Au revoir 2013

First and foremost, a belated merry Christmas to you all. I had the full intention of writing this blog and posting before Christmas, but time did not allow it. I hope that everyone had a wonderful day filled with food, friends and family. And sherry.

With Christmas over, I can sit down and breathe and look back on what a fantastic year 2013 was! As my first year of business, I think it went pretty well. Did I mention that I sold out of Christmas stock? That was quite a welcome surprise! Hampers were delivered, gift boxes galore have been sent far and wide across the country, and hundreds of jars were hopefully opened, shared and enjoyed by all over the Christmas period. We certainly tucked in to our fair share of chutneys on Christmas eve with roast pork and Oscar's Kitchen pickled onions. Delicious!

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be giving the Kitchen a well deserved break (and myself) and a thorough sorting out. There are a few things on my to-do list: clean the stock room from head to toe and give it a new lick of paint; re-shuffle the cupboards to I can get a little more space in there; build work surfaces and new storage boxes etc; sort out all my packaging and labelling. In the new year I am hoping to be able to start welcoming customers into the Kitchen in order to buy products straight from the stock room, which will hopefully be somewhat more of a mini-shop.

Talking of shop, I have started looking into opening Oscar's Deli! This is very exciting news, although it will take a lot of work and planning so hopefully I will have my own premises by summer of 2015. It will sell my own preserves, chutneys and pickles etc, but I will be bringing in other local producers' products, such a meat, eggs, honey, milk, cured meats, breads, olives and anything else I can find which is Welsh and Wonderful. WATCH THIS SPACE.

As I mentioned earlier, it's been a very busy Christmas period and a very busy year. I've watched by business really take off, and I feel as if I've made a name for myself now and a permanent place in the food business. Onwards and upwards as they say! However, none of this could have been possible without the continuous support of my parents, who have homed me, fed me, built things for me, peeled and sliced things for me, and have overall helped me the whole way. Thank you parents.
I also owe a huge thank you to my wonderful boyfriend and best friend, Ben, who has the patience of a saint and has always encouraged me throughout the year, when I'm tired and grumpy, to keep on going, and for his encouragement to go on and do bigger and better things. His faith in me and my business is the best pick me up. Thank you.
But, most importantly, I owe the biggest thank you of all to my customers who have truly made this year a success. Thank you.

I'm sure that 2014 will be even more exciting!

Ruth and Oscar

x

The Shop and the Reservoir

Hello all,

I've had a super duper fun day today, which I will talk about once I have told you a little about our community craft shop. 

Myself and twelve other ladies, and more recently a man, run a community craft shop in our local community centre. The crafts include handmade chocolates, quilts, cushions, cards, jewellery, preserves (mine), woodwork, slate-work, silversmith jewellery and glass fusion. It's an amazing shop full of incredibly unique creations. Truly stunning. 

During this summer we have been loading a selection of our products into the car and taking it to various craft days and events. Two months ago, and pre-blog, we attended the local Carnival and not only did we socialise and have a great day out watching the parades and floats, but we told hundreds of people about the shop and ignited interest in local artists and crafters. We also made a fair bit of money, which goes straight into the shop piggy bank to spend on more events! Hurrah. 

Today, the shop attended Lliw Valley Reservoir. It was a fun day for kids so lots of local organisations came forth and did face-painting, sports, painting etc. One lady from the RSPB, who might possibly have had the coolest job in the world, made "Bug Hotels" from pine cones and recyclable objects. It took all sorts of will power not to abandon the shop and go and play. 

Here are some snaps of the day...

Homegrown and homemade chutneys, pickles, relishes etc by Oscar's Kitchen

Handmade chocolates by SJ Chocolates in Horton, Gower

Silversmith jewellery by Linda Hughes, Purple Panda Designs, and cards and hearts by Fiona Stirling, Shabby Sheep

 Scented heart pillows by Fiona Stirling, Shabby Sheep

Fused glass by Mel Jones, Melta

A slow worm I found on my front doorstep. This has nothing to do with the blog. 

Handcrafted woodwork and homemade paper by Gaynor Fuge, Random Layers

Slate by Nigel. He needs no introduction. 

So, that is a selection of what Crefftau Y Bont (welsh for Pontardulais Crafts) has to offer. It really is an amazing shop with these amazingly talented crafters. 

Oh, and the Fun Day went well.

Ruth and Oscar (he is currently curled up fast asleep on my lap, feigning interest in his blog.)