It is really three weeks since the lockdown was announced ? I'm finding it hard to keep track. Although my days are packed (and I seem to have had no time yet for de-cluttering), all my usual points of reference punctuating the weeks are gone, and with everyday seeming the same, it feels like time is standing still.

Though Easter has come and gone, we are missing the general sense of purpose that normally follows prolonged holidays. Yet Spring is definitely here, and London at its most beautifu, with trees covered in blossom and wisteria coming out in a riot of colour.

It may be specific to my generation, but I sense a renewed interest in Nature: people marvelling at a flock of goslings huddling together by the lake at Battersea Park; everyone taking in the magnificent blossom that we are blessed with this year. We all seem to be taking more notice of the beauty that surrounds us. And so perhaps a silver lining on the lockdown is that we learn to appreciate what we have rather than just taking it for granted. Long may it last...

Supporting Made in Britain

I have been a firm believer in home-grown production long before it became fashionable, opening our Hampshire workshop as long ago as 1998. Amongst the havoc that the pandemic is leaving in its trail, it is my sincere hope that the public will become ever more appreciative of "handmade in Britain" and will see the merits of supporting home-produced efforts wherever possible.

Small is Beautiful

One of the advantages of our production being small-scale is that it is relatively straight-forward to implement social distancing at work, and so we have been able to carry on with production. We've changed how we schedule orders into production, working on much shorter production cycle so that we process each individual order more rapidly, with the aim of delivering within reduced leadtimes.

Delivering orders as normal

Our wonderful courriers are doing a grand job collecting and delivering, so that we are able to dispatch orders almost as normal. Although we are working partly remotely, we have one member of staff at a time attending the showroom (which we currently use as an office) to take deliveries, and prepare and dispatch client orders. Our courier service is working as normal with next day delivery to mainland UK, and international orders are making their way overseas in the usual manner.

We carry inventory for urgent requirements

We aim to carry stock of our best-selling items for immediate requirements - please ask if you would like to check on a particular item, and if we don't have it we will suggest alternatives.