding lists 
• Gift lists
• Sourcing individual products for you
• Offering a consultation and design service
• Corporate and personal hire services tailored to your needs

Over and above this we are more than happy to discuss any requirement or request you may have concerning your own personal wishes and wants. If, for example, you see something in the shop or online and you would like to reserve it until you are able to look at it in more detail then simply contact us and we will make all the arrangements with you without any fuss or bother.

We want you to enjoy all aspects of making choices and purchases here at Calico Brook so please feel free to call on us whenever and however it suits you.

Love from all at Calico Brook

New Calico Brook Gallery

Just when you thought that the Tate Modern and the proposed V & A Dundee had all the attention, along comes Calico Brook and whisks into the lead by announcing the soon to be completed opening of our little mini gallery, all within our boutique store in Broughty Ferry. Unlike other galleries ours will be by personal invitation only and this will allow you to both view individual pieces that will adorn the walls as well as the objects that we have placed around the space for you to admire. Of course there will be items for you to purchase and take away but also you will be able to look at our extensive range of fine goods all within the catalogues and directories that we have available for your perusal.

We have not as yet set the exact date for our official launch but it will be very very soon.

It will be very exciting because I am sure many of you will have noticed that we have slowly and steadily expanded the product range that we offer to all of you, our loyal customers and with the addition of our mini gallery space we will not only be able to exhibit more stunning items than we do at present but we will be combining this great space with our wedding gift list reception area.
This will allow us here at Calico Brook to be able to look after your wedding needs both for the happy couple in helping you choose from our extensive range of very unusual gifts to managing your gift list and helping all of your guests with each treasured wish that you would like purchased.

If you are looking for inspiration and need bespoke pieces for your home or wish to set up any type of gift list with us in the near future, we will be more than delighted to make an appointment with you to help you with all of your requirements.

Keep looking out for further announcements from us very soon.

Rod  

Gone Fishing

We just wanted to tell you a little story about what happened to us last weekend. For all of you not familiar with the Broughty Ferry - it sits at the mouth of the River Tay which flows into the North Sea. When we get a nice day it is usually tempered by the cooling winds from the sea which to all intents and purposes negates the effects from the sun. Now that you know this, lets return to the kernel of our story. Last Saturday we had the ultimate in perfect conditions that made us think that we were in some mediterranean seaside town. This of course made it very busy - so busy in fact that when the till had had its fill of money and cards and was perfectly content we decided to go home early and enjoy the pleasures from mother nature.

We then put up a sign saying we had closed early and like the sheriffs' of the wild west stated we had Gone Fishing. 
This apparently tickled so many of the passers by over the weekend that when we opened again on the Monday morning we had a mini queue of customers who had been so intoxicated by our 'advert" that they came in to purchase goods from us and could not help but talk about our little sign over and over again.

Here at Calico Brook we are intuitive and respond to things as well as people in a very natural and dynamic way so it did come as quite as surprise when we got such a positive and pleasant reaction. If you were one of those passers by who saw our sign we would love to hear from you. For all of our other readers not in the Ferry hope your Saturday was as good as ours and that someone was watching over all of you and yours.

Love from all at Calico Brook

Calico Brook at Letham Grange Wedding Fair

We were very pleased with our first wedding fair at Letham Grange hotel on Sunday 16th May 2010. To all of you who visited us and chatted with us, thanks a lot, it was as exciting for us as it was for many of you. It was wonderful to hear some of your stories and wedding plans and although we are very happily married it is so thrilling to get caught up in all the heady excitement and euphoria of love and marriage.

We managed to make a few business contacts ourselves at the fair in between talking with you all so as the year goes on we hope that you will notice some very nice subtle additions to the services and and products that Calico Brook will be making to not only our wedding services but in our shop as well.

One of the nicest  things of being a part of Calico Brook is that you our customer enjoy all that we bring to the products and services that we provide and we hope that the synergy that comes from this means that you enjoy also being a part of the Calico Brook ethos.  This will be all in your own different ways of course but that thread of being part of something both tangible and intangible makes us feel that what we are doing is both good for us and good for you.

Perhaps you would like to make your own little comment??

If that is all to surreal, then back at the wedding list that we would like you to be a part of -  we hope to see all you prospective bride and grooms in our soon to be completed office and gallery to sample the benefits of a Calico Brook wedding list. You can email us on hello@calicobrook.co.uk, click on our contact us form on our website or telephone us on 01382 774646 and ask to speak with Sandra.

Hope to hear from you very soon.
Love from all at Calico Brook

Pointing us in the right direction!

As always at Calico Brook we are trying to make things as simple for you, our customers, as possible. One thing you have recently mentioned is that when looking or shopping for a number of items from the same company you had to "bunny hop" between different parts of our site because we had linked them in a way  to either a theme or an event that meant you were either not finding thing easily or worse were not buying them at all.

That is not what we want at all - for you to be unhappy and for us not getting a sale. So, what we have done is to put all items from the same company into their respective groupings so that you can easily find all of the lovely gifts that Calico Brook has from each of our fantastic suppliers. If, for example, you see a nice set of silver wine goblets from Culinary Concepts and you like that style but would like to see what else we have from that company, the you simply click on the Culinary Concept brand and you will be able to view a superb range of gifts such as books marks, cheese and olive sets, t-lights, wine goblets and lanterns with prices ranging from under £10 up to £300. There is something for everyone and for every occasion.

We hope you enjoy this new feature on our website and look forward to being of service to you in the near future. As always if there is anything that we can do either online or in store all you have to do is say and we will do our very best to accommodate.

Happy shopping
Rod

Helping you shop online better

We love having an online presence here at Calico Brook and have made great use of all these fantastic technologies such as e commerce blogs and even more fancy things such as social networking and cross linking etc. but what we do not have is that spontaneous interaction that we have in the shop that has made us so successful . In store we have a road map of where we want to go and it is with our fantastic customers who show us when and where to turn that has boosted our fantastic client base. Online however it is a much more slow and frustrating for us as much as you -  in how we interact and help you with your purchases.

Recently we have noted the ever widening of our sales online and offline i.e. in the shop. While the shop sales go from strength to strength the online sales appears to be going in its own special direction. This is strange to me as the shop price and online price is the same - free delivery, so no other costs but to my mind a lot of convenience.

So we started asking in the shop what all you folks do on our site and we found the most popular was for the wife to show her husband the products she liked then they would come in together and buy it. The second most interesting thing was that for all of you wishing to purchase something from Calico Brook you did not like the pre registration and checkout system.

Obviously we are more than happy with the first part but we have now changed the way you purchase online and hope you find that by no longer having to pre register and a simplified checkout it will make your online shopping easier.

All of us at Calico Brook want to make your time with us as pleasant as possible and your online shopping and browsing is equally important so please feel free at any time to contact with your own personal experiences and tell us how we can be of service to you.

Please try our new streamlined online shopping and let us know how it was for you and remember that the price you see is the price you will pay at checkout as the delivery is FREE. Also if you are not comfortable with online shopping you can telephone us on 01382 774646 and ask for Sandra who will personally assist you.

Any comments would be helpful as always
Rod

Your Wedding Gift List from Calico Brook

Here at Calico Brook we are trying to help you enjoy the whole experience of all things related to your wedding. If you are one of the lucky couples who will be attending the wedding fair at Letham Grange and are wishing to place a wedding list with a local reputable company who will be able to supply you with the stuff that dreams are really made of then please fell free to contact prior to the event.

All of us at Calico Brook know how exciting the whole wedding experience is but it is also equally important that you have people who are working hard to ensure that all the requirements of both your respected families are being catered for in a manner and style that would be satisfactory to you.

The Calico Brook choice of gifts will be hard to match against any standard. We have gifts that you will love to choose for your wedding gift list and what is equally true is that all your friends and family will love the ability to either come into our lovely boutique store in Broughty Ferry or be able to phone and speak with someone who actually has spoken with the bride and groom and knows exactly what gifts have been chosen and what is still available. Even for web fanatics, Calico Brook will be able to cater for them fully.

Calico Brook warmly extends a welcome to you on Sunday 16th May 2010 and we would love to see you in person and discuss your personal wedding gift list.

To view our sample gift list click here.

Love from all at Calico Brook

Business Links to Quality and Service

Just wanted all you self employed and business users out there who shop with us to know that there is a great service available over at Freeindex.co.uk. The site not only does business to business links but allows customers and clients to both look for good companies as well as the ability to rate them so others can judge how good the service or product really is.


Take a look at our details and rate us as when the benefits become apparent for you.


If you would like to review Calico Brook and its services then please follow the link.


 http://www.freeindex.co.uk/wr.htm?id=253750&br=1



Either make a comment here or go onto Freeindex and do it there.


Thanks and enjoy.

Registrars and Registrys

We would love to invite you to be part of the Calico Brook wedding gift list. So many of you who visit our shop comment on how fantastic it would be if we did a wedding gift list and now we are starting the the whole process off this year. Everyone from Dundee, Perth, Fife and Angus in fact the whole of Tayside is welcome to visit and register your wedding gift list here at Calico Brook. So all you 2010 brides have no excuses and the whole process is very simple and straightforward for everyone concerned.

Please check the following links for both the simple steps involved as well as the gift list itself.
The first to enquire, register and setup a list will receive a very special Calico Brook gift.... We like excitement to - so you will need to contact us first to start the whole process before we tell you what it is. Email us here please giving us dates etc. to start the process off.

We are adding to our existing ranges with new collections from Italy and for your special list we will give you access to so many wonderful things that a Calico Brook gift list will be as equally exciting as your special day. Make Calico Brook part of your wedding dreams soon.

With love from all at Calico Brook

Home is where the heart is...

It has been a long time coming and it certainly has been worth the wait! Calico Brook, is one of the largest stockists of the brilliant Azeti tableware and we are extremely pleased to showcase to you the new range of designs and colours.

If you are new to this product, please let us explain. The individual pieces are like individual pieces of art, they do not have to do a thing - just stand there and look pretty and by god they do that in spades. They are perfect for a wedding, anniversary or house warming and will be warmly received.

"Each item is made from recycled aluminium and enamel, each item is simple, stylish and durable, and represents an intelligent yet uncompromising marriage between pragmatism and aesthetics" This is a quote from the man himself who made these wonderful things happen. You can also be sure that they have been very ethically produced and are in adherence to the standards set by Fair Trade Organisation.

If you are looking to buy a loved one a gift for any part of their home then look no further than here because the hues from all the vibrant colours will amaze you. The red is always popular which is closely followed by a rich purple. What can you say about blue and green nothing except the are absolutely splendid. As for pink, well for the girl in your life, well need we say more......?

The shapes just cry out to be touched which is one of the downsides of the internet. I do not think they are working on a Virtual Reality (VR) aspect of the web yet. So you will still need to come into the shop for that hands on feeling for the moment. Getting back to the shapes we have nice oval bowls which have lovely soft languishing curves. The long oval has curved sides that some aquatic creatures would adore and as for the heart shape, well who would not want to give someone they love their own heart.

Give something of this quality to someone you love and that includes yourself and you will bask in pleasure just you wait and see.

Take me there now please

Rod

Intrigued & Curious

This is a post asking a simple question? We know that you read these blogs and that you link to our website from the blog - so this begs the following question.
Apart from the couple of you who came into the shop after viewing the blog / website, why did so many of you not purchase the Temple Spa products online. If it was not for the instore sales we would have been extremely perturbed because we were the cheapest on the web ( as far as we could detect ) and we know that users love it . So what is the big problem? it would be extremely useful to know because it is a totally different environment out there in cyberspace.
However we would like your feedback especially if you have recently been to the 3 chimmneys like we have - as they use Temple Spa as standard and we are the only official Scottish retailer of their products.

Please feel free to leave a comment. Ours to you is that the customers in the shop got a nice bargain.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Rod

Look and Feel Good for 40% Less

It is important that you look after your skin especially in the harsh winter months. So here at Calico Brook we are doing our little bit to help you both look and feel good. In the process we are offering you the chance to save 40% into the bargain.

Our wonderful Temple Spa skin care range has been good for us but now it is time to move onwards and upwards. So you dear lucky customer can get a real bargain from the small amount of the range that we have left. You will save a massive 40% of our standard retail price. If you are quick you may very well pick up a delightful bargain. Even if you have never tried any of these wonderful products before, then now is the time because it will sell out very quickly - especially at these prices. Bargain... bargain.

If you have any special events coming up later this year they will make a lovely gift box ( if you buy a few) but the temptation to keep them all for yourself might be too strong. However you will be able to say thank heaven I bought these wonderful Temple Spa products from Calico Brook back in February - best go back on to their website again and buy another gift again.

Enjoy as always but hurry as savings of 40% will mean this offer will not last long. Once it is gone it is gone.
Rod.

(Not) Seeing is Believing.....

Don't you just love it when you have a wonderful item that is both useful and playful at the same time. Here at Calico Brook we are always trying our best to put that little bit extra into your life the best way we can and that is always with love. So, how do we manage to do that - well, we are always looking for great products to tempt you with, but not just simply that, but things that "speak" to you in a way that not only do you get pleasure in buying from us but every time you go on to use it then it gives you that nice warm fuzzy feeling that will help you add lots of nice emotions into your pleasure trove of memories.

Today, we would like to introduce a lovely item - the Holistic Silk eye mask. It not only gives you the perfect level of darkness to help aid restful sleep but it is infused with lavender to help calm the body acting like a gentle soothing pacifier. I mention this in first instance because it is also a great gift to add to your lovers toy box because when it is not on peacekeeping duties it can be called upon to perform other duties that are better left to the imagination because if I was to try and list the variations and combinations I think we might need a very long list indeed. Perhaps, we should just stick with the warm and fuzzy feeling.... and that is just buying it in the first place.

Enjoy your shopping with us and we always welcome any comments or contributions that you would like to see on our blog.

V is for Grown Up Love

As we hove into the month that holds all sorts of emotion for lovers, the eternal question as to how to show in deed what for most of us cannot be expressed in mere words - save the great wordsmiths whose lines reverberate down the years. What do you buy for the one you love that will excite and stimulate - after years of trying, how do you capture that magic that once was so easy????

Well, if you have years of Valentine experience behind you - why not try a different tack. Get together with your Valentine right now and look through all our absolutely fantastic Gingerlily silk bedding . At the outset we will confess that it is an expensive indulgence but as any accountant will be able to confirm, the Return on Investment will be phenomenal. How can you place mere money in the way of all the pleasures that such a simple item can bestow.

Let me explain. In the first instance a great weight will be lifted from your shoulders because the duvet is so delicately light it is like being cosseted instead of being oppressed by the dead weight of an ordinary duvet. When we get into the silk sheets and duvet covers - well where do we start. From an aesthetic point it is better for you because it helps your body temperature remain constant instead of highs and lows. If you want more details about the technical performance of silk please look back in March - that is a joke so you will have to do the wee smiley face emoticon yourself.

Right, if you are looking to rekindle the original magic plus have the benefits of boudoir makeover then you both have to agree to invest in everything that is good. The "good" for you will be different from what it is for them but the synergy will be
breathtaking in more ways than one. So put the FAB into this Feb and both enjoy the looking, the waiting, the feeling - the experience.


With love from Calico Brook

Tweet Tweet

For the fast living of you who need a constant supply of news as to what is happening down Calico Brook way, we have now joined Twitter. This will (eventually) give us an outlet for keeping you aware of special but limited offers that will be happening. Just think about them as micro sales or a newspaper column that is really only valid for that day or time.
It will make our lives a little more interesting so hopefully it will be the same for yourselves also. It might be useful if I can learn text language and acronyms as 140 characters is not much to go on. certainly not for a man of my calibre.

Rod

Table Talk

I got to wondering what you are all thinking about as regards table layout, colour and design. You know all that christmas parties and romantic dinners that you have been all engrossed in over the festive season. Should one be looking at keeping things simple yet sophisticated or trying to obtain the wow factor in some other way.
Do we need to let the table linen do the talking or is au natural much better so that you have the ability to show off that expensive bit of kit that hunkers down in the dining room. Or is it the decor, all that nice frippery that cascades itself lovingly over each place setting and central axis to highlight but is a demarcation of your table into zones or indeed should the cutlery and crockery be the talking point so to speak. How can you go wrong with nice shiny stainless steel or fine silver and gleaming shaped crystal?
You see these are all the problems we have at every dinner party or wedding we attend. It would be nice to hear what your basic thought are on this matter. Also, should you hire certain aspects of your dinning decor so as to give a bit of vibrant freshness to friends and family or invest in good quality pieces that withstand the test of time but kind of put you into the cul de sac of entertaining.

We have not yet got onto the food/wine/topics of conversation/ etiquette/ lighting/heating/room fragrance etc.

I will be adding some other table talk topics in the future so go ahead and make your viewpoints clear and concise.

Hear from you soon.

Rod

Lovely Lanterns

Well we really are tickled pink to be introducing you to some of our new stock that has just arrived. For these dark winter nights or summer weddings Calico Brook would like to bring you the opulence and style that you deserve - the Porthole Lantern.

Just look at these fantastic objects are they not just crying out to be set out in your garden at the end of your decking with the scent of flowers wafting in the still night air and you sitting with a nice chilled glass of wine admiring the candle light from your Porthole Lantern. What about using a few for guiding friends and family to that summer wedding that would more than help the course of true love and think of all that lovely afterglow even after the big day they will always be there to remind you and help rekindle those special moments.

Enjoy these lovely thoughts and we hope to see in our lovely shop very soon. Remember that we will be more than happy to deal with your online requests as postage is free on all our deliveries.

Happy shopping.

Rod

The best things in life.....

In the words of the song the best things in life are free, so at Calico Brook we are doing our little bit to make this cold and snowy January just a little more cosy.

Why not take advantage of all that snuggling up time by the fire and take a peek into our website as all our new stock starts arriving over the next few days and when you see something that you adore - just buy it because the postage is now free, yep totally free, on all products from us here at Calico Brook.

Why leave home when you could have it delivered to you for no additional cost? As always check our SALE section for one off unique bargain.

Happy (online) shopping.

Rod