Today, I would like to introduce you all to Helen Wilde, founder and owner of From the Wilde, a business dedicated in all things crafty from wedding invites, jewellery and the more unusual arty designs, each  all handmade by a selection of artists from across the UK and places across the world. From the Wilde offers its services nationwide and more recently, internationally.  

Having met Helen on Twitter earlier this year, it became apparent that we had more than just Twitter and our businesses in common.  I recall mentioning walking my two rather cheeky beagles, Monty and Alfie and low and behold, Helen tells me that she too has a beagle called “Bunty”.  From our tweeting I know that Helen would like another beagle to accompany Bunty and I wish her every luck in finding a perfect companion for Bunty (if she hasn’t already found one).  It’s not only beagles we share a passion for but our other four legged friend – the horse!  I don’t have one as yet but I’m working exceptionally hard to hopefully get one very soon and yes that maybe on Helen’s list too.

Anyway, here is a little bit of information about From the Wilde:-

What is your business called?

From the Wilde

How long have you been doing this?

From the Wilde was launched back in July 2010

What aspired you to start your business?

My love for quality and traditionally made British art, craft and design.

What sort of things can a bride to be order from you for her wedding?

We are currently working on a brand new wedding category, included are invitations, jewellery, gifts, cards and favours, two of our favourite collections are jewellery by Poppy Sparkles and favours by Edge Inspired. We will happily work to commissions, this we really enjoy!

What aspect of your business gives you the most satisfaction?

Providing and sourcing beautiful items and considered customer service.

Do you offer a gift list option for the bride and groom, if so how does this work? If not, what alternatives could you offer?

We like to treat all our customers differently, anything is possible! We love to speak to you and find out exactly what you have in mind, if we can tailor something especially for you… we will!

What are your future plans for the business?

To carry on sourcing beautifully handmade items, we’ve recently broadened our horizons and now stock some stunning collections by artists based in Canada, Australia and France to name a few!

If you visit From the Wilde’s website now, you will see a beautiful collection of Christmas decorations and gifts. If you’re getting married, do check out the dedicated wedding section!

To see what From the Wilde has to offer, why not visit their website:  http://www.fromthewilde.com/shop/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/From-the-Wilde/368370647859

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/fromthewilde

Today, I feature the fabulously talented Claire Ogden, owner and accessory designer of Claire Ogden Designs. I met Claire through the wonderful world of Twitter and was extremely grateful when she featured us on her lovely website. I too wanted to return the favour so here she is, the wonderful Claire Ogden:-

What is your business called?

Claire Ogden Designs - I am Claire Ogden, a Jewellery Designer I live in Saddleworth in Yorkshire, a gorgeous part of the world, very picturesque, and from my little workshop I design and create handmade, individual, one of a kind jewellery, wedding tiaras and hair accessories. I am a mum of two little boys, a wife to a wonderful husband and work full time as a Secretary.

How long have you been doing this?

Two years now, it has been very hard work too, you have to do so much multitasking!

What aspired you to start your business?

I cannot sit still; I have far too much energy that simply needed channelling. I have tried different crafts before but never felt truly satisfied, I have found I am passionate about making jewellery and my ideas run riot, I am bursting with enthusiasm and I am so proud of what I have achieved, what I create and my testimonials, I have made so many people happy and feel special, that is what it is all about.....I started my company because I was advised to sell my pieces from a supplier, those were some of the wisest words I have heard and nearly two years on I am very happy about where I am and what I do, yes I do have long term plans but working full time and being a mum and wife has to fit in somewhere too so I have to pace myself rather than become overwhelmed which can result in resenting what I do.

What aspect of your business gives you the most satisfaction?

The satisfaction I feel when my idea is successful, I LOVE my blog and have met so many wonderful people through being a kind hearted person (which I am) I have a LOT going on but I am keeping tight lipped until everything has run smoothly so I can shout out about how it all worked and what a good idea I had. I love making jewellery, my new ranges are really hot at the moment and the feedback is really good, it would be lovely to be sort after!

The end result, the feeling of receiving the testimonials and pictures from my clients. Being good enough to receive lots of repeat business. Knowing I offer a good service and stunning pieces.

A typical day in the life of Claire Ogden Designs......

My weekdays and weekends are very different, during the week I go to work throughout the day, it is up early, help sort the boys, shower, dress and leave the house after lots of kisses and cuddles to get the bus at 8.00am. My wonderful husband takes the boys to school club (prior to school) and continues on to work. The bus stop is across the road (phew) and I catch the bus and spent the hour journey on my phone catching up with twitter, emails and web based info and try to switch off for 15 mins by reading a book (I am an AVID reader!!!) I arrive in Manchester City Centre and do any errands that need running before work and begin my job at 9.30. I work as a Secretary in an Architects Practice, my job is very varied and I have a lot to do, I break for lunch and catch up with my emails, my phones really is my life support or schedule a blog post or just switch off and read. I officially finish work at 5.00pm, get the bus home and fill my hour journey reading (I need to switch off on the way home and my battery on my phone is usually dead around tea time!) have I mentioned I LOVE books???? I read one a week...or thereabouts...I am a walking library....I think a lot of my inspiration comes from books, stories, characters...anyway I REALLY adore books! Get home (usually last off the bus, I live in the hills, high up in the moors!! Not quite actually but I do live on the top of a big hill) my hubbie has tea on the go when I get in and we have a big catch up of the day (I speak to Stephen about 100 times during the day even just to say hello, he is my ultimate support and I couldn’t begin to do a quarter of what I do if he didn’t help out, oh and we would all starve too!) All four of us sit around the table to eat tea (we do for every meal and always have) we usually serve in the middle and just dig in; we talk about everything we have done during the day. After tea I might try and catch up with some jobs (this usually doesn’t happen until the weekend) and sit down in my little workshop to schedule blog posts or features, I try to catch up with my social networking and send out emails I have promised (massive to do list!) If I am lucky I schedule my tweets in for the following day and chat on twitter. Some evenings I design and create other evenings I catch up online.....I do a lot of researching and resourcing online and I MEAN A LOT, this can take hours and hours and nothing else gets done no matter how hard I try.

The boys go to bed about 08.00pm and I try to read for half an hour before I go to sleep.....did I tell you I am an AVID reader.....ha ha ha. The top and bottom of it is I probably try to do too much, I work to deadlines at work and have a lot on my shoulders so sometimes I come home so tired I do nothing but sit with my family, we aim to have movie night at some point, usually on a Saturday, family time is important too.

What are your future plans?

To get recognised for my work, create a buzz about my pieces and up and coming designs.

Some fabulous photo’s of Claire’s work that she has kindly allowed me to use on my blog .

Some stunning examples of just some of the designs created by Claire. For more information about Claire and her stunning collection of accessories, please visit

http://www.claireogdendesigns.com/ or connect with her on twitter www.twitter.com/@cogdendesigns

Thank you Claire and also thanks to those that read my blog!

Tracey - Midway Media xx

Today I’m really excited to introduce you to Sarah Marks owner and designer of Hemisphere Handcrafted Jewellery aka Tiny Gems, based in the Wirral, Cheshire.  I met Sarah in the delightful world of Twitter and we’ve been great twitter buds for almost a year ever since, so featuring her wonderful business today, is a real privilege!  Sarah a such a nice person, I can’t actually wait to meet her in person!

We asked Sarah a few short questions to find out a bit more about how Tiny Gems was born.

What is your business called?

My business is called Hemisphere Handcrafted Jewellery and my website is called Tiny-Gems but I tend to go with Tiny-Gems as it’s less of a mouthful, although I do answer to most things.

How did you come up with the idea of the fabulous Heirloom bouquet?

I saw a blog by Junk Shop Bride about Bouquets and thought I’d give it a go. The first bouquet (Yvonne) took several weeks to make and there were lots of temper tantrums and throwing things across the room in disgust, but I persevered and am so glad I did. They have proved to be a very popular addition to my site and lots of people have used them in photo shoots. Everyone who sees them gives me lots of compliments and everyone loves compliments.

How long have you been doing this?

I’ve been making jewellery and crafting in general for a long, long time. However I have had my business for just over a year now since June 2010. It has been very exciting and a huge learning curve. Everyday I learn something new and find things that I should be doing, working for my self is a whole load of to do lists.

What aspired you to start your business?

I was facing redundancy and had to decide did I want to look for another job or should I take the leap and have a go at doing something I love and working for myself. There has never been a moment that I have regretted my decision. It is by far the best decision I ever made.

What aspect of your business gives you the most satisfaction?

That would have to be working with brides, getting all the inside information on their plans for their big day and designing jewellery, tiaras and bouquets to fit in perfectly with their theme. There is nothing like the feeling of pride and satisfaction when they tell me that what I have designed and made for them is perfect and exactly what they wanted. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

What  advice would you offer to brides to be,  looking for their wedding accessories?

The main advice I would give is probably an obvious one but it is very true. Before you start thinking about what accessories you want for your wedding day you need to find your dream dress first. It is a lot easier for your accessories designer to picture the look you are aiming for when they can see what your dress is like rather than you trying to find a dress that you love that goes with your accessories. Most importantly though is that you are true to yourself your wedding day isn’t the day to go for a completely different look, you want to feel comfortable and yourself on the day not dressed up as someone else.

What are your future plans?

Realistic plans or crazy dreams? Crazy dream would be to have a shop but I don’t think that will happen at the moment as I can’t see when I would find the time for it. So realistic plans, I would love to get my jewellery, tiaras and Heirloom Bouquet’s in more retail outlets.  So if anyone reading this is interested please get in touch with me and we’ll discuss strategies and wholesale pricing and other exciting things lol. I see the next 18 months being very exciting for me and can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Thank you so much Sarah for sharing and you make such wonderful creations and sharing some very practical advice for brides to be when searching for their jewellery accessories. I wish you every success in growing and developing your business further!

To see more of Sarah’s designs, please visit her website:-

To contact Sarah:-

Email – Sarah@tiny-gems.co.uk

To Follow Sarah:-

Twitter – www.twitter.com/hhjtinygems

Facebook – www.facebook.com/tinygems

Blog created by Tracey of Midway Media, for our main website, click here.

Today, I’m really excited to present the works and short interview with Caroline Hill, owner and stationery designer of  Caroline Hill Wedding Stationery based in Essex. Caroline’s background and creative flair actually stems from her work within the fashion industry, that she worked in for a number of years before setting up her own business.  Now I don’t know about you, but when I was planning my wedding, stationery was just a minefield, I’m not arty so creating my own was simply not an option!  With so many designs and themes to choose from plus finding something that was in my budget was extremely difficult and more so than finding and choosing my wedding dress!

All the things I found that I really liked were so expensive, with my lovely fiancé, asking if I could find an alternative at a more affordable price.  I remember him saying “they’re just invites….” That may be so but to all brides to be, you want your invites to stand out and look amazing don’t you without paying the earth when you’re limited to the amount you have available to spend on stationery?

Caroline Hill Wedding Stationery designs fantastic bespoke stationery all available at a good price.   Browsing through Caroline’s marvellous designs, the Mayfair collection is one of my favourites but the vintage and Deco collection are just as fabulous and they’re just three examples of her fantastic designs.  Not only does Caroline create and design invites, her work also extends to Order of Services, Table Plans, Place Cards, Save the Date and RSVP Cards, to name but a few.

A few examples of her wonderful designs her featured below courtesy of Caroline Hill Wedding Stationery.

Chantilly 1 Design

Chantilly 2 design

Here’s more about Caroline and her business.

What is your business called?

Caroline Hill Wedding Stationery

How long have you been doing this?

I started the business in 2006

What aspired you to start your business?

Whilst planning and researching my own wedding, I found sourcing the stationery very difficult.  I couldn’t find any inspirational designs, therefore I used my own fashion and design background to venture into the wedding stationery field.

What aspect of your business gives you the most satisfaction?

Seeing my customers delighted with the finished stationery, especially when I have worked closely with them to produce bespoke colours and designs to make their stationery unique.

What are your future plans?

I am working on new designs to expand my collections and customer base.

Just aren’t they marvellous and these images are just a very small example of Caroline’s work.  There are lots more designs that can be viewed on Caroline’s website at http://www.hillweddingstationery.co.uk/#!

Contact details for Caroline are:

Tel: 01268 774949
info@hillweddingstationery.co.uk

Using Twitter has really helped improve my business contacts and Joyce, proprietor  of Brides and Beauty is one of my new found contacts.  What I can tell you about Joyce,  is that she is fun loving, hard-working and a great twitter friend, it’s a real privilege not only to know her in the social media world of Twitter and Facebook but to also feature her business on the Midway Media blog. 

Brides and Beauty is based down in Reading, Berkshire.  Brides and Beauty also cover Oxfordshire, North Hampshire and Surrey at an additional cost to cover expenses.   Brides and Beauty essentially offers a customised mobile and home salon service of beauty treatments, massage and bridal hair and make up.  This is great as it means that  Brides and Beauty go to their clients so her clients don’t have to leave their home to be made over or have a beauty treatment.  Brides and Beauty do all the hard work while the client simply gets to relax!

Another interesting thing about Brides and Beauty is that earlier this year Joyce’s business was nominated in the Wedding Ideas Magazine Supplier Awards 2011 which I know was very well deserved.  Examples of Joyce’s work is demonstrated by the lovely photos she has kindly let me use for this feature.

Here are just a few questions I asked Joyce on how Brides and Beauty came about and what she enjoyed most about her job.

What is your company name?

Brides and Beauty

What inspired you to start your business?

I wanted to offer hair, make up and beauty services to all skin tones using quality brands. I was finding that there wasn’t anyone that offered the whole service to brides and non brides.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love making people look good and feel good too. It’s about enhancing the person’s look and not making them be someone else. I love being the person that makes sure the bride looks her best for her big day. I also love doing the make up shopping I find the most amazing things to add to my kit every week.

What has been the best moment for you and your business?

The best moment for me was when I got an email saying that I was shortlisted in the wedding ideas awards 2011. I was so stunned that I sat gazing at the computer for a while before I could take it all in. Then I jumped up and down screaming!!

What are your plans for the future?

I’m working on lots of new projects for the Autumn Winter season. They are pampering sessions with a twist. That’s all I can say for now.

Joyce, your future projects sound very exciting and I wish you every success but you must keep us posted on them!

A very rewarding job to have, knowing that you make lots of ladies happy with themselves and the way they look! Also you help them to relax and unwind after stressful days/weeks particularly for those that lead extremely busy work and lifestyle and those planning one of biggest events of their life – their wedding day!

If you would like more information on the services offered by Brides and Beauty,  their contact details are:-

Brides and Beauty - www.bridesandbeauty.co.uk

Tel: 07788 993 965

Twitter: @BridesandBeauty

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BridesandBeauty

Dear Bride or Groom to be, may I introduce myself?

My Name is Jan Dering; I’m a party and wedding planner with over 20 years in the business. I’ve helped lots of couples get the dream wedding they wanted, with my company Absolute parties. These where mainly Top end weddings, but I wanted to help brides & grooms plan the wedding of their dreams on whatever budget they have.  Wherever you wish to hold your dream wedding, the world as they say is your oyster.  That is the idea behind my new website Aislehelp.  Aislehelp has a wealth of top wedding tips from around the world for you wedding day.

How do we do this?

At Aislehelp we interview the top wedding professionals from around the world who are the top in their chosen wedding related profession. We then ask them to give you their top tips for creating the wedding of your dreams.  Our newest interview is with the Award winning Top L.A. wedding photographer, Trina of PS Photography and Videography. Now it doesn’t matter if you are not getting married in L.A. the great advice she gives is universal and is just as applicable if you are getting married in Brighton instead of L.A.

What about advice on getting married in the UK?

Aislehelp  also have links and interviews with wedding suppliers closer to home, with some stunning photographs so that you can see clearly that wedding suppliers goods, before you click to their wedding website. Our Hottest on-trend interview is with Sarah from Tiny Gems, whose work has just appeared in the OK magazine’s Royal Wedding souvenir edition. She talks to us about her simply stunning Heirloom wedding Bouquets and Jewellery.  We also have a range of top wedding tips from the UK’s leading wedding planners who offer great advice in the planning of your dream wedding.

Are you thinking of getting married in Italy or somewhere else abroad?

At Aislehelp we have that covered to with pages dedicated to weddings in Italy and destination wedding advice too. All the information comes as you would expect from Aislehelp, the top wedding professionals at the destination.

What about wedding problems?

Need a wedding woe or a bridal blunder sorting out? I’ve come across many a wedding woe in my time in the industry, and I’ve always been able to sort them out. So just email your wedding woes to askJanexpert@gmail.com.  I will happily help you sort them out. In helping you I can help others in a similar position. I also have a team of leading wedding industry experts on tap to answer your questions.  Aislehelps team of wedding industry experts have just about seen and heard it all before.

Why don’t you come and see for yourself what Aislehelp can offer you?

http://aislehelp.cloudcitysites.net

Best Regards
Jan Dering
Aislehelp

Who am I? Good question!  I haven’t a clue sometimes...What hat am I wearing?

I am a mum to four (my two and step-mum to my husband’s two). Three have flown the nest and one is still under my wing.  I have struggled for years with being a full time working mum, juggling my professional life with my home life responsibilities. I have been exhausted and stressed trying to do what I saw millions of others doing, and quite successfully too! I fell in the trap of thinking I had to be successful to be happy – when really all I had to do was relax and be happy to be successful!

My husband had designed and wrote me a website a couple of years ago as a hobby to keep me amused whilst he worked 18 hours a day in the other corner of the living room. It didn’t work. I still nagged until I realised it meant I could watch EastEnders in peace!!

When redundancy was offered to me earlier this year,  I saw it as an ideal opportunity to turn this website from being just a hobby into a business! Several re-writes later.... Da Daaaa!

Naïvely I thought everyone would flock to sign up to my website, I have never worked 18 hour days before, and now I can see why my husband used to work so many hours. WithBellsOn has made me work harder than I ever have. It has been a challenge getting the site known and get myself accepted in the initially scary online wedding industry.  I have become an expert on social media (I think so, and that is all that counts!) I have had crash courses on business marketing and SEO...Keywords keywords keywords! It all sounds like a nightmare, but there is not a better feeling in the world than when your hard work starts to pay off and you open the laptop in the morning and someone has signed up overnight. 

Its great having the stress surrounding child sickness and school holidays taken away from you too. My family commitments are being met more...albeit cooking dinner took a back seat for a while.  But when the local takeaways called us by name at the sound of our voices on the phone, I knew it was time to pull my finger out in that department!

I love working on my website. It appeals to my organisational streak and my willingness to help others. I have met, spoken, Facebooked and Tweeted lots of very interesting and knowledgeable people who have helped make my website into what it is today (lots of special ‘big ups’ to my husband Scott from Global Prospect)

If you have plans to get married, your wedding day will be for you to have fun, to seal your love for each other and announce to the world you have found 'the one'.  Your day should be how YOU want it. That could be a simple intimate day with a few close friends or a huge extravagant wedding... With Bells On!  Throughout WithBellsOn you'll find plenty of wedding related information, wedding tips, wedding ideas and helpful wedding advice to assist you on your journey to the altar. I also have a secret Facebook group for Brides-to-be that no one can search and no suppliers can access to be able to bombard with their details. Please contact me and request to be added if you would like to chat with other brides-to-be.

If you are in the wedding industry here are the benefits for signing up to the WithBellsOn Wedding Directory  your listing will have many features to it.  Once live you will be announced to our followers in Twitter and Facebook.  You will also have the opportunity to participate in our online wedding fair and be able to submit to our wedding offers page.

How to contact me:
http://weddingwebsitewithbellson.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/WithBellsOnCOUK
http://www.facebook.com/WithBellsOn.co.uk  PAGE
http://www.linkedin.com/in/traceybartlett

Or if you fancy a natter about life in general
http://www.facebook.com/WithBellsOn  MY PROFILE