I’m back, back to say a big ‘Hello’ and thanks for waiting for another blog instalment…

The last month or so has simply whizzed by, can’t quite believe we are now into May!

Homewood Bound is cruising along nicely, we are very busy with kitchens at the moment and of course restoration and painting. The old school cupboards that we bought have been a real hit (we bought six).

Very proud to now be stocking the amazing “Leather Satchel Company’s” delightful bags! Handmade not too far from here!

Beth has been busy at Uni. She needed a base for her wooden shoe design, guess who was able to make it? Med of course. Hard work but end product was worth it! Diolch Med xx

 Cath Kidston is thriving in the shop too, the company has just celebrated 20 years! Cath has just launched a new book ‘Coming up roses’ all about her life and how she started the business.

Throughout this year there will be lots of gorgeous special editions etc…

What else have we been doing.. well we did another photoshoot, it was a fabulous shoot with some special people involved. Can tell you more about that soon. We have some gorgeous new handmade wooden blocks and bunting by the brilliant Yvie ‘Eden with pencils’.

Some hand finished cards by Katie Leamon (she also sells them in Liberty’s & Selfridges!)

Had a few more buying sprees…lots of vintage loveliness…

Went to the cake and bake show in Manchester.

 Had an awesome day! Made lots of contacts, found some great suppliers and obviously had masses of inspiration.

Leading me on to news about The Sugar Plum Tearoom….

Guess what, its almost our one year anniversary! SugarPlum will be one year old on Saturday May 18^th. We will be celebrating during the day and hope to have lots of things going on.

Evenings at Sugarplum continue to be busy, we have had many groups including a women’s farming union. They had supper and I gave a little speech, it was wonderful to meet such incredible and strong women two of which had been ‘Welsh woman farmer of the year’. Eurgain Jones and Barbara Hughes.

The whole group were great to talk to and the evening had a special buzz.

The team at SugarPlum and Homewood Bound continue to make us proud and we are all doing our very best to offer you great service and quality. What we do is always from the heart. We were very flattered to be told this month that one of our customers has nominated us for the “Observer food Monthly Award”!!

Thanks for reading…Back soon with news and goings on..

Hazel, John & The Whole Team xxx

Just a short report… lots of things have been happening….

The pace is incredibly fast here at Homewood Bound.

We saw a busy Mothers day weekend in the shop and Tearoom..

On Friday 8^th March (International Womens Day) we had a wonderful evening of flowers food and fun.

Designer florist and T.V presenter Sioned Rowlands joined us to demonstrate some of her stunning creations using our Cath Kidston products.

A huge thank you to Sioned (& Jenny) for captivating us all & thank you to all those who came on the night (it was a very special one). We even had the big thumbs up from Cath Kidston!

I must just tell you about my super weekend in Derbyshire….

I was lucky enough to meet up with some amazing women (all business women who are extremely creative, talented and passionate about what they do) We shared a large farmhouse in Derbyshire (many of us are friends and have met before). We had fun, we brainstormed, we giggled, we discussed ‘up to the moment & beyond stuff!’.

Along with eating, drinking, vintage shopping and just being ‘us’…….It was really sad when we all eventually said goodbye, we are all of course a Twitter family and remain just a click away. We all missed our families but it was great to have ‘special time’ together…..

Here are a few pics of our weekend…..

Easter is now upon us…

We are open over the holidays every day for your convenience….

In the Tearoom we have the childrens easter colouring competition…

Talking of competitions, we asked the children of Rhewl School to all design a cake. The two winners have now been photographed by the local press and the cakes will be made and available in the Sugar Plum Tearoom from this weekend. Well done to all involved!!

It is fast approaching our first year anniversary and gosh we have some VERY exciting things planned! We also have lots of nice things to offer you to make your next visits better and better….. More news on that coming very soon!

Beth is home from Uni for easter!

We popped down to Leicester for the day to watch her play her varsity match…She played so well, sadly her team were just pipped at the post. It was quite a big event in the Leicester Tiger’s ground with cheerleaders and all!!!

Well done Beth (very proud of you!!)

We took a SugarPlum cake down for the team to enjoy x

Lots more news and details of what else we are up to coming soon…

Don’t forget the book swap…

Thanks for reading… please feel free to leave us a comment below!!

Hazel, John & The Team….

xx

Time marches on (March!!)

The new Cath Kidston stock is well and truly in ‘full swing’…selling well in the shop and will be available to view and buy online soon also!

Mothers day is almost here & we have lots of lovely extra special gifts (to suit all budgets)…

Some suggestions…

We are having a special night in the Tearoom on 8th March. It will be a ‘Cath Kidston’ themed night of food, flowers & fun with designer florist and T.V presenter Sioned Rowlands. We are very proud to have Sioned here, she is in high demand and ahead of her game.

Sioned will be demonstrating how to display flowers using Cath Kidston products etc (ideal for Mothers day or  a special occasion)…

We are passionate about our community and are currently working with Rhewl school. We are running a competition for the children to design an Easter cake. The winner (Infant & Junior) will have their cake made for the SugarPlum Tearoom and will be seen in the Denbighshire Free Press. (We are really looking forward to seeing the results!).

Talking of newspapers….The Sugar Plum Tearoom was recently mentioned again in the Daily Post’sTaste Test as a previous Taste Test performer!

You magazine (Mail on Sunday) featured an article about Emma Bridgewater..

And Also Lady Magazine….

We have just had a delivery of beautiful new Emma Bridgewater products, they just get better and better..

The Bridgewater bowls and plates are used in the Tearoom and are always a pleasure to use (along with looking stunning).

The Tearoom goes from strength to strength, the team are working harder than ever. All in all we now have 26 staff (including me & my Johnny) As you can imagine this means there is lots to manage!

The cakes are firm favourites and people continue to call ranging from 2 minutes away to 60 miles or more away…

We have had some evening ‘supper’ events (even a group of GP’s) and some lovely ladies business groups/W.I etc)

We have a big photo shoot coming up soon and some more work with Home Cuisine along with various other projects we are working on. The bespoke kitchens are doing well too (we are very proud of what Homewood Bound has to offer…)
The Homepatch shop is doing very well, Patchwork have some amazing new products including this extra special awesome new Welsh Pate…

Patchwork were also featuring in a great news piece in the Daily Post about one of their latest ventures!

Click here to read the article!

Couldn’t go without mentioning Beth!

She popped home for a few days over the weekend, I am just SO PROUD of her latest designs in Uni…. She amazes me…Can’t (well can actually) believe how talented she is! I will be in bad books for embarrasing her, but I don’t mind…just saying!!!! A cat can look at a king!!!!

Looking forward to giving you more news and exciting stuff soon

Thanks for reading…

Hazel John & the whole team XX

Its been a cold but busy January……..

Its all been going on in the workshop, we have been busy with bespoke kitchens, restoring and painting and working on customers furniture (repairs & upholstery etc). Med has also started making the window boxes for spring (gosh he’s clever)..

We are so excited about receiving the Cath Kidston Spring / Summer new stock…. It is on sale in the store at last! Look out for some of our favourite selections from the new season in our online shop shortly…

Thought you might like to see this YouTube clip of The Cath Kidston shoot for the new season..

We have some new chocolates in ready for Valentines…

We had a request from Rhug Estate to see whether we could let them borrow a vintage Union Jack for a shoot…. Thankfully we came to the rescue….. Here is a pic of Tony Singh and Cyrus Todiwala…

We were over the moon and very grateful when Charlotte from Rhug called by to return the flag and presented us with a gorgeous goodie bag of amazing products from Rhug (including Prosecco!). As well a very nice hand written note from Lord Newborough (needless to say this will take pride of place)…

SugarPlum Tearoom has had a busy month and we have had a lot of lovely callers..

Just a couple of pics…..

This couple called to celebrate their Diamond wedding anniversary..

Don’t forget we supply cakes to order…

The book swap is doing very well, please remember to bring a book and take one away with you! A big thanks to Mark for being so generous (book worm!!) x

Homepatch Shop has lots of lovely goodies in for Valentines Day like these chocs…

We are doing craft nights in the evening and also supper and shopping nights.… contact us for details. We have lots of exciting events planned and are looking forward to having Sioned Rowlands here in March. Lots more things that we can’t tell you about just yet…

Back soon with more news and stuff….

Love Hazel, John and All The Team xx

We have been blogging for just over four years now…I am starting the New Year with a brief summary of what we were up to in 2012, before I start can I wish you all a very very Happy (belated) New Year  xx

Hope you are sitting comfortably with a little spare time ….. lots to read…..

As you know the year was an eventful one with the Jubilee and Olympics etc, we were extremely busy too. The team at Homewood Bound worked hard in the early part of the year preparing for the new Tearoom.

Hours and hours were spent planning and researching……

It now feels quite emotional after all the hard work and fourteen years of being in business, now seeing our faithful customers (and now many new ones), friends and family enjoying time together eating, drinking and relaxing in the tea room gives us tremendous satisfaction. The Tea Room is something John and I have wanted to do for many many years and we feel very proud of our business and reputation that we have worked hard to build up.

The tearoom opened in May, since then it has well and truly grown its own personality, bringing people together from far and wide and ensuring that our local and close knit community have the perfect place to call for refreshments & fun. We had our inspection and are thrilled to be awarded a five star…

We were also fortunate to have a great write up in the Daily Post Taste Test thanks to journalist Mark Williams…

We have seen so so many visitors, old and young as well as celebrities including Sharleen Spiteri & partner Bryn Williams…. here are a few pics of our visitors…

We have had many events and even things on in the evening…including craft nights and ‘speaker & supper nights’.

The Homewood Bound team were also busy in the workshop, paint studio and with shop fittings.

We were deeply involved with the opening of two brand new Home Cuisine shops, one in Heswall and the other in Chester. Here are just a few sneaky peaks…

Have a look at the website where we are mentioned.. www.homecuisinetodinefor.co.uk

In July Hazel was on Calon FM, talking business (with the amazing Tracy Jones)

Later on in the year BBC radio Wales also came to Homewood Bound to do a live interview ‘Rural Focus’. Many other things happened during 2012…it would take too long to mention them all. On the subject of family Beth left for University in September… Its taking time to adjust and its really not the same without her beautiful smile about the place….

Thankfully she has been home a few times and we had a wonderful three weeks at Christmas when we also had our Christmas ‘Team Party’ which was a great night…here are a few pics..

Christmas in the shop and the tearoom was amazing… the best atmosphere ever….

We had a colouring competition for the children and had three lucky winners…

2012 was also a good year for the girls that I have been mentoring. I am so proud to watch while they have gone from strength to strength over the last twelve months…

Sarah & Tanya alias Fiddlestitch Art and Jay & Frey…

watch this space …’a massive well done’

Other friends whose work we sell at Homewood Bound have also done very very well…

Tweed but funky Sarah Edwards was featured on ITV Wales..

HomePatch Shop

Homepatch shop has had an outstanding year, it has gained its own character and is a magnet for foodies and lovers of homewares and stylish kitchenware and gifts, The hampers were a massive hit over the festive season and plans for 2013 are well under way.

We have a strong relationship with Patchwork and have had better sales of pate here at Homewood Bound than ever before.

HomePatch is a great place for business meetings and is a hub for many local producers and suppliers, the shop has enabled local businesses to develop….

Whilst we have been full on with all these projects… I know that the shop at Homewood Bound, Rhewl has been a little deprived, this will change now as we have lots of new and beautiful stock arriving over the months ahead a we are planning to get back on track with searching for vintage for you. We have been busier than ever since the Tearoom opened and we have moved office and made the kitchen slightly bigger so as you can imagine we have had to be on site. Now things have settled down we are determined to bring you the best vintage finds that we can get our hands on (and that’s harder than ever these days, but we will do it for our loyal customers) thank you for your patience.

Ending the blog summary now, I will let you know about all our exciting plans in the next couple of blogs (will try and not make it too long until next time).

Just wanted to share a few pics of our extra special team with you before I go…John and I are bursting with pride for these guys…. ‘A huge Thank you for all your support’.

Back soon…

Hazel, John and the whole team…..XX

Christmas build up 2012 is finally here…….

We are in complete ‘elf mode’ now…..working around the clock to keep the Homewood Bound and the Sugar Plum tearoom at it’s very best providing a perfect shopping & refreshment experience to our much loved customers, friends & family.[hr]

Christmas Opening Hours

We are open every day up until Christmas Eve when we will close at 4pm.

Reopening on the 2nd January 2013.[hr]

As promised we have a few present suggestions for you to take the headache out of what to buy for peeps! You can park, have a coffee, exchange a book (in our new book swap) and browse around the shop in a relaxed, friendly and festive atmosphere!! We have a ‘wish list’ on the go too and a Christmas wrapping service.

Some of these items are also available to buy from our Online Shop.

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We have had some lovely cards and presents off customers (means such a lot) and each day more and more people call to have a mooch.

We have a lot of things in the pipeline with the business and will be doing an end of year round up blog along with a New Year / New Plans update xx

Homepatch Shop is thriving

If you get chance to pop down to the Home Patch Shop you really won’t be disappointed…So many lovely products and the warmest of welcomes.

Patchwork Pate is just delicious, it never fails to impress and is a ‘must’ to offer family and friends who appreciate exquisite food. Get some for your freezer to ‘have in’ providing effortless entertaining…’love it’…

Talking of food (as we so often do). Home Cuisine is also bursting with homemade delights at its shops in Chester and Heswall (fitted by us!)

The company has a new website (which we are mentioned in). You really must try and pop in to Chester (Bridge Street) or Heswall if you are passing…

Here is the website link to take a peek… www.homecuisinetodinefor.co.uk

Good luck with all your festive planning…try not to over do it….

Remember that…

Back soon….

Hazel, John & the team xxx

 We are busy beavering away with our Christmas schedule…..The pace has really stepped up a gear. We have orders, events…. Christmas fairs….., craft nights and general day to day running of our Homewood Bound shop (& behind the scenes), SugarPlum tearoom & Homepatch shop.

Our lovely new Online shop is ready for launch although because we have all been so busy we are adding just a small amount to begin with and then aiming to add a great deal more over the coming weeks. We have had a lot of enquiries from people wanting to buy our well know style of gifts collectables and homewares online so thank you for your patience….We are launching again slowly, hoping to gain momentum as we go along.

After you have read this short blog you can take a sneaky peek by clicking the image below….

Last week I was lucky enough to have lunch with ‘The first lady of chocolate’ Chantal Coady. She is the founder of Roccoco Chocolates and was Chocolatier of the year for 2011 & 2012!! Her husband James is cousin to my first cousin Liz. We had the loveliest day at the Grosvenor Chester. We had a superb lunch followed by a speech from Chantal.

At the launch of her fifth book …

Roccoco chocolates have the shop just inside the Chester Grosvenor (situated on the high street). They continue to go from strength to strength with their unique style & superb quality, and of course ethically sourced products. They supply Liberty, Selfridges, John Lewis & Harvey Nicks to name but a few!!!

Sorry for the short blog this week , we have so much on it really is impossible to spend any more time….Our first two Christmas fairs started this week and the team are hard at it preparing customers orders and restoration work….

The SugarPlum Tearoom is literally bursting with activity!!

We had a womens group here one evening for supper and a small speech from me and then some shopping! We have many craft nights planned  including making a gingerbread house (see Sugarplum website for details) and things are generally hotting up with the festive season approaching and of course the cakes continue to be a big hit. We are over the moon with the positive feedback we have had from people who have called! If you are planning on coming in the next few weeks it might be wise to book ahead to avoid disappointment!

Why not pay us a visit, you will be sure of a warm welcome

Back soon with some christmas present suggestions although our online shop should be wetting your appetite a little by now…

Thanks for reading!

Hazel, John & the ‘whole’ team XXX

Hope that all is ok with you…..I know it’s been a while…I know you understand…..just need to put you up to speed….

Life at the moment is rather like an express train (I really mean that)

The pace is just so fast….

Most of the time it’s hard enough to finish a cup of tea..

Homewood Bound is buzzing in the shop and of course behind the scenes. With just 44 days until christmas now is the time that beautiful new stock is arriving every week and Christmas at Homewood Bound phase one is in place (we like to gradually turn up the heat as it gets more exciting….!) Getting goose bumps thinking about it x

Period living magazine and country homes and interiors have so much Emma Bridgewater….(and inspiration of course)

We have had lots of vintage finds lately, all currently being checked, re-loved and restored and priced ready to take their place in the shop. Many of these lovely old things will be included in our new and exciting online shop (Yes sorry we know its been a while…..). So if you live locally or miles away from here you can click a button and by magic the item will be delivered to your door x

So…. Moving on, half term and Halloween and even bonfire night came and went, we have had lots of birthdays and family things going on……

In a previous blog I mentioned to you about the women’s group that I am part of and that I mentor certain people and monitor their progress offering support and advice. Well we were interviewed by BBC RADIO WALES country focus programme (which was fab) so if you get chance to listen again…….

click here to listen…

[hr]

Sugarplum Tearoom

All is very well, we are busier than ever and currently looking for someone to work part time prefably during the day, possibly weekends. Someone with food prep experience would be an advantage.

One of our friends on twitter told us about a beautiful variety of flower called Sugarplum…

The craft evenings and ladies get together evenings are getting booked up. Christmas at the tearoom promises to be a great place to be with lots of atmosphere and good times…..

Back soon with news, updates, Christmas present suggestions and more

Thanks for reading! A heartfelt smile..
from Hazel, John and the whole team xxx

Greetings from  everyone here at Homewood Bound!

A Little update for you from the last two or three weeks. The time finally came for Beth to go to University! We took her to Leicester and settled her in…

It was a very emotional weekend…..Beth made her new room into a beautiful little haven ….she has exquisite taste (I’d like to think that she has picked up the Homewood bound style over the years). She also shows great flair and a fabulous eye for style (her very own of course). She now has a stylish student pad! It goes without saying that she has lots of Emma Bridgewater and Cath Kidston crockery and homewares mixed with some lovely vintage and retro pieces! Old bear was packed into the car…

There’s no show without punch. Her little old Ted has been all over the world (bless him). We also said goodbye (temporarily) to two very special members of staff who have gone back to Uni….

We had a Network She networking meeting in the tearoom..great to meet some very special people, we have another one planned really soon, don’t miss out!

We also helped Ruthin show society by helping to host a jewellery making workshop (A very special night was had by all)

The shop has been just so busy! We continue to have new stock coming in on a regular basis. We have lots of exciting Christmas goodies coming in (not for a while…lets get bonfire night out of the way first….)

Hazel has just completed a huge order of Cath Kidston spring summer 2013… Yes we plan so far ahead!!

We had yet another visit from a celebrity this week! Catrin Mai Huw from S4C soap Pobol Y Cwm. She is a well loved actress and it was fabulous to meet her, she was so charismatic! Catrin bought some lovely things from the shop and then joined her family in the tearoom.

She signed the pic we took of her and later said on twitter that we were a hidden clwydian treasure!!! Thank You Catrin!

Home cuisine news…..

The beautiful new shop opened its doors in Chester (bridge street). Lots of delicious homemade food for you to try!

The first week has had a fantastic response, well worth a visit if you get the chance, you can view the full menu on their facebook page here.

The Homepatch shop is busy too…lots of new stock and things are changing every day.

Read our recent newsletter here.

Just before we go…..(saving the best for last)….

We were featured in the Daily Post taste test Saturday supplement!!

We were so so proud to have had such a glowing write up. Thanks to all the team for their hard work, support and determination. We have gluten,wheat and dairy free cakes and have homemade cakes available to order…

Back soon with more news and exciting updates!

Hazel John and the whole team xxx

Goodness me….it’s been a little while hasn’t it! Right then, where to start…

I have been working flat out, so much is going on and the truth is that I just haven’t got a sprinkle of spare time these days to devote to the blog….

Each week seems to have more and more stuff crammed in to it. Work wise and family wise. With having Homewood Bound & the Sugarplum Tearoom it’s rather like having twin babies. They both need constant love, attention and are both as demanding as ever. I have probably mentioned the womens group that I am involved with too… Well we had a mention on the BBC News website which is totally fab…

Here is the link….BBC NEWS 

I had a few days away in London with my beautiful Beth. Just the two of us, and just before she goes to University in a weeks time. Here are a few pics…..

We had the most wonderful time, spent far too much on food and galleries, exhibitions etc but didn’t regret any of it. We had afternoon teas, we really enjoyed the natural History Museums, Damien Hurst and Jamie Olivers Italian.

I also recently had a day at the Emma Bridgewater stockists day (Sharon came along with me) which was nice and we were able to see all the new designs and find out about all the exciting things happening with the company… As usual they spoilt us and the factory tour was as interesting as ever!

The Homewood Bound team are busy making the fittings for the new Chester shop and Med has just got back from Italy and Scott & Beth from Crete. We are starting on a new project over the next few weeks, improving and expanding the Tearoom Kitchen, this will enable us to have more room to continue with the ever growing demand from our lovely Customers.

Thank You for all your support to date the tearoom truly is going from strength to strength, the team are working so hard to offer the best quality food and hospitality. People try to copy us all the time (long story) but we move on and are about to make some changes to the menu and in general…its all so very exciting!!

We had a visit from Russell (the local vicar) he lives in Rhewl and he offered to write things on the Specials board in his own classic style.

Bless him, thanks Russell! We like to involve as many people from our local community as possible!

We update the SugarPlum Tearoom website at www.sugarplumtearoom.co.uk every week with Aunty Caths baking tips, so don’t forget to keep checking. You can also book on line too. Will keep you posted with all the other Teearoom news asap.

Homepatch Shop

We had a little re-vamp at the shop, BIG THANKS to Sharon for helping me. We have lots of new stock and are almost ready with the start of ‘Hamper Season’. More news on that soon…

At Homepatch we have a brand new product from the world famous Halen Mon. Homepatch is the first shop in the world to stock the new salts

Back soon for more updates & a jolly big THANK YOU for reading.. We really do ‘love it when you do’…

Hazel, John & the whole team xx