Send a care package....
So this few weeks has been a bit weird on many levels. A bit weird is one of my greatest understatements. To look out of the window you’d think nothing had changed, and yet - for now - so much has. We’ll get back to ‘normal’ again… possibly a new normal, but a normal nonetheless.
I have to say (and I write this knowing that Jersey is - in the scheme of things - a really GOOD place to be locked down), that I am really starting to find this whole situation quite hard. There’s a low level stress that is buzzing away all the time. The worry about other people, the worry about our own family… the uncertainty of having no idea when this will all end… missing people (zoom is great, but it’s not the same). Missing physical contact with people - just a hug! Or a friendly nudge! Missing the dirty windows of my shared office. Missing the people I share an office with… I think this is officially week three of lockdown in Jersey (might be nudging into week four… it all blurs into itself doesn’t it?), and the change is palpable. The novelty has worn off. And yet, despite my own feelings, I know that I’m incredibly lucky that all I have to do to stay safe is stay at home (with the occasional gloved trip to the Post Office).
Things have been pretty busy here at the new office… it’s not an actual new office of course, but my kitchen table, which I share with the family for meals, and, now that the schools are back, my eleven year old. It’s a big old table and there’s room enough for two. Oh and the teenager. Three. It’s currently covered in a lot of ‘stuff’. The three of us combined produce a lot of mess. Last night printed sheets of reading comprehension served as mats for our dinner plates, and I won’t even start on the state of the kitchen…
I’ve noticed a big change in the types of gifts that are being sent, and ever one to move with the times, it got me thinking…. see what people seem to want to send most of all is their love… I’ve lost count of the number of notes that have been added to orders, people who - like me - long to see their friends or family, but can’t, and so they send a gift and a card so that their loved one knows that they are, well loved.
Launching on Monday 27th (we’ll have them up on the website for pre-order this week), we will be sending out pre-packaged ‘care’ bundles. You can of course still add a note (and I’m popping the option of a card on as well), and if you want to add anything else to it then just add to the basket (a pair of earrings, a BBQ rub) it’s your shout.
So what’s in the parcel?
Well, first off, I want to tell you how it’ll arrive…. I’ve ordered specific Kraft boxes (self-sealing), that can be recyled. They’ll be a Harriet and Rose label on the front, and the address label (obvs). Inside will be lined with white tissue paper so it will feel like a treat rather than another Amazon Prime delivery… and in that they’ll be:
A travel tin candle by local maker Kota candles. These gorgeous soy wax candles are all produced in the island, contain no nasties, and smell delicious. It’ll be a ‘lucky dip’ when it comes to fragrance (but trust us they are all gorgeous)
100g bag of fudge by Sue’s Fudge. Because let’s face it, who doesn’t want a sweet treat?
A single spacemask. If you’ve not head of them, the pouch contains a self-heating eye mask to help relieve tiredness, eye strain, and headaches. It is infused with jasmine and the heat lasts approximately 20minutes. I absolutely love these, and they’re one of our best-selling gifts… see you actually have to ‘switch off’ if you’ve got an eye mask on… you can’t do anything but (try to) relax.
A sachet of bath salts from SevenSeventeen (with a choice of Moroccan Rose or Lavender). SevenSeventeen are a brilliant company who give profits from every sale to mental health charities. We also stock their candles, and have a new stock drop of their utterly gorgeous jars of bath salts arriving early next week
The option of a card from The Right Lines, which reads ‘This card is to reassure you that it’s totally okay not to be tickety-boo so when you’re tearful or not coping or not feeling happily on top of it all please remember you’re completely not alone and I’ll stand by you through the black and grey until some sunshine and rainbows edge onto your horizon again’
The cost of the bundle - including Jersey delivery will start at £21.00… you’ll have the option to make it for two people (one candle, one bath salts, two masks, two packs of fudge), and the option of adding a card (a gift tag is included in the price).
BUT THAT’S NOT THE BEST BIT! We have decided that for every ten that we sell, we will send one out to someone in our community for nothing! You can send your nominations to us here (but it should be someone who’s a frontline worker, whose business has had to close due to Covid-19, or has a good reason to be a recipient of something to make them smile). If you’d like to pay for one that is to be sent out to a nominated person rather than wait and see if they get pulled from a hat at random) then you can do that too… just put the recipent as ‘nominee’ and we’ll pull an extra name out of the hat.
If you’d like to nominate someone, you’ll have two options… to write it in the comments on our Facebook page (this post will go up next Monday and I’ll pin it to the top of our page), or to send us an email direct. For every ten we sell, we’ll pull a name out. We won’t reset each time so the names will stay in the ‘hat’ (it’ll probably be an empty bisuit tin in real life… if someone is nominated more than once, as long as it’s by a different person, they’ll get a second entry into the hat (biscuit tin).
And if you’re a local business also delivering at the moment, and would like to add the option of a care package onto your own orders, get in touch with us as we’d love to work together.
Take care,
Harriet x