Archive for the ‘Biome Lifestyle’ Category

Prepare for the great Xmas guest rush!

Friday, October 28th, 2011

Is it just me, or does the whole year feel like it’s geared towards Christmas? We seem to spend the first few months of the year paying off the Christmas credit card debt and beating ourselves up for overspending, yet again! Then it’s time to get ‘bikini-fit’ and work off the extra Christmas girth we accumulated thanks to our total inability to resist temptation. Then, before you know it, and earlier every year, the shops are filled with Christmas carols, Christmas cards and twinkly decorations all in time to start the whole process over again!

It also seems a time of year when everyone aims to get their homes ‘Christmas perfect’ for the many parties and guests we will be accommodating. Whether it’s re-painting the living room, ordering new furniture or a new TV, or just having a general Christmas tidy-up, we all like to feel our homes are ready for the family and friends descending on us.

In fact, the Christmas rush starts at home! So here a few home ideas to make it all a bit easier.

If you are tight for space, or have been a little over generous with the guest invites, then our wonderfully handy roll-up bed could be the perfect solution. The beds are ethically made in Kerala from organic cotton and stuffed with a hardwearing man-made fibre to ensure your guests have a blissful night’s sleep. Once used, the beds can be quickly rolled up and stowed away or even used again in the summertime for camping or holiday trips.

To match the roll up beds, and also from our ethical factory in India, we have beautifully soft sleeping bags to make sure your guests are kept toasty warm in the depths of winter.

For the extra-considerate host, why not supply a lovely carafe of water on the bedside table. Especially suitable for the guest who may have consumed a little too much alcohol over the course of the evening!! It’s made from recycled glass of course!

Prepare yourself for the endless onslaught of sheet changing and towel washing by stocking up on extra towels. Our wonderfully soft, organic cotton fair trade towels are bound to make your guests feel welcome and at home.

Finally, why not prepare your guest room or living room with a beautifully handmade English scented candle. My particular favourite is the True Grace Fig Candle which is a lovely warm and deep fragrance of Musk, Cedarwood & Mandarin. A perfect, warming winter fragrance.And by the way, even if you own home doesn’t need any of these lovely things, they do make great Christmas gifts for someone near and dear to you!

We have moved!

Friday, August 26th, 2011

Here at Biome we decided it was about time we headed back to our roots and headed North! Been born and bred in Yorkshire, it seems only right that our stock, customer service and dispacth all occurs in this great county!

The move took much longer than expected, partly thanks to our poor HGV drivers van being destroyed in the Birmingham riots in the process (talk about the wrong place at the wrong time!) but we are in and settled (almost!) so service should now resume as usual.

Thus far it’s been a year of change, change, change for Biome – but we hope in the long term this will all be for the better and will allow us to grow without any (or at least many!) hitches!

After all, the more we grow the more our small designers, artisans and fair-trade units will prosper too! Here’s to the future!

xx

Christmas in July!

Friday, August 19th, 2011

We have been super busy here at Biome over the past few weeks preparing for Christmas. Yes Christmas in summer, you read that correct!

So whilst the sun has been shining (sometimes!) outside, we have been preparing new wreaths, Christmas stockings, crackers and lots of other goodies for the Festive Season.

The highlight of the past few weeks was our attendance at Modus Publicity‘s Christmas Press Day. The event was held at The Westbury Gallery in London to showcase Modus’ usual clients and a few small, up & coming brands like Biome! We had a great day and met lots of lovely people who seemed to love some of Biome’s new range. There were lots of fantastic companies exhibiting from Calvin Klein Jeans to Toast and also one of my favourite beauty brands, the wonderful Liz Earle!

It was a long but fun day and during the chattering to journalists and other suppliers I managed to snap a few pics of the day.


At the end of the event it was time for a quick glass of champagne before bundling everything into boxes & heading home for a long & much-deserved soak in the bath!

Feed the birds

Friday, May 20th, 2011

I just love our new bird feeders – they are so simple yet stylish and best of all, they keep birds and wildlife happy!

Available in two cool colours, grey and black.

Coming soon…

Friday, May 13th, 2011

We are in love with these beautiful cushions and mugs from designer Michelle Mason and can’t wait for them to come into stock very soon!

Michelle Mason designs contemporary interior and giftware products with all products being designed and made in the UK.

This new collection of cushions shows scenes from London life and features the iconic red Routemaster bus. Digitally printed onto soft but hardwearing cotton satin and backed with unbleached calico.

We will also be stocking these lovely travel mugs with a twist! These new fine bone china mugs, made in Stoke on Trent, follow in the footsteps of our popular bus destination cushions. Three colourways depict different London routemaster bus destinations and include: Angel Islington, Trafalgar Square, Brixton, Chelsea World’s End, Oval, Dulwich, St Pauls, Ladbroke Grove, Hoxton and many more.

Adorable! We can’t wait to proudly stock these products and many more from the lovely Michelle Mason range.

From the catwalk to the table…

Friday, May 6th, 2011

Finally, spring is in the air! It’s time to throw back the curtains and let the spring sunshine pour into your home! The Spring/Summer catwalks were dominated by bright & cheerful colours, so this week’s newsletter will follow suit by focusing on bold colours for your home.

Bright lime green was the colour of choice at London Fashion Week. So why not update your home by adding these fantastic raffia and wood lime green table mats ?

The mats are carefully made by hand, and come in a set of 6 , fairly traded from South Africa.

They look great against a white or wooden table and will bring a touch of modern style to your home. Perfect for indoor or outdoor use.

Freshen up for Spring!

Friday, April 8th, 2011

The sun is shining and it’s time for a good old Spring clean!

Here are some of my favourite Springtime tips to help freshen up your home below:

Open the windows. After a winter of closed windows and almost constant central heating, open all the windows in your home to let the fresh air in!

Bring sprigs of flowering plants indoors
I love a few daffodils in a jar to add some Springtime cheer to your home! Or even better purchase a few potted plants which will last much longer and add some fresh greenery to your home.

Enjoy citrus. Lemons can be used in so many ways around the home, they provide a fantastic natural detergent. For example, rub lemon on your faucets to remove lime scale, hard water stains, and soap residue. Or for a mild, stain-free bleach, soak your delicates in a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda for at least half an hour before washing.

Light an all-natural, soy or beeswax, lead-free candle in a springtime scent like bay leaf, tomato leaf, eucalyptus, citrus, meyer lemon, and more.

Clean the sheets (and couch cushions and pillow covers and dog beds for that matter)! Opt for an all-natural lavender or eucalyptus scented detergent and then top it off with line-drying in the sun.

Make your own chemical-free homemade air freshener: Follow this easy to recipe to freshen up your home:

* 1 oz gin, vodka, or rubbing alcohol

* 6 oz filtered water

* 20 – 40 drops of essential oil, a few suggested oils are: peppermint, jasmine, citrus oils

My preference is to use gin as your alcohol and jasmine as your essential oil, but you should experiment to find a mix that you like. Simply mix in a spray bottle and spray around for instant freshness. This mix will keep well for at least a month.

Line the closets and drawers with sachets of fresh lavender. You’ll feel more relaxed, and all your linens will smell ready for spring.

 

Ideal Home Ticket Giveaway!

Friday, March 11th, 2011

New Competition!

Ideal Home Show 2011 LOGO
We are proud to be part of this year’s Ideal Home Show - our lovely ethical products have been selected to dress George Clarke’s eco Ideal Refit House!

George_Clarke_081014_190FDE
To celebrate our involvement we are giving away four tickets to the show. Just tell us, what would make your ideal home by leaving a comment below!

The competition will close on Friday 18th March.

Life goes on…

Friday, February 18th, 2011

The amazing thing is, that despite the near-universal custom in Britain today of couples living together before they get married, and despite everything some politicians say about the troubled state of British society, some traditions have just not changed. Marriage for example has never been more popular. Yes, couples are marrying later. And yes they may have a couple of kids before they tie the knot, but they still are getting married. And when they get married, they expect to do it in style!

White veil, wedding cake, and embarrassing speech from the best man- some things never change. Some do, of course. The traditional drunken stag night for the groom and his mates has somehow morphed into a stag-several-drunken-days. And booking a room in June has turned into trying to find a “venue” any time in the next 18 months!

Wedding presents have actually become a bit of a challenge. Your average British newly-weds today have probably been building a home together for years, so a tea service or a canteen of cutlery “to help them get started” are not on their wedding list at all. They’ve got a sense of their joint style. And their gift list reflects it. Not just what’s on the list, but where they set it up.

We think our wedding gift list service is second to none. Everything in Biome’s range of house-wares has style. It all looks great. But just as important, everything has a story to tell. Biome is the UK’s No1 on-line ethical house-ware store, and they take time and trouble to research what they sell, and make sure it meets some demanding standards. Sustainable or recycled raw materials, fair trade, and decent wages and working conditions are part of the picture, but there’s much more. Check out our website, and see for yourself. There’s no better place for a wedding list.

But what if you’re going to a wedding, and the couple haven’t set up a list? No problem; Biome has wedding gift vouchers available in multiples of £10. And they’re printed on recycled paper, of course!

Love is in the air!

Friday, February 11th, 2011

Love is in the air, everywhere I look around!

It’s Valentines Day on Monday so love is certainly in the air! Every shop I enter into seems to be full of hearts, love cards and pink chocolates! I am not the biggest advocate of Valentines but do feel it’s harmless fun, plus it seems down right miserable to ignore it completely!

So this Valentines, why not treat the one you love to a special home cooked dinner or even breakfast in bed (bliss!). However if you are away from loved ones at this time of year then I have picked a few of my favourite little Valentines gift you can give to that special someone instead…

Love Tea – of course!

love teaLovely love cushion!

love cushionLove door pouch

love door pouch