I hadn't disappeared - back with some great offers

Phew! Where have I been? Working. that's where. There has been no time to be bloging or filming for YouTube, hardly time to see the grandbabies, although we did go camping with them last weekend. I have been asked to write for a magazine, we have had lots of national press coverage, taken a lease on The Old Smithy to start our courses and jam making and dealt with more orders in the last month than in four months this time last year.

We have lots of new products on the website that I haven't had time to tell you about - especially the bumper packs of labels - great value - same great quality!

We also have new packs of the popular Firenze bottles - the average purchase ofd these bottles is in 6's so we have had a box produced for this quantity, packed them, AND reduced the price - can't be bad - check them out here . Will be great for Sloe Gin.

May and Katie will be starting on the Plum Jam later this week, so we'll get the recipe up on the website over the weekend, hopefully. Normal service is resumed!

Elderflowers

Fab newsletter here http://jjsurl.com/?22 all about the elegant, exciting, extrovert, economic, ebullient elderflower. Recipes, ideas, offers, check it out.

Jam Jar Tongs for Preserving

Just a quickie - we have finally got the jam jar tongs in for lifting jars from a sterilisation water bath - I know many of you have been trying to find them so they are just on the website now . We also have several other sizes for preserving jar replacement seals, there are plenty of pictures, plus line drawings with the specific sizes shown clearly - you just need to click onto the thumbnails.

We still have great deals on boxed jars - the 8oz hex have joined in now! Stock up before the season gets underway and you won't have to think twice about making an extra batch or two.

FreeTree and The Guild of Jam and Preserve Makers

At Jam Jar Shop we are excited to bring you a brilliant new scheme - FreeTree! Take a look at the page on the website and get applying. We love to think that lots of new fruit trees and bushes will be planted for the future and there will be lots of lovely fruit for jams and chutneys, of course. Whether you are an allotment association, a playschool or school, a care home or just an individual you can apply to receive a fruit tree of your choice - absolutely FREE. Write us a letter, send us an email, a picture of where the tree will be going - tell us why you need it. We will award a tree every week but the trees will be dispatched at the appropriate time for planting, not actually every week. Let's hear from you.

The other project we would like to bring to your attention is The Guild of Jam and Preserve Makers. Newly launched, you can email for a membership pack and join in with the jam making community. From individual home producers through artisans to the industry, membership is open to all. Membership also incorporates SwapCrop a community based scheme to match folks that have spare fruit or vegetable crops with those willing - or even desperate - to make them into jams and preserves, to be shared with the cropper of course! Make new friends, learn new skills, make the most of nature's harvest. Visit http://www.jamguild.com/ for all information. We will be adding lots of items over the next few weeks so visit often.

Italian Bottles

We have lots of lovely new Italian bottles in stock - already for the Elderflower season which will be here before we know it! The bottles are reasonably priced, stylish and in a variety of sizes with some beautiful shapes. There are two sizes of oil bottle in both green glass and clear and they come with a choice of cap - gold or black with an intergral plastic pourer. The sweetest little bottle with a swing top stopper is just 40ml and ideal to use as a wedding favour. Take a look - we'll be having some lovely new elderflower labels as well shortly.

Our Country Living Award

Here's the proof! We had such a good time at the show - all of the people from the event organisers and from Country Living Magazine made it as good as it can be. It's always hard work, you always end up exhausted but if the hassle is minimised it makes all the difference. Things like being able to have a freshly cooked breakfast with wholesome ingredients before you start really made a difference. Hats off to all of the cheerful staff at The Good Eating Company in the venue. Even the taxi drivers were cheerful!

We are so pleased to have won this award on our first visit and it really gives our staff a boost who worked especially hard to keep everything going back at base while some of us were away. We've shared the champagne with them this morning so if something is missing from your order today you'll know why.

It was lovely to meet lots of our customers face to face and we have plenty of feedback for next year, and for the things you are looking for, so we'll get to work on that.

We have a couple of great schemes coming up which we'll do separate entries on once we've caught up with the post and the messages.

Great News!!!!

We have been awarded the Best New Product for our stand at The Country Living Fair at the Design Centre, Islington and we are sooooooooo pleased! Totally unexpected - the show is on until Sunday and is a great day out - why not come along and see us? Now, where are those champagne glasses?

Thank you Country Living