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Blog Entry - Who is Marmalade Ho?
You might find it inspiring for those of you who want to start up on your own; you may think I should burn in hell for what I did to Hello Kitty. I love Kitty too but there was a reason behind it all which will be explained soon.
Well this is how it all started.
Once upon a time there was a young girl called Miki who wanted to be a fashion designer. She thought it would be very exciting to make cool clothes but didn’t know how to sew for toffee! So she applied for a place at Middlesex University.
The degree course was very hard, many gave up and left. But Miki and her comrades struggled harder and harder.
Sometimes they hardly slept, sewing and scribbling into the night, eating only what they could gather from the greasy canteen below and grey cups of tea from the vending machines.
At the end of the three years they all had a big exciting Fashion show in London at Graduate Fashion Week.
At the end of the show everybody was very tired and Miki and her friends didn’t think they could sew another stitch ever! After the three years of constantly spewing their brains onto paper and calico they felt drained and needed some money…badly!
A few crazy fools (said in Mr T voice) applied for M.A.s and well done to them, but for Miki and a lot of others, they left the big city and returned to their home towns, uncertain of what the future held for them and at the time not really caring too much.
They got dressed in their bestest white shirts and scuttled off to the job centre to get lots of money to buy all the nice things they wanted when they were penniless students.
They wore nicer trainers, had cooler hair and more time to play. They could meet up and do lunch but something was missing. Their jobs were dull and they were getting bored.
Here is Miki’s story.
Two years of waitressing had left Miki with a bitter taste in her mouth so she bought some felt and a load of t-shirts to appliqué on.
She couldn’t decide what to call the label, so she thought very hard and remembered a game they used to play at college.
Taking a persons first pets name and their mother’s maiden name, would give you a fictional Porn Star name.
Miki’s was 
.
She packed her customised t-shirts in a suitcase and pootled off to Camden Market.
Camden is not what it was in it’s hey day. Even starting the label on something dead simple like t-shirts was very tricky. Initially a lot of her ideas for the t-shirts were subversive humour, (or taking the piss out of things, as she prefers to call it).
There are a lot of nice people in Camden and there are a lot of people who are full of shit.
The managers in the market were cool to me, but then I was part of a dying breed.
It’s tough for designers and artists who make their own stuff now. They can no longer compete with traders bringing in stuff from overseas. I’m not whining it’s just the way things go.
One of the first designs I did was an appliquéd t-shirt with Felt letters spelling out ‘Fluffer’ as a little joke at the Duffer of St George t-shirts. I didn’t actually realise what fluffer meant in the beginning but it educated a lot of people in Camden who also learnt what it means. Well it went hand in hand with the porn name thing, didn’t it?
Things were painfully slow at first till I came up with Bye Bye Kitty; I was so pissed off with all the bloody Hello Kitty stuff in Camden.
I like Hello Kitty, I always have done, and she’s aimed at people in a similar demographic to me anyway. It’s just that there were seas of Hello kitty, Pucca, Mashimoro etc.
So as a little joke I came up with Bye Bye Kitty, the first was the ‘Electrocution’ Screen print. Next came ‘Hanging’. There were quite a few of them.
Accidentally another label who I won’t mention had a similar idea to Bye Bye Kitty, bit unfortunate, I don’t know who came up with it first, just a coincidence. So it must have been a good idea!
I got rid of quite a few of the designs since it first kicked off.
Some people got really shitty with me, “How can you do that to Hello Kitty! What’s she ever done to you?” was what one girl said to me. It was quite funny, most people felt a little sorry for Hello kitty but they understood the joke and bought a sweat or tee shirt.
I learnt a lot in Camden Lock, I had a lot of time to think, it was tough but kind of cosy.
Some mates told me it would be dumb to leave, but it just wasn’t going anywhere for me, I had a few people to wholesale to and the stall in Camden just wasn’t cost effective so…
…after 10 months, I just had to pack up my sweats and tees and pootle off back home.
Some people are still probably doing very well there and I wish them lots of luck.
People are still making their own designs, trying to balance individuality with consumer friendliness but I wanted out. It would have been too easy to stay.
The Punks, Goths, Rocker Billy’s and now the Emos still keep coming back to Camden and yes there is definitely still loads of wicked stuff to shop, I just wish I knew what it was like in the 70’s or early 80’s. As a consumer, I love it, I like Claire’s Accessories, I like buying skirts for a fiver! As a designer it makes it a little tricky.
When I was at college, it was all about pushing limits, ‘…make a dress as big as a ballroom…’ etc. and it was fun (sometimes) but now we’re on the creative tightrope.
It’s a different game that’s all. I want to make money and I want a nice life making unique clothes without sweatshops.
Customised t-shirts and sweats were an easy way of starting the label, or so I thought.
When I first finished Art College, I didn’t even know what I liked anymore. I guess a lot of us snapped some knicker elastic in our heads or something at the end of our degree. Well you can get new elastic; it just takes time to get re-attached.
A few I’ve heard of got positions in fashion houses one way or another, but if you don’t wake up with a contract from a Parisian house it really isn’t the end of the world.
Then I started making a few accessories like the faux fur cat stoles or scarves. A more light hearted version of those dead fox things you see hanging round the necks of old Hollywood stars or posh ladies in a St. Trinian’s film.
Designing for real figures is tricky too, for instance when I was making the pleated skirts, I wasn’t sure where to put in the hem, I’m a short arse at 5ft, and I haven’t got a model statistics so it’s a case of throwing things on different shaped friends.
Blog entry - October 2006 - Chip 'n' Pin, GCSE's & Deadlines!
Ok it’s been a while since I’ve updated this blog, I’ve totally lost track with the last train of thought.
Right, well first of all, Marmalade Ho has been asked to appear at the Clotheshow Live at the Birmingham NEC from Friday 1st-Wednesday 6th December this year with lots of companies big and small. There are catwalk shows, yummy things to wear/buy and eat so…
If you’d like to check out more details for the show and how to get tickets please go to: http://www.clotheshowlive.com.
Watch this space for more news! We’ve been real busy making lots of stuff to sell for the show and coughing up lots of money, untying rainy day savings etc…The old ‘…speculate to accumulate.’ yadda yadda.
It is all very exciting and v. scary but it must be done, so we hope to see lots of you who already know us! Thank you to all of you who have emailed us at some point telling us how cool you think the site is and wishing us luck, we really appreciate it and it really cheers us up when things get tough.
We’ve been working on some new designs too; they are quite different, but still quite cute and retro. There are four new designs all together, we would have loved to do more but because of the show etc.
I guess the new prints are Harajuku too, maybe they won’t appeal to the more Punk/Goth types but as we’ve said before we have an eclectic clientele. Well first of all there is scribbley Clockwork Mice, and then are Giant Geometric Animals Faces, (we said faces not faeces!) we’ll leave that to those ‘special’ hobby/interest websites, shall we?
We started off with the cat, then mouse/hamster type rodent thing and then Bunny.
Although they are cute we think they are kind of edgy too.
So new sweats and new t-shirts coming soon! There are loads of ideas at the mo, including new designs for summer ‘07 creeping around our heads, sometimes it feels like our brains will explode!
Had a dream the other night we turned up at the Clotheshow Live with no Chip and Pin machine thing, followed by another dream about me forgetting to revise for my GCSE’s! Well you can imagine how chuffed I was when I woke up and realised that was one thing I could tick off the list!
So it’s all sewing and printing with random scribbling on bits of paper at the mo, We’ve been listening to more break beat as it’s been picking up the work vibe in da house too.
We are pretty much going to be selling all the items we have on the website plus the new stuff. So it will be an excellent opportunity for those of you who like to try before you buy, we’ll have mirrors and screens and sweets so you don’t shop till you drop. As we all know shopping is hard work! So we thought in house sweeties would be a cool idea too.
Unfortunately, we don’t have enough girl power to leave troops back at head quarters so we’ll be leaving a warning on the site during the 1st and 6th of December. You’ll be able to order things as usual and you will receive an email to confirm your order as normal but we may have trouble fulfilling our normal 7 working promise. So we’re going to play it safe and have a 14 working days promise instead, although most of you should get your orders well within the normal 7, depending on whether you order at the beginning or end of the show, zzzzzz. Sorry we’ll confirm all that nearer the time.
Talking about December, we were busier than expected last year so to avoid disappointment we will leave dates on site, to let you know when you can make last orders before Christmas. Orders made past that date will be posted ASAP after Christmas or New Year but it depends on when the postal services are running. So we will let you all know nearer the time.
Blog entry - January 2007 - Clothes Show Live!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, I’ve finally got around to tackling the big promised write up of the Clotheshow Live 06. We had a wicked time there and it went so much better than we hoped. I’m afraid I must have an Oscar winning style speech, it has to be done!
Firstly a big thank you to everyone who helped Marmalade Ho in one form or another, we couldn’t have done it without you! For listening, giving your opinion, for coming out to play when I needed to escape, for being honest and patient, for being you!
Mmm this is a bit like school end of term, well in alphabetical order, here goes…
Chantal (Boomerang sis): Letting me fill your old bedroom with stock. You always tell me what you really think, even when I don’t like it! But I need to hear it really!
For all your editorial skills and reading all the horrible bits of paperwork I can’t understand, for making me laugh and being a big sis to me even though I’m older than you xx
Cheryl (trolley dolly sis): For helping me with the photos shoot and staying up late to do all the last minute bits and pieces even though you had enough to do, yourself. Making me laugh, constantly putting up with me asking for your opinion and all the cups of tea. Just being a great lil sis all round! xx
Dan Cottenden (Monkey Boy): For being a true friend, listening to me go on and on and on! For all your support and selflessness, being a monkey and making me laugh.
Teaching me how to make the perfect tea! For providing all the break beat a girl can sew to, for bigging me up when I needed it! and washing Noo Noo xx
Penny Day (Dr. Day): Being there when I needed to pick your brain, helping me get savvy with all this internet jargon, your patience is much appreciated. You’ve been a true star with the website, thank you xx
Ed and Bec Eaves: For all your support and friendship, for letting me escape to Chez Eaves and being great hosts, all your feedback and honesty xx
Sadie Elliott: Modelling in the photo shoot, giving up a day of your half term and looking wicked. Being very patient and having to put up with all those chavs in the swing park :C xx
Michael Perks: Being the getaway driver, for not loosing me on the M25/M6, for all your help and support, giving up your time for the price of a Burger King in a travel stop, being a true friend xx
Lucy Whittington ( Lucyfer): For making me do my tax returns on time, looking after me and always being there over the years no matter what. Being a fantastic friend and always trying to make the time even though you’re disgustingly busy xx
Natalie Woods: For being the wild party girl that you are, looking after the stand at the show like it was your own. For keeping me in check, making it a great fun week. For lip reading, and being a supporter of Marmalade Ho from day one! Couldn’t have done it without you! Although you are never navigating again…anywhere…ever! Xx
Lydia and Lauren Woods (the twins): Supporting the Ho Empire from day one, for all your enthusiasm and energy, spreading the word etc. For doing the first photo shoot and freezing your then little pigeon bites off (your words not mine)
And last but by no means least my long suffering Mum and Dad:
For letting me mess up the house and covering things in paint and fluff, for lending me money, letting me get off the washing up leading up to the show, for everything.
Mum you did help me really, you can’t sew but the hundreds of cups of tea late at night would have been enough on their own! Love you guys xx
Another big thank you to everyone who came and supported Marmalade Ho, by buying our designs, telling us how much you liked the Label and a surprising number of you who recognised the label, we couldn’t have hoped for it to go better than it did.
Sorry that had to be done! Our space was tiny (2m x 3m) and it was pretty cramped what with people trying stuff on, friends waiting around etc. so if anyone was interested in exhibiting I would say plan your space well. It isn’t cheap to do, so you really need to be organised to get the most out of it.
The company that organised the Clotheshow Live, Haymarket Exhibitions were amazingly helpful.
There wasn’t anything I couldn’t ask them, even though sometimes I felt like an idiot! If you haven’t done something like this before, don’t be scared, you’ve paid your money so you shouldn’t feel silly asking for advice.
It was so amazingly busy, sometimes we didn’t get to eat till the end of the day, and it took me at least 3 hours to eat a tiny mini muffin at one point! The Clotheshow Live is quite an experience, it is absolutely massive! I cannot imagine what it was like before Mobile phones were available.
Most visitors seemed to think cash/cheque were the only payment options, but most exhibitors were expecting more credit and debit card sales.
I can’t say how it will go next year with regards to stands having chip and pin machines.
What I will say is that the cash point queues were horrendous and the charges were extortionate, so be prepared.
People were drawing out loads more than they needed just to justify the charge and that’s lethal at the Clotheshow Live!
There was an amazing range of stuff, it was so hard trying not to spend the profits, and I had to keep my eyes down on the floor and my hands in my pockets.
I can’t believe how determined people were to come back to us at the end of the day to buy our designs, we were so impressed!
It was also great to meet other designers and companies. We particularly enjoyed talking to Hullabaloo, Red Mutha, Holt Royale, Ascension Clothing and American Pig Brand. Marmalade Ho was amongst other street wear designers in the purple zone.
The whole show is so big it has to be divided into coloured sections to make it easier. Pink was Beauty, Red was the Fast fashion section… I think, and so on. But the colour zone is indicated in the carpet to make it easier and everything at the NEC is well marked.
I was disappointed with some exhibitors who shouldn’t have been there. It’s sad but true, it’s getting harder and harder for small Fashion Labels to survive. There were too many stands there that I felt didn’t fit the promise of the Clotheshow Live.
I realise that at the end of the day, it’s all business and spaces must be filled in order for bills to be paid etc. but it’s important for the sake of the exhibitors and visitors who take part in such events that their expectations are not compromised and compromised again.
I’m not talking about the huge high street brands, we expected them to be there, neither will I go into detail, many of these traders were nice people to talk too and had paid for their spaces fair and square the same as everybody else.
It’s tough for little companies to profit at an event like this one but if certain stands are selling cheap, mass produced items it makes all the stands look cheap and mass produced, it’s the very reason I left Camden.
This is sadly happening more and more. We have some fantastic designers and skilled crafters in this country and organisations such as the Clotheshow Live need to be more supportive of them.
Organisers need to be careful and remember the little companies that take the huge risks and spend months preparing, as well as their hard earned money to be there. We give these events their reputations.
Thankfully the show was full of visitors who are determined driven individuals who go to impressive lengths to stand out from the crowds with a fierce loyalty to little labels like ours, they appreciate what we do.
Phew! That had to be said. BUT it must be said that it is still worth going to the show, there was still a great collection of brands at the show. There was something there for all fashion tastes. There were bargains, limited lines, new collections, new exciting brands to be discovered, impressive vintage collections/ shoes/ accessories/ make up/ hair/ well being everything! There wasn’t as much stuff for men but there was more than I expected mainly street wear and accessories.
We met many girls that had been given early Christmas money or saved up Birthday money/ student loans etc. to come to the show, who had been several years running, it is really impressive, despite my little soap box effort earlier on. I learnt various little shopping tips, like wearing a vest top or camisole, (vest/fitted t-shirt if you’re a boy) to make changing easier if there isn’t a changing screen available.
Comfy shoes because there was lots of queuing and walking, especially for some of the more established brands. But there were lots of shopper droppers recovering for another lap at the back of the halls where all the yummy food was.
If you’re using cash bring lots with you and use cards if you can, so you don’t run out. Most of the stands didn’t seem to be charging customers for chip and pin sales.
Despite living in a Travelodge for a week, (Alan Partridge minus the porn and with better jumpers) we were quite sad to leave the Clotheshow Live, Marmalade Ho might be back next year, we’re not too sure yet. We had no regrets doing the Clotheshow Live, we met so many cool people and saw so much exciting stuff.
I didn’t have much time to walk around, I know I missed a lot of cool stuff, my heart is sad but my pocket is happy.
From an exhibitors point of view, I would just say go for it, don’t always take the first option offered to you, certain recommended specialists are not necessarily the cheapest or the best, read the Handbook, I read it from cover to cover and still missed many important points.
After four and a half months of slaving away in my parents spare room (ahem) the studio, the Clotheshow was such a buzz! We did have a really good time, but it’s back to the grindstone for now.
We’ve got our first tradeshow ever in London, it’s a street wear exhibition so we’ll be showing all our customised sweatshirts and t-shirts, loads more printing/ stitching and bitching to be done. :C, ttfn
Blog entry - June 2007 - Dirty Fashion Sale, oodles of noodles etc.
Hi.
Ok so this bit of blog was originally started after April!
There’s been so much going aughhhhh!
Some of you may have noticed that we snuck away for a fortnight during Easter. It was Marmalade Ho’s first holiday in nearly two years, which is pretty good going when you’re self employed!
We had a great time, eating oodles of noodles and playing with lots of our cousins cute kids as well as trying to learn more mandarin!
We didn’t want to go because there was so much to do, but we reaaaally needed a holiday. But whilst away our minds were still subconsciously ticking away with what we were going to do with Marmalade Ho when we got back.
We have a new Newsletter that we plan to send out hopefully every 3 months the first one has just gone out. But hey at least everyone’s been getting their stuff on time, right?
This will feature new designs, little bits of news to keep you up to date with us and best of all you’ll hear about any sneaky special offers that only you lot will know about sssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh!
We won’t be bombarding you with loads of emails because we just don’t have the time, so if you’d like to subscribe, please click on the link.
We promise not to give your email address out to anyone because who has time for junk mail? We’ve had so many emails offering me penis enlargements and Viagra, we’re beginning to get quite a complex.
Mmmm what else? We’ve been invited by Red Mutha to take part in their 2nd Dirty Fashion Sale which will be held on Sat June 16th (10-7) and Sunday (11-5) at the Fabrica Gallery, 40 Duke Street, Brighton BN1. The Red Mutha Girls will be handing out flyers before and during the event. ENTRY IS FREE!
It’s promising to be bigger and better than last years, so if you can make it please come and say hi!
There will be about 40 independent designers in total, with some great bargains. Marmalade Ho will be there with a mixture of old and new pieces as well as a few bargains!
This will also be one of the last chances to get a Bye Bye Kitty T-shirt or sweat as we’ve finally laid her to rest, boo hoo hoo! But you can email us on sales@marmalade-ho.co.uk if your wardrobes crying out for another attack on Hello kitty, to see what we have left.
Our lists of stockists is growing, but if you know of a cool boutique that would like to sell Marmalade Ho,please email us at the above address. If your recommended shop becomes a Marmalade Ho stockist we’ll send you a free t-shirt
Ok better go, hopefully we’ll manage to add to this poor excuse for a blog after the Dirty Fashion Sale, ciao for now x
Blog entry - July 2007 - I've got a groove in my head!'
Hi! Hope this latest blog finds you all funky monkeys! It’s been busy busy here at Marmalade Ho HQ.
Marmalade Ho had great fun at the weekend Dirty Fashion Sale held at the Fabrica Gallery in Duke St. Brighton (June 16th – June 17th).
We got to meet lots of other independent and handcrafted labels, I think there were 40 different labels at the event in total.
Everyone was really friendly. There was an amazing eclectic mix of styles.
Junkie lovers were there with fantastic plastic accessories, Ophelia Fancy with saucy cute underwear perfect for any wannabe 1940’s screen siren. Emma Ferguson who makes these amazing retro appliquéd cushions and accessories. Dolly Dagger, Get Cutie and Yamama were there too. As well as lots of cool French retro finds from Shock and Soul. Not forgetting the organisers of the event, Red Mutha and of course Marmalade Ho!
A few designers were local to Brighton but many were out of towners as were the shoppers!
The little Fabrica gallery was heaving at times. There was live DJ-ing constantly throughout the
event, but those with hangovers were lulled in with some more chilled tunes on the Sunday morning.
Despite the little gallery heaving with goodies there was still a curtain to hide behind and whip your top off for the less impulsive shopper.
Looks like there will be another Dirty Fashion Sale follow up next year, rumour has it there might be more than one a year soon, so watch this space!
As if you need another excuse to go to Brighton?
Whooping great thank you to Simone and Remy for their help during the weekend. Also for entertaining me with their dance off comp at the after party held at Hector’s House, for once I was the sober one! We’d hardly eaten all day, so after ramming my Dad’s car on some double yellow lines, we drained the battery flat whilst eating our bags of chips. Another big thank you to the guys that Remy rounded up outside in (Middle Street, I think it was) to push the car up hill 10 metres only to discover I’d forgotten how to pop a clutch, to then push it a further 10 metres after some very nice man had kindly reminded me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! X
PRESS Marmalade Ho was mentioned in the latest edition of 69 magazine as one of 15 of the hottest brands, hooray!!! You can check it out on the feedback section of the site…
SEPTEMBER 07...Hmmmm what happened here? It’s now September, sigh.
Yeah we’ve been busier and busier! Ok catching up from July what have we been up to? :C
Mmmmm Dirty fashion, we’ve done all that…
Margin… Oh yes! We exhibited for the second time , we met lot’s of cool people and got some more stockists. Hooray!
It’s got to the point where we had to find somebody else to do our printing. We’re still sewing and customising but it just got mental doing it ourselves. My hands were looking really skanky and it was only a matter of time before I got a permanent groove in my head from propping up the screens.
For those of you who don’t know the set up, I’ll draw a little comic strip in the next blog!
Hence why I did my nut when people asked me for a discount! :D
So the bulk of it’s being handed over to a very nice man, phew!
So we have more time to do Fashion Shows, more designing, etc.
We have started expanding the range though, as you can see we have long sleeve distressed sweats, stripey t-shirts and larger sizes. We’ve kept these to only a few prints. Plus size t-shirts? We’re working on it, it’s really tricky finding nice stuff in larger sizes. Sorry girls we know our stuff comes up really small. But we’re on to it ;D
Right I’m cutting this short, new blog next week hopefully.
We’re going to try writing this all in bitesize chunks.
It’s doing my head in! Hope you’re all having fun!
Ciao for now
Blog entry - 9th October 2007 - Coughing up fluffballs...
Ok let’s see if I can try to keep you updated once a week…
Well we had our little fashion show in Hythe, big thank you to Sarah Lawless from Break Through Fashion.
She did an amazing job, there was big man on the mike announcing all the collections, we blushed when we heard what they’d written about Marmalade Ho, (in a good way!) it was very sweet.
Big ‘Hi’ to the girls I met on the day who bought t-shirts and sweatshirts.
And to the Mum who couldn’t buy her handbag because she spent all her cash on a Ho Helix Mouse Face sweatshirt instead of buying a handbag for herself, thank you! Glad you got your handbag in the end. So what goes around ‘does’ come around after all! ;D
We’ve been so busy sewing and customising sweatshirts again, eating at strange times and coughing up more fluffballs from too much sweatshirt fluff in the air.
But it’s all good. We’ve got some more stockists.
One new shop in Belfast , Identity. We’ve been talking to Sandra the lady behind the new boutique, lots. She was mod and a punk…. Yes that’s right we’ve been chatting too much when we should have been working!
. It’s all kicking off at Identity, if you’re in Belfast, check it out, the address is on our stockists list.
We’ve met so many cool people recently with little shops and street wear labels. We’ve been getting very excited and talking far too much, I’ve had to upgrade my contract on my phone. I just need a headset so I can cut and sew at the same time.
We’ve been designing new prints for next year. Nothings definite yet but there will be a mixture of the seriously cute and edgy with the just plain edgy.
We’ve got some fantastic cute but sexy jersey dresses for Spring Summer 07.
We want to bring them out now! But the weather’s gone all poo!
We’ve been talking to Dolly Dagger Ltd. who also stock Marmalade Ho, they’ll be taking Marmalade Ho t-shirts and sweats with them to the Clotheshow Live 07.
So look out for the Dolly Dagger stand.
We didn’t sign up to it this year but we’ve spoken to the girls from Haymarket Exhibitions who are the organisers for the Clotheshow Live and they promise us that the new Offbeat Boutique will be full of cool young labels like Marmalade Ho so we’ll be popping along for a nosey!
Mmmm what else? We put our first ad in a mag, Supersuper , for those of you aren’t familiar with Supersuper, it’s Loud in your face Nu-Rave.
Righty-ho I’m off, I have sweats to cut and cough up, hopefully next time I write to you all I’ll have moved my designs into the 21st century, my mate shaz from 2ds Place is giving me a crash course in Adobe illustrator. Bless, it could be the end of a friendship. Ha h ahahahaha
Take it easy
Blog entry - 17th October 2007 - square eyes,sore bum...
Ok here's the blog as promised!
Noo Noo and I got our lesson in Illustrator, (ok Noo Noo was resting outside v. tired after we’d got lost around the North Circular Ring Road, stupid Google maps sent us through the congestion zone to get to North London, instead of the M25!) So I've been getting square eyes and a sore bum from trying to get used to the new software.
I haven't cropped a sweatshirt all week! But we're getting designs sorted out for the tradeshows in February.
My best friend Lucyfer is also chasing me for spreadsheets for my taxes, so I've promised her they'll be done before end of November ;D I'm so bored! :C
But on a positive note it’s given me a chance to see how things have picked up for Marmalade Ho this year.
We’ve taken some gambles and been a bit more gun-ho and it’s paying off!
Hopefully we'll have a new photo shoot sorted out soon, a photography student who found Marmalade Ho on Myspace asked if we'd like to work with him.
The old photoshoot is already a year old, scary! This time, last year we running around like headless chickens getting ready for The Clotheshow Live!
There's so many different sides of the business to keep my eye on at the mo, there's no such thing as a free day anymore, Which is good as it keeps me from getting into trouble.
But we've had to do lot's of OCD-style tweaking and planning so hopefully thing's will get a little easier.
The bad thing about working from home is that you're constantly surrounded by stuff you need to do. So maybe it's cos I have a nasty birthday coming up or maybe it's cos I need a proper escape in the house my bedroom is now work free, (apart from when orders get a bit manic). Then it becomes store room number two.
Sleeping under a pile of t-shirts and sweatshirts is a good way of keeping warm but not when you wake up not being able to feel your legs under the weight of stock!
I kind of look my sister’s hamster but under t-shirts instead of shredded paper!
There’s no excuse for not working anymore anyway. Now we have the laptop I have a mobile office, oooooh!
How swish! I’m currently flat-sitting as my sis’s toilet is sick and the plumber’s round. I’m working on a wifi connection and I’m chuffed like I’ve just blagged child fare on the underground.
I know wifi’s legit but it’s still a novelty to me....
Blog entry - 23rd October 2007 - I need a nintendo wii wii...
Hooray!
My paperwork is scarily up to date! Now I can get back to the fun stuff!
Talking of fun, I went round to a friend’s house on the weekend and I finally got to play on a Ninentendo Wii.
I’m sorely tempted to get one. However, it would be both good, yet disastrous for Marmalade Ho.
I think running free in a pixel world of super cute graphics and playing games would be good for the label from a design point of view, right?
I’ve had goes on X Boxes and Play stations and turned cars into ditches but this was far easier. I definitely need the safety wrist strap though as I get quite excited, well maybe a tad violent.
It would be an evil distraction from all the jobs I hate but that must be done, so I'm debating...
I wonder if I can write one off as expenses?...Yeah I know I can hear my accountant’s voice in my head now...
Well it’s on my list as my Christmas bonus. It’s super cheap as therapy goes. If you like creating wii mii’s, do what we did; create the ugliest mother you can. We were so proud of our ugly mob. Then you can play with them.
No I’m not on commission from Nintendo, I’m just waffling. I can't keep waffling about tees and sweatshirts every week :D
I keep seeing things in fat pixels after my sis Boomerang (‘cos she comes home so often, but it’s cool x) lent me the first series of the IT Crowd. The old school computer graphics at the beginning are very cool and they even paid special attention to the dvd menu. How can anyone not find it funny? Or maybe I’m turning into a web geek.
I freaked a friend out the other day when I started off on html code and servers. Three years ago I had to phone a friend because I didn’t know what my URL was.
I was talking to my mate today about his stand at the Clotheshow Live, I wish we had booked a stand this year but it would have been mental, things have been crazy enough.
We loved taking part in the Clotheshow Live last year, it was such a buzz. As we mentioned in an earlier blog, we will be travelling up to the NEC to have a nosey.
We’ve got a few friends doing the show this year and Dolly Dagger Ltd. will be selling our t-shirts and sweats so it won’t be a Marmalade Ho free zone.
We’re also looking forward to some serious shopping!!!!
We’re were far too busy on the stand last year and didn’t have a chance to look around so we have some catching up to do!
Blog entry - 6th November 2007 - FREE Tote Bag offer extended, hooray!
We're getting some good results from our new screen printers, hoorah!
Now we can concentrate on some solid designing for spring and summer '08. I have now got my mits on a copy of Adobe Illustrator cs3 and just need to find the time to play.
We didn't realise how popular the FREE tote bags were going to be with you all, so we've decided to keep the offer on a bit longer.
Though we're not sure how long for....mmmm so same rules, if you order two items at the same time you get a cute and free pink cotton tote bag with either a Helix Cat Print or Helix Stereo print.
It doesn't matter if it's two t-shirts, two sweats or one of each, Emma Ferguson's purses are not included in this offer, I'm afraid.
Oh nearly forgot, you still get your free tote bag if one of the items is a metallic silk part dress or a fake fur cat scarf too. You can go dutch with a friend but you only get one bag ;'C
The special offer open to our special mailing list members is no longer, but the newsletter will be back in the new year with a special offer, when we have time to conjour one up. So sign up if you haven't already by going to our home page, we know lots of you have been really loyal and sweet in supporting the label and we want to thank you which we can do through the newsletter!
Because lot's of people are skint after Christmas ;C and it's our fifth birthday next year we'll try to think of something extra special.
We've been talking to one of stockists, Identity in Belfast. They think we should sell our little tote bags as part of the line up, so we'll let you know if that becomes a reality. There are lots of different garments we want to include in our little street wear label, pyjama sets, new skirts etc. But we thought it would be better to concentrate on our tees and sweats first.
However we do have some cute jersey dresses coming out in the new year, hopefully a few more vests too.
We're going to check out the Royal Mail's last posting dates for Christmas to avoid any disappointment. You'll be able to find these dates, either here on the blog or in our terms and conditions. But we'll be getting extra t-shirts and sweats printed as we were doing some serious overtime last year!
Ciao for now x
Blog entry - 28th November 2007 - Elle magazine and a Face lift for Marmalade Ho
So much for a weekly blog! But we’re trying!
What goss have I got? .... well the websites currently undergoing some severe cosmetic surgery, you won’t be able to see it till it’s live but we’ve finally got rid of the empty trouser, skirt and dress pages.
In fact the whole websites had a nip and tuck here and there. It’s much more bubbly and colourful, reflecting the tees and sweats better. We’re also going to have a sizing guide to make it easier when you want to buy a t-shirt online, the sweats aren’t such a problem but getting the right t-shirt fit can be tricky, especially for us girlies!
Also there will be an ongoing story all about Marmalade Ho. People kept asking for Marmalade Ho as if she was a real person, so we decided to put the fictitious porn name association aside and come up a new character, Marmalade Ho.
Sigh! someone will now probably stumble across the site because it has the word ‘porn’ in it, oops there I go again, apologies to anyone who is looking for some quality self time :D Ha ha.
Anyway I’m going off on one again, so soon you’ll be meeting Marmalade Ho and getting to meet more of the gang whenever we bring out new collections.
I still need to let you all know when our last posting dates are for Christmas, aughhh! There’s so much to do.
Lucyfer’s finally pinned me down and I’ll be giving her some pathetic excuse for a spreadsheet on Friday. But I think we’re getting stuff crossed off the list so we’re making progress even if it doesn’t feel like it.
Oh I nearly forgot! We got our Helix Cat Face and Helix Mouse Face Sweats featured in Brighton Source again, we’ll have to put that up on the site soon, as well as a mention in a Plymouth Mag, big thanks to our stockists Forty Five and Junk Funk for getting our sweats mentioned. Also More T Vicar have got our Black Helix Cat Face T-shirt featured in Elle Magazine for December, hooray! How exciting, it’s next to some Lazy Oaf tees.
I think that’s enough goss for now, we’ll be back soon, with Christmas posting dates etc...
Blog entry - 3rd December 2007 - LAST POSTING DATES FOR CHRISTMAS
I'm typing this on autopilot. I've just spent the whole weekend sewing from dusk till dawn,well ok mid morning to early morning, if you must be picky!
We've been machine gunning out sweatshirts for Dolly Dagger to take to the Clotheshow Live which starts this Friday and finshes on the Wednesday 12th December.
We're going up on the Monday, plans were for Friday but we have a photoshoot booked for that day.
We're looking forward to seeing the new section of the show as well as catching up with some friends. Dolly dagger's selling our sweats and tees on this stand
PU241 in Hall 7 in the Purple Zone.
We've finally got around to checking out the royal mails website, sorry! Please remember that we normally have a 7 working day promise to complete orders.
These are the LATEST posting dates, so please allow for the 7 working days.We do have quite a bit of stock printed, so if you have left it a bit late, please email us @ sales@marmalade-ho.co.uk and we can check if we can get the item to you before the last Christmas post.
The latest posting dates for the UK and Channel Islands are Friday 21st December.(guaranteed last order day is the 13th December)
USA's last posting date is the Monday 10th December so please email us first to check availibilty
Europe's last posting date is Thursday 13th December (guaranteed last order day is Thursday 6th)
Email us if you want to check availibilty of stock @ sales@marmalade-ho.co.uk
I'm hoping we don't get another big order too soon as my left index finger is looking a little like a nasty Halloween prop from cropping too many sweats :(
Grr take no prisoners, bring it on! :)
Blog entry - 8th January 2008 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Meet Mii-Ow, Iik Iik, Bang Bang and Marmalade
HAPPY NEW YEAR Everyone!
Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and did a little too much of all the good stuff! We managed to get some time off but are raring to go now. We ate way too many chocs and yummy stuff and I'm just planning the right day to drag myself back to kickboxing. It is going to hurt :(
To be honest after my birthday, I'd already done the over eating, drinking thing so I was trying to avoid that horrible bloated hangover feeling, failing miserably :) I had a bruise on my leg from climbing up to the decks thingy in the club and bossing the DJ about. I demanded he played Fairy Tale of New York by the Pogues (the best Christmas hit ever?). He kept his promise probably to stop me killing myself as it was a little high for a short arse and my mate had to carry me down each time. Sorry Mr DJ.
The week before that I bombed it up to Birmingham with my sis (Boomerang) to see the Clotheshow Live at the NEC. It was good to see quite a few familiar faces and have a goss.
However we were disappointed to see that the Offbeat boutique section still contained far too many stands selling cheap mass produced stuff, making it very confusing for visitors and tough on the smaller brands AGAIN!.
This section promised to offer a quirky shopping experience and support the smaller independent brands. True, there wasn’t anyone selling out of cardboard boxes this year but the new section really didn't live up to all the hype we'd heard leading up to the show.
Quite a few of the independents we spoke to did ok, but it wasn't as profitable as last year. Despite the fact they were selling some amazing stuff at mental prices!
As you can see the websites had even more nips and tucks, thanks to our fantastic web designer Penny. We have a new logo and now Marmalade Ho has a little story‘What ever Happened to Marmalade Ho’. You’ll be able to read the latest adventures and mishaps of Marmalade and her friends every time we bring a new collection out. So you can read the story and buy the t-shirt! It’s all very exciting, the new t-shirts and sweatshirts will be ready for our third exhibition at Margin London in February. One of my favourites from the new collection is Bang Bang Bunny. We’ve got so many exciting ideas from the new story. Yes he kickboxes but he’s not based on me, he smokes forty a day and I sound like I breathe helium all day. But I have to admit that Marmalade is quite similar to me(and I’m guessing lots of you too). So I hope you like her, she’s by no means perfect but she’s her own person.
Also please send us piccies of you in your Marmalade Ho t-shirts and sweats, then you can be seen on our new Gallery page :)
2007 was a great year for Marmalade Ho we hope it was for you too.
We’re quite proud of ourselves so hopefully 2008 will be even better for us all!
A massive thank you to all of you for supporting us over the last year. Stay in touch, let us know what you think.
TTFN ;)
Blog entry - 4th February 2008 - New Stuff and the great escape
Yes we haven't written a bit of blog for a while, but it has been manic here at Marmalade Ho HQ.
Hope you've all hade a fantastically good start to the New Year!
We finally got round to selecting bits from our photoshoot in December, which you can now see on the
Home page. It was good fun and we're looking forward to doing another with the new stuff soon. We had a fantastic photographer, model and make up artist, we'll be putting their contact details on the contacts page soon.
Sometimes you try to do everything yourself but if you get the right people together it's quite exciting when all your influences get all mixed up like a yummy cake!
Speaking of new designs you can now buy Marmalade Ho and Bang Bang Bunny tshirts and sweats, FINALLY!
Also we have some super new jersey dresses with raw edges, you can team these with leggings or trousers and a big fat hoodie or duvet! as it's still brass-monkey-cold out there! But they'll be great in the spring and summer with a pair of flip flops.
We found these cool dresses last year but had to keep quiet about them as we'd just brought in quite a few new tees and sweats to the collection.
The new items will be on the site in time for when we launch the new collection to buyers at Margin London, it will be our third time exhibiting there.
We've learned a lot since our first show and the brands become far more established, it's been great meeting other brands as well gaining new stockists.
As well as showing off our new designs it will be good to crawl out of the office and be a bit more sociable.
We don't mind being stuck out in the Suburbs, we're near lots of green stuff and not too far away from London or Brighton if we feel like being culture vultures but it's nice to play town mouse for a few days and pick the pace up a little.
Please don't forget to send pics of yourselves wearing your tshirts and sweatshirts for the Gallery, it's just a bit of fun, it won't end up in print or anything! We just thought that so many of you have been really sweet and supportive we should share the limelight with you.Keep it clean though, girls, ok? :) We know some of you get quite excitable when there's a camera about!
Ciao for now :)
Blog entry - 18th February 2008 - Marmalade Ho in the big bad smoke
Ok I've finally cleared up the mess I made after coming back back from the tradeshow.
It was all pretty tidy till I had had a manic panic and turned the workroom upside down looking for double sided sellotape. Like a possum with a side pony tail I had to sneek into Trolley Dollys bedroom to steal some.
Recently despite our best efforts it's been impossible to complete one thing on the list before starting another but we're trying to be more tidy and hopefully more efficient!
We were pretty excited to see how the brand would be received at Margin this time round after all the changes we've made.The new designs were a success, including Bang Bang Bunny, who as I said before is my favourite.
We also got to catch up with buyers and other labels again, hear all the goss etc.
We were absolutely shattered by the end though and glad to be back in the Subs of Clone town. Noo Noo and I had had enough after half a week of commuting to the big bad smoke.
We were armed to the teeth with google maps and a borrowed satnav and surviving on only two cups of tea till I got home, I was forced to go cold turkey most of the day :(
I know we still haven't put anything on the Sizes page yet. But whilst I'm waiting for stuff to come back from the printers it will get done (hopefully) as the wholesale side is on hold till then....
The latest newsletter will be sent out soon with a fantastic offer to help celebrate Marmalade Ho's fifth birthday! So if you haven't signed up already, CLICK HERE ;)
The Marmalade Ho birthday offer is only till the 5th of May and is only available to Mailing list posse.We don't bug you with lots of junk mail or pass your details to anyone else.You'll hear the latest on Marmalade Ho, when we have new designs out etc.and hear of special offers only open to mailing list members!!!
...February 21st... ou est la sizing page? :(
Ok the printers were quicker then I expected, so the sizing page is on hold whilst I put the 'peddle to the metal' on the sewing machine and start shredding sweatshirts again.
One of things we don't like so much about being self employed, is the Cabin Fever.
This can get pretty bad, a mere pootle down to the Post Office can sadly be a bit of treat :(
But we've been hearing about a market I think it might be the Up market or something like that,in Brick Lane or Spitalfields. I can't remember where. But keep an eye out if you're around one of those markets as you might see us there on a sunday.
We've met a quite a few Marmalade Ho supporters in the past, it's always wicked to meet more of you who have bought a Marmalade Ho t-shirt etc.or know of the label already, so if you see us there come and say Hi.
From what we hear it's full of other independent stalls selling cool and cute stuff. We're hoping to check it out next weekend.
Ok crop crop crop....
Blog entry - 3rd March 2008 - Mums the Word!
Ok quick update, we've been busy mailing out t-shirts and sweatshirts to some Magazines and potetial buyers as well as customising and packing up orders.
We decided not to go to the Truman Brewery this week on account of me spending time with my Mum aaaahh! To thank her for letting us off the washing up and stuff all the time and having cups of lovely hot tea ready, the second Noo Noo pulls into the Driveway and just being an all round star!
But hopefully we'll manage to get a stall next week. So we'll know for sure by Thursday and keep you informed.
The latest Marmalade Ho newsletter went out this weekend. So if you would like to benefit from the fantastic 20% discount we're offering to mailing list memebers, click here
Just a quick note to explain why some of our tee's prices have gone up again, the new prints are more expensive and costs in general have gone up, but for any of you that bought a t-shirt when we used to print them by hand, these are lots better and the prints will last FOREVER!
So that's why our t-shirt prices have gone up, but £25 is good price to pay for an indpendent t-shirt and it seems nobody seems to mind, we just wanted to explain why, we're not wiping our bottoms on 50 pound notes yet :(
You can also find Marmalade Ho designs on www.dawanda.com for silly prices so please check out the site if you love diy crafters etc.
Blog entry - 10th March 2008 - Marmalade Ho Vouchers and a suitcase stuffed with tee's
We didn't manage to get a note on the blog saying that we managed to get a pitch at the back yard market at Truman Brewery in Brick Lane this Sunday, sorry!
The weather was pretty mean and the train journey was @*?!**! but once we were there it was pretty pleasant.
There was some really cool stuff there and as usual at these sort of venues the other traders were chatty and friendly. Seemed to be quite few people making amazing handmade goodies amongst other independents stalls.
Marmalade Ho was next to a cute bag label called 'Made With Love', so big hi to Cath and Owen for the Hula Hoops and the great company.
It's a shame the market doesn't have any signage or advertising unlike it's big bro, the Up market, which is situated just the other side of Brick Lane in kind of diagonal, so go and explore, please.
We'll probably drag a fat old suitcase full of sweatshirts and tees there again in a month or two and share with 2d's Place, hopefully the weather will be a bit nicer. It was fun.
Oh, better tell you about the fantastic new Gift Vouchers that you can buy on the website.Great for when you don't know what to get someone but you know that they'd love a prezzie from Marmalade Ho, or you're not sure what size t-shirt to get them etc.
The Vouchers can be sent either by you when you choose to send it or you can send it straightaway.
There is isn't a time limit on the vouchers and all the legal jargon can be found on our t and c page.
But it's really easy to do, you just click and checkout as normal and you can even send a special message for the recipient with it, yipee!
Finally managed to sort out the sizing pages too, so hopefully Penny the star will put that when she has a free mo.
We have two new stockists. Kitsch-u-like which is in Exeter and also trades online www.kitsch-u-like.com and Reef which has a shop in Lancaster and Preston,we'll be updating the stockist pages soon
ttfn x
Blog entry - 20th March 2008 - Choccie eggs and how big is it?
No! You naughty people, I'm talking about the new sizing pages which have been finally added to the website! So now buying a Marmalade Ho tee or sweat should be even easier now, sorry it took so long!
I also spoke to our fantastic photographer Ben Hollinbery, this week and we'll be working togther again for a new Marmalade Ho photoshoot very soon, hooray!
So you'll be able to see what the new stripey dresses look like on a real bod!
Our last model, Emmanuel is now with an agency :( so we have to find a new model first, any volunteers? :)
Dolly Dagger contacted us this week to say that one of our t-shirts was featured in More Magazine, our Hot Pink Helix stereo T-shirt in the fashion pages by designer Scott Henshall. I met him once, because I dressed models at one of his shows when I was a student at college...but anyway I'm going off on tangent.
That's it from me for now, Marmalade Ho, hopes you all have a fantastic Easter, despite the gloomy weather, fingers crossed for a big fat overdose of sunshine soon. we're off to the shops to buy some choccie eggs :)
Blog entry - 2nd April 2008 - Fashion Central Magazine and Bunny love is in the air
Well, we're still nibbling on chocolate from easter whilst working on new designs for our collection. We're hoping to release two or three new designs for May. Probably on tees, vests and Stripey jersey dresses.
Here's a sneeky peek of the story for you. It looks like Bang Bang is being a bit of a blowout and spending too much time with Boing Boing, his girlfriend and neglecting his freinds, booo! :(
But hey, we've all been there, done that and got the t-shirt if you pardon the pun, so there's a little bit of tension between him and Marmalade, mmmm watch this space...
Last week our Helix Stereo T-shirt in Hot Pink was mentioned in More Magazine via Dolly Dagger, an online boutique who sells Marmalade Ho, as well lots of other cool retro clothes and accessories.
This week, Marmalade Ho has been featured in an article in Fashion Central Magazine, woop!
The magazine page is also on the official website of international celebrity model, Audrey Kitching.
Now bring out the sun so we can show off our new tee's!
Blog entry - 30th April 2008 - Fashion Central Community and New Sales Pages coming soon!!!!
EEEEEEk! Where has the time gone! We haven't written any blog for ages!!!!
Well the weathers being a big fat tease so we've decided to release our designs in June as it's too nippy to release vests into the wild!
Sorry peeps!We've done our homework, honest! We just want to wait for some proper fat sunshine to set them free in! New vests and jersey dresses will be available with the new prints as well as our oldie but goldie the cropped sweat.
I've just been talking with Penny our fantatstic web lady, the sales page is nearly ready to go.
So if you noticed a few disappearances from the Sweatshirt and tees pages recently, you'll find them on the all sales page, for some real steals! As usual we'll keep you posted on Myspace, the blog, our quarterly Newsletter and now on the Fashion Central Community too.
Fashion Central Magazine now have an online community so you can find other cool accessories and clothing by independent designers as well as hear about cool fashion shows, events, sales and more. Hooray!
We've also got a new stockist just off Brick Lane in London called Brag Boutique, a sweet little shop at 16 Bacon street, so Marmalade Ho goodies are sitting pretty next to Brags in house hand printed label and plastic fantastic jewellery by other fellow independents.
The next Newsletter will be out to in the near future. With a little questionnaire and a thank you treat for the Marmalade Ho Mailing List posse only. Oh and before we forget, if you're on the mailing list, you have ... till Monday 5th May to get 20% off your next order.To qualify you have to buy two items at the same time.
ciao for now x
Blog entry - 2nd May 2008 - New Sales Pages are Live!!!!
Wow! two blog posts in one week! Scary eh?
Just a quickie to let you that the Sales Pages are Live!!!
Most of the items are 50% of the original prices! so please have a look and help us create more room at HQ for new designs coming soon!
Tape Over sweats in red, heather grey and white,Helix stereo sweats as well as some of the Scribbley Prints can all be found at filthy prices on the new Sales Pages!
Also don't forget, if you're not on the Mailing List you can qualify for the 20% discount currently available by signing up HERE!
you have till Monday 5th May before the offer ends :(
To qualify you have to buy two items at the same time, but you can always go dutch with a friend.
Have a wicked bank holiday!
ttfn x
Blog entry - 27th May 2008 - New Sales Pages are Live!!!!
Wow another bank hols gone! We spent most of it working, boo!
Mmmm what goss do we have... Well we have a new stockist, we met Roxanne and Kirtsy at our last tradeshow, who were planning to open a cool little independent boutique
in Portsmouth called Roxii
Last Wednesday the girls held a Fashion show to tease Portsmouth shoppers with a taste of things to come which will hopefully be v soon!
Roxii will be stocking other independent designers in small numbers, so shoppers won't have to worry about bumping into people wearing the same outfits!
We'll get their address and put in on the Stockists page once it's open.
Forty Five in Plymouth, have just opened their 2nd shop in Bristol.
The new boutique will be
offering '...the same mix of fabulous clothing [including Marmalade Ho], accessories and artistic supplies but with the addition of a cheeky little coffee shop to keep you stimulated whilst you peruse the rails...'
You'll find it on the Whiteladies Road, the next block up from the BBC. Opening hours are Monday - Friday 8am - 7pm, Saturday 10am - 6pm and Sunday 11am - 4pm.
Oh and very soon a cute little French Website too, called Happy Berry, www.happyberry.fr. Happy Berry also did a very sweet write up of our little label in French and Italian. So if any of you fancy dusting off your GCSE French skills, translate this sil vous plait!:
...."Je viens de recevoir un petit mail de Miki, la créatrice de la marque indépendante anglaise de streetwear Marmalade Ho, qui me présente sa collection.
J’ai visité son site et sa collection est simplement a-do-ra-ble! Si comme moi vous aimez la mode pop/alternative comme celle du célèbre magazine japonais Fruits, ben, ses t-shirts sont faits pour vous!
Miki ne se prends pas vraiment au sérieux et elle a crée une gamme de t-shirts et sweatshirts drôles aux couleurs fashion et très rock (rose électrique, noir, rouge et gris) pour des filles non conformistes qui aiment les fringues originales et au style un peu rétro.
Marmalade Ho a été sur la liste des 15 nouvelles marques plus hot du printemps/été 2007 élues par le magazine anglais 69 et ses t-shirt ont parues sur la dernière guide au shopping online du numéro de décembre 2007 du magazine Elle Uk.Une nouvelle collaboration en vue pour Happy Berry? Qui sait... J'vous en dirais pas plus... Rendez-vous sur happyberry.fr!..."
My parlez vous Francais? skills are tres terrible, better than Del Boy Trotters, but not much, so merci beacoup Happy Berry! x
The new designs have been tweaked and tweaked and I think they are ready to jump onto some t-shirts, sweats and dresses finally! Hooray! Just got to decide which tees and sweats to put them on...
Ok better go, hopefully manage to tell you some goss about our exciting new Mobile phone skins this week!
ttfn x
Blog entry - 1st June 2008 - A t-shirt for your phone?!!!
Ok, just managed to put up some blog about the phone skins within the week as promised! The new deisgns are super super definately ready, so i'm pootling off in Noo Noo to the printers tomorrow!
Ok so about these exciting new phone skins, they are tagged as being a t-shirt for your phone! These super ruff 'n' tuff stickers can be peeled off and do not damage you phone at all! They are cheap and cheerful and a very cool way of personalising your phone even more!
You'll be able to buy your favourite Marmalade Ho design for your mobile. A large number of phones from the big names like Nokia, Sony Ericson and Motorola can be accessorised with a cool little Marmalade Ho tee of it's own!
The site will be ready really soon and there will be a special 2 for 1 special deal!
Marmalade Ho will be working with Makemy the company who came up with the cool idea, we'll be bringing out some special designs for mobiles only to celebrate too!
The extra cool thing is that you can edit the design, move it around and flip it etc. to suit you phone! so it'll have an ickle bespoke tee of it's own, pretty cool eh?
We also had another photo shoot this week with Ben Hollingberry, the photographer we worked with on the last shoot, so we'll hopefully get those images soon, from what I could see they looked pretty damn good! It was great working with the model, Scarlet Duggan, who was a true star!
I really wanted to show how good the striped jersey dresses look, as it's still pretty hard to tell on a mannequin. I think Scarlet modelling them will do the trick!
We were hoping to get some fun pics shot on Camber sands beach in Rye but as soon as me and Noo-noo hit the M20, the rain just wee-ed down :(
Luckily, Ben's friend, another Ben, has a swanky little bar called Three Zero and he kindly let us use the upstairs as a location.
Bar Three Zero is known by postmen alike as 30, Bank St, Ashford, Kent TN23 1BA
Hope you're having a cool weekend x
Blog entry - 1st June 2008 - Naughty postmen!
Naughty postmen? pourquoi? Well not all postmen, er post person? up till recently, Marmalade Ho recently only offered Airmail for International shipping, but from now on, we'll be offering you guys the additonal option of International signed for Delivery
Basically we've lost two orders within as many months, although the two shoppers were very understanding and sweet about it all, it was frustrating for both us at Marmalade Ho and the customers concerned. We decided to replace the sweats and tshirts asap as it takes ages to wait for compensation, you know how it is (yawn, yawn). I can just see Postman Pat wearing a Marmalade Ho cropped sweat now! :D
Most postoffice peeps are normally chirpy and pretty chilled, so it's just a few rotten eggs out there! Boooooo!
So I had a big web chat with Penny, web designer extroadinaire, who has come up with an alternative plan!
The site won't really look any different if you're shopping online apart from the fact that there will be more options for shoppers to choose.
Also it will make it easier for us to offer you gals promotional codes, allow discounts for multibuys etc. How cool is that?! We just couldn't offer you that before. So there are even more reason to sign up for our quarterly newsletter now!
It was a bit tricky before and we had to refund you after we confirmed the order etc. but soon that will all be no more, whoop! Ok, I'm excited because it's less brain ache for me!
The new shipping terms and conditions can be found HERE
The home page is going to have a bit of a makeover, it'll be easier to find certain sections like the size page and Gift Voucher page, so shopping online with our little e-boutique is about to get even nicer!
I've had a sneeky peek at the images from our latest photo shoot and they look really cool!, so keep an eye out for those, they'll be appearing on the new Home page
The new designs are now in the hands of screen printer so in a few weeks time there will be new t-shirts and sweats too! hooray!
Have a good weekend x
Blog entry - FRIDAY 13th June 2008 - Unlucky for some?
Yipee it's the weekend again!
hope you've found some time to enjoy the sun, what is going on with the weather this summer?
I've managed to dust off my summer clothes a few times this year but I suddenly get dizzy with which top to wear because I might not get the chance for another month! Am I the only one having this wardrobe dilemma or is this a side affect of cabin fever?
The new t-shirts and sweats have gone off to the printers, hooray! There will be a new lemon hoodie and some cool vests in White, Marshmallow and Spearmint as well new t-shirts in dusty plum,Marshmallow and Biro Blue.
I now have all the images from the latest photo shoot and can't wait to pick which ones to go on our new Home page! On our new shop front is now a link to those cool phone skins I was blabbering on about, so you can now buy our NEW MARMALADE HO PHONESKINS!!!! for your mobile, cell phone or whatever you like to call him. He'll be able to have a mini kawaii wardrobe of his own!
Make My the company whos cool idea it was, will be responsible for anything Phone skin related. So please check out the terms and conditions, postage et.c on the new skins site when ordering. If you have any questions etc.regarding phone skins click on the Make My 'Contact us' or the 'Help'link.
You can pay for your order by debit, visa etc. online or over the phone. You'll also be able to open an account, save your edited skin design and so on
Ok that's it from me, Lucyfer's chasing me for spreadsheets already! and I have to update our Myspace and blah blah blah!
Have a good one! x