Fashionably Fundraising with Artichoke

A big part of our business at Artichoke is our ‘pop up’ shop which we take to fundraising events both big and small throughout East Anglia. Many of you will have met us for the first time at one of these as we take our transit van full of handbags, clothes & jewellery to horse trials, county shows, WI fashion shows, Golf Club coffee mornings and NSPCC afternoon teas.  

Did you know however that we host charity & social shopping events at our shop in Hackford? We work hard to tailor make the day or evening for you so they come in many shapes and sizes.

We have hosted big shopping days for LILAC & The Big C welcoming over 50 ladies to our shop for coffee, a browse and a chat before they move onto more shopping at The Unisa Factory Outlet or Romba Footwear and lunch at Lincolns Tearooms – all of us giving a percentage of what we sell to the charity that organised the day.

We have also opened for smaller more social events such as a shopping evening for our local branch of Riding for the Disabled and we always welcome groups of friends to our shop offering them refreshments and a discount on what they spend.

If you have a favourite charity and would like a new fun way of raising some money for them or just fancy having a day out with a gang of girlfriends please give us a call on 01953 851458 or email sales@artichokecollection.co.uk for more information.

Top tips for the shopping in the Sales

With the sales in full swing we have been looking at some ways at ensuring your wardrobe won't be full of yet more must haves that will never see the light of day .....

Make a List of what you need
How many black jumpers or red T-shirts have you bought not only because they were a great bargain but also because they will go brilliantly with the jacket you got for Christmas - having completely forgotten about the three you have at home already?

Will I wear it?

Before you snap up that 'Rudolph themed' Christmas Jumper ask yourself will you actually wear it?

The three outfit rule
This a great one I found in The Telegraph. 'A certain stylish 'it' girl shops by this simple mantra; if it works with at least three other pre-owned outfits then the purchase is a sound one.' This is a savvy shopping rule and should be implemented when navigating the sales.'

Buy the right size
This is true whatever time of year but a mantra that must be repeated hourly when surrounded by 75% off signs. If it is a size too small leave it where it is. You might slim down enough for it to fit you by the beginning of next winter .......but you probably wont .

Leave children and husbands at home
Do I need  to say more?

Dress for success
Wear comfortable shoes and a warm lightweight coat with something that is easy to pull on and off underneath.

For guaranteed success Shop at Artichoke
Our sale starts on January 7th (preview days for Artichoke Girls 3rd & 4th Jan).
For bargain bagging in a relaxed environment either hop in the car and come and see us or have a look at the website where we will keep you up to date of the bargains to be grabbed.

We are looking forward to our best launch event so far.....

We are planning a great start to this autumn's collection with our three day launch which takes place from Tuesday September 17th to Thursday September 19th.

Tuesday September 17^th from 10am to 4 pm you can book a free 20 minute style advice sessions with Jo Allen

This is by far our most popular event. Local style guru Jo Allen will spend 20 minutes with you discussing either how to find your most flattering colours, which clothes flatter your shape most or a bit of both.

These very popular sessions are on a first come first served basis so please call 01953 851458 to book your appointment.

Wednesday September 18^th  from 10 am to 4 pm - Anna Montanna Jeans Day

If you love your Anna Montanna Jeans dont be mean - share your secret with a friend and bring her to be measured for her jeans too. We will be offering Anna Montanna Goody bags with every pair of jeans sold. This is whilst stocks last so make sure you are either early or ring ahead to reserve yours

Wednesday September 18th from 5.30 pm to 8 pm you can book a free 20 minute style advice sessions with Jo Allen

This is by far our most popular event. Local style guru Jo Allen will spend 20 minutes with you discussing either how to find your most flattering colours, which clothes flatter your shape most or a bit of both.

These very popular sessions are on a first come first served basis so please call 01953 851458 to book your appointment.

Thursday 19^th September from10 am to 4 pm or by appointment only from 4.30 pm to 9 pm join us for our Charity Launch Day

If you have held an event with either of The Artichoke Shops before and fancy raising a few more bob for your charity or organisation come along with a friend or two or ten and we will donate 5% to the charity you nominate. Just in case this idea is very popular (and it should be!)  please book in advance to ensure that we don’t get in a muddle!

Look forward to seeing you then.

The Artichoke Girls x

 

It's Competition Time!

We are gradually getting used to the brave new world that is Facebook and would love to reach 300 Likes by the end of September. As a big bribe to get you all to sign up we are going to pop all your names in a hat and draw the name of one lucky lady who will win this fantastic LouenHide Bag just in time for the winter.

All you have to do is:

1. Like our page on Facebook - the easy bit just follow this link 
2. Share something about Artichoke with your Facebook Friends - it could be something we have written out that interests you or a link to this blog or your favourite item of clothing that you have bought from us.
3. Drop us a line with your name and email address to artichokecollection@btinternet.com to let us know you have done this so we can pop your name in our draw and email the lucky winner.

Good Luck and remember we need at least 300 Likes by the end of September to ensure this beautiful bag goes to a new home.

With Love
The Artichoke Girls x

Trend Guide Autumn/Winter 2013

I have been browsing through August's edition of Vogue and discovered that we might be old gels living in the middle of nowhere but we are still bang on trend - ticking lots of boxes this season!

A Rose Bouquet

'From the palest petal pinks to dusky damask hues ....an overtly feminine and flattering palette....rose tones offer a beautiful spin on autumn's pre-eminent trend: The new womanly allure'
At Artichoke this autumn you will find dusky pink knitwear from CPM & Marble as well as Lilac & Pale Pink Gilets from Grenouille.

WOMAN'S realm

'The autumn/winter collections were a paean to elegance and womanly charms....boasting hour glass curves ...only real women need apply' Dont we do this 24/7/365? For the second winter in succession we will be stocking Marble knitwear with a strong 50's feel.

The SQUARE ROUTE

'Last season's strict monochrome prints give way to softer, colour drenched checks for autumn ....breathing new life into trad tartans' Wait until you see our Alice Collins Jackets.

Moody BLOOMS

'Lush blooms in overripe hues' just about sums up Milano Italy's shirts - new to Artichoke this season

Chic Simple

....Handbags take the simple approach. Clean, cool and classic is the order of the day.' is the way I would describe LouenHide's bags.

 ALL AVAILABLE IN STORE FROM SEPTEMBER 1st ONWARDS.

Until then enjoy the sunshine and remember that being 'old fashioned' sorts we still sell SUMMER CLOTHES until the end of August.

PS: Here are the ones we ignored : Punks anarchic spirit ....feathers ....fur & leopard print

Now summer has finally arrived we are all turning our thoughts to shorts once more.
Have a look at this great article on The Colour Me Beautiful website for some tips.

......beginning to wish that I hadn't put those shorts in the sale now! ................

Ely Cathedral Flower Festival

We love our job! 

Each season we are invited to lots of events all over East Anglia - one of our favourites this summer was The Ely Cathedral Flower Festival. It was the first such event in the cathedral for fifteen years, over the four days attracted just under 20,000 visitors and was AMAZING!

The exhibits were designed by East Anglian designer Roger Woolnough - a gold medal winner both at Chelsea and Hampton Court and more than 220 arrangers from 38 clubs spent a year planning and executing the arrangements which depicted the creation of the world.

Follow this link to find some amazing photos of the event.

As one of the stands in The Shopping Area we were lucky enough to have our own 'almost' private viewing as we were allowed into the cathedral in the early morning when the flowers were being watered.

Socially the festival was fantastic too as we caught up with lots friends and customers - many of which were in some way involved in the festival. Artichoke Girls are not only (well dressed) pretty faces you know. Some are highly talented flower arrangers, others have incredible organisational skills and all are ready to live life to the full. 

An unexpected pleasure at the festival was meeting Denise Barnes and her friend Gill who had travelled by steam train from kent with Cathedrals Express for the day. As you can see they entered into the spirit of the journey and their vintage look was fab. 

I have found out since that Denise is a writer and you can out more about her and her adventures at her website