WOW! 2016 has been pretty fabulous for Beautiful Things and the Family Mack. Besides all the sad passing’s of many of our favourite celebs, a few political debacles and various other ‘world’ problems, things close to home have been great.
2016 saw the launch of our Semi Virtual Crochet courses which have taken off fabulously. We have taught so many people to crochet in the comfort of their own homes and are really enjoying seeing them all develop their skills.
2016 saw the launch of our You Tube Channel. A regular podcast, sewing and makes videos and lots of tutorials and fun videos. Our followers have grown from just 40 at the beginning of the year to nearly 2000!
2016 welcomed Carol to our team of tutors, allowing us to teach knitting classes. As an added bonus I have learnt to knit and am now enjoying a new hobby and some valuable ‘me time’.
2016 saw us exhibiting at our very 1st LARGE show. We attended Yarndale in Skipton, North Yorkshire and I was joined by my lovely Mum and 10 of our fabulous regulars. I’m very grateful for all of their help and could not have done it without them.
2016 saw so many great classes, lots of new pupils, returning pupils, fun days out, Crafty Cuppas, Crafternoons and crochet clubs. We have had so many laughs and watched so many of you get a huge kick out of learning something new.
So what has 2017 got in store for Beautiful Things?
You may or may not have noticed that we have been closed throughout the end of December and are not opening again until next Thursday (12th Jan). There is good reason for this………
We have been at BTHQ for 4 years in March. Hard to believe I know, but in that time we have accrued a lot of ‘stuff’. More importantly we have been putting said ‘stuff’ away……..reaaaalllly badly! The place is heaving with boxes, mostly full of junk or half empty and we are in the midst of a huge clear out and de-clutter. Along with the clear out comes a bit of a furniture shift about to give you more space to move when you are in class.
You might have seen some of our pictures and silly videos on our Facebook page and we are almost done. I’d like to say a big thank you to Elspeth who has been giving me a hand in making the magic work. I can’t wait to see it all finished.
We are not planning any major launches this year in terms of products and no big shows. But what we are concentrating on is developing a really varied range of new classes for you to enjoy. We are planning regular Crafty Cuppas and Crafternoons, A big ‘Craft Jumble Sale’ in the spring, to relieve us of all our ‘stuff’ and lots of charity events.
Now I love setting goals for a New Year and my goal this year is to get BTHQ full to bursting every day. I want to see fully booked classes, people enjoying craft and making new friendships.
Now to make that happen what we need is a great atmosphere for our new and existing pupils to experience. Atmosphere comes with bodies and the best way to get bodies is to encourage you to use the space. If you are at a loose end and want somewhere to sit and knit, crochet or craft then simply give us a call. If there is room round the table that day, you are welcome to come on in.
We also want to use this as an opportunity to raise some money for our chosen charity of 2017, MIND (the mental health charity). Craft is proven to be a fantastic way of helping people deal with various mental health issues and I know for a fact that some of our wonderful pupils have benefited from what BTHQ can offer. If you want to use the space, simply pop a donation in our charity pot.
So without further ado, I have waffled on enough! There is no fancy pictures or arty layout to this post, it’s more of a little letter to all of you. Thank you to everyone who has supported Beautiful Things in whatever way they have this year. I am extremely proud of my little business and love nothing more than sharing it with you all.
Here’s to a wonderfully fabulous 2017.
Happy New Year to you all
Claire
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