We’d like to say a big thank you everyone who came to see us at ‘BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2009’ at the NEC in June. It was a great day out for us and hopefully for you too.

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Have a look at some photos of the event at the NEC -

On the 27th October last year we told you of 13 brave Plumbs employees who decided to take a coast 2 coast cycle-ride for charity: Plumbs Charity Cycle-ride.

Robert Page tells us of how they got on:

Well 13 of us set off from Whitehaven on the Wednesday morning and we all rode into Sunderland together on the Friday afternoon.

We had great weather for almost all of the trip with just an hours rain on the Thursday afternoon and again about an hours rain as we all cycled into Sunderland on Friday.

The trip was a great success, and the support crew were fantastic in providing the weary riders with Bacon buttys hot tea and coffee at the morning stop, with pasta and tomato sauce served up for lunch again with lots of hot tea and coffee.

The first day was a very nice ride from Whitehaven (after dipping our wheels in the Irish Sea) onto Keswick and then Graystoke for the first nights stop. Lots of disused railway lines and quiet country roads that were a pleasure to ride along. We had some great trail riding down from the highest point of the day the Whinlatter Pass into Keswick. The sleeping arrangements on Wednesday night were interesting, we stayed in a bunk house in Greaystoke with 8 in one room (in bunk beds) 5 in another (again in bunk beds) and 2 sharing a nice double bed….. but we cant say who !

Needless to say we were up early for day 2.

Day two brought about some big hills with a long and hard ride up Hartside fell and other hills I don’t even want to remember, some of the downhill bits were very fast and we had one or two burnt out brakes by the end of the day. We also reached the highest point of the ride on day 2 Black Hill at 609 mts, crossing the border from Cumbria into Northumberland. The over night stop was in Allenheads at the Allenheads Inn, the beer was good…… very very good!

Day three was the final slog…48 downhill miles all the way to the finish…. Not!

We set off straight up another long hill into some very picturesque country side, disused pits and tumbledown farms but it was like riding along the top of the world and was really very nice. A long climb brought about another long decent which, was a good breather. Then the last proper hill of the ride out of Rockhope. Now has anyone ever skied down the black slope ‘Face de Bellevarde’ in Val d’Isère, I was once asked do we ski down it or jump off it!… Well it was like riding a bike up it…but without the snow!

We once again stopped at the top for our bacon sarni and a brew. Then we were on the Waskerly way another old railway line that runs down into Consett a really good long down hill section, then on into Stanley followed by Beamish for our lunch of pasta and you guessed it tomato sauce!

So the last section was now upon us a nice steady 15 miles down into Sunderland, we all rode the last section together, into Sunderland as one big group. Onto the Quayside and along the prom, before all riding down the beach and into the sea to dip our wheels in the North Sea.

136 miles of great fun and smiles from all involved, well it should of been 136 miles ! some of us went a little wrong on day 3 and did an additional 6 miles or so, just before the mega hill out of Rockhope… oops. Then we decided as we were staying in Newcastle not Sunderland to ride to the hotel on the quayside in Newcastle…. hmmm this was a little longer than it looked on the map…. with a ferry boat crossing and many miles of cycle path still to go, so all in some of us will of cycled approx 70 miles on the last day, but it was worth it.

The organisation was great and everything just dropped into place, big thanks must go to Angela Frank who sorted out our accommodation along the route, Paul and Rob the 2 chefs in a van, to Plumbs for sponsoring our expenses for the trip and all the guys who took part in this event, it really did go like clockwork and we all had a great time whilst raising some cash for a great cause.

Thanks once again to every one who has sponsored us either on line or one of the many sheets knocking around work, when we have the total amount I will let you all know just how much cash we have raised!

Get a statement piece of furniture. Look in auctions, or antique shops for big, glass-fronted cupboards. They aren’t popular so are reasonably priced – and they’re perfect to paint. Go for a pretty French look.

It is being report that Repair Shops & Re-upholsterers are seeing an uplift in profits even though the economy and other businesses are taking a battering. This is understandable with people wanting to repair items rather than buying new but with Re-upholstering furniture being possibly more expensive than buying new, it’s a little more confusing.

This is possibly down to people becoming more aware of the quality of cheap furniture and to make new what they already own is far more beneficial.

“Make do and mend” a saying making a comeback from the war era, is definitely more prevalent now than in previous years!

Read the full article here….

We would like to welcome Helen Silver as out newest Guest Author, who will be contributing to our Article directory. Helen is a Property Stylist based in Bath, her business “The Property Styling Company“, has had great success stemming from Helen’s innovative style and award winning reputation.

Being passionate about beautiful interior design is reflected in the finishing touches of Helen’s portfolio of client properties from all over the UK.

Helen has written an article about how to feel at home after moving house with some great tips and advice, please read it here:

Got the New House Blues? Your new place doesn’t quite feel like “home”?

Buy fresh flowers. These can be expensive, so display them carefully. Put one stem each in several bottles or vases and place them in a line. Or buy pretty junk-china cups or teapots and plant them up with bulbs.

Paint a wall. Choose one that is more dominant – behind the bed, say – and paint it a contrasting colour. A cheap, quick way to modernise a room.

When Bolton-based furniture maker received an order for a 40ft-long Chesterfield sofa, staff did not take the challenge lying down.

A team of six at Saxon Leather Upholstery worked flat out for four days at the company’s factory in Manchester Road to complete the 25-seater.

Weighing around 385lbs (175kg), It required 1,000sq ft of chocolate brown leather to cover its beech frame, and had to be shipped to its final destination, a hotel in Holland, in three parts.

Saxon sales boss Matthew Deighton said: “A normal sofa weighs around 20kg, so this was a monster of a piece.

“It was certainly the biggest item of furniture we have supplied in the company’s 27-year history, but we were up for the challenge. The frame was built locally and we provided the foam, upholstery and suspension.”

Saxon, which has 60 staff and turns over £5m, was established by Robert Jolly in 1982. Exports are surging amid the pound’s weakness against other currencies.

Referrence: Manchester Evening News

We hear stories all the time from our consultants about what can be found down the back and sides of our customers furniture, everything from money to false teeth!

Here are just a few:

Having sold a customer a set of Decra covers for her Parker Knoll recliner and matching chair and sofa, I began measuring the Recliner. On completing most of the measurements, I started checking out the tucks. No gap between the arm and the seat, but £1.90 in change (passed back to the surprised customer). Turning the chair around to take a photo I noticed a lump in the fabric flap, I pushed it in thinking it was where the scatter had been sitting against it, only to find it pushed back out and was very solid. Time for another dig and poke, watch off and down the back of the seat we go to find a pink hot water bottle (cold of course). “Ho!” the lady said, “I thought the grand kids had taken that.”

About 15 years ago, and in an upstairs flat of all places, I found a tortoise in the customer’s sofa bed!!! Needless to say the customer was thrilled to bits as she had noticed that the tortoise had not gone to sleep in the box in the airing cupboard for its winter hibernation and that it had escaped but had no idea it had taken refuge in the sofabed.

Last summer I visited a top floor flat in a nice new block at the request of a local estate agent on behalf of the landlord. I met with a young man who was the current tennant. Across the whole width of the lounge was a very expensive looking glass tank for some kind of lizard I presumed. I wasn’t too phased by this as lots of people keep them as pets and I don’t really mind them. Oh no it’s not for a lizard said the nice young man it’s for my amethystine python. My brains, vocal chords and legs all stopped working simultaneously as I then realised the tank was empty. The tennant obviously noticed I had gone a whiter shade of pale and said “oh she’s out at the moment, do you want me to put her back in”. Paralysed with fear all I could was nod my head frantically. Little did I know an 11ft snake was basking behind the settee by the radiator - apparently her favourite place. He quickly put her back in the vivarium as if it were nothing.

Why not let us know what you’ve found?

Come and see us and our Loose Covers & Reupholstery products at the BBC Summer Good Food Show and BBC Gardeners’ World Live – the Summer Hotspot for 2009 at The NEC, Birmingham.

We will be on the Stand SV128 - Hall 6 - in the Gardeners’ World Live section.

From Wednesday 10th to Sunday 14th June, The NEC in Birmingham will play host to two of the most eagerly awaited Shows of the summer celebrating two of our favourite pastimes for the long summer days – gardening and cooking for friends!

BBC Gardeners’ World Live will return with a fantastic line up of your favourite celebrity gardeners and experts to help you tackle your thorny gardening problems and provide ideas and inspiration for creating the perfect summer backdrop in your own back garden. New at the 2009 Show will be the live garden and allotment where the experts will show you what to do, and they’ll show you how to do it too!

We hope to see you there…