Sunshine & Flowers At Therapy!

Therapy is wearing her summer colours - courtesy of the wonderful Spriggs Florist - even more wonderful when I tell you that the price of this beauty includes watering every day! 

It's lovely to see everything in full bloom, although I would love to have a consistent spell of sunshine. It's not just because Therapy has lots of wonderful summer dresses in stock, but because the sunshine is such a balm to our spirits! We blossom in the sunshine - just like the flowers.

Oops! When I started writing this we weren't having a wee heatwave! Aren't we funny? Longing for sunshine and then sweating and expiring when we get it! Well, all the more reason to pop in and see our range of summer dresses. I've attached a couple of photos. The white dress is linen from Luca Vanucci. I have one in navy and it feels lovely. They do fantastic long linen skirts and cute little jackets too - and the prices are excellent.

The dress above is from Desigual. They are such fun! The Spanish certainly know a thing or two about combining colours. We have lots of different shapes and prints - all in easy-wear jersey. Add a pair of Toni Pons wedges for a dressed up look or throw it on with a pair of flip flops for a casual day out.

But if dresses aren't your thing then worry not: We have crop jeans from Amazing Woman, unfussy skirts from Natural Wave and some innovative stretch linen trousers from NYDJ - and we all know what a brilliant fit their jeans are.

Other news:
We are open on Sundays from 11am - 4pm. We have our lovely new Saturday girl Danni working on Sundays for the summer. We'll take a view on whether it's worth continuing in the autumn. So if you can take benefit of our extra day's trading then please do!

We have a wee sale rail in the basement again. There are some bargains from last summer's sale as well as current season's stock at good reductions. We won't have our sale proper until August so do come and check out our pre-sale goodies.

I'm about to start buying for next spring and looking forward to finding lots more gorgeous things for you to wear. But I'm feeling very languid in this heat and happy in the meantime just to waft around enjoying this beautiful county. I hope you are too.

Laura x 

New Shoes!

How wonderful to be enjoying the Spring sunshine! And what better excuse do we need to don our summer shoes. Now if you're anything like me there's a bit of work to be done before you can reveal your winter-white tootsies. But isn't it a pleasure to pamper our hard working feet with pretty nail varnish and a bit of sunshine?

I've included a wee photo of Therapy's summer shoe selection so that you can get an idea of which styles might be a perfect addition to your wardrobe this season. The great thing about our shoes...well, there are several great things!

Firstly they're all comfortable. 

I don't know about you but the older I get, the less I can tolerate sore feet! I have lots of gorgeous shoes lurking at the bottom of my wardrobe. I open up the boxes and look longingly at them, but I put them back and put on my trusty La Badias or Toni Pons esapdrilles.

Secondly they're pretty! I can flit about all day in the shop and still look and feel good. I know that hundreds of you will agree with me that wearing our La Badia pumps is like wearing our favourite slippers. But when those slippers are suede and the prettiest pink or blue or gold then why would we wear anything else?!

But sometimes we have somewhere special to go, or we feel like glamming up our jeans with a bit of a heel. And then our Toni Pons espadrilles are our new best friend. I'm a country girl now and I realised long ago (after many a mishap in my unsuitable city footwear) that wedges are best. So much grass, so many uneven surfaces - nothing is as stable as a wedge - in whatever height you like best. My favourites are the ankle strap, mid heel ones. I have them in loads of colours (but still not enough!) But our peep toe, high wedge court shoe is hugely popular. They elongate your legs, support your feet and look great with dresses and skinny jeans. Sigh.

Yes I miss having our shoe shop. I was devastated when we had to close it, and I still dream about my favourite shoes! But commercially it makes sense to sell our two best selling brands in with our clothes. We sell more shoes this way than we did in our shoe shop! 

So I'm happy to edit our selection knowing that I'm providing the best offer for you, dear ladies. And I'm sure you'll all agree with me that there's not much better in life than a pair of new shoes.

Laura x 

Oh I nearly forgot! We have a cobbler coming to town! They're opening soon by the carpark, where the greengrocers was. I'll be first in the queue to spruce up my favourite shoes. 

A Very Happy Easter To All You Therapy Bunnies!

Happy Easter Ladies! 
Bess looks as if she'd love to devour the chicken & the chocolate eggs. But in fact Chris is crouching behind the camera with some Gravy Bones! Which inspired me to share with you one of my favourite sayings: "Fake it til you make it". 
There's many a time when I need to be at the top of my game but I'd much rather stay in bed. (Chance would be a fine thing!) So instead I do my hair, put on my makeup & my favourite clothes and smile. It's amazing how quickly my mood catches up with my outward appearance. 

Now many of you have been bemoaning your winter bodies - reluctant to expose any pale, untoned skin and feeling that the lighter colours of the Spring collections give you nowhere to hide. But don't despair, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the new season's clothes. A bit of fakery can go a long way! 

As you can see in the photo below, I've layered a pair of our Amazing Woman jeans & a fab Part Two linen knit top with a cute Luca Vanucci linen dress. (Actually, I got the idea from a customer- thank you!) I think it's a brilliant way to extend the life of our summer wardrobe and be able to cheer ourselves with Spring colours even when the skies are grey.

I took this photo for our website "outfit of the month". I just love this denim blue in a shoe. It seems to go with every colour & it's so cheery! I'll be posting the full range of the new Toni Pons espadrilles on our website, so take a look then come in and try them - yum! 

It's Good Friday as I type this and the day is typically driech. But in Therapy it's warm and everything looks so pretty and Springlike. I hope you'll join us tomorrow and Easter Monday for a wee glass of fizz & some of those chocolate eggs. If you don't then I'll end up eating them all myself! 

Wishing you all a happy & relaxing Easter weekend. 

Love, Laura x 

Mad March Hares & Mothering Sunday

Hello Ladies, how are you all?!
I don't know about you but I'm starting to feel a wee spring in my step. Light mornings, longer days, birds tweeting madly, buds bursting into life - hooray Spring is here!!
Having finished my buying for this Autumn, I've finally got stuck into the shop and have had great fun putting out the new season's stock and making everything look beautiful.

The Spring season is a great excuse to get whimsical so I make no apologies for my flock of paper birds!

 

I decided to leave this pretty window in for Mothers Day. The Avoca prints are so delicate & Spring-like. I hope it makes you smile as much as it does me.

We've just had a new delivery of Tantrend jewellery from Barcelona - I think they are so clever with their colour combinations. Every piece is just that little bit different.

My head has been filled with all the lovely things arriving in the shop every day. Did you get my mail with the new La Badia spring colours? If not, here they are!

 





Enough photos now - I'm being lazy! Still, I hope this wee taster will encourage you all to visit.

I can't believe we're almost half way through March. Although I did have a whole week of birthday celebrations with my girlfriends while Chris was in France...so I think I've lost a week! It's been a long time since I did that (ouch - now I remember why!) 

On the 27th March it will be a year since our rescue dog Bess joined us. Many of you will have seen her in the shop or around the town with Chris. She's settled in so well that we can't imagine life without her. We are now unashamedly besotted with her - dogs just give so much love.

And it is love that I'm sending out to all of you with this blog. I hope that 2015 is full of love for you all - even as it presents its challenges. I for one will be enjoying the little moments of beauty and wonder and reminding myself of everything I have to be grateful for - including all of you!
See you soon.
Love, Laura xx 

January Blues...and Pinks, and Greens...

Happy New Year Ladies! 

I find it's hard to get going after the Festive Season (is that why my Blog is once again so tardy?!)  

I've worked out that my best plan of action is to keep busy - doing things that don't tax my brain too heavily but that give me a sense of satisfaction on completion. In the shop that means Spring cleaning, remerchandising, staff rotas, writing tickets for newly arriving stock and Sale planning. In the winter months when business is quiet it feels good to look forward and to know that when our lovely customers do emerge from hibernation that Therapy will be spick and span and ready to shine. 

So what do we have in store for you?

Well our Sale starts this Saturday 31st January. I'll be mailing you all later this week but I can tell you that we're having a bit of a clear out on our La Badia pumps. I know it doesn't happen often so this is your chance to stock up on colours that won't be available again. We'll have our usual broad selection of winter clothing (plenty of time still to get your wear out of them) as well as scarves, gloves and the remaining stock of our gorgeous Avoca rugs.

The reason we'll be clearing some of our homewares is that we're hoping to move our shoe stockroom to part of our basement. As many of you will know, our shoes are currently stored in a room above Therapy - meaning that we have to do a quick sprint out of the shop and up the stairs every time you request a shoe. While this is undoubtedly good exercise, it's not terribly practical! So be prepared for a wee bit of chaos while we make this change.

Sale time is always one of mixed emotions for me: It's great to clear out the previous season's stock ready for all the new deliveries, but I spend a lot of my prep time wondering what on earth I was thinking about when I bought some of the items languishing in the stockroom!

But the thrill of receiving a new delivery buoys me up again and I start to look forward to the coming year. The trees are ripe with buds, the birds are tweeting, the days are getting longer and Spring is on its way - hooray!

You'll all be pleased to hear that Ann is doing well after her operation. She still has a number of challenges ahead (as I'm sure many of you do) but we are looking forward to seeing her back in Therapy on a part-time basis very soon. We miss her! 

I hope that 2015 brings peace, contentment and satisfaction for you all. I read once that suffering is the gap between expectation and reality. So my new year's resolution is to expect less and enjoy "what is" more. I'll let you know how that goes!

Until my next post we'll look forward to seeing you during the Sale and getting your feedback on the new Spring 2015 collections. I for one have a good feeling about this year!

Laura x 

Festive Greetings From All At Therapy!

Hello Ladies, are you feeling festive yet?! 

I must admit that up until yesterday I was feeling more "bah humbug" than "deck the halls". As I discussed in my last blog, our duties and responsibilities can overtake the joys in life and leave us panicking instead of enjoying the moment. But after a fun Saturday in our wee shop I am now ready for Christmas.

Okay so we don't have any snow (a good thing really) but Therapy & Petworth are looking cheery and twinkly and the prospect of this Saturday 6th December's Christmas extravaganza have got me well and truly in the mood...

Oops - as you can see, I started writing this blog a couple of weeks ago and my lack of technical knowhow plus some computer glitches have delayed me once more. (Note to self: First New Year's resolution is to get up to speed with my computer skills!)

It's now Thursday 18th December and lovely Ann, our fab and loyal part - timer, is off to St Richards for an operation. Not much of a way to celebrate Christmas, but a reality for many. Ill health is no respecter of traditions and this time of year is difficult for a lot of us. But the thought that the New Year will bring a positive, healthier, happier state is worth holding on to. I'm sure, like all of us at Therapy, you will wish Ann a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming her back in 2015.

December is always a time for reflection, for taking stock of the year that has been and expressing gratitude for all that we have. Any good fortune that we have been blessed with is all the more precious because of the tough times that we have survived. Christmas can be stressful but it is also a delightful way to join together and show our appreciation of our family and friends - to say thank you to everyone who has supported us and shared their time and love with us.

The last few trading days before the Christmas break are my favourite: not because they're the busiest but because they are the happiest. By the time our customers come to us, all the boring tasks are complete and they're feeling relaxed and in the mood to celebrate. 

This year I have persuaded Chris that Therapy will be closed on Saturday 27th. This means that I will have four days off. Hooray! This is the best Christmas present that I could hope for. I wish you will all a little time to yourselves over the festive period.

I'd better get this posted before Christmas is over! Have a wonderful time and thank you to all of you for your continuing support. Here's to a happy and healthy 2015.

Love, Laura xx

Let's Hear It For The Girls!

Hello Ladies, I'm apologising again for my tardy posting. But sadly the last month has been taken up with saying goodbye to two of the dearest ladies in my life: my darling Grandma aged 103 and my dear friend of forty years, Cath aged 47.

Despite the gap in their ages, both women were strong, charismatic, brimming with energy 
and central to the lives of their family and friends. Which got me thinking about the many such women that I have had the honour of knowing - including all of you!

I think it's time for us to pause, halt the endless focussing on others, and give ourselves a pat on the back for everything that we have achieved. 

I am constantly amazed by the endless juggling that we women manage: We continue to nurture our children - no matter what age; we support our partners; create a warm and peaceful home; hold down jobs; care for elderly relatives and grandchildren; remember birthdays; shop for groceries and everyone's Christmas presents; and still find time and energy to catch up with our girlfriends.

Actually, I think it's the time we spend with our close friends that gives us the strength to take on the responsibilities and commitments that we do. How often has a soothing cuppa and a listening ear made it easier to carry on through a difficult day? How life affirming is a night out - or a night in - with girlfriends - a wine or three, much raucous laughter, some cheesy tunes and a bit of singing into a spatula? Just what we all need sometimes! I was lucky enough to have two of my closest friends round last night. We shared pizza and wine and put the world to rights - perfect.




















During my friend Cath's long illness I took pleasure in sending her care parcels - little gifts that might give her pleasure and comfort, make her laugh. Of course I'm lucky, I had a shop full of lovely things to choose from. But, that aside, it felt good to treat her. I couldn't help with the kids (Cath lived in France) or make her a casserole, but I could spoil her, because I loved her.

Which, rather clumsily, leads me round to Therapy's bounty of autumn goodies! I know that we haven't really thought about warm clothes yet. But winter will come, sure as eggs, and we've got a shop full of gorgeous knits, jeans, boots & coats, and a plethora of covetable accessories. So why don't you all treat yourselves and your beloved friends to some retail therapy before the responsibilities and commitments of day to day life consume us again and we forget to pause and congratulate ourselves on just how amazing we women are.

Much love, Laura x