Sage, inspired by Life

An early advent freebie plus free shipping all weekend

2011-12-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

Despite being consumed by everyone else's Christmases right now (and having not even started my own shopping!!) I am glad to say I am starting to feel a twitch of festivity; probably due to the fact that my two year old can't stop talking about Father Christmas, that our live-in Elf 'Toby' is keeping her on her toes as he reports back to Father Christmas on her behaviour daily, and that I am just so excited to have my first Christmas where everything feels magical for more years than I care to tell! It's early days I know but this could well be the first Christmas in a long while that I am not utterly sick of Christmas before it has even really started (which is great as I LOVE it!).

So in full Christmas spirit I plan on throwing a few great offers your way in the lead up to the big day, the first being:

Receive a beautiful free turtle dove for every £30.00 spent up until midnight tonight, 2nd December. PLUS free delivery all weekend* using the coded 2ADVENT. *offer applies to all orders of £30.00 or more and up until midnight 4th December.

Happy shopping and please sign up for notifications if you want to hear about the other exciting offers coming!

Becky

My beautiful, clever, and photogenic flower fairy!

2011-11-29T13:39:00.000-08:00

Partly due to heart-bursting pride and partly to plug a fabulous product but I have to tell you about my gorgeous girls first photo shoot; unlike her Mummy she is photogenic and adores having her photo taken. Florence loved the experience and loves the daisies she got to keep even more! By a pack of these brilliant daisies to build your very own daisy chain for £6.95 (and of course benefit from 20% off until the end of November with offer code NOV11) - they really are brilliant!

Pop we go again!

2011-10-31T14:42:00.000-07:00

our fabulous, best-selling slipper boots! now in stock.

This forthcoming Saturday sees us hosting our second Sage 'Pop Up Store' following the amazing support we received for our first effort (thank you). So please come along and see us, we will be outside of Fig once again (weather permitting).

Fig, 206 Gloucester Road, Bishopston Bristol BS7 8NU. 10am - 5pm Saturday 5th November.

If you can't visit us in person why not shop online, we have extended our extra special offer - 25% off all purchases between now and midnight on Sunday 6th! Just use offer code October25 at checkout.

Happy Shopping.

Becky
x

First Ever Pop Up Sage Store

2011-10-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Well Saturday saw our first ever Sage 'Pop Up' Store, the weather was beautiful, many of our valued customers stopped by to chat and shop and for us it was a success so I am hoping to be doing a few more! Florence has learnt a new sentence 'come and shop at sage' (taught her by the wonderful Christine, pictured here) and I am wondering if she is perhaps thinking of being a market-trader when she is all grown up...

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to see us and to those who made a special trip - it means a lot.

Much love, Becky & the girls.

xxx

Visit our Pop Up Store to claim your free gift plus 25% off online until midnight on Sunday 16th October.

2011-10-12T14:22:00.000-07:00

We are getting very excited about our forthcoming 'pop-up day' this Saturday and to reward our valued customers we have a free gift* waiting for you if you visit us on the day and spend £20 or more! Simply bring this email with you.

Fig, 206 Gloucester Road, Bishopston Bristol BS7 8NU. 10am - 5pm Saturday 15th October.

If you can't visit us in person why not shop online and claim your extra special discount - 25% off all purchases between now and midnight on Sunday 16th! Just use offer code October25 at checkout.
Happy Shopping.
Becky
x
* one gift per customer while stock lasts, embroidered lavender bag RRP £6.95.

Free Delivery Extended throughout October

2011-10-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who embraced the free local delivery promotion I published during September, I am delighted that so many of you snapped up the opportunity (although I'm not sure how delighted my willing deliveryman/husband was with the success!). Following your fabulous response it seemed only sensible to extend the offer throughout October as well, for those of you planning your Christmas shopping nice and early this year!

If you live within BS6 or BS7 postcodes simply checkout as normal up until 31st October and I will automatically refund you your (standard) postage costs and contact you to arrange a convenient delivery time. Simple.

Happy shopping.x

Couldn't have said it better...

2011-10-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

I am a reluctant late starter in the world of social media and am yet to fully embrace it, however a while back I subscribed to a fabulous blog called 'Crumbs Feed your Family' and have been devouring their emails daily ever since. Here is their most recent tasty morsel, Enjoy!:

"As a working mother I'd like to bust a few myths. I feel NO guilt. I skip to work in the morning (after I've stuffed my children's pockets full of crisps and trans fatty biscuits and dropped them off at inadequate childcare). I rarely feel overwhelmed by the amount of things I have to do each day, which range from editorial meetings to trying to scrape off the slick of Weetabix which I seem to wear permanently on my right shoulder. I love trying to make a tube of empty toothpaste last the best part of a week because I don't know when I'll next get to the shops, or wondering whether my children will rebel at having to eat chickpeas for lunch and tea because the online delivery isn't arriving until they've gone to bed.

What else? I love cleaning the house in what used to be my "leisure time", ironing is like a hobby to me and spending a Saturday night trying to stop the bannister from feeling so sticky is FUN! So when I do manage to find some time to read a paper or some news permeates this bubble and it is of the:

Children with working mothers 6 times more likely to be fat or Children whose mothers work are 'less healthy' variety, I just shrug my shoulders and think "fair 'nuff" and get on with pumping up the tyres on my children's balance bike while planning what processed food I'm going to give them for tea.

Because, as we all know, mothers who work choose to work. We do it because it's fun. Not because we have to. Not because there's a mortgage to pay and food to put on the table. Nope, we do it for a laugh. Or at least that's what you'd think from all the blame that's laid at our feet.

So yesterday I had a refreshing surprise at a conference where the academics have taken a second look at much of the research which has told us that working mums are the cause of children's ill health. Instead they found that "maternal employment was not related to foods children consumed." They felt that the original research was limited in how it was interpreted and they wanted to redress the balance by looking at the data in a different way. I won't go in to details here (but do contact me if you want them), but the key fact here is that it isn't our fault! They felt that there were more important factors involved in what children ate than working mothers, such as timing.

By using family meals as an indicator for healthy eating they found that the problem wasn't mothers working, instead it was getting the whole family together. And this was often because fathers were still at work so unable to eat with everyone else. A charity called Working Families had researched the area and found that families eat together, on average, twice a week - presumably at the weekend. They have also done another study which showed that fathers who work flexibly are pychologically and physically healthier than those who can't. Their research also showed that flexible working alleviated pressure at home and enabled parents to share responsibilities. This can only be a good thing when another stat was that mothers are the main food provider in 93 percent of families. So when you see another article blaming working mothers for everything from obesity to social alienation, think that maybe it isn't really our fault. Maybe it's the fault of working men! And rather than just give them a kicking for it, maybe there is an answer, and it isn't "give up your job", it's to allow them to work flexibly. What do you think?"

Pop Up Sage!

2011-10-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

I have received so many comments since the closure of our store over eight months ago about how sorely we have been missed on our local high street. I feel a mixture of guilt and flattery every time I receive one of these comments, but mainly I feel sad as I too miss our presence in the community and most of all I miss all of our fabulous customers!

While condensing our business to focus on our online store has been by far the best solution to help repair my work/life balance I do miss the interaction. Therefore I am delighted to introduce the 'seedling' which is Pop-Up Sage! On 15th October and 5th November we have been invited by our good friends and former neighbours 'Fig' to take up a little of their gallery space with a Pop-Up Sage store, showcasing our best-sellers alongside their fabulous hand-crafted wares. This is a very exciting opportunity and one which I hope our mutual customers will embrace, because if it works we will no doubt do it more often!

Looking forward to seeing some of you very soon!

Sage inspired by Life (Pop-Up Store), 10am - 5pm @ Fig, 206 Gloucester Road, Bristol BS7 8NU - Saturday 15th October and Saturday 5th November.

Happy Shopping!

2011-09-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

We've been gone for a while I know, and to those of you who have subscribed to follow our blog I am sorry. I do however have a reasonable-ish excuse in that our beautiful second baby girl Poppy arrived on 1st May and has caused havoc in our lives ever since! However things are regaining some semblance of normality now and I intend to be doing a lot more from here-on-in so please bear with me!

The first thing I would like to do (other than the fabulous offer about to land in your in box - 20% off until 11th September) is offer those of you local to us free delivery until the end of September - simply shop online and I will automatically refund your postage costs if you live in BS7 or BS6. (Please note this offer only applies to standard postage) Happy shopping!

We are working very hard on our Christmas collection as I type so please watch this space...

Lots of love,
Becky

Second Chance Christmas Shopping, 10% off everything plus 3 for 2 on Christmas decorations!

2010-12-10T06:09:00.000-08:00

Join us on Thursday 16th December between 6pm and 9pm for our second chance Christmas shopping evening. Enjoy late night shopping with a glass of bubbles and a complimentary 10% off everything that you by on the evening. Online customers use the code SECONDCHANCE10 to benefit from the offer on the day. Plus in store you can enjoy 3-for-2 on all Christmas tree decorations.

We hope to see you there!

Exclusive Sage offer... Gorgeous Christmas gifts for baby and toddlers from Cuddledry…

2010-11-19T10:08:00.000-08:00

I am delighted to be able to share a special offer with you created exclusively for our customers; Treat the little one in your life to something special this Christmas. Super-soft organic baby apron bath towels, extra large toddler towels and robes, funky colour changing bath mats and gorgeous ‘no-nasties’ toiletries. Everything you need to make bath time safe and snugly. Visit www.cuddledry.com and enter SAGE15 at the checkout to claim a very festive 15% off everything!

Based on my personal experiences I am 100% happy to recommend Cuddledry to you, Florence uses her towel all of the time and has done since birth, it is really functional and the softest, cuddliest towel I've found - brilliant!

Furthermore (this is a bit late in the day to mention now that it's Friday, I realise!) but the very clever ladies behind Cuddledry (you might remember them from Dragons Den?) have been running an event in conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week where you can post any questions you may have for them about running your own successful business. Visit them at http://www.cuddledry.com/about-us

It's Christmas Time Again!

2010-11-02T06:23:00.000-07:00

And it feels like we were here doing the very same thing only yesterday! So with just over seven weeks until Christmas we are now in the full swing of our Christmas preparations in store and I am pleased to reveal that our much anticipated Customer Evening will be held on Thursday 11th November between 5 and 9pm. Please join us for shopping and champagne, plus as always a free gift when you spend £40.00 or more (a delicious fragrant and festive scented candle of your choice worth £7.95*)

Following the success of last years event I am delighted to announce that we will be joined by our neighbour Fig who will also be hosting a late night shopping event that evening.

Our opening hours will be standard up until December and following that we will be hosting late night shopping on Thursday evenings until 8.30pm, and we will be trialling Sunday opening from 11am until 3pm.

Please keep an eye on our blog, or join our mailing list for regular updates regarding promotions and special events.

* one gift per customer while stocks last. For online customers your gift will be automatically added on the day when you purchase exceeds £40.00.

An Exclusive Offer for our Customers!

2010-11-02T06:03:00.000-07:00

I am chuffed to bits to be able to introduce Sika Lodge to you; a super-cosy eco-retreat set in Wareham Forest, Dorset. A cosy cabin perfectly balancing sustainability and rustic luxury at low cost to the planet. Using wood-fuel and solar energy, it has it's own veg-patch (and fresh eggs from the owners chickens!), outdoor cooking fire-pit, wood-fired hot tub and a back gate which opens out onto 15sq miles of beautiful forest. Self-catering, the cabin comfortably sleeps 2 adults and also has a mezzanine platform above the main sleeping area with a double bunk for kids.

As a special introductory offer Rob and Rachel are delighted to offer you a discounted rate of £65 per night with a minimum of two nights stay between 1st November 2010 and 1st March 2011, simply mention SAGESPECIALOFFER when you contact them.

The website is still under-construction but you can visit it for some further info' http://www.alphafarm.co.uk/ or give Rob or Rachel a call on 01929 556389 or an email at enquiries@alphafarm.co.uk to book your stay.

Enjoy!

Becky
x

Our (now not so...) new additon to the Sage Family

2010-04-04T12:58:00.000-07:00

I promised so many of you that when our beautiful baby girl arrived I would post some news and photographs for you to see; I'm so sorry life with a new baby is chaos - as many of you I'm sure can relate to! Combining motherhood with running the business during a busy Christmas trading period has meant I am considerably behind on so many things but just catching up now!

Florence was born in November and is amazing in every way, here are a few of her best moments so far...

New Jewellery Range Due in store next week

2010-03-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

It is a very rare occurence in my world but I have found a new jewellery range and fallen in love! Designed and made in the UK these chunky resin engraved bangles are due in before Easter and I'm sure will be a big hit with you as well! Prices from £20.00.

10% OFF Easter Special

2010-03-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

Shop online or in-store from Monday 28th March until Monday 5th March 2010 and receive 10% OFF. Simply present this article in-store or use the promotional code BUNNY10 online to qualify. Happy Easter from all of us.x

Easter Opening and an important change to our opening hours

2010-03-27T06:30:00.001-07:00

Change to Opening Hours
Due to the demands of the business we will be closing for half an hour lunch daily (excluding weekends) effective from Monday 28th March 2010. Our opening hours are therefore:

Monday - Friday 9.00am - 5.30pm (closed for lunch 12.00-12.30)
Saturday 9.00am - 5.30pm
Sunday CLOSED

Easter Opening Hours
We will be closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday but will be open for business as usual on Saturday 3rd April 2010.

Yeti Slipper Boots

2009-10-06T07:50:00.000-07:00

(Latte Boot shown alonside slippers which are no longer available)

Introducing the Yeti Slipper Boot. Now available to buy in-store and online - the cosiest, furriest slipper boots on the market; available in two colours - espresso and latte, and three sizes 3-4, 5-6, 7-8. SHOP NOW £37.50

(Espresso Boot)

All job vacancies filled

2009-09-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

I am delighted to be welcoming Sinead and Anne-Louise to the Sage team, both will be starting later this month and I am certain alongside Bianca and Libby they will do a fantastic job holding the fort while I am off on maternity leave.

Thank you to everyone who applied for the positions, I was quite overwhelmed by both the interest the positions generated and the calibre of applicants who applied.

Becky
x

In-Store Job Opportunities

2009-07-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

We have two brand new temporary job opportunities in store at 214 Gloucester Road - Both roles will involve dealing with customers, display and merchandising and the handling and management of online orders; so if you are friendly and enjoy working with people, have an appreciation of beautiful home accessories and are focused and organised this may well be an opportunity for you!

The first position is for two full days per week (9.00 - 17.30, Monday and Tuesday) the second is for two hours each day, Monday - Friday around lunch time. The position commences mid-late September and will continue for 3-6 months with scope for a longer term contract going forwards.

For further information about the available roles or to submit your CV please contact me on becky@sageinspiredbylife.co.uk

Sage Events - dates for your diary

2009-05-09T06:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday 6th June 2009 – Book Launch and Signing
Between 11am and 1pm we are very lucky to be joined by the very talented Rachel Bright who will be reading from her brand new children’s book “What does Daddy Do?”. For those of you not yet familiar with Rachel she is a Bristol based writer/illustrator whose magical and humorous poems and illustrations we stock in store. “What does Daddy do?” Rachel’s first book is being launched just in time for Father’s Day and features her best-selling illustrative character – Daisy. Rachel will be available after the reading to personally sign copies of the book purchased on the day – making a unique and unusual Father’s Day gift. The reading will start at 11am with book-signings following directly afterwards, supervised little-people welcome.

For further information about Rachel’s work and to see examples please see the post 'A Truly Magical Find'.

Saturday 20th June 2009 – Clearance Sale
Believe it or not we are already busy planning Christmas ‘09 and to help us get our stock room in order prior to the deluge of new stock we will be holding a one off clearance sale between 10 and 3pm on Saturday 20th June. Please try and make it along, I can guarantee some not-to-be-missed bargains!

To be kept informed of forthcoming events and special offers be sure to register your details on our mailing list. Online customers - I'm sorry that these events do not apply online, we will keep you informed of any other relevant new promotions. If you are interested in a signed copy of 'What Does Daddy Do?' please contact me via email prior to the event.

A Truly Magical Find

2009-05-09T06:32:00.000-07:00

Every now and again I stumble across a product which is truly unique and reflects the personality of our business brilliantly. Well this time I am especially proud to introduce to you the work of Rachel Bright; a very talented writer/illustrator whose work I guarantee will bring a smile to your face and remind you of simple child-like pleasures.

You will find below some examples of Rachel’s work (available for sale in store and online) and a brief biography Rachel was kind enough to write for us to give you a little more background information about her and her brilliant work.

Rachel Bright: Biography
Rachel is a writer of words, drawer of pictures and champion of silver linings. She exhibits widely, writes tirelessly and frequently creates slightly unhinged characters. Exploring the loveliness of words and the magic of pictures, she revels in a world of jam-eating miniature bears and other made-up animals. Mainly working in hard-ground etching, hand-printed letterpress and silk screen, Rachel also splashes about with gouache, ink, food colouring and pretty much anything she can lay her hands on. She has recently completed an MA in Printmaking, which was unimaginably great.

Rachel's plan of world domination one gift item at a time is slowly coming together, with an internationally best-selling range of cards and gifts called, 'the Brightside' selling out in shops across the land. Check out some of them at http://www.reallygood.uk.com/

She has also recently been signed in a two-book deal with the mighty Puffin and her first picture book, 'What does Daddy do?' will be published in May this year, with a book reading and signing scheduled at “Sage, Inspired by Life” on June 6th.

In all her work, Rachel aims to capture the way of thinking that little people tend to have...the way that believes anything is possible...sometimes, when we're all grown up, we just need a little nudge to remember it's been there all along.

To purchase either of the poems featured here visit our website or to discuss purchasing any of Rachels other pieces please contact us in store on 0117 9429000.

Had us Foxed ...

2009-05-09T04:58:00.000-07:00

Firstly I must apologies that it has been so long time since my last post, I can’t believe where the weeks have gone or that it is May already! As it happens I do have a good excuse in that I have spent the last 3 months feeling pretty lousy but I can now share with you that the Sage team is due a new (non-participating) member early in November!

Having just regained some of my zest for life I thought today would be a good day to share with you my amusing mysterious sausage story…

For some weeks our front garden along with our next door neighbours’ front garden has been the victim of mysterious burials in the dark of night, the most amusing was that of our neighbour when she found a ½ buried sausage protruding from her window box – which at first glance she thought was a finger! These events have continued and we have found various food scraps stashed in our front garden alongside several excavations of our prized bay tree, but with no opportunity of identifying the offender. However the mystery has now been solved and the offender found - on opening her curtains very early one morning the neighbour in question came face to face with a bushy tailed Fox busy burying his stash in her window box!

However despite the mystery being solved we still have our regular visitor so if anyone has a bright idea as to how we can persuade him to store his supper elsewhere please do let me know!

An interesting train journey

2009-03-07T10:09:00.000-08:00

Shattered from a very long and gruelling conference in London I settled into my train seat and prepared for a dull two hour journey from Paddington to Bristol. I'd forgotten my ipod and had just resigned myself to listening to businessmen barking into mobile phones at the tops of their voices (I never remember to book the quiet carriage) all the way home when a woman came and sat opposite me.

After a while we struck up conversation and she turned out to be a very interesting woman indeed - the chief executive of a charity called the 'National Bullying Helpline', an advisory body who will help and advise anyone from school children to people troubled by bullying in the workplace.

It sounds like she is doing a wonderful and very worthwhile job and is currently busy trying to drum up a high profile ambassador for the charity to raise it's national profile. So if anyone out there could maybe mention the cause to say ... David Beckham that would be great. I think he'd be perfect for the role!

http://nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk

La-Vialla

2009-02-14T08:09:00.001-08:00

Goodness me, this is addictive! I really ought to be either working or cleaning today so I must make this quick... I need to share with you the most wonderful discovery I've made (it's tempting to keep this a secret, a treasure for my pleasure only - but it is just too good not to share) - a company called "Fattoria La Vialla"; La Vialla is an Organic Tuscan Farm which I stumbled upon advertised in a foodie magazine, I contacted them and requested their catalogue which arrived in the post this morning.

'Catalogue' is a huge understatement, this is a thing of great beauty - so thoughtfully presented that opening it and leafing through it was quite an emotional experience. Packaged in a branded 100% recycled wallet the catalogue is accompanied by a charming DVD sharing with you the very essence of the farm, the organic farming process and the products they lovingly prepare. The catalogue itself is a design masterpiece with stunning imagery and clearly laid out products which look absolutely delicious and reasonably priced.

While I'm busy singing their praises I must add of course I've not yet ordered from them (I'm just preparing my first order now) but I feel certain they will not disappoint me. Once I've sampled my bottle of Chianti, Spelt Pasta, Balsamic Vinegar and Bombolino I'll be sure to let you know my thoughts...

2009-02-14T07:01:00.000-08:00

Well this is very new to me! Today I have created this blog to enable me to share my business experiences with my friends, family and customers and also to enable me to promote some of the fabulous things that I find, buy, market and sell every day.

I endeavour to buy as responsibly as possible and I always choose products which I hope create a story, and play a significant part in peoples lives and in creating memories. These advent buckets for example are fabulous; they are perpetual and they are fun, they encourage creativity and have a wonderful air of nostalgia. They were incredibly popular during Christmas 2008 and customers were absolutely delighted with them. I was working incredibly hard over Christmas and I'm sure exhaustion played a large part in my emotions but one customers comments made me cry! "I just want to let you know that the order arrived today and I am absolutely delighted with it. My son will love the advent calendar and I can see it will be used for many years to come. I can see it will be kept to pass onto his children one day as well. The bottle lantern will look lovely as part of my Christmas decorating scheme and the simple touch of including a small decoration in the parcel is a lovely gesture. I think I will be returning to your website again and again. I hope you manage to keep going in these difficult times."

I hope this helps to explain my work ethic and a little bit about the products I sell.

PS. The advent buckets will be available for sale again this Christmas!x