Dog Person : My love affair with a rogue spaniel

I wasn’t always a dog person. My eyes would inwardly roll when folks would swoon over their new doggie friends, sometimes even referring to themselves as the pooch’s Mama and Papa. Don’t get me wrong I liked dogs, but I couldn’t understand how and why they made their owners gush with babbling baby talk and impose their boring doggy requirements of walking, pooping and training on the already strained lives of busy families. Then in trotted Dotty, the naughtiest spaniel in the world and I completely changed my mind.

My Mum recently asked me why I liked the dog so much, to which I responded '‘because she’s so nice”. There is no rudeness, door slamming, passive aggression or tantrums; just a waggy tail and a willingness to please. She makes me get out and enjoy beautiful parts of the Cornish coast, providing much needed breathing space in the middle of my busy day. A GP and a psychiatrist have both independently told me that they wish that they could prescribe ‘dog’ to their patients. Not only do they impose routine and exercise on their owners but provide company to those amongst us who feel afraid and alone. I have to say that I have never felt lonely with the silky spaniel at my feet and those big doe eyed stares are the perfect antidote to stroppy teenagers and tax returns..

Of course doggy ownership is not without its challenges. The puppy phase nearly killed us and bad Dotty was sent off to boot camp/Borstal for 4 weeks intensive ‘correction’ (she only just graduated!). She destroyed the builders shoes, dug a hole in the sofa and would run away for hours, living it up chasing cats and raiding bins. Honestly there were so many times when I thought to myself that she would have to go.

Dotty has now given up being a badass, although she’s still partial to a sock and enjoys stealing sandwiches from toddlers as pastime. I am glad we persevered and can’t ever see myself without a canine friend for company; I guess that makes me a dog person after all.

Sophie xxx

PS. I really enjoyed ‘Everyone died so I got a dog’ by Emily Dean and ‘Lost Dog’ by Kate Spicer. In both of these brilliant memoirs ‘the dog’ is the steady, grounding and important element of the authors lives.

Spaniel (currently not for sale) Cushions in Liberty of London print Betsy and Capel.

Meet The Maker - The Handmade Clothing Company

This is the last post in our series of Meet The Maker blogs and we have a lovely treat for you. Here at Poppy and Honesty, we regularly get asked if we make liberty print children's clothes and the answer is no (too fiddly for these Frank Butcher fingers)  but we know a woman who does. This week we meet Amy from The Handmade  Clothing Company...

I’m Amy, Mum to three, Seth (11), Theo (6), and Eden (4)  and the founder of The Handmade Clothing Company. After a few years working different Visual Merchandising roles in fashion retail stores I decided to go to uni. I graduated from London College of Fashion just before having my second son. I was so fed up to have ended up in another retail role that I decided to start sewing things to sell to have a creative outlet. I started with mainly bunting and simple items of clothing. After the birth of my daughter in 2014 a fabulous friend from uni suggested using Liberty fabrics and so the idea was born! 

Liberty Print Dress Similar Here

I started making childrenswear samples using classic prints and had a photoshoot at the end of 2014. I finally settled on a name for the brand and launched the website and Etsy store in January 2015! Gradually more styles were added and I gained loyal customers through Instagram that have really been instrumental in raising the awareness of the brand and growing the business. I wouldn't be where I am now without those first customers that still come back today! At the beginning of 2017 I was so busy that I was able to give up my part time job and to work in the business full time! This has meant so much to my family, I can do every school run, I don’t have to worry about childcare in the school holidays and really be there for my daughter who is still undergoing investigations for an Autism diagnosis. Every single order really does mean so much to me!

Aster Liberty Print Boys Bloomers

This year I am continuing to collaborate with the amazing Magnificent Stanley which is an absolute pleasure! We have an amazing collection of prints for this season and some lovely new styles for Summer. I am also working to grow the womenswear offering which is really exciting! The current items in the womenswear collection have been popular and I can’t wait to have more products to offer to the fabulous women that shop with me. And if things continue to grow at the rate they have been for the last year I will be needing much more space to work and some help!! I am really excited to see what we can achieve once all the kids are at school full time! 

We do hope that you have enjoyed our Meet The Maker series. We always like to support our fellow crafty handmaidens and burly handymen, so if you would like to be featured on our blog please get in touch.

Can you believe it's time for the big bunny ? Other than the supermarkets bursting with confection, I'm not even sure you would even know it was Easter.  Whatever the weather, get into the chocolate and have a lovely long weekend. 

Sophie xxxx

Winter Love Bomb

At this time of year my children become increasingly anxious that they are on the naughty list and are rather obsessed with their obscenely extravagant Christmas lists. Apparently this year FC has a budget of about 1,000 pounds per child (Wow! who knew he was so eligible?) Anyway, at this point, I start to self implode and mumble about the poor starving children which has absolutely no impact on their moral compasses whatsoever.

This year I am determined to install some kind of Christmas spirit into the entitled little rat bags  without bursting their whole sparkly Christmas bubble and spending the day ranting into my mulled wine.  Getting the children to give is quite a challenge. To be honest their contribution to the Shoe Box Appeal (choosing a toothbrush) and The Food Bank (carrying the cereal) is rather minimal. So brace yourself lucky friends and relatives, this year, the kids are making stuff for you.

We're big bath-fans in our house. It's not really about getting clean (thats just a bonus) but more about having some lovely floaty time-out. So we're making lots of fabulous multi-coloured sparkly love (bath) bombs for everyone. Embellish as you wish, rose petals, glitter, degradable confetti; all provide lots of decadent fun amidst the fizzle. Making stuff for people at Christmas is hardly original but like many parents, I become so consumed getting the festive haul together, I forget to schedule 'making time'. It's a great opportunity for kids to properly give and maybe even start to understand what Christmas all about, a giant winter love bomb (with lots of presents and some good old festive fighting). 

Sophie xxxxx (see Winter Love Bomb recipe below)

Recipe for Winter Love Bombs.

INGREDIENTS.

300g Bicarbonate of Soda,

100g Citric Acid

10ml Fragrance or Essential Oil of your choice (for sensitive babes use half)

Colour - most food colours are fine. 

Razzamatazz- glitter, rose petals, confetti, go wild.

METHOD...

1. Brush a little olive/almond oil inside your mould (silicone ice cube trays or cup cake moulds work a treat)

2. Combine the bicarb, citric acid with food colouring and mix together with your hands.

3. Add your essential oils and mix to combine.

4. Spray a little water into the mixture, just enough so that it holds together when you squish it in the palm of your hand.

5. Add your razzamatazz (glitter, rose petals etc).

6. Push into your moulds and leave to dry out for 2-3 days.