During lockdown, Jeff Norman and his family have been walking around the Suffolk countryside every day – come rain or shine – in an effort to raise money for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. (EACH). They have already raised over £1,200- a big well done to Jeff, Debbie & Charlotte!
About E.A.C.H (East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices).
EACH cares for children and young people with life threatening conditions, providing specialist nursing care, therapies and much more to support the individual needs of the child, young person and their family.
Helping to fundraise in challenging times
The current challenging and uncertain times have hit charities especially hard, and for EACH the financial impact has been overwhelming (losing an estimated £1.8m in revenue this year). Many charity events have been cancelled or postponed, including the London Marathon, further impacting charities across the UK. The ‘2.6 challenge’ was created in a bid to fill a £4 billion charity black hole.
Jeff, who was one of the youngest runners at the second London Marathon in 1982, said:
“I needed a positive focus whilst furloughed. My daughter suggested – rather sarcastically – that we should do a 2.6 Challenge – not realising for one minute that I would take it seriously and rise to the challenge.”
Jeff, his wife Debbie and daughter Charlotte decided to set their own challenge and complete it together as a family. They walked 2.6 miles every day for 26 days to raise money for EACH. By the time they finished on May 23rd, they had racked up an impressive 67.6 miles – which is, fittingly, 2.6 marathons.
How you can help
If you would like to donate, Jeff’s JustGiving page is open until mid August.
NEC Autumn Fair organisers have announced that it will no longer be going ahead on 5th - 8th September due to the Covid crisis.
Their website states: "As a reflection on conversations between the organisers and exhibitors and visitors, Hyve have made the decision that Autumn Fair 2020 will not take place this year. Spring Fair will continue to take place on the 7th-11th February 2021 and Autumn Fair will return to the NEC on the 5th-8th September 2021."
We have exhibited at Autumn Fair for many years and many of you will have expected us to be there this year. We'd like to invite you instead to visit our Showroom, which has been recently refreshed with an even bigger range of Christmas and Everyday displays- and re-organised to facilicate social distancing.
Our handy video below explains safety measures in place at our Showroom & what to expect when you arrive.
If you can't make it to the Showroom, our Angels are happy to visit you to go through our ranges and find the best product ranges to suit you.
If you have any further queries please contact us on +44 (0) 121 351 7457 or email sales@heavensends.com
The current situation has given all of us a renewed love & appreciation for the amazing work that the NHS do.
In a small way to say thank you, we were able to work in partnership with our Far East suppliers to donate 1,000 medical grade facemasks to support our wonderful NHS in their crucial work. It's the least we could do... thank you NHS! x ????????
In these worrying times for all we wanted take a moment to reach out to you to offer you & your business as much support as possible. As a family-run business ourselves we share these concerns with you. We truly believe we are all in this together & will get through this by working together.
In light of this in the coming weeks the Angels will be hard at work delivering to you, not only your orders, but sharing valuable insight, pointers & tips in an attempt to help us all adapt to meet the changing needs of the market… or just crazy ideas on how to entertain your kids at home… every little helps.
We are open for business although processes may take a little longer than normal until the dust settles a little. Our warehouse is dispatching orders daily as normal while strictly following government guidelines on distancing. We did feel it prudent to close the showroom & office for the wellbeing of all for the time being. As the team are working remotely we ask that you send any enquiries through to sales@heavensends.com.
Above all please keep safe & well.
Remember your Angels are here to support you no matter what…
We are striving to run our operations as normal however given the unprecedented COVID-19 (Coronavirus) situation, we wanted to take the time to update you on the actions taken to keep Heaven Sends safe for our staff and visitors.
posted on 16 Jan in Events by The Marketing Angels.
Can you believe that Harrogate Christmas & Gift is over for another year…? And what a show it was! Some of the highlights are below but first…
We’d like to say a HUGE thank you to all of you that popped in to see us. It was great to see so many familiar faces and make lots of new friends. It’s always heart warming to see your positive response to our NEW Christmas collections. It makes it all worthwhile.
Next Stop
With only 3 weeks left to go until Spring Fair at the NEC (2-6 Feb) it’s all Angels at the ready to create another amazing experience for you to attend…. And we have a fabulous NEW location right at the front of Hall 4 so you can’t miss us!
Location in Hall 4, stands: 4E20 - F21. We hope to see you there!
Harrogate Highlights
With a stand spanning 3 additional areas we were able to “Deliver” a much wider selection of our Christmas range than ever before… showcasing our truly amazing Truck Campaign. Even Santa is thinking of retiring Rudolph he was so inspired.
An Opulent take on Christmas
A luxurious take on Christmas was “delivered” with our Opulence themed products - full of rich colours and textures with a hint of gold. If you’re looking for a bold but beautiful Christmas theme, this is it!
Wreaths, wreaths & more wreaths!
The fab wall of wreaths attracted a lot of attention this year, and no wonder- they come in all shapes and sizes, ones with a modern spin as well as traditional classics…. many with matching garlands. They’re so pretty, your customers will want to keep them up all year round!
Glittering Glass
Here at Heaven Sends we’re synonymous for beautiful glass decorations and this year the range was hugely expanded to cater to the widest audience possible. Ever popular, our LED baubles were a massive hit along with the usual host of classic sparkling glass angels. Always a best seller no matter your style.
See you at Spring Fair!
It won’t be long now until we’re back on the road for NEC Spring Fair, bringing all of our exciting NEW Christmas and Everyday collections to NEC Birmingham. We hope to see you there!
If you are short for time during your visit- you can arrange an appointment to see your Rep Angel. Please email sales@heavensends.com to arrange a time to suit.
If you can't make it to the shows, our fabulous Showroom is open year-round. You can see the entire collection away from the hustle and bustle of the shows. Book your visit today!
Don’t miss any of the fun!
Are you following us on Instagram? The best place to stay up-to-date on show news, new collections and other fun goings-on.
@heavensendsuk
It's coming up to the most wonderful time of the year!
We'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas & to thank you so much for your continued custom and support! We look forward to seeing you all at the shows in 2020!
Christmas Delivery:
Last order date: Wednesday 18th December by 11AM
Last Dispatch Date: Friday 20th December AM
Christmas Closure:
5PM Friday 20th December until 9AM Thursday 2nd January
Closed New Years Day
Harrogate Christmas & Gift
12 - 15th January 2020
Stand C21, C26 & C37
NEC Spring Fair
2nd - 6th February 2020
Stand: Hall 4 4E20 = F21
(New Location)
Want to avoid the crowds, why not book a visit to our fabulous Showroom? Only 20 mins away from the NEC Birmingham.
posted on 23 Jul in Our Products by The Marketing Angels.
Did you attend Jan’s Visual Design seminar and workshop at our Retail Festival held this summer? If you did, you no doubt went away feeling inspired and ready to create some brand new displays.
For any of you who may have missed it, here’s seven simple, actionable steps from the expert to help you create amazing visual displays that will grab people’s attention and turn them into customers!
IN STOCK NOW! We have a wide range of Display items to take your merchandising to the next level.
1. Plan & Prepare!
Failing to plan is planning to fail, as they say! Make your life easier by planning ahead and preparing all of the materials you will need in advance. Have you decided on a theme, colours etc.? It may help you to sketch out what you are planning for reference.
Plan your display updates ahead of time, factoring in seasons & important occasions such as Mother’s Day, Valentine’s day, Easter etc. Pop them in your calendar so you & your customers don’t miss out!
2. Change Your Displays Often
Keep your displays fresh and engaging by rotating stock often. This will help keep people’s interest.
These rustic trolleys are the perfect base for creating a versatile (and mobile!) display which can literally be carted around your retail space.
3. Risers are a Must!
What’s a riser you ask? Anything that can be used as a surface to elevate a product, such as a box, a crate etc. Risers give height and variation to displays and are essential elements in the creative process, lifting from one level to several… the result is a visually appealing product presentation without much effort!
Crates & boxes make the perfect risers, especially if they come in a variety of heights like our RAM017 crates. They even have a chalkboard for some interesting typography or maybe you wish to highlight an offer?
It’s amazing how you can transform some old boxes you may already have with a coat of paint, or cover them in wallpaper. They’ll be so appealing in their own right that your customers will want to buy them too!
4. Pyramid, Grouping & Space
This is the core theory of setting up an engaging display, so write this one down!
Working in a pyramid shape is vital to creating an eye-catching & professional display. Start with the largest and tallest items at the back and then build up the display moving outwards and downwards.
In this case, less is definitely more… leave room around the edges for the whole display to breathe. Reserve the main sections of the display for your star products and bestsellers.
Keep it simple until you get the hang of this technique… our pyramid display units are the perfect place to start RAM020.
5. Add Some Height
Work on adding height to your display to attract attention & draw your customer’s eye down to the main focus point no matter where the display is situated.
Our birdcage table top units will do the trick.
6. Finishing Touches
Put your own personal stamp on the display with the finishing touches. These are so easily forgotten but makes the difference between a standard display to a show-stopping one!
Smaller decorative items really bring the look together- the devil is the in detail! Try faux flowers for that added splash of colour to compliment your larger pieces. No watering required!
7. Regular Housekeeping
You’ve put all this effort into creating a beautiful display- don’t let it get untidy! Tired and dusty displays will not help your sales. Follow this checklist to maintain your displays:
• Check your lighting- do any bulbs need to be replaced? Are they dusty?
• Is the display facing the traffic flow- things get picked up and turned, make sure they are put back facing where most of your foot traffic is coming from
• Has anything fallen?
• Are your windows dirty? Give them a good clean so they sparkle. Don’t forget dusty window sills and dead flies…
• Has any of the product faded in the sun? Time to replace them to keep the display looking fresh.
We hope you find these tips useful! If you missed Jan’s workshop this year at the Retail Festival, make sure you keep an eye out for our showroom events! We invite top industry experts to share their knowledge with our lovely customers.
posted on 9 Jul in Events by The Marketing Angels.
This year, we brought Glastonbury to Birmingham! Lucky for us, the sun decided to shine but we donned our wellies anyway in true festival style, ready to welcome our lovely guests to the Retail Festival Showroom Event.
From Sunday 30th June to Wednesday 3rd July, we welcomed many of you to our Head Office for industry talks, interactive workshops, food, music and of course the more serious task of buying from our two fabulous showrooms!
Not to be outdone by previous Showroom events (remember when built a beach in our car park?) we hung up the Festival decorations and sourced a giant pair of welly boots! They provided the perfect photo opportunity and put your newly perfected the social media skills to the test in the highly contested clock competition.
What a line up!
This year we showcased some of the best industry speakers on the main stage. We welcomed Henri Davis (award-winning Independent Retail Consultant) who encouraged and motivated us to take advantage of the opportunities Brexit give us, minimise risks and continue to thrive through turbulent trading conditions. She gave us so many ideas to help independent businesses thrive through more uncertain times, covered which trends to focus on & how to keep your business efficient.
Jan Billings (award-winning Visual Stylist) covered the golden rules of display design and how to create amazing product displays that get customers buying! Jan delivered the theory and then it was time to test your knowledge in interactive workshops with a prize for the best display. We were really impressed at the quality of the designs you put together!
A look around the NEW Home Range
Why have just one fabulous Showroom when you can have TWO? Our NEW Home range has been allocated its very own Showroom where all items are it stock for immediate delivery – The full range of inspiring shabby-chic home décor has everything from chairs, sofas & shelving units… pictures, pots & vases… all of which co-ordinate perfectly.
A GREAT BIG Thank you!
And of course the event wouldn’t have been the great success it was without you… our guests… We would like to thank you all for attending spending a little time with the industry speakers and your angels.
Couldn’t make it this time?
We’re sorry we missed you- but don’t worry, you can visit our fabulous showroom all year round. If your curious- you can take a virtual tour here.
We won’t be at the Harrogate Home & Gift show this July, our next trade show stop will be Autumn Fair at the NEC (Sunday 1st – Wednesday 4th September 2019). Find us in Hall 20, Stand B40-C41.
We hope to see you there!
Connect with the Speakers
Henri is an independent retail advisor to businesses in the cards, gifts, stationery and heritage industries, and combines 35 years of retail experience with her knowledge of trends and consumer motivation to analyse markets and identify new opportunities.
Jan is an award winning Visual Stylist. After studying Retail Display Design she started in work designing and building props for window displays for Debenhams, Selfridges and Harrods. Connect with Jan.
