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Tatton Park is a beautiful park right on our doorstep and it is especially beautiful in winter time. This year there is a special lantern parade where you get to visit Santa too! And you get to meet Tatton’s two adorable reindeer Prancer and Dancer. Wow!
Making a lantern is really easy. Tatton Park have a free drop-in session on Sunday 4th December between 12pm and 4pm. The activity takes place in the downstairs barn room in the stableyard (opposite the carousel).The workshop is free but park entry charge of £5 per car applies.
Donate your Toys to Charity
They need You to bring any unwanted Children’s toys to donate to a special Children’s charity.
Tatton Park is pleased to support Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital with their lantern parade.
If you would like to donate a toy that you no longer play with, the charity is happy to accept used toys that are in excellent condition and comply with the hospital infection control procedures. Please do not wrap presents.
These mean that unfortunately they cannot accept:
•Old or used soft toys or dolls
•Used toys or products which have fabric
•Broken toys or products
•Items that don’t have the European safety mark 
•Products suitable for persons aged over 18 years
•Videos or video players
Please note – any toys that do not comply with the hospital’s rules will be donated to the local Children’s Adventure Farm Trust.
Special Lantern Parade
You can also post your Christmas list to Santa before it is too late! Festive music from local band and choir will help to entertain. Restaurants and shops are open too.
Time = 9th of December
Venue = Tatton Park
For more information go to http://www.tattonpark.org.uk
Category : Events
Location – Stalls in front of the Town Hall.
Until 31st of December
The Christmas Market is a great festive treat, there are many independent traders from ceramics; fashion, quality food, drink and warming indulgences such as mulled wine and hot chestnuts. Local talent perform from all around the area, including a jingle bell or two singalong.
‘New for this year, towering above the Town Hall Square is a Christmas Toboggan ride and Santa’s Sleigh a nostalgic reminder of fun fairs of old with all the thrills for the young and the young at heart. The 70-ft high fairground slide has a lighthouse design tracing the attraction back to 1953 where it was the centre piece of the Queen’s coronation party in Manchester and through the late 1950s when it stood at Blackpool. In the 1960s it was at Skegness each summer and toured fairgrounds the rest of the year and in the 1970s opened at large street fairs in the north of England.’ www.visitchester.com
Santa’s grotto will be there in the Town Hall Square. Visit Santa in his wonderful Grotto. Tickets cost £4.50
See you there!
Category : Events
For those of you feeling lackluster about the festive season this year, I am here to help you create the perfect combination of style, decadence and warmth, ready for the season ahead. No home is complete without a little indulgence and every detail is important, from the lighting of the candle to the midnight fire. Furniture, fabrics and accessories with a brush of gold or silver, are ideal for creating a low key but effective look this season.
Inspirational surroundings are important and it is time to make your home not only family friendly, but a talking point too. Work within your colour scheme and match your decorations to suit your interiors. Spend time making your home looking amazing, for your friends and family to share and appreciate; these moments are precious whilst treasuring everything that is important to you.
FRENCH BRASS GYROSCOPE TABLE
Stunning Gyroscope Table from new Evolution collection from Porta Romana.
MALVERN FIRE TOOL SET
Antique finish brass and matt black steel fireplace utilities from Chesneys. Elegant fire guard to work with them from the same collection.
METAL WALL SCULPTURE
Really quaint Bus Stop scene wall sculpture, by designer Curtis Jere, available from Talisman London.
LARGE PENNINI CANDLE
Ultra stylish Piennini scented candle, created by master perfumer Olivier Polge, by Fornasetti, available at Selfridges
Dipika Parmar is owner and founder of Elysian Interiors http://www.elysianlifestyle.com/
If you would like to be featured, please contact movingsooninfo@gmail.com
What’s it like to be an independent shopkeeper in Knutsford?
Sara Hoodfar, owner of Cherry Tree Gifts, gives us the low-down.
When did you open your shop?
Four years ago, in 2007, although it feels like I’ve been here forever!
Why did you choose this particular location?
I initially intended to open a shop in Chorlton in Manchester where I grew up. I also considered other places such as Alderley Edge. In the end my mum suggested Knutsford as she often used to meet friends for lunch here and thought it was a great place. When I came to visit Knutsford, I completely fell in love with it too.
What makes Knutsford so special?
It’s a gorgeous old, historic town with so much character and lots of other independent retailers plus lovely cafes and restaurants. There’s a lot of civic pride and both business owners and residents really care about where they live. For example, a year ago the RHS created a floral walk throughout the town and my shop was awarded first prize!
Describe your shop’s location.
My shop is located in a small courtyard called Cotton shop yard, just off King Street, opposite the Gaskell Tower. Because it’s hidden away slightly, down a few steps from the main road, it has a nice secluded feel and is a bit of destination point for shoppers. I share the courtyard with one other shop, which we often partner with to do seasonal events. Between us we’ve made it a really lovely spot.
What makes Cherry Tree gifts unique?
I try to keep my product range different and special, negotiating exclusives with brands where I can and picking my stock carefully. I used to be a retail buyer for a handmade card company and I’ve also worked as a jeweller in the past so I have a good eye and I know how to choose items that my customers will like.
What are the bestselling pieces in the shop?
I sell a selection of Cath Kidston. They like to vet any shop before they supply to it and, once they do, they won’t supply to another independent retailer within a certain radius so it’s nice to have them as a stockist.
I also sell a lot of the Pip Studio range including porcelain and bedding. This brand also gives my shop a very distinctive interiors feel, which customers always comment on. In addition there are lots of unusual, one-off pieces such as bespoke stationery and jewellery plus furniture; both new and old, up-cycled pieces.
Describe your average customer.
It tends to be women mainly as this is quite a girlie shop and they come in to find gifts for friends or relatives as well as to treat themselves. My customers are usually fairly affluent, which reflects the local area and many of them are mums who like to browse during weekdays too. But really it’s anyone who is looking for something a little bit different and special.
What kind of shopping experience do you provide?
My customers tell me it’s a really lovely environment and a very inspirational place to be, where they enjoy spending time looking at nice, pretty, individual things. I can’t ask for more than that!
Cherry tree Gifts
73 King Street, Knutsford WA16 6DX
01565 650667
http://www.cherrytreegifts.com/
Once discovered. Never Forgotten
Kathryn Sharman is a well known journalist who has a regular blog at Kat got the cream If you would like to be featured here on Moving Soon, please contact movingsooninfo@gmail.com
Category : Interviews
Juliette Crane – an artist without boundaries
US-based artist Juliette Crane is set to take the UK market by storm with her beautiful paintings and unmistakeable style. Her work is well known in the US for its depiction of owls and girls; two characters which are very close to her heart and give her paintings such depth and appeal.
Juliette has been developing her own unique technique since she was five, which has evolved into the multi-layered style she has today and is part of what gives her work such density and emotion. Using spray paints and acrylics as well as water colours and even wax, she will often experiment with new techniques and materials. In this sense she is very much an artist with no boundaries who believes anything is possible.
If she feels like combining it, she does. She will always try something to see if it works, following her instincts and never holds back from telling a story. And it’s the layers, story and depth that sets her work apart.
Juliette says: “I think the character is the thing that others most relate to when they see my work so it’s very special and I never stop painting it until I get it right. Sometimes that takes layers and layers; a painting can be many different paintings underneath what people see when it’s finished. All of those layers become part of its story and I think you can see all of that in the character’s eyes, just like you can when you look at a person.”
Such is the appeal of these characters that Juliette has launched a successful e-course called How to paint an Owl and will shortly launch another entitled How to paint a Girl launched in January 2012. Through these e-courses, Juliette shares her enthusiasm for her subject matter as well as her personal techniques.
Currently Juliette Crane’s products are sold through US stockists and on her etsy site with imminent plans to expand worldwide. Her work is being launched in UK stores, Juliette is already at The Oak Studios in Hampstead, London and hopefully at Cherry Tree Gallery in Knutsford, which I will keep you posted with.
There are also plans to create a range of clothing, textiles and accessories featuring her artwork across a range including fashion, homewares, stationery and limited edition prints. Indeed a range of lockets, 2012 calendar’s has just been launched.
Plus Amazing iphone, laptop skins, and framed canvases at http://society6.com/juliettecrane
Juliette is also developing new projects that combine her love for art and storytelling with a view to launching a book in the future.
When an artist such as Juliette Crane believes that anything is possible, it usually is.
She is an inspiration and has amazing e-courses that will take your creativity to a new level.
If you would like to know more about Juliette Crane follow these links below and if you are a shop or gallery in the uk please contact fiona@happy4pr.com for details.
Juliette Crane works are a perfect accessory for the you and your home.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/83067564/online-art-class-how-to-paint-an-owl-an
http://www.etsy.com/shop/juliettecrane
http://juliettecrane.blogspot.com/
Knutsford Heritage Centre needs your help to raise funds to save their beautiful Tapestry. Listen to our interview with Trustee, Val Bryant who talks about the Knutsford Heritage Centre and all it does for the community.
I first went to see the Knutsford Tapesty in the summer, and was amazed at how much detail was captured in the finished piece. I bought the programme and shared the story with others; on how it was quiet incredible that a community came together, in the millennium to create such a work of art. Now under threat, the tapestry is being repaired, I met Trustee Val Bryant, to tell me why she loves her work, and Val gives me an update on the much loved ‘Knutsford Tapestry’
editor
Fiona
Champagne and Shopping! What a perfect combination, who could resist. The Arley Hall are hosting a ‘Christmas Shopping Spectacular in aid of the Seashell Trust. There are fantastic people involved and it is set to be a wonderful beginning to the festive build up this year.
On my Christmas wish list
Beautiful things from the Cherry Tree in Knutsford
For the children http://www.happyhats.co.uk
I am in love with these blankets from Beautiful Peagreen Boat
Beauty treats from http://www.bathing-beauty.co.uk
Go to http://www.arleyhallsshoppingspectacular.co.uk Doors open at 6pm tonight – 9.30pm Entry £8 pre paid or £10 on the door
Tuesday 8th of November 10am – 3pm Entry £5 on the door
editor
Fiona
Over the past decade there has been a huge surge in the collaboration of fashion and interiors, in an experimental way at first, but now there seems to be a definitive sign that couture fashion houses, are making their mark on luxury interiors.
Armani Casa, launched in 2000, is a prime example how the the influential labels around the world have been expanding into the interior market, with their bespoke furniture collections and hotel groups, creating a more of a luxury lifestyle world.
The launch of Hermes La Maison this year, reverts back to the companies original ties with the furniture industry. Now, as well as buying their stunning scarves, we can also leave, with their beautiful new ranges of wallcoverings, ceramics and tablewares.
For all the humour in his work, Jean Paul Gaultier is a design master. The limited edition range he has produced for the furniture brand Roche Bobois, reflects the nautical lines, and lacy corsets we have grown to love….and no doubt will be highly collectable.
Couture luxury can also be accessible for everyone on a smaller scale, through designer brands like Missoni and Zandra Rhodes with their hugely successful kitchen and dining room homewares ranges. Vivienne Westwood, now also has an extensive wallcovering collection, including classic prints from her first catwalk collection.
So alluring is the world of couture fashion and luxury interiors…..its difficult for us to decide whether to dress ourselves or our homes????
However if you have a healthy bank balance why shouldn’t your home look as good as your wardrobe.
Dipika Parmar
You may have seen my recent tweets yesterday about the fantastic day out in Ness Botanic Gardens. The weekend weather towards the end of October and now in November continues to surprise me amongst others! So it seemed to be the ideal opportunity to get outside for some fresh air and feel inspired.
It’s been a long time, too long in fact, since I’ve visited these gardens on the border of Wirral and Cheshire. They are well worth a visit and one I’d recommend you add to your list of activities. There is enough to keep the family occupied including different styles of gardens. It’s great to get some ideas for your own garden and even pick up a few accessories should you need them! Hope you like our Autumnal picture.
Neston property
To get there is a scenic drive in itself; from a property point of view you get to see a varied mix of developments ranging from thatched roofed cottages, stunning century old detached houses through to the modern day developments of houses and flats. A few of these properties have the added bonus of some fantastic views over to the North Wales coastline. My journey took me through Willaston, passed the disused Hadlow Road train station and though the historic market town of Neston as well as Heswall, Caldy, West Kirby and Hoylake.
Neston property availability
Within Neston there are homes to cater for all needs depending on your taste and preference with prices currently ranging from £50,000 for a one bed retirement property through to £1m plus for detached character property. No matter where you choose to live in Wirral or Cheshire we are so lucky to live near or within so much outstanding natural beauty. Even better to be able to take advantage of it with such great weather now!
So what is your favourite attraction in Wirral or Cheshire?
When letting Cheshire or Wirral property privately there are a variety of approaches available if you. As well as on the internet property owners can post adverts in local newspapers or list their details in shop windows. Or it could even be via word of mouth.
Save money letting Cheshire or Wirral property privately
So why opt to list your own property to rent? Simply, it could save you money. Whilst it’s true there may be more work involved in arranging your own viewings; there are potentially significant gains to be made financially which could be hundreds of pounds. If you are renting out flats, houses or any other type residential property in Cheshire or Wirral you may also need to do some tenant credit checking and referencing. However, with this do-it-yourself approach you can also save money with tenant finders fees and property management costs. It really depends how much control you want and the potential savings you want to achieve.
Consider the options when your letting Cheshire or Wirral property
The onset of the credit crunch has caused people to closely scrutinise their personal finances. Every penny spent or saved has to add personal value. The lack of availability of mortgages has increased the demand for many to rent property. This group of people includes first time buyers biding their time to save for their deposit. So as a Cheshire or Wirral property landlord you have the opportunity to save money if you are willing to spend a bit of time listing your properties, arranging viewings, vetting tenants and having the correct legal tenancy agreement in place. Not only this, but the money you potentially could save may be used for general repairs or even modernisation which, in turn, may mean you can command a higher rental income.
Alternately if you have decided that it appears to be too much work you can always opt to use an Estate Agent, however remember that with this approach there will tend to mean paying out letting agency fees. So as a property landlord do you list your own property for rent or have Letting Agents do this for you?
Category : Letting Property
The right property for you may not necessarily be the right property for someone else. So what’s more important when finding your new home? Is it a bigger property, better location or quality of life?
The list is endless when searching for the right property and the priorities not only differ from person to person, bur they can change as well. So whether you are looking to move up the ladder or downsize you will still have criteria you are looking to match.
How to choose the right property
Usually we will have a vision of the type of property we’d like to live in and the area. However, the reality is the greater the requirements the narrower the options are. That’s not to say you shouldn’t have the initial checklist; it’s more about viewing potential properties and getting a feel for what’s important.
When I’ve viewed property I too have gone with the initial checklist, but found out I’ve compromised when deciding on where to live. You need to be able to benchmark against a visible option before deciding if a property is right. It’s also important not to rush in; I’ve waited several months and even over a year to find a property. You just need to weigh up the options before deciding on the right property for you. That’s not to say you will always find the right home.
It may take time finding the right property
It may take you some time before you find the home of your dreams. You may even decide on an alternative as a stop gap before you find ‘the next place’. This applies whether you are looking to buy or rent. Remember patience, and timing for that matter, is key!
What’s on your checklist when trying to find somewhere to live?