PopUp Shops and More

Hello all!  I am back from my two week stint in PopUp Britain's Victoria shop and ready and raring to get going on new items to further my world domination.

PopUp Britain was an exhausting experience!  I don't know a) how commuters stay awake in the daytime and b) how shop keepers keep happy and smiley to their customers on a daily basis.  I salute you!

As well as it being an exhausting few weeks physically, it was tough emotionally too.  Customers seemed to elude us at times and it was quite disheartening.  Perhaps it was the shops location, being off the beaten track a little, or just a sign of this time of year.

I did however get to meet some lovely ladies who were very enthusiastic about bringing the 1950's sex pot look back to lounging at home.  Right on sisters!!

I look forward to hearing the feedback from my new found customers on their purchases, they certainly seemed excited by the prospect of lounging comfortably but glamorously!  And that is what Betty Blue's Loungerie is aaaaaaaaall about.

It was also great fun to watch men surreptitiously take a few postcards, and the droves of panicking men at the last minute for Valentine's Day ;), we don't mind at least they left with great gifts for the ladies in their lives!

All in all the PopUp Britain shop helped me to focus my attention on how to achieve world domination in the future.  I don't think direct selling in a shop location is necessarily the way forward for me.  It is still A LOT cheaper to run an internet shop than a bricks and mortar shop.  And I am far more successful as an internet businesses, so don't fix what ain't broke.  I will however be seeking new stockists throughout the UK so women can try on my garments before buying and see them in the flesh.  So give me a yell if you have a local lingerie shop you'd like to see my garments in (other countries are welcome to suggest too, I am an international company after all ;) teehee).

In other news I am near to making the packaging of my lovely loungerie even more awesome!

I should be getting delivery of 2000 of the above design boxes!  Not sure where I'm going to store them but never mind!  Hopefully by the end of this week, all orders will be beautifully wrapped in tissue and placed in a giftbox.  They are of course free with every order.  The only exception will be with the scarves who already have their own little box and if I ever do a sale, sale items won't be boxed.  I will post pictures when I get them!



The last piece of news is that I have got through the first round of the Local Business Accelerator Competition.  I, and two other companies, will now have 3 months business mentoring from two local businesses, RS Tenon and Lamb Brooks Solicitors.  An invaluable prize as everyone knows it's not what you know, it's who you know.  I am now busy arranging meetings to get as much help as I can squeezed into 3 months.  They also said for me to call/email them any time, something I am sure they will regret saying.  I need all the help I can get!!  Here is me in my favourite publication, The Basingstoke Gazette.

Photo by Richard Garfield (please do not use without permission)

They loved seeing my knickers ;).  I love the Basingstoke Gazette because they keep putting me in their newspaper, so I like to think I am now famous in the Basingstoke area haha.  After the 3 months of mentoring are up, the team then pick one winner to go on to the national competition.  At the nationals, the prize is AMAZING!!  £10, 000 and mentoring for a year from Deborah Meaden.  Obviously I would like to win this!  And we all know from the Start Up Hub competition last October, I am actually quite a competitive person.

Oh and I almost forgot!  The winner of my Valentine's competition over at the Diary of a Vintage Girl blog was announced a while ago.  This was the winning entry

On the surface not too bad, but look a little closer.  Is the jumper meant to be all stonewashed and faded?  Or has it been washed over and over and gone a funny colour?  And then we get to the back photo

The baggy trousers and holes all over the back of the jumper made me feel sorry for the wearer, Rebecca.  And if you look closely her cat is more snappily dressed.  Fur coat, check!  Rhinestone collar, check!  Anyone who's cat is better dressed deserves some loungerie from me ;).  To be honest there were a whole host of people who could have won this competition (a onesie nearly won but its saving grace was it was pink and didn't have holes in it) but I'm too poor to give away Tempest sets to every entry ;).  And it just goes to show that a company like mine needs to be in existence - providing women with glam home wear!  It's OK ladies, I am here for you now!!  Rebecca chose the Black Tempest Set, and I hope she enjoys swanning around her house in it elegantly.  Congratulations for committing the worst loungewear crime ;) teehee.

Anyhoo back to sampling new lovelies.  I think that is all the news I have for now.
Lots of Love
Betty xxx

Arabelle Skin Sense

I just had to tell you all about one of the other PopUp Britain businesses, Arabelle Skin Sense.  Along with myself and 4 other businesses, we are taking part in a scheme set up to support start-up businesses.  We are situated in Eland House, which is a building in Cardinal Place shopping precinct, near Victoria Tube Station.  We're kind of tucked away, but are directly opposite the M&S cafe.  You have to go into the building to get into the shop, go through the swingy doors and we are just on the left as you enter.

So come and see us!  You can get your Valentine's Day loungerie from moi, and some yummy body butters from Arabelle Skin Sense, to make your skin all kissable and huggable.  I am in absolute awe of the lady who runs this skincare company!  She mixes up her lovely skincare products herself at home, and has been frantically mixing up batches of potions and butters just for you guys to buy at the PopUp shop.  Everything is organic, and everything is natural.  There are absolutely NO chemicals in them other than natural, essential oils.  They are specifically formulated to combat dry skin, but she also has a range of more gentle products for oily skin.  Not only do they make your skin baby soft (I've tried out all the testers so can attest to this!) but they also smell AMAZING.

 

When you enter the shop the yummy scents meet you and Margaret is on hand to help you choose the right products for your skin type.  There are testers of all the products, so you can try before you buy.  

I recommend the body butters.  They have no preservatives in and are made in small batches to ensure freshness at all times; so that the essential oils are at their absolute best to make your skin feel amazing all the time!

These are high quality products at an amazing price.  You get your indulgent butter (or whatever other items you may choose) in a beautiful little velvet pouch and classy paper bag, to take away with you.



Another item I am in love with is the cleansers.  They are oil based and may be a bit strange at first because of this.  The reason they don't foam up and form a type of wash, is because they don't contain all those nasty synthetic emulsifying type chemicals.  Simply pump into your palms and wipe all over your face.  No need to take your make up off before, the oil will do that for you.  Then use a soft muslin cloth soaked in hot water to take the oil (and all the grimey horrid stuff) off.  The bonus of having an oil based cleanser is that all the goodness of those essential oils can get to work whilst cleansing at the same time.

I am also reliably informed that there will be a wash cloth added to the Arabelle Skin Sense range in the near future, so taking off the product will be an even more luxurious process.


At the moment, if you come along to the PopUp Britain shop, you can get a lip butter completely free when you buy two or more skincare products.  Even more of a reason to pop along and try out these amazing products.  I am so excited to have found these skin products.  I am a huge skin care snob/enthusiast and try and take care of my skin as much as I can.  So to have found these is amazing.  And Margaret knows her stuff!  She explained to me that the smaller the list of ingredients, the better for your skin the product is.  Which is exactly what her products are all about!


Hope to see some of my lovely readers soon, in London.


Lots of Love
Betty xxx

London Bound

Quick post today with some exciting news!  I am busy packing up all my lovely loungerie as I will be starting a two week stint at a London PopUp Shop.

The address is: Eland House, Bressenden Pl, Westminster, London, Knightsbridge, London, Greater London SW1E 5DU, UK

And the nearest tube station is Victoria.

I will be bringing all the stock that I have, so come on down to try on my beauties to see how fabulous you look in them!  There will also be five other companies in the space:

Popcorn Box - All kinds of home/kitchen gifts that look wonderful!
Aurina - Home textile and lifestyle company
Arabelle Skin Sense Ltd - Gorgeous luxury, natural skincare products
Jolie Poupee - Organic baby clothing
Hello Baby Gifts - As the name suggests, baby gifts

So it's quite a mixture of different bits and bobs.  The reason I am involved is as a last minute addition.  I believe someone must have dropped out last minute, so a space opened up for the next two weeks.  I jumped at the chance when I saw on twitter they were looking for someone.  I have been applying since last summer to try and be in one of the PopUp Britain shops, to no avail.  I think there was at first some concern that my product was a little 'risque' as the building is a government building.  However my persistence has payed off! I'm very very excited to be a part of this scheme.

The shop will open to the public on Tuesday 5th February, and I will be in there until 17th February, so perfect for Valentine's shoppers!  So if you are London based pop in and say hi!  It will be lovely to meet some of my fabulous customers and hear all your feedback on my products.  I will be tweeting and keeping everyone updated with the days I shall be in the shop so keep your peepers open.

Lots of Love
Betty xxx

P.S. THANK YOU SO MUCH POP UP BRITAIN!!!!!! (Can you tell I'm excited ;) teehee)

P.P.S I forgot to put in the opening hours ooops!

Monday:  9am - 6pm
Tuesday:  9am - 6pm
Wednesday:  9am - 6pm
Thursday:  9am - 7pm
Friday:  9am - 6pm
Saturday:  9am - 6pm
Sunday:  11am - 4pm

I believe the first Monday the store is closed so we can all set up, so trading starts Tuesday 5th February :D  

Velentine's Day Competition

Hello all!  Sorry if you have seen this competition floating around the tinternet already, but for those of you who haven't:  Want to win some fabulous loungerie?

New piccy specially for V Day :)

I have teamed up with the lovely Fleur de Guerre over at her blog, Diary of a Vintage Girl, to offer one lucky lady a gorgous prize.  You can win a complete Tempest Set, in your size, in either black or the new cotton candy colourway.  Worth £100!  Isn't that just fabulous!!

Yes that's right A COMPLETE SET!!! So that's the bed jacket, babydoll and a pair of knickers.  To find out how to enter, head on over to Fleur's blog for all the details.  And GOOD LUCK!!!!

Lots of Love
Betty xxx

P.S.  You don't have to be in a relationship to enter!  Singletons (like me :( sad face!) can win a set just to indulge themselves and feel fab in their loungerie!!

P.P.S. Don't fancy your chances being lucky?  Just head on over to my website and snap one up for your very own ;)