Solstice marks the longest day of the year. A potent day in the astrological calendar. Our ancestors built monuments, including stone henge, which on the sunrise light up the monument directly. So we know how revered these cycles are.  

The prosperity of our ancient ancestors would have been directly related to the crops receiving the abundance of sunlight at this time of year.  

And as above, so below. All the cycles of nature relate to us humans too… how we prosper during summer months.  

I marked the day by heading to the Lickey Hills in Birmingham for a panoramic view of the sunrise.. which was at 4.45am today. But it was well worth it.

I went with a friend and we took cake and cacao, journals and a deck of cards.  

Scroll below for the ritual we developed at our recent candle making worship at  Blow Water.  

Markets… not just crocheted doilies in church halls…

Markets… Do you love them or hate them?

They are so much hard work, always take longer than you think to get ready for.

Usually at the weekends impacting social life.

Seemingly entirely unpredictable based on takings and footfall…

But I have started to think about markets as an overall marketing activity… sales are a requirement, but meeting sales targets don’t indicate success and not meeting them doesn’t mean failure.

Markets can be an opportunity to talk about your products and your ethos and really deliver the personality behind a brand.

Customers are entirely captive, they have walk to your stand to engage with you and once they’re there, assume they are interested since they made the effort to come over. It’s a great way to recruit future potential customers, even if they don’t buy on the day you can ask them to sign up to a mailing list, follow your socials and direct them to your website. Not to mention being a familiar face at the next market.

Have postcards on hand to give out to people who don’t even want to engage. If it looks good, they may stick it up somewhere or find it in their bag months down the line.

It can feel clunky speaking to people that are unsure if they want to engage, but approach them anyway. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bit awkward. You don’t have to be perfect and neither to they.

Usually, and entirely in my experience, the other stall holders are wonderful. You can make great connections for collaborations, share info about markets and your businesses, and get an idea for how the market was overall… ie, if everyone says it was slow, chances are there’s an environmental reason people aren’t buying. And if everyone had a cracking day, whilst you didn’t, you have information. You can start to look at why you didn’t perform. Bare in mind, some people aren’t always 100% truthful about their takings, so speak to people you trust.

Some days sales at markets are off the scale. Some magical days, people turn up with cash burning a hole in their pocket. And they can’t wait to buy from you. At some markets, a days work can be that of a good week, or even couple weeks. There’s nothing better than coming home after a super successful sales market.

So whilst markets aren’t a pivotal part of my business plan, they are full of wealth for product based small business and I intend to make the most of the Christmas market season ahead.

#business #marketing #sales #experience #brand #smallbusiness #markets #vestaliving #markets

I never really know what to say on international woman’s day.

The posts that speak specifically about a woman and her achievements for me miss the mark and there’s still too much inequality in the world.

The point is that woman are usually judged to a much higher standard than men. We have to be exceptional to be noted, to be praised.

I want to dedicate my international woman’s days post to the woman who have been living the status quo, towing the line and are exhausted. The ones that have suddenly noticed that they’ve done all the things they’re supposed to, worked hard, looked after their kids and the family and the home. They’re noticing maybe for the first time the discrepancies between men’s and woman’s lives and how their time is allocated. What a man has to do to be exceptional, vs a woman.

What it has cost them to be seen as a good woman. Their physical health, their mental health, their ability to build their own wealth. Their ability to live a life that feel truly authentic and genuine.

The woman that have started to notice that this world with its patriarchal structure is starting to feel like a cage.

The woman that is starting to question. Is starting to commune with other woman. Is working to change the programming of a life time.

I see you.

I see your strength.

I see you if you are changing and I see you if you feel you cannot.

I see you beginning to trust your own instincts… I see you on the beginning of this journey.

This day is for ALL the woman.

I have tagged some of my favourite woman in the post.

#vestaliving #vestasustainableliving #internationalwomansday

Seeing all the #marchmeetthemaker has made me want to share my origin story again…

I came to Vesta in many ways… in someways it feels like a life long path…

I grew up in a socialist home, where we talked often about ethics and people… my mum was a community development manager and my dad a family solicitor so conversations were often political and we were encouraged to think about others..

Along side that I worked in retail always, in a shop, as an account manager developing watch and jewellery ranges for higher street brands and as a lingerie, nightwear and swimwear buyer.

I was made redundant from my buying role after I had my first baby, and got a job working for a very local but very unethical retailer, and left after 6 months or so. I had a renewed realisation that good ethics was KEY.

I started my own kids clothing company soon after and specialised in scandi and British organic cotton brands, but with brexit the profit margins weren’t enough to continue..

Fast forward two jobs, another baby some PND I decided to start another business… mainly watching blue planet in 2018 was the catalyst.

I knew I didn’t want to stand by whilst our seas and marine creatures were being so affected by our human impact of disposable plastics…

I wanted Vesta (named after the Roman goddess of hearth and home) to be a beacon of a better more sustainable way of living..

#vestaliving #vestasustainbaleliving #originstory #meetthemaker #marchmeetthemaker

Honouring nature is what we’re all about at Vesta, and the cycles of the moon are integral to nature. Sewing seeds and Harvests always used to take place in line with moon cycles. Certain plants sea creatures and fungus spore specifically in line with the light of the  moon. It is also said that more births happen on full moons!

The moon controls the tides!!! And what are we as 90% water if not entirely at the will of the moon. We’re just mini oceans inside our human containers.

And since so many of you loved my last post on the full moon, here’s your full moon update for tomorrow.

So the moon is full in Scorpio. And whilst during full moons we let go of what doesn’t serve, Scorpio is the sign of death and creation… but death usually comes before and to make way for creation…

This month we have a super rare lunar eclipse in Scorpio too.. eclipse energy can be intense.. as the light comes and goes as the earth blocks the light from the moon so it can feel like a storm or lightening (energetically). Since lunar aspects tend to control our emotions, we can expect to feel this on an emotional level.

So intense Scorpio full moon, intense Scorpio lunar eclipse…

What doesn’t serve needs to be let go of… the phrase that keeps coming to me is we must descend to ascend, hold on to let go. I

It’s like we have to hit those depths, those shadowy places, understand them and then let go let go let go… it might be dramatic too..

The caveat to this is… I always think you need to feel into your own feelings around astrology. This isn’t a foreboding message. Just astrology pieces I’ve picked up along the way, and how I feel the energy right now.

But… just to say, if there is something that is pulling from your grasp, don’t be afraid to release.. you’re creating space for the next phase..

So go easy… look after yourself.. plenty of space and plenty of grace. Naps and lots of water too.

Lunar and eclipse blessings to you all.

Since the coronation isn’t exactly sustainable for the environment or for the economy right now, we’ve got some easy sustainable ideas for your celebrations. 

Leave the plastic bunting in pound land… it will exist forever, until it degrades into micro plastics and heads into the stomachs of marine creatures… instead, decorate with fabric bunting.. organic cotton is best if you’re buying, or paper that will eventually bio degrade. Or if you’re handy, cut up some old sheets and make your own. Simplest sewing project ever. 

Rather than buy plastic trays of shop bought food, support a local caterer or deli. It will have a lower carbon footprint and support a local business.  Avoid buying mountains of food. Food waste in landfill causes methane, a green house gas more than 86 times more toxic than carbon dioxide. Make a big batch of something like chilli or tagine, fresh salads and bread. Anything uneaten can be frozen for meals later in the week. Spend the money you might have spent on donating to the local food bank.

Rent partyware rather than buying loads of plastic disposable stuff. Any thing disposable causes the hugest strain on our carbon footprint. From the processing of trees and forests being felled, to the enormous production required to turn trees into paper and card for plate, the printing and dying of the paper to be turned into a decorate plate and then packaged, probably in plastic and shipped from China, only to be binned after one use, is quite frankly, an outrage and should be banned. 

Decorate your table with foliage and flowers and candles for when the sun goes down. Pick out your favourite vintage glassware.. life’s too short to leave it on the shelf.  Use your best luxury napkins. Make flower crowns and honour your self as a resplendent and powerful king or queen in your own right.