Hello all,
Again it has been an age since I was updated the blog, but so much has happened I'll have to use some bulletpoints to fit it all in.
So, 2015 has been a manic year for Oscar's Kitchen with Food Festivals. I've been up and down the country, east to west with a boot full of jars and bottles, selling all over Wales. My first was in May, starting off with the Bank Holiday Food Fest down in Cardiff Bay, and since then I have attended the following:
Merthyr Food Festival
Lampeter Food Festival
Brecon Country Show
Swansea Food Festival
Bank Holiday Weekend Food Fest - Lands Square, Cardiff Bay
Carmarthen Food Festival
Neath Food Festival
Newport Food Festival
I've been busier than ever, but it has been such a rewarding year with hundreds, if not thousands of new customers who have tried my products and fallen completely and utterly in love. That definitely makes the 16 hour days worthwhile. I've also started stocking a Farm Shop in North Wales called Bodnant Welsh Foods (www.bodnant-welshfood.co.uk) which has been a huge step for Oscar's Kitchen in both production, and publicity. Plus, our own little shop in the heart of Pontarddulais is thriving as more and more crafters and artisans are joining (have a look here - https://www.facebook.com/crefftauybont).
As business has been going so well, and Food Festivals are happening weekly and Oscar's Kitchen is getting bigger and better, I figured it was time to take the next step - by getting an e-commerce website! Copper Bay Creative (http://www.copperbaycreative.co.uk) have been busy building a website for me as a new outlet to sell my jars and bottles; they've also done a huge rebranding by updating and modernising Oscar's Kitchen logo and labels. From October onwards (fingers crossed) I'll have stunning printed labels and tags for all my jars, along with helpful new leaflets, professional business cards and eye-catching banners for my events. I cannot wait! So keep an eye on www.oscars-kitchen.co.uk :)
My next event is the Conwy Feast (www.conwyfeast.co.uk) which is in North Wales on October 24-25th. I've never done this one before, and since my recent stocking with Bodnant Welsh Food, I'm even more excited to go up North to a food event and establish a customer base up there. It will also be my first event with my new Christmas stock!
This year I'm currently doing 4 Christmas markets:
Cardiff Christmas Market (http://www.cardiffchristmasmarket.com) - November 29th - December 12th
Llandeilo Edwardian Christmas Fair - November 28-29th
Bury St. Edmunds Christmas Fair (http://www.burystedmundschristmasfayre.co.uk) - November 26-29th
Merthyr Tydfil Christmas Market (http://www.welovemerthyr.co.uk/public/event/winter-market-and-skating-rink) - December 5th
On a personal note, Ben and I have bought our first house! We moved in in August, and although we're still living out of some boxes, its already our wonderful little home. And it has a beautiful (or will be beautiful when I've finished) garden; there's an upper patio which I'm going to turn in to a herb garden with seats and tables and a trellis roof with clematis growing over; there's another patio outside the french doors which is perfect for BBQ's; there's a rockery and a garden patch with a long border perfect for shrubs and small trees; and a garage which Ben instantly turned into a gym. After moving (which we managed to do in-between two food festivals and a delivery to North Wales) we managed to get a few days holidays in the French Alps where we played cards, drank lots of beers and got engaged! So now I'm going to be Mrs. Davies the Chutney Maker. And to top it all off, we've bought a lovely new Springador puppy called Odell to really make our house a home. Oh, and Ben and I are going to be Aunty and Uncle as my brother and sister-in-law are having a baby!
2015 has been seriously amazing. Business has been excellent, and family life is perfect.
Hope that you are all well and are all suitably excited for Christmas!
Love,
Ruth and Oscar (Ben and Odell)
Don't forget that Oscar's Kitchen is on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram - there are far more updates there, along with pictures, news, events and free giveaways. Follow, like and share!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oscarskitchens
Twitter: https://twitter.com/oscarskitchen
Instagram: https://instagram.com/oscarskitchen/
