The results of a hard day’s work are now in and we have some really special photographs of some of our new stock of candles and room fragrances. Never before has 62 seen such activity with unpacking, photographing, re-packing and moving! But, it all ran like clockwork and the house smells absolutely divine as a consequence! Over the next few weeks, we will be using the photos in our promotional literature as well as FB and Twitter. At the moment, we are concentrating on those scents that would be particularly attractive to men (well, it is Father’s Day) and we will be offering these over the next week.

pony king.

sarahgoodreau

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Two Sides of Tolerance: Accepting Others

A Quiet Week In The House

Not long ago, I enjoyed tea and pastry at my favorite bakery. A woman with dizzying perfume swept into a seat behind me. Her sharp, expensive fragrance slid over my table, invading each sip and bite I took.  Irritation engulfed me. I snatched up my notebooks and stomped across the room to pen a few ill-tempered paragraphs. When my tea tasted good again, I stole a glance at the perpetrator. Slim and sixtyish, she stiffened under my scrutiny.

I expected someone offensive and unlikable–a diabolical, slathering fiend, perfume bottle in hand, ready to shoot pungent fluids at my face.  Instead, a frail and self-conscious senior citizen nibbled a croissant.  Her red-and-black plaid pantsuit radiated as fiercely as her fragrance. She was the kind of woman who applies lipstick with a tiny brush and styles her improbable chestnut hair with precision. In a deserted bakery, she purposely chose the seat closest…

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Photo Challenge – Day 2: A Good Habit

Definitive

Little Bits of History

Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language

April 15, 1755: Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language is published. In June of 1746, a group of London booksellers approached Johnson and asked him to write a dictionary for 1,500 guineas or about £210,000 ($350,000) in today’s money. Dictionaries already existing were simply not up to the task. As more people became literate, a greater number of publications were available and it became economical to also produce a dictionary the masses could afford. With the explosion of printed material, it was necessary to create a set of rules for grammar, definitions, and spellings for the words defined. Johnson thought it would take him about three years to complete a new dictionary – it took nine years, instead.

Over the previous 150 years, there had been over twenty dictionaries published. The oldest was a Latin-English “wordbook” by Sir Thomas Elyot and…

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In Search of the Perfect Email Sign-Off

the world in words

Here’s a guest post from New York-based and friend of the Big Show, Alina Simone.

Remember being a sad weirdo in high school and feeling so insecure, you just kind of cop other people’s style and hope no one will notice?

Sculpting your hair into a black Aquanet spire to fit in with the Goths? Shredding the skin off your knees doing an Olly to impress the skaters?

Okay that’s just me. But I thought I’d at least kissed that grim, grasping feeling goodbye.

Actually, it confronts me every day, almost every hour, in the form of the email sign-off. Am I the only one? The only one who feels like nothing fits?

That all those “Warmlys” and “Regards” and “All bests” are the worst?

And all those international options — “Ciao” and “Suerte” and “Bises” and, God forbid, “Tatty bye”? — don’t help. They hurt. A lot.

There…

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A Promise to Dad

I really admire Sandra’s attitude and this is a great blog…..

Fat Girl to Ironman

This week’s interview is with Sandra from ‘A Promise to Dad‘. Sandra has been blogging about her life and training in Nebraska following the loss of her father in 2011. Sandra shares her adventures as a swimmer, cyclist and runner, including lots of lovely photos in the mix. I’ve been holding onto this fantastic interview for a while as I wanted to have enough time to do it justice, so apologies to Sandra. I hope everyone enjoys reading it 🙂

• Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?

Thank you for interviewing me!  I am honored.

I have lived in Illinois, Nebraska, Spain, and New Mexico, and am currently back in Nebraska again (for the last 18 years).  I am a professional historian and currently a university professor, but people that meet me outside of academia…

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The birth of a brand

Hazel and I have been working pretty hard over the past six months to develop Bougie 1462  and the fruits of all our endeavours are starting to blossom! Or at least, there is some tangible evidence to show for the work. What we conceived as an idea for a brand which then took the form of a name which then developed into a logo idea and then a “feel” now shows in the website and packaging.

I have to say that I am very proud (in a paternal sort of way) of the way Bougie1462 has developed. It feels very much like the way I can imagine giving birth to anything feels even though I’m not a father, except that, of course, it’s business rather than a child! But the sense of achievement and affirmation from others is there and it feels good right now!

So today, the white tissue paper arrived with white Bougie1462 logo and yesterday the incredibly gorgeous sily branded ribbon arrived. Of course (and quite rightly!) Hazel is waiting until I get back before we unpack it and see the two together.

We are also confirming our list of suppliers and yesterday we were pleased to hear that Cire Trudon have signed up, along with the lovely Eve Victoria candles and Illumens – not well known (yet) but epitomising many of the qualities that we love in hand-poured luxury candles and some scents to die for.

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What Happens When Americans Are Asked to Label Europe and Brits Are Asked to Label the US?

Its really interesting to see just how little” we” know about what’s around us.

TwistedSifter

 

At the end of last year, the BuzzFeed team asked students and co-workers to label a map. Those in the UK were asked to label a map of the United States, while those in the US were tasked to label a map of Europe.

Yes there is a difference between labelling states of one particular country versus labelling countries in a continent. Sure some people were probably goofing around and not taking the request too seriously. And while many of the attempts will make you chuckle, some of the maps are quite commendable! Before you snicker too hard, maybe quiz yourself and see how you fare?

If you’d like to test yourself, I’ve included blank maps at the bottom of the post. Or you can just click the links below:

Click here for a blank map of the United States
Click here for a blank map of Europe

 

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Flickr’s Best Shots of 2013

Something to look back on………..and smile