I went down to London to the Colour Me Beautiful conference and awards lunch back in February, and I had a graet  time. Part of the outing was a visit to the London Fashion Week shopping emporium, and like most of the ladies present, I spent more money than I planned or should have. I was actually feeling pretty smug, as I was on my way out, having not bought anything - there were many nice things, but I was conscious of travelling back on Ryanair, and of not having booked any hold luggage and being right on my hand baggage limit on the way down. But then it happened. Right next to the door was Philip Treacey; I am not a hat person, makes my head look stupid, so I was happy to browse. Nobody had told me he also does bags. And there was a heavily crystal encrusted evening clutch bag on a celandine satin base, that just had my name written all over it. So I queued up and parted with my hard-earned funds for another bag I didn’t need. But it got an airing that night at our dinner at Chez Gerard, as it went really well with my top for the evening.

philip treacey evening bag

The following day we were treated to a workshop about working wardrobes. This is something I have always covered, and I am always loking for new ways to do things. The workshop looked at how 1 consultant put together her working wardrobe. I remembered how, when I first started looking at this many years ago, I was interested by an example for 1 lady, but found it difficult to apply to myself, as she was a different colouring - and a very different personality - to me. We were talking about this over lunch, and thought it would be useful if we each did a photo montage of our working wardrobes, and shared them, beacuse between a relatively small group of us, we cover most colour/personality combinations. So that is what I plan to do now I have a few days off, and can get all my laundry done!

Watch this space…..

I cannot believe it is 2 months since I last wrote in my blog! Where has the time gone? And now we are a week away from Christmas, and I still don’t think I am ready for it, and unusually I don’t feel very Christmassy. Maybe because I have not decorated the house, nor even put up a tree this year, or maybe because those beautiful crisp frosty sunny mornings have given way to dreak foggy drizzle, but whatever the reason, I am not really in the spirit of it yet.

My birthday/anniversary/Christmas present, named Doodlebug, arrived in my life last Monday. An 11 week old bundle of fluff and needle-like teeth, she is an Old English Sheepdog in miniature, looking more like a teddy bear, but already growing fast. Hence no tree this year. It is bad enough toilet training without the additional prospect for havoc with baubles and sparkly things.

Doodlebug at 10 weeks

She is out delivering Christmas cards in the pouring rain at the moment, so I am taking the valuable ‘me’ time to ice the cakes, catch up on emails, and write my blog.

In the last 2 months I have met many new ladies at presentations I have given all over the west of Scotland. Since November, many of these have turned into shopping events, as I am asked to bring along goodies for sale. This year I have included scarves and wraps alongside the pashminas, and added beautiful beaded and sequinned evening bags to the already popular sparkly bra straps. I also introduced a line of colourful leather gloves, which have been popular, and some neckalces which all disappeared the first time out. I bought these all back in August at the shows, folowing on from requests last year when I had nothing except books and pashminas. Next year I will be extending the ranges, as it is proving popular.

I also carry a full range of cosmetics, and have been busy selling these to loyal customers ahead of the price rises in the New Year. So what with working with an ecommerce company this year, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and set up an online store, where I can add all of these items and reach a wider audience.

I launched www.cmbayrshire.shop.venda.com a few days ago. It is a work in progress, but has proved remarkably satisfying to do, apart from the photography. I have just downloaded (free) photoscope, and this is making the process of editing the product photos much easier. But so far I have failed to capture good shots of the sparkly bra straps, so I think the next step is to invest in one of those light box things I saw at the shows. I just need to look up and find what it was and who sells it - maybe after Christmas.

I finish teaching (Womens Personal Image at Girvan) this friday, then I have 2 clients coming on Saturday to pick up gifts and gift vouchers they have ordered on Saturday, and then I am not working again until the 5th, which is a good long break. We have freinds and family over at different times, but I should still get time to spend a few hours with my puppy. And perhaps because I need to pay attention to her, I might skip redecorating the studio this holiday.  I suspect that depends on the weather.

Merry Christmas to all my readers. Have a good one.