The Artist Within

Well I've had a funny couple of days, feels like I've been glued to the Mac, & Steve (OH) says he has forgotten what my voice sounds like (a rare treat for him i tell you!).

And here's what I've been up to.......

I shall start at the beginning (as that would make sense- & i don't always!)

As i mentioned in my previous post, i have recently joined the phenomenon that is notonthehighstreet, & having spent many hours uploading product information & photos, i couldn't help but start to feel that some of my own photos were a little 'ebay' dare i say, and when it came to photographing my own art work, it simply wasn't happening!

So i got my thinking cap on and i remembered the lovely lady Hannah, whom i met (& blogged about) a little while ago, when she kindly included me (well Bow-im not that interesting!) in her own blog hannahmillardphotography.blogspot.com. Hannah is a fantastic photographer, self taught which really amazed me, & even better, lives in our neighbouring village

Wirksworth.

A few emails later (ooh & the persuasion of my friend Sally to let me use her FABULOUS house as the photoshoot location) & one Thursday morning Hannah, Sally, Myself & Queenie (the most beautiful cat ive seen -& im a 'dog girl' -so to speak!) had a cup of tea (needed some energy!) & set out on our creative mission!

A bit of hair tearing, sweating (only from

myself i should add- Hannah & Sally are far too beautiful to sweat!) & a whole lot of mess later & here are the results..........

Spreading our Wings

Not heard from me in a while - but i DO have a reasonable excuse (honest!) -

Ive been a busy bee branching out to the fabulous website www.notonthehighstreet.com/bowboutique -where you will now find a select range of beautiful products from Bow.

Its been a great start since I've become a partner, and it would appear some best sellers are already emerging!

Our TOP 5......

N.o 5/

Luxury Handmade Bath Souflees

N.o 4/

Luxury Handmade 'Pamper Me' Gift Box

N.o 3/

Quirky Teapot Birds Nest (perfect for xmas!)

N.o 2/

Handmade Heart Shaped Chalkboard

and finally........

N.o 1/

Shabby Chic Handpainted Letters!!

New Ventures

I've been busy with a few new ventures the past couple of weeks, I've been attending fabulous events such as the fabulousplaces.co.uk Blooming Great Tea Party which was held at the beautiful Shottle Hall in Derbyshire, & tomorrow i shall be showing at Discover Vintage in Matlock, Derbyshire 10am-4pm Matlock Imperial Rooms with lots of lovely vintage china, homewares and furniture!

Ive also been getting back to my drawing board-

Inspired by the wonderfully nostalgic Betty's tearooms in Harrogate - hope you like them- im pleased with the results.....

Race for Life

Hello! i'm slightly surprised i've mustered up enough energy to actually write this blog post as i've just completed what felt like the longest 5k of my life!!!

But all for a GREAT cause and what a fantastic atmosphere it was! Raising money for cancer research i dragged myself round Chesterfield town centre and Queens Park all red faced but as stubborn and determined as ever in a pleasantly surprising 33MINUTES!!!!!! WOW yes! to say the winner did it

in 19mins actually puts it a little more in perspective and makes me feel incredibly proud & slightly masks the thumping dehydration headache and pulled muscles i am now enduring! yes i know it seems like a walk (or run!) in the park to some of you sporty ladies out there, but for a 'non runner' it was quite an achievement i tell you! Especially as my friend Steph & I's idea of training was 10minutes on Wii fit followed by a glass of chardonnay for 'doing so well!!!!'

Anyway all is better in retrospect as always! I was running for a sadly missed friend & fantastically talented man Phil Birkett who sadly lost his battle with cancer last year, who was certainly in my thoughts & kept me going when my legs were aching and i didn't want to run that last 1k ; and i'm proud to say raised lots of money in his memory and for a great cause!

Here's to Phil :)

Blog Mention!

a BIG thank you to the lovely Hannah Millard who featured us on her blog this week!Her photography is fabulous I'm sure you'll agree. It was a lovely piece about the shop and I love the pics- please take a look! http://www.hannahmillardphotography.blogspot.com/

Long Live The Queen!!!!

Well perhaps one could argue we're not the greatest sporting nation at the moment - but all my hopes are behind Murray in todays semi-final!

Show some patriotism with these fabulous tea cosies!

Summer Fun

Hello! I'm back! sorry for such a large delay in my blog posts but ive been a busy bee having a 'sort out' in the shop (got a gorgeous new dresser!) & attending/ arranging summer events for the shop.

This Sunday (4th July) I'll be at Thronbridge Hall Charity Garden Party 11am-4pm. the beautiful Thornbridge Hall is in Ashford in the Water, Derbyshire DE45 1NZ so please come along & see me if you fancy a lovely afternoon out. It's £5.00 for adults & kids go free but it is for charity supporting the likes of Macmillan Cancer Support, Boots for Africa, Helen's Trust which im sure you'll agree are all great causes. Alongside some fabulous shopping there is lots of fun for the kids - climbing wall, funfair, football with Sheffield FC, Pony rides to name but a few! There is also lots a fun for the adults too including Open House & Gardens, Brass Band, S. Anselms Chapel Choir, oooh & a beer tent!!!

It really will be a lovely event especially if the weather stays as it has been! But if we do have the recent 'luck' of the Brits, there are plenty of things to do INSIDE & out!

Hope to see you there!! ....