Just outside Exeter there is a gorgeous 18th century house, previously owned by the Acland family. It is now part of The National Trust.  We took the kids there for a day out (as it was free entry on Sunday) and were surprised to find a little thatched hut in the garden which had been used to house their pet bear!  The floor is made from deer knuckle bones – nice touch! And they still have one of the last surviving ice houses as well as a huge laundry, preserved just as it would have been with the coppers still in tact and the huge drying racks… amazing! We had a typically English picnic in the rain, stocked up on cider (produced on site) stuffed our faces with ice cream and headed home.

I’ve had a busy week on the furniture front and finally finished four of my favourite 1960s kitchen chairs for a customer in Lincolnshire which, along with a table, were collected by a fantastic courier I’ve found called Terry (collectitdeliverit@fsmail.net) and driven up there. She will be receiving them tonight… hope she likes them!?? Then a lovely lady called Holly, who runs her own recruitment agency in Exeter (www.parentandchildnannies.co.uk)  came over yesterday morning and bought the dining table with olive green legs.  Consequently I am now down a desk in my studio but I’m glad it’s gone to a good home and they seemed happy to have found something that had been “up-cycled” that suited their requirements rather than having to buy new. Another success for the recycling ethos at peagreen!

I have been stocking up on my new range of Christmas candles and have discovered some great scents like Amaretto Nog, Spiced Nutmeg, Cinnamon Cake and Mulberry… the house has been smelling prematurely festive! Interior designer Holly Keeling has asked me to take some candles to her Christmas vintage fair, which will be held on December the 7th and 8th (www.hollykeeling.co.uk). She gets hold of some really unusual vintage furniture and I came back with a little sofa for my kitchen from her last sale, made out of an old hospital bed.  Well worth a visit if you are local……..