firstly, an apology for being away from Blog-land for so very long...I have been so busy with the latest Redressing adventures that I thought by way of an apology I would introduce you to a week in the life of the Redressing world.
Typically, my day starts with a lovely cup of tea from my darling husband of almost 17 years. 17 years and he has always made me a lovely cup of tea; I am a lucky lady! I like to drink most of the tea before I get out of bed; a wonderful wake up and an opportunity to drink most of it before my 5 year old requests to finish it off! I recently treated myself to a lovely Cath Kidston mug for my morning tea. Perfect!
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| Cath Kidston Crush Mug £5 |
Once all 3 of my gorgeous girlies are safely at school I have coffee and plan the day ahead- there is usually much to do both home and away so I have learnt to be quite strategic with my time. After coffee and breakfast the Redressing day begins. Let's take a typical week....Monday, 'Pop-In-And-Shop' day (my favourite kind of Monday!) All kinds of lovely ladies come to a Pop-In-And-Shop; from my faithful neighbour with a penchant for White Stuff, to fellow Tweeters I've discovered along the way and friends of friends of friends....you never quite know just who requires re-dressing so a large pot of coffee is always on the go! Sometimes it's a quick pop-in and try, other times it's an hour or two of catch up and chat. Usually someone needs a unique and bespoke pressie for a friend so jewellery is chosen and vintage brooches are tried on. My converted garage is the best fitting room ever and comes complete with full length mirror, advice from others and the obligatory coffee (although we have been known to serve Pimms!)
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| Vintage Button Chokers- any colourway available upon request £12.50 |
Tuesday involves the purchase of lots of lovely new stock; trawling my suppliers can take up time driving or hunting online but it's always worth it. I usually have someone in mind when I see a dress I know will be a huge hit and I imagine her face when she sees herself in the mirror in it, looking stunning and feeling a million dollars (although it's usually only £15 she's had to part with!) I like it when I know there are special events or birthdays coming up and I can think specifically about that perfect dress; it can be quite a challenge yet it's also very rewarding. Ever so occasionally I get it so right that the dress in question gets snapped up before the lady I'd had in my mind has had chance to peek at it!
Wednesday is photography day and I have to lug heavy pieces of lighting and photography equipment around the studio. My daughters have nicknamed one mannequin 'Kim' and she is the model of choice for studio shoots. It's a great opportunity to haul out all the fab frocks and dress Kim up in Everyday Glam dresses, (quite a few Fat Face and White Stuff pieces of late), Posh Frocks, and my favourite, the Vintage Chic collections! The studio lights get pretty hot so a lunch break is needed and a pop-in from a dear friend and business associate who often likes to be the first to peruse any new acquisitions! After the photography comes the listing of the dresses, all the necessary SEO and the like and then it's a super speedy straighten up back home and off to do the school run.
Thursday I often catch up with ladies I do business mentoring for and ensure they are on track with their various businesses. (Usually this also includes coffee and some further networking activity!) Then of course there's my books, associated paperwork and other usual officey jobs. Occasionally there is a Redressing daytime event, charity do or the like. The most recent was a charity do at Sainsbury's HQ and the next one is a lunchtime slot at Warwick University so a very varied selection of lovely ladies to re-dress. Thank goodness for the wide variety of iPhone apps I completely depend on; no longer do I solely work from home, but also from the car, the school playground and all manner of unusual places that has WiFi! Excellent when you're juggling the supermarket and booking Redressing evening appointments in the diary. Which brings me on to...
Friday. A 'Day Off' (unless it's another Pop-In-And-Shop day) but an evening On! Most of the recent Redressing Events we've held (one every week since the end of April) have been Friday nights. These have proved to be the best ever in terms of genuine refreshing of the way women dress and a re-dressing of self confidence and identity. It has been a real treat to see my trawling and traipsing pay off in such amazing ways and for such an amazing lot of ladies. As the 'feel good factor' word is spread we have been offered lots of opportunities to take Redressing into other ladies homes and bring some of the magic of renewed self worth and body confidence to all shapes, sizes and ages of ladies who have trusted us to re-dress them. So, if you have been one of the many wonderful women who have embraced the Redressing way and opened up your home- thank you!
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| It's the 9/10ths that really count! |
So as you can see, blogging had slipped in favour of genuine relationships and authentic changes to how we dress, but hey, we're back now....!
