Red is the Colour!

At this time of year I am forced to feel festive. NOT out of choice, but necessity, because it is that time of year when we at Redhound have to get ready for the big Country Living Christmas Fair.

So it has been all about RED this last couple of weeks. Red Christmas jumpers, Red bandanas, and Red Christmas stockings!

I have been working out on the knitting machine all week, and to my surprise I seem to have a slightly more toned waistline, who needs the gym.

Next week it will be all about bandana production. Lots of triangles of lovely cotton in beautiful prints, and then I will be putting the sewing machine through its paces, zoom zoom.

And this year we are offering our bandanas with a treat tree as a gift pack! There will be frantic packing of these lovely gifts the day before setting up at the show no doubt.

 This week I have been amazed by the response I have had on the social media sites, there was a time not so long ago, when those two words just wouldn't have been in the same sentence! Running a business is so different now to how it was when I had the Wedding Dress Shop. But I have embraced it and use Twitter (@RedhoundforDogs) and Instagram (@redhoundfordogs)

 I am getting orders from all around the world! Collars and Coats are going as far away as Australia! 

I love the sharing of thoughts and pictures, and the way that I can connect with my customers in a more personal way. 

This little dog won a bandana for being our 700th follower on Twitter, and it gave me such joy to make the owner so happy!

And George is so terribly CUTE!!

Last but not least we took a delivery of wonderful bright coloured dog collars made in the softest of leather by our shoe maker friends in Devon. 

I love them all, and I am sure that the good people of London will too>

You can buy tickets on line at www.countrylivingfair.com

or call the ticket hotline 0844 848 0152

7-11th November at the Business Design Centre Islington

So if you are going pop along to meet us, stand P34

A Trip to Suffolk

It may seem like we are always on holiday here at Redhound, but it just so happens that our long weekend in Devon was closely followed by a week in the lovely dog friendly county of Suffolk. In fact this was our first week away for over 3 years! So we were really ready for it! 

Suffolk is a beautiful county and we stayed in a lovely converted stable that we booked through a great website www.bestofsuffolk.co.uk All of their properties are of a high standard, and lots are dog friendly too. The Stable had underfloor heating which is heaven to the whippets! We loved the peace and quiet, the only sounds at night were foxes and owls, and no street lights so it was very dark at night, great for restful nights and restorative sleep, both of which we needed! 

We found some lovely shops, I loved this one, so traditional, and they sold a bit of everything, from rabbit food to wool!

We ate some fantastic food, fish featured on all menus, and I got my fix of fresh crab, Bruno has discovered at the age of 9 that he too likes crab!

We found some amazing churches and they all had these beautiful hand embroidered cushions on the pews 

We went to some beaches and had fish and chips! And lots of sea air! 

 More embroidered cushions on pews and we saw The House in The Clouds at Thorpeness!

Then the week was over! We were supposed to be resting, and relaxing, but this doesn't come easily to us, so we had fantastic days out, great dog walks and lots of exploring. We even met the man who discovered the Hoxne Hord, the biggest single find of Roman coins, jewellery and much more. Now in the British museum he is 89 and still going out with his metal detected! A really lovely gentleman, and a great character!

So back in the Garden of England now, and in the throws of moving our business to an old Kent Barn, we truly have outgrown the house!

These two are glad to be home and back in the usual routine which involves lots of sleeping during the day, and less exploring and walking! They have a holiday every day here!