Strawberry Lane Forever

Across the road from us we are very lucky to have a man who sells his own strawberries. In the Winter he sells Christmas Trees and you always know Christmas has arrived when the tree signs go out and the small turning to his selling area is lined with fairy lights in every colour imaginable. All through December you see people driving down there, filled with excitement and festive cheer ready to make the very important decision on which tree will adorn their home.

Along with fields of Daffodils and Tulips lining florists shop fronts, his wooden signs adorned with the usual bright red strawberry is one of the sure signs Spring is here and Summer is definitely around the corner.

The lane becomes alive with tempted locals and holiday makers alike, who see the signs at the crossroads and turn off to grab that small or large wonderful punnet of beautiful ruby red strawberries.

The other morning I opened the blinds and was very happy to see 'Strawberry Man' had put his signs out in the lane. All of a sudden the house was filled with cheers of 'Hurrah'. Very excitedly we started talking about how we like to eat ours; plain, with a coating of sugar on top or with a comforting dollop of Cornish clotted cream. It wasn't long before it soon dawned on us, this time of year always has the danger of turning into a £3.50 daily strawberry habit!

However, I always argue it's a very healthy way to turn our backs on the abundance of chocolate from Easter and with our Tea Party for the Royal Wedding looming around the corner and with strawberries being on the menu; well, it would be rude really not to sample a few, simply to make sure they are going to be just right for all our guests!

and of course they are always best washed down with a lovely cold glass of old fashioned lemonade!

Easter Tree

You may remember the other day I wrote about our hunt for the perfect branches for our Easter Tree and I promised to post some pictures of the finished article.

Well after a lot of tweaking and umming and aahing, here it finally is.

I found some lovely hedgerow flowers to add a bit of colour and although the branches weren't the best we have ever found; a little sparse when it came to greenery shall I say, I actually quite like it.

I'll always remember my Mother's dining room window looking like a carnival of spring colours and I've always thought having an Easter Tree was a lovely tradition to keep. So, over the weekend, decorations I have had for years, many spanning back to my childhood have been pulled out of the attic and arranged alongside our very own Lillies decorations.

Our Mini Easter Chick in an Easter Yellow

and in a smooth Chocolate Truffle.

One of our Dotty Easter Eggs in a lovely pink

and one of the old favourites that comes out every year.

Every time I look at him he makes me smile!

Our leggy Easter Chicks have found a home in the kitchen windows ... 

.... some new friends for our blue Rooster!

Bowls of colourful sweets fill the house, sitting beautifully amongst the endless vases of daffodils and the traditional Hot Cross Buns are already filling the cake tins.

Mark is away at the weekend, so the celebrations are being brought forward, not that I mind; not at all, it means I get to enjoy one of my favourite times of year, not once, but twice and that is never a bad thing!!

So from sunny Cornwall we wish you all a very Happy Easter!

Easter Tree Hunting

In my blog the other day I talked about our yearly tradition of heading off into the woods to look for the perfect branch that would have the very important job of being our Easter Tree.

Mark is away now working for a few days and as he will be away for Easter weekend as well, we thought it was best to do it sooner rather than later. So with wellies, penknife and a rucksack filled with nibbles at the ready, Mark, Molly (our Westie) and I headed towards Vellanoweth Woods.

We stopped off at the Post Office on the way to send off the large number of NOTHS orders that seem to have kept flowing in this week; which is always a good thing and then set off.

The woods are only a short walk away from us and I always love heading over this way as my childhood home is just set off the side of the valley looking down on them. They are always filled with lots of fond memories of long Sunday walks, sledging in the winter and my poor Father, who spent many a late night in there looking for our dear old dog 'Bess', who quite often got spooked by the bird scarers, would jump the gate and head off into the woods. Many a time have we had the car head lights shining into the woods, shouting at him in his pjs and wellies to 'keep going', when she was only just ahead of him running along!

A good spot to play 'Pooh Sticks'

The rain managed to stay away, and we ended up having a lovely two hour walk. Stopping off for some biscuits and tea in the most gorgeous meadow filled with daisies; it was nice to have a break away from the workroom and the long hours at the laptop researching for the new venture.

Ludgvan Church (oh and Molly!)

We managed to avoid stopping in the local pub 'The White Hart' for a refreshment; which I do recommend for their very delicious food and continued into the fields with a wonderful view of the Mount.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wrapped up in blankets, sat outside on the decking with a fresh baguette, some cheese and pate and a glass of wine in hand.

I have to say we weren't exactly spoilt for choice this time when it came to the branches, so I'm just going to have to try my best with what we found. But hey, Easter isn't Easter without a decorated tree in the home is it!?

I'll post the pictures over the next few days.

Out of the Blue .......

is a beautiful gallery situated in the heart of Marazion; the gateway to St Michaels Mount. You will find it happily sat in the main square; a beautiful and very 'blue' old building which has held many purposes over the years. Many remember it for one, being an aquarium, where the family lived in the very small rooms up above.

http://www.out-of-the-blue-gallery.co.uk/

Run by the very talented artist Glyn Macey and his lovely wife Kerry, the gallery is not only a perfect space for Glyn to showcase his own artwork, but it is also a beautiful place for visitors alike to browse and view the wonderful pieces on display.

Painting by Glyn Macey

http://www.glynmacey.com/

Here you will find everything from pottery and ceramics by Lincoln Kirby Bell, Sarah Nicol, Elizabeth Howe and Perry Marsh to paintings by Glyn Macey himself, John Piper and Mike Hindle along with many other local talented designer makers including 'Lillies' ourselves!!

You'll find our Cornish Daisies quite happily on display!

http://www.designsbylillies.co.uk/

As I work here a few afternoons a week on my days off from my full-time job, I may be a little biased; but it truly is a wonderful gallery to visit and after my redundancy in a few weeks I shall find myself here a little more often.

Many people enjoy taking photos of the small, quirky, blue building and I enjoy chatting to all the different people, visitors and locals alike; hearing about their days, where they have come from, where they are staying and what they plan on doing.

I always remind myself it's not such a bad life, when I finish work, shut up shop and then walk our mischievous Westie Molly, along the beach to blow the cobwebs of the day away. I love nothing more than wandering over to the Mount when all the visitors have gone and sitting in the harbour looking back over Mounts Bay and Marazion having a little ponder! More often than not it's just me and Molly sat there; one woman and her dog!

There are lots of other wonderful galleries and shops to visit in Marazion. One of my favourites being 'Fine and Dandy' situated just opposite us in the square. Run by Shevie Moyle and her Mum Nell, this wonderful, eclectic shop is filled with beautiful vintage finds and vintage inspired pieces. All handpicked by Shevie herself, the wonderful items on display are sure to take you back to the glorious days of your childhood and a time gone by.

So if you ever find yourself in the area of Marazion why don't you pop in and say hello! We are all a very friendly bunch and happy to have a chat. Go for a walk along the beach, a pasty in hand, or follow in Giants footsteps and take yourself across the causeway to the Mount and have a cream tea. When your feet become weary why don't you have a pit stop at the Gig Bar in the Godolphin Pub and take in the amazing view and later on try some homemade tasty treats at the wonderful newly opened 'Delicious' Deli found part way up Fore Street.

Oh and whilst you're in 'Out of the Blue', pop upstairs. If you're lucky, you may find Glyn in his makeshift studio area painting away. If you like what you see and fancy spending a day with him painting on location in Marazion, then why not sign up to his one-day workshops running throughout the Summer. It doesn't matter if you are starting out or just looking to hone your skills, everyone will leave with a piece of art they are proud of! Oh and as Glyn is such a nice guy he will even buy you lunch!

So, hopefully see you soon! We're looking forward to meeting you!



One of my favourite times of year is nearly here .... EASTER!

I love nothing more than buying wonderful chocolate treats for myself, my friends and my loved ones at Easter. Lots of bowls of brightly coloured sweets normally fill the house, sitting beautifully alongside the vases of daffodils and tulips. Colour everywhere; it can only but make you smile.

The traditional Hot Cross Buns have already started being sampled and a number of chocolate Easter nests have already been trifled with.

Having an Easter Tree in the house is another yearly tradition. Once we have the time, Mark and I will hike off into the woods to try and find the perfect branch that will find pride of place in the sitting room. It can often take a while to find the right one; the need is mainly to find one strong enough to carry all the wonderful decorations tucked away in the attic, ready and waiting to be shown off for another year.

Each year new decorations are normally purchased. Small wooden flowers, chicks and eggs are bought to adorn the home and are often found decorating door handles and shelves everywhere. A welcome cheery addition to the home, even though it's only for a short time.

This year, however, I have fallen in love with our very own Easter Chicks. These ones are my personal favourites; it's their legs that make me smile!

......however, I am rather fond of the smaller, legless ones too!

Today we held a small stand at our local primary school's Spring Fete. Lillies products proved to very popular and funnily enough it was the 'Chicks with the legs' that seemed to fly away alongside our Cornish Daisy Magnets. Everyone, must be having a spring clean of all their notice boards at home!

The children were very excited about the up and coming holidays; well you can hardly blame them, and all in all it was a lovely, lively afternoon.

So, if you are looking for some lovely decorations to brighten up your home, some magnets to tidy up that noticeboard of yours or you simply want some new additions for your Easter tree then pop over to our website http://www.designsbylillies.co.uk/ or visit www.notonthehighstreet.com/lillies

While you're having a browse pop along to our Lillies Facebook page as well. Why not tell us which are your favourite Easter designs and what you would like to see in the future. Oh and don't forget to 'Like' us too!

Country Living Fair

Just over a week ago, Mark and I visited the Country Living Fair at the Business Design Centre in Islington.

Aside from the 5am start (I know I shuddered at the thought too), we set off in great anticipation for what the day would bring. It was the first time we had ever attended the show as a visitor. After exhibiting at the shows previously and always feeling frustrated because I never had time to have a look at all the other wonderful products on sale, I was extremely looking forward to having a relaxing wander around and hopefully buying some nice pieces to take back home.

However, I have to say, I forgot how busy the show could get, especially on a Saturday.

This was in a nice quiet area!

The point of the visit was to meet potential suppliers for our new venture. So you can imagine our surprise on talking to Angela Jones from Artisans-UK; a lovely lady who stocks some of our Lillies products; to find out they had been approached by Country Living with a request to use our blue Mini Sailing Boats as part of their advertising campaign. We hadn't even realised!

So two very excited people ran around the corner of the stands to find there it was ....

...... our Mini Sailing Boat!!!!!

and we thought, looking rather lovely!

Throughout the day we met some lovely, kind and very talented people. On talking to them about our plans we were passed some excellent advice and kind words of encouragement.

It was also nice to catch up with some familiar faces who we had got to know along the way whilst exhibiting at the shows with Lillies. One of them being the lovely Beverley Hewitt of Beverley Hewitt Designs. These are some of her wonderful ceramics below. http://www.beverleyhewittdesigns.co.uk/

By the end of the day, I have to say we were absolutely shattered. We had a lot of information to digest, had met so many lovely people and were completely talked out (an amazing feat some would say for me!). The glass of wine waiting for us at our friends was simply calling us.

And then there it was ...

..... just to make our day that little bit better!

You can imagine our even greater surprise when we saw our Mini Sailing Boat on the advertising board outside the Design Centre!

How on earth we had missed it I will never know!

Maybe next year we will be back exhibiting!?