More Blaze photos... and a lesson in customer service!

Spring has sprung! And so, without looking too closely at the state of the garden, outside seems to be the most obvious place to photograph my new colour combinations for the Blaze cushion.
Thomas came round yesterday and took some shots - the rich browns look well and truly fiery in the sunshine. See what you think...

Now that winter looks like it's over I'm getting into bright colours once more, and my work for my next design is using New Lanark's "Clementine" and "Blue Lovage" which are both pretty fresh and zingy. I'm basing my doodlings and swatches on the theme of Fruit market stalls - watch this space for more details.

I'm feeling all bright and zingy myself having just come back from a girl's weekend to Manchester. We had a lovely time, little bit of shopping, cocktails, a show, overnight stop then a little bit more shopping and a train ride home. Manchester was buzzing; as always everyone seems so enthusiastic there, and we were bowled over by how friendly all the shop assistants and waiters were. It was a great lesson in how to make the customer feel good, and particular praise must be reserved for the lovely lady in Zara who let me take far too many silky shirts back to the hotel to try on and return, the lady at the Palace Theatre who made us cocktails, the waitress in Jamie's Italian who knew everything about the menu and the building, and made us feel so at home, and the Mary Portas Sales Assistants in Kendals, who were so friendly and happy to let us try on the pants over our jeans that we ended up buying several pairs each!
However the Po-Faced Misery award goes to the incredibly stuck up shop assistant in a certain very "top end" store, who when faced with the question "Do you sell Mary Portas's pants?" could have just smiled and said, "Sorry, no, have you tried Kendal's?" But no. He took the opportunity to deliver a 20 minute lecture on why Mary Portas isn't bespoke, unique or niche enough to be stocked at a store like his, and that I'd be better off shopping at Boots the Chemist or ("Shudder") a supermarket...
As I skulked out of the shop feeling a little bit like a naughty school girl it suddenly struck me that the telling off I'd just had said a great deal more about his insecurities than mine. And as we sat in St Anne's Square drinking coffee and soaking up the sunshine, I reflected that I'd much rather shop with enthusiatic people who genuinely want me to enjoy the experience, rather than those who want to make the whole thing some exclusive game of one-upmanship.