Top Drawer Trade Show

It’s all go at the moment in the office with Jane and myself getting ready for Top Drawer, just to add, the first trade show we have ever done, no pressure…! 

Jane and John left shortly after 10:30, not quite the 9am they were planning! Everything all prepped and boxed up in the van, how much easier it is planning for Top Drawer rather than the Spirit of Christmas, no stock needed, one of each product, and then just the two of us. 

The first of the pictures I started receiving from Jane, it definitely didn’t look like much when I received this…

Getting there… It’s easy from where I’m sat, at my desk at HQ!

Nearly there…don’t think I’ll mention it sloping along the top!

Think they both deserve the next picture I received…

and it’s complete, rather impressed for the first show this year hopefully many more to come. 

Sunday morning I catch the train up to get ready for the next three days, meeting new potential customers, putting names to faces and looking for new products ourselves. Doesn’t sound like we are going to stop. It is a great show to network with people and really make the most of new products we have available.

Staying in London really adds to the show as I get to catch up with friends that live there, it is so different to where I live, we can actually socialise after 9pm and there are bars and restaurants open! It really makes you feel refreshed for the next day, or not! 

Breaking down after the show is something I have never done before, so I will describe it in one word…easypeasy, not quite one word but so much easier than the Spirit of Christmas breakdown!

Again we have managed to bump into our Spirit of Christmas friends and have brief catch ups before we must all head home, back to HQ’s and to crack on with the workload we have brought back!

-Shannon 

New JS Staff

Since the last blog we posted we had the likes of, Lisa, Leanne and Martha working for us. A lot has changed since then, their choice to leave though, not ours! They have all taken the next steps in their careers, Lisa has gone into admin in a school, Leanne has gone to a college working in admin and Martha is doing a university degree. All three of them started at Jonny’s Sister doing an apprenticeship in business and administration. 

(Clockwise- Alec, Shannon (ME!), Martha, Leanne, Lisa and Lara) 

Although they are all sadly missed at JS we have employed some newbies! It started with Becky, then Emma, Katie and Rhiannon. Here’s a little bit about them;

Becky is our chief despatch person! She is in charge of despatching all items on time and making sure they are sent out in a JS standard state, poor Becky as we have such high standards!

Emma is our new admin team member! She has office experience and is a whizz at speaking to customers on the phone, she deals with the order management making sure everything is with the correct suppliers and being despatched on time.

Katie is another new admin team member! She used to work at TESCO dealing with the charity events that happened in her local store. She is a very bubbly person and was chucked in the deep end when she joined about 6 weeks before Christmas! 

Rhiannon is a new studio member! She finished her design degree in summer just gone and is super talented with her work, although she doesn’t say so herself! At JS she works on the production of orders that are done in house and new product development. 

So there you have it, a quick introduction to our new JS members. There are still the three of us from the old team, Alec, Lara and Me, oh and don’t forget Jane, John and the dogs! 

-Shannon

Pet Christmas Sacks

Do you ever think that maybe pets get forgotten at Christmas? Well we say 'no more!'

This year we have introduced a new Christmas sack to our festive range; with the choice of a cat or a dog symbol, with a rudolph-esque nose sewn on, your pet is sure to feel just as included as you. Imagine your pets delight when they wake up on Christmas morning to find their very own personalised sack filled with fluffy, squeaky and edible treats!

Whether they're a Buster, Barney, Sissy or Sooty, your pet will love their own personalised Christmas sack. Just send us the names and the animals that you would like sacks for and we will do the rest. 

You can find them in the Christmas section of our site, here.

100 Days Til Christmas!

It's that time again, Christmas is on it's way! With only 100 days until the big day (which to some people may seem like an age), the festivities are in full swing here at Jonny's Sister HQ. The temporary Christmas elves are in training, the kitchen table is full of treats, and the Christmas sack orders are flying in..

As we are all feeling super prepared, we have put together a list of our top Crimbo picks for those of you who are too!

1. Reindeer Mug
Last year we introduced these festive little mugs to our enamelware range. They can be personalised with the name of your choice, with the wording matching Rudolf's nose. They are perfect for those cosy winter evenings spent tucked up with a cup of something warm!

2. Cream Cake Tin
These tins are the newest addition to our cake tin range, perfect for budding bakers with a flare for something colourful! The wording is painted in the colour of your choice, from cherry pie to our popular metallic shades, you are sure to find something to suit your kitchen! Why not treat your Granny to an extra special tin to fill with mince pies?

3. Christmas Sack
It isn't Christmas here at Jonny's Sister without the sound of people shouting about Rudolf's nose (or no nose!). This is the 5th year of the Christmas sack, and they are now going stronger than ever! Perfect for small children and adults alike, we even do a Christmas sack for your favourite pampered pooch or pussy cat!

4. Wool Dog

What perfect stocking fillers these little wool dogs are; filled with lavender, they are sure to make your bedroom smell divine! You can personalise the collar with a special message, followed by one of our festive Christmas symbols- we love Santa's sleigh!

5. Man Tin

Last but not least, why not treat the man in your life to one of our personalised Man Tins? They can be funny, factual, or just plain personal; these tins can be filled with all of his 'man stuff'!

We can't believe how quickly time is flying here at JS, soon it will be December 1st and the countdown truly will begin! Are you getting ready for Christmas? We'd love to hear how you're preparing for the holiday season!

Father's Day is on it's Way!

A big hello from the Jonny’s Sister team! Before you know it, Father’s Day will be just around the corner, and boy have we been busy. For the past month we have been working non-stop on creating a new range of products for our customers and their Daddy’s; head on over to our website for more details.

These ‘Best At’ tins are perfect for little ones who think that their daddy is the best; you can include their greatest talent, or simply that they are the best at everything!

We love these personalised ‘Checklist’ tins too! Here you can list everything that your daddy is good at, from cleaning Hammy’s cage to making the yummiest pancakes; you name it!

But that’s not all, we have a whole range of Father’s Day gift ideas, so why not head over to our Father’s Day section now? 

Pizza Friday

The beginning of 2015 saw new targets, meaning another year of hard work!

This year is our 10^th Birthday, so we’ve decided to do something special each month- cue the brainstorming. Here at Jonny’s Sister we love any excuse to indulge, so we thought that pizza Friday was the perfect reason to have our monthly meet and celebrate January’s big success!

With ideas flying around the table, we have come up with a selection of treats for our customers, thanking them for their loyalty over the years. Since 2005 Jane and all of us have worked hard to provide you with affordable and beautifully British made products. As well as discounts and new products, keep your eyes peeled for some returning ‘classics’ from the past 10 years!

What would you like to see at Jonny’s Sister this year?

You're Hired!

*Please insert The Apprentice theme tune here*

In June 2012 I started the Apprenticeship scheme, and now I am very pleased to announce that I have finished! Yippeeee

It doesn't seem like a year ago that I started at Jonny's Sister, but in my time here I have learnt so much and have established what my strengths and weaknesses are within business. I have now been taken on full time and keep bugging Jane for a fancy job title (I'm hoping for customer services queen or something similar!). People keep asking me if it feels any different now that I have finished my apprenticeship, and although my job role has stayed the same I now feel that I have an increased amount of responsibility within the company and I want to push myself further so I can continue to learn more. 

Big thank you to Janey for taking me on full time and here's to the next year to come... Who knows what will have changed!

Lady Jane Sugar - "You're Hired!"

Let Go Wild!

So this week amongst the Father's Day rush we took some time out to do something a little different...

Jane's brother, Jonny, has created a very unique and original drink called 'Wild'. It's kind of like a very classy and upmarket alcopop! The drink is a gin based sparkling cocktail infused with either elderflower, plum or sloe. As there are 5 under 20 year olds working at JS HQ at the moment, Jonny thought that it would be a good idea to do some market research on us. We agreed in a flash. To say that we liked a drink would be a bit of an understatement, 10 bottles later (and slightly giggly) we all came to the conclusion that it was our new favourite drink. Each flavour was unique and so refreshing, the elderflower tasted of a summers day in a beer garden, whilst the plum tasted of a night out. We are all very excited for these to be released into the bars and clubs of the UK and have our fingers tightly crossed for an invitation to the launch party (hint hint Jonny!).

So in the near future if you see a Wild on the shelf of your favourite bar or club, we highly recommend that you get one!

From left to right we have... Sloe, Elderflower and Plum!

Shannon, John, myself, Alec, Sam & Hollie enjoying the Wilds! 

H e l l o !

Ooh hello there! Welcome to our very first blog post (hopefully the first of many)! We just thought that we should introduce ourselves so that you can get to know us a little better. We are an online company based in Somerset, specialising in luxury, bespoke, personalised gifts. If you're looking for something a little different or are trying to find an extra special gift without breaking the bank then you've come to the right place! Our products are handmade here in the South West by our very talented team of local crafts men and women. 

Why not come and check us out at www.jonnyssister.co.uk ?

Jonny's Sister HQ, Closworth, Somerset