Homes & Garden exhibition

Well its been over 2 weeks now since I did my first exhibition for Peppercorn House. I just seem to be so busy that there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done, and before I know it time has flown by.

But my first exhibition was a great success! Although I have to say the weather was horrible. I had a large plot outside in a beautiful walled garden in the grounds of Wynyard Hall. I bought a marquee/gazebo and hoped the weather would be fair.....how wrong could I be.
My mum came to help out for the weekend and we spent the whole of Saturday holding onto a pole each to try and stop the marquee from taking off!!We had to roll up the sides of the marquee to let the wind blow through, and my lovely sign I had made only stayed up for a short while before I had to roll it back up into its case as the wind was just too strong.

Despite the wind, I had a fantastic day and the my display looked great. I tried to display as much as I could as not having a shop and only being web based its nice to make the most of it and let people see as much of my pieces as possible.
I tried to set it up as you would in your own home, so at one end I had a bedroom, in the middle I had a dining area and at the other end I had a lounge area.

The feedback I had from the public was amazing so I'm so happy. Everybody loved what I was doing!
I had to move inside come Sunday as the wind was even stronger and the rain started too. Not the best combination for a gazebo ouside..... My space was smaller inside but still looked lovely so it was all worth it.

I had so much of a good time that I have now booked to do 2 more exhibitions in November, ready for Christmas. This time these will be inside so the weather can do what it wants!!
I'm on a roll.....

The Good Life!

It’s been a while since I last wrote my last blog……work is really busy at the moment with lots of commission work on which is great!

Also we decided to live the ‘good life’ literally and got some chickens for our garden and for the boys…. Although I have to admit I have secretly wanted some for ages myself!

It’s been over a month since we got them. Ginger, Edwina, Bunty and Babs, named after the great animated film, ‘Chicken run’.  They are so much fun, even if they are getting a bit too friendly and trying to come into the house, and jumping on your lap when you are outside in the garden eating…
Here they are, our 'free range' chickens enjoying all the bugs and slugs in the garden.

I still get excited every morning when we go to collect our fresh batch of eggs.  Sam loves collecting them in his little bucket. We seem to be living off omelettes and anything else with egg in it!

I have now planted all my seeds for the herb garden and even thought I would be brave this year by trying to grow leeks and carrots…watch this space.  If some of the plants I have tried to grow in the past are anything to go by then I probably won’t succeed, but you have to love my enthusiasm.

As for Peppercorn House, I am busy doing commission work  and preparing for a Home and Garden shopping fair that I am doing at Wynyard Hall on 21^st and 22^nd May. So if you live nearby why not drop in, it will be amazing with over 200 exciting exhibitors there.  Let’s hope the weather is good to us as I have a great place outside in the walled garden area.

I am planning on what furniture to take as this is the first fair I will have done. I am also preparing some new pieces to take. I thought this 19^th Century French style gilt tub chair would make a real statement piece. It is definitely ‘The good life’ and with there being a pair they will look amazing!

Also I have just finished a beautiful pair of French style bedside tables hand painted in French Gray and a vintage pine side board which just needs the finishing touches to it. My workshop is full of great pieces waiting to be revived and breathe new life into them, so I know I will be so busy over the coming months….but I love to see the finished results and know that someone somewhere will have a piece from peppercorn House in their own home, it’s a great feeling and I love my job!

So until the next time, why not check out my web site at www.peppercornhouse.com as I have some lovely pieces coming to the website soon as well as some gorgeous mirrors and accessories! I will keep you posted on twitter and Facebook as to when new pieces will be ready so why not follow me and keep up to date with what’s happening and be one of the first to find out!

Bye for now

Nikki
Peppercorn House

Spring time is here, its official!!

Well Spring time is finally here.  We have waited long enough through all the dark and dreary cold nights, but in the last couple of days, I have had a sneak preview of the sun  and hope that summer will be good to us all this year.

Daffodils are out in bloom and little lambs cover the fields as I drive past, a child hood memory of mine that the light nights are here and summer is only around the corner!

So its that time of year again when we are all thinking of the warmer days to come and what we can do to our homes to brighten them up and give them a spring clean.

We have some lovely pieces in stock at Peppercorn House, to give you some ideas of sprucing up your home for the summer, whether it be furniture or accessories, so take a look and see at http://www.peppercornhouse.com/.   Why not consider a console table to display your flowers or have a look at some of the single stem glass vases we have to make your flowers a feature...they also double up nicely as a lovely Mothers day present!.

                                                                                    

 

 As well as the items we have on our web site,  I am also working on some pieces in the workshop right now, so if you want to spring clean your bedroom, why not think about a beautiful pair of French style bedside tables, coming to the website soon,  or think ahead to the long  warm nights of Summer bbq's and entertaining friends. So dont forget your garden.  Create the right atmosphere with just some of the stunning Eastern coloured lanterns we have.

 Whichever room you may want to change, there will be something here for you.

Having a spring clean myself and sorting out all my paints and colours for the next few pieces of furniture.....love Farrow & Ball. My sample pots out ready for use.

With this being my first official go at a blog ( a long time coming, I know!) I thought I had better mention my friends who helped out with a photo shoot before launching the site in December 201o. My staging team in the making!

From Left to Right

Victoria, Jo, Peter, Sarah and me!

So please keep reading my blogs as I intend to keep you posted with what I am up to at Peppercorn House, whats new in the workshop with what I am working on and any news for the interiors and furniture world. Stay tuned for the next  blog coming soon....