Christmas ideas. . .

New Bags

Many apologies - it's been a long time since our last post. The weather here on the Island has been very good in October, with lovely warm and sunny weekends - warm enough to go in the sea.

The workshop (without heating) is fortunately still plenty warm enough, thanks to solar power (ie; big windows), but we'll have to see what it's like as we get into winter. 

We've been working on some new bag designs recently. Following the popular 'shipping forecast' bags of the summer (which are still available, incidentally), we realised that the possibilities of text-on-bag are endless - quotes, lyrics, conversations etc. We're starting however, with segments from the easily recognisable Alice in Wonderland and recipes taken from Nigella's TV series book (which are cake-related, so it's not actually that far removed from Alice in Wonderland). We're also experimenting with a beautiful Liberty Tana Lawn lining to the bag.

We're still trying to get an online sales option up and running, so hopefully that will start soon, but in the meantime, here are some pictures and you can always contact us via the website if you are interested in purchasing.

Selvedge Magazine

Just a quick post to point out that Dr Bean's bags have a (tiny) mention in the lovely Selvedge magazine - the bible for all things textile-y. In case you can't find it, you need to look for page 15 - in an article about using alternatives to plastic bags, which is exactly where a Dr Bean's bag comes in.

Mudfest at Bestival

The 2008 Bestival was rather different from our previous experience. We tried to ignore the weather forecast, thinking that there must be a mistake - the Isle of Wight Bestival is always bathed in the glory of an indian summer. This year, however, the site (and everyone in it) was bathed in glorious mud. And there was an awful lot of it.

It's amazing what people put up with in the pursuit of a weekend of fun (we like to think that a cup of Dr Bean's coffee helped them through) and although many left early, there was a certain sense of achievement in remaining until the end. Monday, ironically, was a beautiful day.

We would  like to give a huge thank you to the guys on the tractor who towed us (and most of the other traders) out on Monday evening and to Rob, who rescued our trailer and fridge.

Overall, there wasn't a huge amount of support from the Bestival organisers.

It really feels like Autumn now that the Bestival is over, which is a bit harsh as we never really had a summer. Ho-hum, back to making bags.

The Garlic Festival

We had a busy couple of days at this year's Garlic Festival, here on the Isle of Wight. This show is always popular and despite the forecast, we escaped the rain and plenty of people came along. We were trying our new blend of coffee, which we are really pleased with - and judging by the comments, so were our customers. 

We would also like to say that a shot of espresso goes extremely well on a serving of the delicious award- winning Minghella vanilla ice cream - a great combination!

Bag IOW0260

Dr Bean has been on holiday to Cornwall. St Ives is the perfect mix of surf (for those who surf), shops (for those who shop), restaurants (for those who do lunch) and galleries (well, you get the idea. . ). We also sampled plenty of coffee (obviously).

All in all, there is something for everyone in the Dr Bean's Family, although there wasn't quite as much sun as usual.

Top purchases of the week were a functioning typewriter (brother deluxe 800) from a charity shop and a cup and saucer by ceramic artist Karen Shapley from Porthminster Gallery. 

Cowes Week

It's been an interesting week weather-wise here in Cowes - a few drizzly mornings but turning hot in the afternoon. The wind has been variable too. Beth and Larry have done a great job running the Dr Bean's van at egypt point (between Cowes and Gurnard), serving very good coffee.