My niece, Martha, is three years old today! Can’t believe how quickly time flies. I’ve posted about her a few times here. She’s pictured with a Jellycats toy, from our Logan range.

Her mum (my sister, Karen) tells me that Martha’s new friend rarely leaves her side, and that the long tail comes in very handy for transportation [...]]]>

My niece, Martha, is three years old today! Can’t believe how quickly time flies. I’ve posted about her a few times here. She’s pictured with a Jellycats toy, from our Logan range.

Her mum (my sister, Karen) tells me that Martha’s new friend rarely leaves her side, and that the long tail comes in very handy for transportation purposes. Happy birthday Martha!

A while back, I introduced you to my niece Martha, then showed you how well she complemented our George bedding/wallpaper(!) as part of our customer photo series.

Well, after experiencing her very first Christmas (although probably more exciting for the adults), today is Martha’s first birthday! Add to that, her first sight of snow…

So, here’s wishing [...]]]>

A while back, I introduced you to my niece Martha, then showed you how well she complemented our George bedding/wallpaper(!) as part of our customer photo series.

Well, after experiencing her very first Christmas (although probably more exciting for the adults), today is Martha’s first birthday! Add to that, her first sight of snow…

So, here’s wishing you a very happy and special first birthday Martha, with lots of love from Olli & Lime…AKA Uncle Andy & Auntie Karen!

I like the way houses are sold in the US. Every weekend you can pick up a paper or go online and find lists of ‘open houses’ to look around.

This means you can spend the day viewing numerous properties (as we did today) rather than booking slots through an estate agent.

This is something I’d enjoy [...]]]>

I like the way houses are sold in the US. Every weekend you can pick up a paper or go online and find lists of ‘open houses’ to look around.

This means you can spend the day viewing numerous properties (as we did today) rather than booking slots through an estate agent.

This is something I’d enjoy doing even if we weren’t sizing-up what’s available in Chicago. I wish they had this system in the UK.

We saw some great properties today; lofts in converted buildings and condos in ‘vintage’ properties (which I think translates to pre-war over here).

We also took a very long walk along the lake, taking advantage of the fantastic weather! Sadly we’re leaving tomorrow. Our feet will be happy though

We attended the Cubs game at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, and we’d like to think we’re partly responsible for reversing their eight game losing streak!

Anyway, we’d heard you could watch from nearby rooftops but didn’t realise the extent of this…

Seems the Cubs endorse it (they’d have to really I guess), obviously taking a cut of [...]]]>

We attended the Cubs game at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, and we’d like to think we’re partly responsible for reversing their eight game losing streak!

Anyway, we’d heard you could watch from nearby rooftops but didn’t realise the extent of this…

Seems the Cubs endorse it (they’d have to really I guess), obviously taking a cut of the rooftop revenue!

It’s a fantastic looking ballpark and the second oldest in all of baseball…after (our beloved) Fenway Park in Boston!

Wow! This place is amazing. We did plenty of research before coming so we new what to expect and Chicago hasn’t disappointed.

The holiday started well, with an upgrade to business class for our flight over – a rare luxury and most welcome on the almost nine-hour journey!

Day one highlights included a breathtaking architectural cruise along [...]]]>

Wow! This place is amazing. We did plenty of research before coming so we new what to expect and Chicago hasn’t disappointed.

The holiday started well, with an upgrade to business class for our flight over – a rare luxury and most welcome on the almost nine-hour journey!

Day one highlights included a breathtaking architectural cruise along the river, (window) shopping on the ‘Magnificent Mile‘ and Millennium Park, featuring ‘The Bean’…

Day two was spent touring River North, the Gold Coast and Lincoln Park and lazing around on North Avenue beach, one of 28 Chicago beaches!

These obviously aren’t my pics; unfortunately I have some camera/MacBook compatibility issues so will have to wait until we return before uploading photos.

Today we are off to Lakeview for most of the day. I am being gently persuaded to get off the computer so I’d better go! More to follow soon…:-)

In case you haven’t been paying attention, we’re off to Chicago this week!

Amongst the mass of stuff we’ve got planned, we’ll be making a personal stock delivery to our fabulous friends Grow who are based in Chicago’s East Village.

Karen speaks very highly of owner Deree and is excited about finally putting a face to the name…and [...]]]>

In case you haven’t been paying attention, we’re off to Chicago this week!

Amongst the mass of stuff we’ve got planned, we’ll be making a personal stock delivery to our fabulous friends Grow who are based in Chicago’s East Village.

Karen speaks very highly of owner Deree and is excited about finally putting a face to the name…and nosing around her fabulous looking shop!

This got me to thinking, it’s a bit of a drawback having most of our stockists based on the other side of the pond. Sure, you can do everything pretty well via phone and email but there’s no substitute for meeting face-to-face

First update for a while. Apologies, I’ve just been swamped. So what’s been happening? Well, lots of work behind the scenes as another production run gets under way, plus I’ve been doing lots of interesting freelance work.

Most importantly though, we’ve been getting extremely excited about our business/pleasure trip to Chicago! Just over a week to go now and as anyone who knows [...]]]>

First update for a while. Apologies, I’ve just been swamped. So what’s been happening? Well, lots of work behind the scenes as another production run gets under way, plus I’ve been doing lots of interesting freelance work.

Most importantly though, we’ve been getting extremely excited about our business/pleasure trip to Chicago! Just over a week to go now and as anyone who knows us would guess, we’ve mapped out virtually every moment!

That’s not as sad or regimented as it sounds. Our typical activity is very relaxed and primarily consists of plotting a route through the city by coffee shop! So, all we’ve done is allocate areas to each day…and there are many to take in.

There have been many research revelations. Aside from discovering the extent of Chicago’s gang culture (should you stray into the wrong area) we’ve also been blown away by the sheer scale of the city…

The three ’neighbourhoods’ we are particularly drawn to in the North are collectively bigger than our own town plus the city next door! Lincoln Park is far larger than Central Park and Lake Michigan is bigger than Croatia!

I’m sure to be banging on about Chicago more in the coming days and weeks and you can expect updates during our trip plus some photos at the start of June!

Pardon the heading but I’m suffering from chocolate-induced ‘Easter Pun Syndrome’. This is a little-known condition with some immediately obvious and unwanted side-effects.

Anyway, here is a belated thanks to our wonderful retail partner Design Public who recently posted about our home on their Hatch blog. Team member Ali asked us to talk about our renovation so (unsurprisingly) [...]]]>

Pardon the heading but I’m suffering from chocolate-induced ‘Easter Pun Syndrome’. This is a little-known condition with some immediately obvious and unwanted side-effects.

Anyway, here is a belated thanks to our wonderful retail partner Design Public who recently posted about our home on their Hatch blog. Team member Ali asked us to talk about our renovation so (unsurprisingly) I duly obliged!

As a spin-off, we also picked up several other mentions including these two. We’re just completing our (understated) bathroom so will post pics soon…without wishing to seem home-obsessed!

Having worked with Design Public for some time we continue to be very impressed by their consistent attention to detail and their helpful, friendly approach. Thanks for your ongoing support guys! :-)

First a brief explanation. Good People Day is internet marketer extraordinaire Gary Vaynerchuk‘s self-appointed special occasion to acknowledge those really good people, who are important in your life and maybe don’t get the recognition you feel they deserve.

Gary is asking people to create a blog post or video (you can check out Gary’s own tribute [...]]]>

First a brief explanation. Good People Day is internet marketer extraordinaire Gary Vaynerchuk‘s self-appointed special occasion to acknowledge those really good people, who are important in your life and maybe don’t get the recognition you feel they deserve.

Gary is asking people to create a blog post or video (you can check out Gary’s own tribute to his younger sister here) to acknowledge those people. By complete coincidence, my own sister Karen is the person in my life who I feel deserves a big thank you for all she’s done and continues to do.

Karen (not to be confused with my wife and business partner Karen; also wonderful clearly:) has been a rock in our family for many many years. She has always unselfishly helped and supported everyone around her in their hour of need, while often neglecting herself.

As an elder sister (one of two I have), she has personally helped me negotiate some difficult teenage years, taught me plenty about the female psyche, enabled me to develop my sensitive side and with others has made me the person I am today.

On a practical level, she has helped the family deal with everything from the day-to-day hassles, through to the really tough stuff. Over the years, she has always been a shoulder to cry on and, on reflection, I for one haven’t thanked her enough.

Happily, this year she has been rewarded with Martha, her beautiful baby daughter who I’ve posted about here and here. Anyway, I’m sure I speak for the family and friends that surround Karen – and benefit from her boundless capacity to help others – when I simply say, thank you

Those of you keeping up with my tweets (and happily there are a few of you out there) may be aware that my wife Karen has just enjoyed a four-day birthday extravaganza!

Why four days you ask? Well, every year Karen cunningly engineers a series of events around the day itself, which merge into a veritable [...]]]>

Those of you keeping up with my tweets (and happily there are a few of you out there) may be aware that my wife Karen has just enjoyed a four-day birthday extravaganza!

Why four days you ask? Well, every year Karen cunningly engineers a series of events around the day itself, which merge into a veritable birthday season! This year has been no exception.

Anyway, the celebrations culminated in a mass present-opening session today. Karen isn’t (that) materialistic but what self-respecting woman doesn’t like a new handbag, make-up bag and two new purses?!

She even received six (yes six) new mugs to add to her growing collection. We have put up more shelves to accomodate them. I kid you not! The present list goes on…above is just a selection.

A very welcome birthday card also arrived in time for the big event; the first ever issued by our new niece Martha! We just had to share the wonderful pic enclosed. She is definitely a model in the making…

To top it off, our PR superstar – Jay from ethics PR – turned up today with some beautiful handmade (and tasty) Olli & Lime-style muffins! Now there’s a present I can appreciate…

On behalf of Karen, thanks to everyone who contributed to her fantastic birthday, which (I’m pretty sure) ends today