2013 New Year's Resolutions

I make them every year but rarely ever stick to them.

Let's take a look back at my resolutions from last year and see how many were kept...

1. Health and Happiness

I vowed to become healthier and happier in 2013 both physically and mentally. I lost nearly 2 stone and have made huge progress in my recovery from my anxiety disorder.

2. Get A Life!

I wanted to get out of the house and socialise at least once a month. We haven't been particularly good at this one simply because we haven't had the money but we have been going our and doing things (even if it's just going into town for lunch) considerably more this year.

3 . A For Effort

This one was business related. I wanted to put more effort into my business and set myself targets that included.

- Get online shop up and running.

- Build brand.

- Blog more.

- Attend one event as a business.

- Gain a stockist.

We'll I've done all of these things and more, including winning 3 small business competitions. I think we can safely say that this one gets a big fat tick next to it.

4. My Dream Home

I aimed to save at least 50% of the deposit needed to buy our own home.

This one was a big fat fail as money circumstances have not allowed us to save a single penny. Oh well, maybe next year?

5. Be True To Yourself

This one was about embracing myself and making more of an effort to show my personality.

I have definitely made more of an effort to show my rockabilly edge with the way that I dress and it's something that I plan on continuing to do.

All in all I think I did pretty well at completing some of my resolutions from last year and I'm pleased to say that I continued to work on them all throughout 2013, not just the first two weeks of January.

What were your resolutions for last year? Did you stick to them and will you be making new ones this year?

Hayley x

2013 Wrapped Up.

I thought I'd take a minute to reflect on everything that has happened in the past year. 

I had actually forgotten about quite a bit of it which is why I'm so grateful that I have a blog that I can read back through.

So here's my 2013 in summary...

January
I shut down my old jewellery business and officially launched the Poodles and Pompadours website after months of wishing, hoping and scheming.

I made a real commitment to making positive changes in my life. I started to focus on my path to recovery from anxiety and agoraphobia and continued on my weightless journey which started in November.

February
For most of the month I was very unwell with viral meningitis and also developed some infections from complications from the viral meningitis. It wasn't very fun, but once I was better I launched our first online shop and Etsy shop.

March
We launched our feeding sets, celebrated my Mum's birthday and booked an anniversary trip to Disneyland Paris.

April
We started offering our dog sitting services again for the first time since moving from London and gained some new clients.

I went on an amazing holiday to Disneyland Paris. It was amazing!!

We won Ingenious Britain's Small Business of The Month award. This was the first small business award that we have won and it was super exciting.

May
Bambi and Bear were sent some lovely pet shampoo from Precious Pets to review for the blog. They loved it!

We held a competition to name our Pinup girl and poodle from our logo. The winning names were Betty and Lola.

We attended our first ever event as a business and had a stall at Croydon Tattoo Convention with the lovely Vicky from Stars and Scars.

We launched a Crowdfunder campaign to raise money to enrol on a dog grooming course in order for me to expand my small business to include more services.

June
We won a Pawsome Service for Pet Businesses Award from Truly Pawsome.

We attended our second event at Maidenhead Relay Marathon.

We reached 100% funding on our Crowdfunder goal and raised enough money to enrol on a dog grooming course.

I brought a car and started to learn how to drive (for the second time!)

July
I blogged about my journey with positive thinking.

We welcomed a new addition into our family but sadly lost him a few days later due to a pre-existing illness.

We welcomed another new addition into our family. His name is Ziggy and he is still hopping astound our home very happily.

I went to my first ever dog show. Windsor Dog Show was really fun and I loved looking at all the lovely doggies.

We held our third stall at Maidenhead Festival. This was probably out biggest event to date and it was really fun.

August
I blogged about a lovely lady from Australia who got a tattoo based around our logo design.

I also blogged about the winning streak I seemed to be having as I won a succession of competitions one after another.

We had a surprise family birthday party and lots of summer fun.

I got a drastic haircut and started to make a bit more of an effort with my appearance.

September
My best friend moved to Australia.

I got some work experience at a local dog grooming salon that later turned into a paid job one day a week.

I celebrated my 25th birthday and went to a lovely little burlesque show at Norden Farm.

I enrolled on my Dog Grooming course.

We got a new stockist in Eton for our handmade products and we celebrated Bambi's 5th birthday.

October
October was fairly quiet.
We celebrated Halloween, took a trip to Bournemouth to relax and focused most of our energy on completing assignments for the dog grooming course.

November
We outlined our intentions to stop selling on Etsy.

Bambi and Bear reviewed ScruffyChops shampoo.

We welcomed Cat as a regular kitty blogger with special guests Louis and Marie.

We attended a Christmas shopping event at Holyport Primary School.

We entered a Vodafone small business competition to win a 4G makeover.

December
We won Startacus' Self Starter of The Week award.

We won the Vodafone 4G makeover competiton.

Sadly, we lost Sandy the hamster as she passed away peacefully in her sleep.

We started winding down for Christmas and worked 2 weeks full time at the grooming salon which was bloody hard work!

What a year!

What did you achieve in 2013? Take a minute to write down at least 5 things that you are proud of yourself for achieving this year and put it somewhere you can see it everyday. When you're stressing about reaching your goals in 2014, just take a minute to look at this list and appreciate everything that you have already achieved.

Here's to an amazing and happy 2014.

Lots of love!

Hayley x

Sale Shopping

So today I'm off to Reading to brave the shops (for the first time in years!!) and try to grab some sale bargains but I though I would share with you my ASOS haul that I got online in the sale yesterday.

 

In total I spent £56 which I think is pretty good considering I got 4 items including some winter boots.

 

I've been after some winter boots for ages. I only I have one brown wedged pair and wear them every day so I've been looking for some black ones to alternate. I also desperately needed some new day dresses as I usually wear a dress and leggings on a normal day and most of my dresses are either now too big or are too summery. Here's what I picked...

 

Candy Knee High Boots - £18 was £45

£23 saving.

 

 

Leopard Print Skater Dress - £10 was £25

£15 saving.

 

Body con Animal Print Dress - £10.50 was £30

£19.50 saving.

 

Ganno Striped Jersey Dress - £18 was £90

£72 saving.

Total saving of £129.50!

 

Hopefully I'll nab some more bargains in town today. Happy shopping!

 

Festive Fun

I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas. I was lucky enough to have 2 Christmas Days this year as I celebrated once with my own family and once with my partners family so I feel well and truly spoilt.

 

I thought I'd share with you some fun pictures from the last few days. As you can tell, Christmas for me is mostly about stuffing my face full of food that I shouldn't be eating!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

 

On behalf of everyone here at Poodles and Pompadours we would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas. I hope you have had a relaxing a enjoyable few days filled with lots of love and laughter.

I would like to take this opportunity to send out a huge heartfelt THANK YOU to all of our customers, friends and family who have supported us this year. We have achieved so much in such a short time of being open and we couldn't have done any of it without you.

Some of our achievements in the 11 short months that we have been open include winning 3 small business awards, completing our Crowdfunder project and enrolling on our first dog grooming course. We have gained a stockist in Windsor, expanded our product ranges, attended our first events as a business and won a Vodafone 4G small business competition to name but a few things.

Wow! What a lot of things! I don't know how we even managed to fit them all in.

To celebrate this festive season and all that we have achieved this year we would like to offer you a FREE SHIPPING code for our website to say thank you for supporting us this year.

To redeem your discount just enter CHRIMBO13 at the checkout at www.poodlesandpompadours.com

On January 1st we will be celebrating our official 1st birthday so we hope you will join us then for some more festive celebrations.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Onwards and upwards!

Hayley x

 

Barkarama Christmas Gift Guide

Ooh! We've been featured in Barkarama's Christmas Gift Guide with some other lovely doggie gifts.

Head over to Barkarama's website (barkarama.co.uk) to read the full guide and get some great ideas for your Christmas shopping list.

Whilst you're there make sure you have a mooch about the rest of their site. It's awesome!

Read Barkarama's Christmas Gift Guide at http://www.barkarama.co.uk/entry/2013-festive-gift-guide-christmas-dog-collars-accessories

So long, Sandy.

Sadly, Sandy our hamster passed away during her sleep last night. We have had her as part of our family for about a year and half, but as we adopted her we aren't entirely sure how old she was, but we so know that she lived a happy life for the time that she was with us.

She was such a loving hamster, and not once has she ever bitten any of us. She was great fun and loved cuddles, running around on our bed, playing in the garden and climbing on Bear's back. He treated her like she was his little puppy and would heard her back if she tried to venture too far when we let her loose on the floor or in the garden.

Over the last few weeks we had noticed that she was becoming less active (usually she would be swinging from the roof bars all night) and was also losing her sight but we put this down to old age. We kind of knew that she might not have long left due to her age and her decreasing mobility so it didn't come as too much of a shock.

Although we are sad to have lost her, we take great comfort in knowing that she went peacefully whilst she was sleeping.

We had a little ceremony in the garden today to say goodbye and we buried her under a plant and left her food bowl with her. The circle of life continues.

Goodnight Sandy. Your tiny heart touched ours in ways that you probably weren't even aware of. Or maybe you were.

Hayley x

WE WON!

WE WON!

You know the Vodafone 4G Makeover competition that I entered and asked you to vote for?

We'll I've only gone an bloomin' won it!





To enter, I had to send in a photo of what ‘sharing’ means to my business.

This is the photo I chose to send in as I think it quite accurately shows the values and everyday nature of what my small business is about.



Everything we do in life is shared with our pets. We share our daily lives with these amazing animals and get so much back in return. I think this picture of Bambi, Bear and Sandy sharing the bed just really summed that up for me.

"Share the love."

Thanks to you guys' amazing support I won the competition and my prize is a 4G contract for 24 months with 4G-enabled devices. Plus I’ll feature in Vodafone's ‘Day in the Life of British Business’ national advertising and be Vodafone’s ‘face of 4G’.








I can't believe it!






Thank you again to everyone who voted. You'll be hearing a lot more from me now that I have 4G ;)






Lots of love,


Hayley x







P.S to read more about the competition you can go to: http://www.yourbetterbusiness.co.uk/4gmakeovercompetition/#yyt1hP2kWIBRf4FW.99

Dog Christmas Gifts for Under £50

Here are my top 5 picks for Doggie Christmas Presents for £50.00 and under.

Information about how and where to buy these products can be found in the links below.

Happy Shopping!

Hayley x

1. Christmas Hamper from Doggielicious - £49.90

2. Wizard of Oz Swarovski Dog Collar from UrbanPup - £34.95

3. Hand knitted Moustache Jumper from Willie Ratbag - £32.00

4. Union Jack Harness from Mutts and Hounds - £42.00

5. Deluxe Christmas Gift Set from Poodles and Pompadours - £50.00

 

 

Dog Christmas Gifts for Under £25

Here are my top 5 picks for Doggie Christmas Presents for £25.00 and under.

Information about how and where to buy these products can be found in the links below.

Happy Shopping!

Hayley x

1. Personalised Christmas Treat Box from Alpha and Ruby's - £12.50

2. Herbal Dog Tea from Woof and Brew - £3.99

3. Mucky Pup Nose and Paw Balm from Pet's Pyjamas - £5.95

4. Monthly Pet Subscription Box from Poochpack - £24.95

5. Handmade Christmas Neckerchief from Poodles and Pompadours - £12.00

 

 

Christmas Gift Ideas for Dog Lovers

When I came up with the idea to do a series of Christmas Gift Guides for my blog, I knew I wanted to champion small businesses in the UK, and so for my first Christmas gift guide for Dog Lovers I have decided to focus solely on products sold on notonthehighstreet.com (NOTHS).

NOTHS is an online marketplace packed full of UK based independent designers and small businesses. They sell a huge range of goods that are all made in the UK and since I have made a pledge this year to promise that all of the gifts I will be giving are either handmade by me, handmade in the UK or sourced second hand or from charity shops, I thought this would be a good place to start.

"We're passionate about hand-picking the best creative small businesses to sell on our marketplace, making it simple for you to find inspired, personalised, stylish or unique things.

We don’t sell one particular style. We choose sellers who offer great design and the best quality products, many of which can be customised to suit you. It’s easy to find (or create) the look or style that works for you.

Support British creative talent

Everything you buy from our site comes directly from one of the artists, designers and curators who make up our collection of sellers. By shopping with us you’re doing business with diverse, talented independent sellers who care about quality, innovation and style as much as you do, as well as supporting the future and growth of creative talent."

http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/

 

Here are my 22 Gift Ideas for Dog Lovers. Information of how and where to buy these products can be found by clicking on the linked item number below.

Links to the products - 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.

Custom Pet Portraits by www.studio-legohead.com

 

As you will see, I have also included one final item in my Christmas Gift Guide for Dog Lovers that is not from notonthehighstreet.com.

These custom pet portraits are by the wonderful illustrator and textil artist Jo Chambers.

Jo is a British artist based in Bath and her gorgeous pet portraits have been on the top of my wish list for some time now.

To see more of Jo's artwork you can visit the Studio Legohead Facebook Page.

Happy Shopping!

Hayley x

P.S incase you're wondering about the slippers - they are for keeping your feet toasty warm after a long, cold and probably wet dog walk.

 

Events: Holyport Christmas Shopping Evening

Our first Christmas event! How exciting.

I'll be having a stall at Holyport School for their Christmas Shopping Evening on Thursday November 21st 2013.

I'll be sharing my stall with my mum who will be selling her handmade jewellery for the first time ever!

Pop down for some festive fun and nibbles. See you there!

Hayley x

 

Christmas Deliveries

CHRISTMAS DELIVERY DATES:

As Christmas is our busiest time of year, and all of our products are handmade to order, please allow 3 - 5 days after placing your order for your items to be handmade and dispatched.

 

UK Delivery:

Last Day You Can Order for Christmas Delivery: Monday 16 December.

Orders placed on this date will be posted on: Friday 20 December before midday.

International Delivery:

Last Day You Can Order for Christmas Delivery: Monday 9 December.Orders placed on this date will be posted on: Friday 13 December before midday.

*All UK orders will be sent via Royal Mail Recorded Delivery and tracking information can be provided on request.

*All International Orders will be sent via Royal Mail International Air Mail.

 

Berkshire Small Business Needs Votes for 4G MakeOver

We need you!

Please vote for us to win a 4G makeover from Vodafone!

I've entered a competition to win a 4G makeover for my business. The photo with the most votes wins. Can you help?

To vote, please click on the link below to be taken to the competition page.

http://promoshq.wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/330267/voteable_entries/68914640#

Please vote for me, and if you are feeling extra generous you could send this link to your friends and family/colleagues/dog walker/postman and ask them to vote too!

Thanks in advance.

Hayley x

Poodles and Pompadours

www.poodlesandpompadours.com

Like Us - www.facebook.com/poodlesandpompadours

Tweet Us - www.twitter.com/PoodlePompadour

 

The New Girl

Whilst I love animals of all shapes and sizes, I have realised that my blog is a bit of a dog Fest. Luckily for you cat lovers, we have a new regular guest blogger, my best friend of 20 years, Cat Clark. She'll be blogging about her life with her two cute kitties, Louie and Marie and their adventures together.

Be nice to her, this is her first ever blog post :)

Hayley xxx

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Black and White Cats

Having worked around YouTube the past couple of years it has come apparent to me that the world is obsessed with cats. The internet is abundant with cat videos and photos whether itbe a cat dressed as a shark sat on a vacuum cleaner or the grumpiest looking cat in the world. As a person with a huge affection for cats I love it.

I often get hilarious snaps of the two of them and have finally decided it is time to share them with you. As I do not have a blog my best friend Hayley said I could use Poodle and Pompadours to showcase these photos. I would therefore I would like to introduce you to Louie and Marie. (L&M for short)

Louie and Marie were born on 12th February 2012. They are the result of their mother’s owner not being spayed. I must add that whilst I am eternally grateful for them I believe it is extremely important to get a female cat spayed when they have access to the outside world.

I was originally looking for one kitten from Battersea Cats and Dogs but then my friend told me about someone he knew with kittens they needed to rehome. Surprisingly they were only two in this litter and so when I went to visit them I couldn't bear to separate them.

Marie didn’t quite get the hang of sleeping in the bed.

I have had cats before but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to live with -two hyper active, arm scratching, leg climbing, 4am meowing, poopy, hungry kittens.

It took a couple of weeks to get used to the madness but I fell in love with them the moment I met them... Maybe slightly longer for my boyfriend.

Twins. Louie is on the left. He as a white pantaloon on his right back leg and I white blotch on his lip. Apart from that it is pretty hard to tell them apart.

Marie and Louie are now a year and a half years and whilst they can’t fit under the kitchen cabinets any more or climb out a window open just a centimetre they still are both endearing and amusing. I am so glad I have the two of them because some of their best times are when they interact with each other. I hope you enjoy reading about them as much as I love spending my life with them.