Dual Competition!

Two chances to win with Rosewill Cottage & Rosewill's Charms!

Rosewill's Charms Competition

Santa is coming early for one lucky winner of the Rosewill's Charms competition. 

This competition is easy to enter, just take a peek at www.rosewills-charms.co.uk/shop and choose the piece of jewellery you'd like to win. Then go to www.facebook.com/RosewillsCharms and write on the wall:

Dear Santa,
I would love this gorgeous (insert charm name here!) for Christmas as I have been a good (girl/boy) this year!
(Your name!)

Please ensure you insert your information where the brackets are located on this statement as incorrect posts will not be counted in the draw.

Once you have done this you are entered into the competition draw which will close at 5pm on Wednesday 1 December 2010. The winner* will be notified via www.facebook.com/rosewillscharms

Rosewill Cottage Competition

The Rosewill Cottage Competition is for one £20 gift voucher for one lucky winner to spend with in the Rosewill Cottage, 188 Park View, Whitley Bay.

We have lots of hand-crafted goods and children's craft items which will make ideal Christmas presents. We also stock watches and jewellery! So this competition is designed to help you out a little this Christmas.

To enter this competition all you have to do is go to www.facebook.com/RosewillCottage and write on the wall:

Rosewill Cottage is a great place to shop because (your reason here).

Please ensure you insert your reason where the brackets are located on this statement as incorrect posts will not be counted in the draw.

Once you have done this you are entered into the competition draw which will close at 5pm on Wednesday 1 December 2010. The winner* will be notified via www.facebook.com/rosewillcottage

*The winner of each competition will drawn using http://www.random.org/ 

Good Luck and thank you for Liking Rosewill's Charms and Rosewill Cottage!

No purchase necessary! But it would be lovely if you thought of me when you next look for some bespoke jewellery and charms.


This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to the Rosewill's Charms Page or the Rosewill Cottage Page and not to Facebook. The information you provide will not be used for any purpose at all. Joining theses pages will keep you up to date with news, competitions and information about Rosewill's Charms or Rosewill Cottage.

A New Dawn for Whitley Bay

Beads hit the Bay!

Last week I was standing outside the newly acquired shop in Whitley Bay watching the sign being installed and all I could think of was “What the dickens am I doing?”

Apparently this is what crosses everyone’s mind when they’ve finished battling with the estate agents, landlords, solicitors and the bank. It’s that time where you take stock of the fact you’ve reached the end of that tunnel to find another one running off to the right and the light at the end of it is just a faint glow.

I feel physically sick. Not only do I have my own financial future at its limits but I’ve convinced two lovely ladies to join the joyride with me. Their faith is in me and I don’t want to let them down.

With the UK in the grips of a possible double-dip recession many people may be wondering why I would take the plunge on this venture when I have a fantastic career in Public Relations, two children, a fledgling website to promote and plenty of jewellery to make and stock it with?



Back in February my head was in a totally different place. I was booked in for carpal tunnel syndrome release surgery on my right-hand. Whilst it has an excellent success rate, the fear that it would be just my luck to be one of the few who had a glitch in the surgery or recovery was daunting to say the least!

So my mind wondered to my childhood dream of owning a sweet shop in the country and I began to think I could maybe transfer this nostalgic pipe dream to my passion for making jewellery.

 

There was a chance, all be it slim, that I may not have been able to realise my dream, if the surgery wasn’t a success as I rely on my dexterity to make my jewellery and charms. So keen not to give up on my ambition I decided that I could sell products needed to create jewellery such as beads, findings and charms plus homemade goods from fellow like minded ‘Mumpreneurs.’ If I couldn’t carry on my passion I would happily sell what other people needed to make their own jewellery and live my dreams through them.

So I had the surgery and it was a fantastic success. I then hit the stumbling block of negotiating the lease for the shop with the estate agent. Being a new business and with no accounts or previous retail history it was proving a real struggle and if I am honest I was close to throwing the towel in.

It was then I got my wake up call. A close relative informed me that they were being tested for ulcerative colitis and wanted to know the history of my father’s bowel cancer as they feared they may have the same condition. The floor gave way from under my feet as I realised that no one is safe from the ‘Big C’ as my Nana used to call it. What on earth would I have to show for my life if I died at the same age as my Dad (47) – that’s only 15 years away, so I decided I had to do something for me.

This was shortly followed by the death of one of the most fantastic ladies I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing; again the ‘Big C’ had struck and took her away at the tender age of 33. That was it. I wasn’t going to waste my life dithering about whether or not I should do something I dreamed about for so long, so I tackled the estate agent with new vigour. One day later I had received an email asking me to instruct a solicitor. 

Shop Front being replaced :'(

 Now it hasn’t all been plain sailing. I’ve had arguments with the council over planning permission and was asked to conduct a tree survey for trees that don’t even exist! I’ve had my lovely but unsafe shop front replaced, insisted on new flooring and sent my husband to decorate and do the shop fitting after he’d finished work.

Despite the ups and downs on the whole it has been a great experience. I have even sold something before opening, with a customer buying an item from the shop window I was dressing.


Myself with Shop Managers
Sarah-Jane and Katie

So now I stand in front of my shop which is now open, with a dressed window and shelves glistening with stock. I have the knowledge that every packet of beads, findings and charms have been counted out, packed and adorned with a hand written label by me.

I have a smile on my face, a glint in my eyes and the hope that I’ve managed to stack the deck in my favour, but only time will tell.

This blog featured on http://www.persuasionpr.com/ last week as a guest blog spot. I'd like to thank them all for their support, well wishes and purchases!