Velvet Blog

In September 2011 You & Your Wedding Magazine featured our Retro Spot Bunting and Heart Luggage Tags in a fabulous quirky red & white dotty table decorations shoot.

Inspired by the Royal Wedding this Friday we’ve installed a fabulous Royal Britannia Nautical window at our Brighton store.  A fusion of Union Jack, nautical stripes, gold lettering, regal crests, with a colour theme of red white & navy and a fabulous hint of British seaside holiday….

At Velvet we are really excited about Prince William and Catherine’s Royal Wedding on 29th April, especially as so many of us are planning fabulous Royal Wedding Street Parties!

We have a beautiful new range of Royal Britannia themed party table decorations in our stores and on-line at Velvet Wedding (which you can browse and buy by clicking HERE), with a regal ‘best of British’ patchwork street party theme; think regal crests, corgis, crowns, union jack, red London buses, cups of tea, vintage buttons, queen Victoria silhouettes and a touch of tasteful royal humour.

To celebrate the Royal Wedding, Velvet are giving away a Royal Wedding Party Pack to one of our lucky Twitter followers.  To be in with a chance of winning all you need to do is to follow @VelvetStore on twitter (twitter.com/VelvetStore) and re-tweet our Royal Wedding competition tweet.  The competition opens on 23rd March and we will be choosing and contacting our lucky winner on 20th April, good luck!

The Royal Wedding party pack includes:

12 royal paper plates

4 royal paper platters

20 ‘God Save The Queen’ napkins

12 royal paper cups

16 British Street Party paper windmills

24 regal cake flags
2 mini regal card cake stands

Royal Street Party Bunting

Royal cake toppers & cupcake cases

Now for some important terms and conditions….

1. Entry to the competitions is restricted to one entry per person please.

2. Multiple entries will be disqualified.

3. Automated entries, bulk entries or third party entries will be disqualified!

4. Competitions are open to UK residents only.

5. Prizes can only be sent to a valid UK address.

6. Winners will be chosen at random from all valid entries.

7. Winners will be contacted via email.

8. The Judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered in to.
9.The competition will run from 23/03/2011 until 20/04/2011.

10. Velvet Stores Ltd is compliant with the data protection act. Our policy is such that we will not pass on your details to any third party.

At Velvet we’ve always loved Union Jack for interiors, but the approaching Royal Wedding has inspired us with some really exciting new products arriving at Velvet and Velvet Wedding!  Whether you’re planning your own Royal Wedding or a Royal Wedding party we have some wonderful finishing touches to make your day.  Our Royal Wedding theme is based on a vintage style 1940s street party, with bunting, rosettes and paper chains.  One of our favourite new party products is the regal paper plates, perfect for serving cucumber sandwiches, victoria sponge or scones with your afternoon tea. Lovely!

If you like the look of our newsletter and would like one to conveniently arrive in your inbox each month, please do sign up via www.velvetstore.co.uk  We promise to only ever email you regarding products and special offers which we find truly exciting!

Our Valentines window is installed and we are feeling the love.  This year we’ve gone for a rustic Valentine’s, with muted colours, wicker hearts and butlers trays, a very feminine romantic feel.  Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

This year we chose a ‘Christmas Market’ theme for our window, inspired by the famous Christmas Markets of Germany.  Warm tones of berry red, cream, silver and gold, chandeliers dressed with snowy baubles and a market stall packed full of rustic gifts.  Wicker hearts, wooden Christmas Tree decorations and knitted hot water bottles complete this inviting scene.  So why not visit us this December for a spot of Christmas shopping?…..

Click on the thumbnails below to view full sized images:

We are starting to feel festive!  Our Christmas countdown has begun and we have lots of brilliant new products in our stores and online for your home this season.  One of our favourites is the ‘Merry Christmas’ vintage sleigh design doormat, for a wonderfully festive welcome home.  Our nostalgic wooden advent calendars have 24 vintage Christmas doors, have fun filling them with treats for the advent season……

Claim a festive 10% off your Velvet Store order by entering XMAS10 at the checkout

If you like the look of our newsletter and would like one to conveniently arrive in your inbox each month, please do sign up via www.velvetstore.co.uk  We promise to only ever email you regarding products and special offers which we find truly exciting!

Congratulations on your engagement!  But where to begin planning?  We recommend investing in a good wedding planner book to record your thoughts, store cuttings and sketches and to keep track of important checklists.  Our Vintage and Floral Wedding Planners contain comprehensive planning guides to get you started, and guest books and photo albums will help you to remember and cherish your big day for years to come.  We also have a brilliant selection of thoughtful gifts to thank your bridesmaids for their help….

If you like the look of our newsletter and would like one to conveniently arrive in your inbox each month, please do sign up via www.velvetwedding.co.uk  We promise to only ever email you regarding products and special offers which we find truly exciting!

It’s that time of year again when the days are shorter and the air is growing crisp and cold.  In preparation for some cosy nights we’ve stocked up the hotties and added some fab new styles to our collection.  We also have a new range of cute pocket sized knitted re-chargable hand warmers – great for keeping hands toasty at winter bonfires and for walks in the cold.

Autumn has arrived at Velvet – we have a huge range of hats, scarves, gloves and clothing to keep you warm in the winter months.  Our second autumn window features rustic wicker hearts and warm tones of red and cream, hot water bottles and tea light holders, layered knitwear and boots galore!

Click on the thumbnails below to view full sized images

Autumn has arrived at Velvet, with new home accessories in store and online and new autumn/winter fashion in store.  This change in season is the perfect time to warm up your home with rustic tones of red and burnt orange.  Some of our favourite pieces this season are the ‘You & Me’ and ‘Mr & Mrs’ wall hooks, perfect for hanging up your winter coats.  We have a great selection of autumn knitwear in store, our top season accessories include the knitted shoulder bag and vintage style crochet-lace insert tap shoes.

It has been an exciting month here at Velvet Wedding, with lots of gorgeous new stock arriving daily!  Our latest additions to the site include our new Truly Scrumptious collection, a fun selection of candy coloured tea party table accessories, staff favourites include Alice in Wonderland style cake flags and a cardboard vintage printed cake stand, perfect for picnics! (and suitable for recycling afterwards).  For the sophisticated couple we have our new ‘Divine Wedding Table Decorations’ including table gems and glass ‘crystal’ style place card holders, the finishing sparkle for your special day….

Our new season stock has hit our stores!  We are so excited about the beautiful autumn fashion and new season gifts and accessories which have arrived over the last few weeks, with more to come   Our first autumn story features lightweight oversized knits, faux fur trims, lacy vintage style scarves and accessories, Victorian style walking boots and crochet lace insert shoes, chalk boards, vintage buttons and shabby chic French style furniture…. a vintage Autumn dream…….

Click on the thumbnails below to view full sized images

Throughout the summer and into autumn a marquee wedding reception is a beautiful romantic setting for your guests.  We love the idea of dressing an outdoor space with pretty tea light holders and candle lanterns to illuminate the evening of your reception.  Our white butlers tray on stand doubles as a handy drinks stand, if buffet food is being served outdoors use cake stands with glass dome covers and embellished food covers to add a pretty touch to your table while keeping bugs at bay!  The citronella candles are beautifully scented with citronella oil, which doubles an effective insect repellent. Here are a few of our favourite ideas to combine the pretty with the practical for your marquee reception……

If you like the look of our newsletter and would like one to conveniently arrive in your inbox each month, please do sign up through www.velvetwedding.co.uk  We promise to only ever email you regarding products and special offers which we find truly exciting!

Be My Sweetheart….the new sweetheart furniture collection at Velvet.

The new sweetheart range of furniture has arrived at Velvet and we love it!  Pretty white-painted
French-style furniture to dress up your home, the sweetheart collection is our affordable shabby-chic
dream.  This season we are complementing this range with hanging wicker hearts to create a rustic
country feel to continue into Autumn….

If you like the look of our newsletter and would like one to conveniently arrive in your inbox each month, please do sign up through www.velvetstore.co.uk  We promise to only ever email you regarding products and special offers which we find truly exciting!

Congratulations Lorna & Steve   Long time friends of Velvet and frequent visitors to our stores Lorna & Steve Jenkins have shared some of their wedding photos with us for our blog!  They used Velvet Wedding decorations to dress their summer marquee wedding reception, a beautiful country themed wedding with a feminine/masculine balance of vintage floral and Union Jack inspiration……

Click on the thumbnails below to view full sized images…

Get Lorna & Steve’s Velvet Wedding Look:

Have you used Velvet Wedding decorations for your wedding?  Would you like to be featured in our blog?  Send your fave pics and a description of your big day to Emma Jane: emmajane@velvetstore.co.uk

This month our window displays have been bursting with colour with our Moroccan Summer theme: metal lanterns, ethnic embroidery, bamboo style furniture, printed paper fans, vintage silvered tea light holders and orchid fairy lights help to create this bright, bold and beautiful theme.

If you feel inspired by our Moroccan style windows, you might want to check out our Colourful Exotic theme page- CLICK HERE

 Click on the thumbnails below to view full sized images

We are now officially wedding obsessed at Velvet – I don’t think there’s any going back when you reach this point?

With the launch of our new decorations & favours website velvetwedding we have discovered so many amazing wedding blogs! They are incredible resources for anyone planning their wedding or civil partnership to help inspire, guide and give you the confidence to create your perfect day your own way. Weddings are excitingly becoming more bespoke and reflective of the personality of the couple, we hope at Velvet Wedding that we can help to provide some of the finishing touches to show the world who you are on your special day. Here are just a few of the blogs we love best…….

Rock N Roll Bride

Bubblegum pink haired Kat Williams posts brilliant blog entries with the philosophy ‘Your Big Day the Rock N Roll Way’ – some beautifully styled weddings featured, a fabulous and fun mix of beautiful, quirky, vintage and of course Rock n Roll – a must see for anyone planning a wedding!

Irregular Bride

New blog created by friend of Velvet and talented graphic designer Katherine Radcliffe, Kath has now been married for a year and is still in love with weddings, her blog is a collection of styling and imagery which has caught her creative eye.

English Wedding

Claire’s English Wedding blog is as organised as every bride would love to be! With easy to navigate and beautifully presented sections about ‘planning’, ‘inspiration’ ‘shopping guide’ and ‘categories’ the English Wedding blog meticulously and delightfully covers all aspects of planning your wedding. Packed full of inspiration and information.

Every wedding & civil partnership is different and carries the stamp of the celebrated couple, we love that so many brides and grooms have already visited our new Velvet Wedding site to help make their day their own.  There are so many unique and beautiful weddings out there which helped to inspire us to create our site, here are a few of our favourite starting point themes……

  Royal Britannia

Think cool Britannia with a regal touch…. vintage Union Jack bunting, red, white & blue decorations and finishing touches from our red & white retro-spot range.

To see our Royal Britannia theme click HERE

Traditional Vintage

Perhaps the most Velvet of all themes!  The traditional vintage theme includes shabby chic decorations: glass jars, bird cages and our favourite Regency cake stand.

To see our Traditional Vintage Theme click HERE

Colourful Exotic

A vibrant burst of ethnic fusion, a celebration of colour!  Fun, quirky and dare we say……. a little bit kitsch.  Gorgeous jam jar tealight holders, retro spot garden windmills and magenta hanging heart tealight holders.

To see our Colourful Exotic Theme click HERE

Monochrome

A sophisticated, minimalist & chic theme, perfect for a black tie reception, black, white & silver.  We love the white painted wooden letters, the black lace style paper doilies and the Jazz instrument napkin charms.

To see our Monochrome Theme click HERE

Country Floral

The country floral is a romantic countryside dream!  Rustic decorations with a cosy family feel, a great theme for a garden reception!  Our favourites include the wicker hearts, zinc heart tealight holders and delicate paper rose garlands.

To see our Country Floral Theme click HERE

Feminine Romantic

The theme for every bride and groom who are planning their fairy tale wedding!  Think rose fairy lights, little bird clips and our delicate ‘love birds’ cream metal cupcake stand.

 To see our Feminine Romantic Theme click HERE

Join our wedding mailing list today to receive exciting monthly updates from our new website www.velvetwedding.co.uk . If you missed out this time don’t despair!  You can see our beautiful first newsletter here AND claim 10% off your first order at velvetwedding.co.uk by entering the code FIRST10 at the checkout…… to sign up to our newsletter to receive our future updates visit www.velvetwedding.co.uk today.

The launch of our new website www.velvetwedding.co.uk has made all of us here at Velvet realise how much we LOVE weddings, civil partnerships, anniversaries, tea parties….. well any excuse to celebrate and decorate in style!

From traditional and vintage tastes to modern affairs and exotic colourful and quirky styles we feel it is always important to stay true to what feels right for you for your special day. Our wedding team have been feeling inspired and in true Velvet style have been creating some extravagantly beautiful displays for our stores, we thought this one by Karen would translate well as a beautiful wedding display piece……..

Bird & Butterfly Heart

We Used:

 This can be created using any of our heart photo holders from the ‘frames & photo holders’ page of our site – CLICK HERE to view our selection

As well as a beautiful selection of bird clips – CLICK HERE to visit our page of Bird Clips

….and of course butterfly clips – CLICK HERE to visit our page of Butterfly Clips

Simply clip the birds and butterflies on to the wire heart photo holder and create a pretty ribbon tie to hang your Bird and Butterfly heart – beautiful!

Here at Velvet we have been providing local brides with some of the most beautiful wedding decorations & favours for the past 10 years, there was only one problem…… how could we fit the whole range into our beautiful stores alongside our fab collection of furniture, lighting, gifts, clothing, accessories & home accessories?

……….And so Velvet Wedding was born! 

www.velvetwedding.co.uk stocks everything from cake stands, bird cages, confetti, tealight holders, favours, gifts for bridesmaids, flower garlands and faux flowers to candle holders, table decorations, napkin charms, hanging heart tealight holders lanterns, garden decorations, bunting, paper chains, bird & butterfly clips, as well as heart decorations galore, white wooden letters, frames & photo holders, fairy lights, chalk boards, gift vouchers, photo albums & wedding gifts.

Are you lucky enough to be spending this Bank Holiday weekend in Brighton?  Why not download our special Bank Holiday 10% off voucher and treat yourself at Velvet!  10% off clothes, shoes, accessories, gifts & home accessories at Velvet (27 Bond Street Brighton & 66-68 Church Road Hove).

Simply click the text link below to download your voucher, print and bring to one of our stores to redeem!

Valid from Friday 28th-31st May 2010.

bank-holiday-voucher.pdf

Last weekend Velvet Co-director Emma, Manager Karen, and Emma’s sister Lorna battled the wind and rain to complete the 10 Mile Pink Ribbon Walk for Breast Cancer Care.  So far we have raised £1,800.  There is still time to sponsor and we are aiming to raise over £2,000 by August!  If you would like to donate please CLICK HERE to visit the Team Velvet just giving page

 Click on the thumbnails below to view full sized photos!

Are you lucky enough to be spending this Bank Holiday weekend in Brighton?  Why not download our special Bank Holiday 10% off voucher and treat yourself at Velvet!  10% off clothes, shoes, accessories, gifts & home accessories at Velvet (27 Bond Street Brighton & 66-68 Church Road Hove).

Simply click the text link below to download your voucher, print and bring to one of our stores to redeem!

Valid from Friday 30th April – Monday 3rd May 2010.

velvet-bank-holiday-10-off.pdf

Being based in Brighton the beach is our sanctuary when the sun is shining.  At Velvet we love the seaside so much we decided to dress our windows this month in a brilliant nautical seaside theme, with bright blues, and clean crisp whites, sailing boats and a traditional British Seaside feel, spring has finally arrived.

To view full sized images, click on the thumbnails below

We have have had a couple of weeks of spring sunshine and are hoping its here to stay.  With our spring fashion in full swing in our stores we are ready to start championing the nudes, creams and pastels of this season, with pretty lacework detailing, delicate knitwear and gorgeous mesh skirts.  We also have a wonderful selection of printed and woven design scarves in store- not to be missed!  Velvet’s Belgravia range of shabby chic white painted furniture is the perfect complement to the bright springtime feel of this season.  CLICK HERE to see the rest of the range

Click on the thumbnails below to view full size

We Love Mums! Here are some of our favourite ideas for this Mother’s Day- don’t forget it’s on Sunday 20th March!  If you like the look of our newsletter and would like one to conveniently arrive in your inbox once a month, please do sign up by entering your email address into the box at the left hand side of this screen.  We promise to only ever email you regarding products and special offers which we find truly exciting!

We think Mums are so great we decided to dedicate a whole window display to them! Don’t forget Mother’s Day, Sunday 14th March…..

 Click on the thumbnails below to view full size

Our Valentines theme this year is traditionally British with Union Jack hearts, cushions and doormats.  Our popular hanging heart tealight holders make a thoughtful and lasting gift for the home or garden.  We have a beautiful selection of Valentine’s cards in store, with more heart and LOVE themed gifts arriving in store this week.  Celebrate love in all it’s forms this Valentine’s day……..

We are currently recruiting for a management position at our Church Road store in Hove- this is an exciting new opportunity for to become part of our team here at Velvet!  Please click on the link to the document below for further details, we would like all applications to hand in a cover letter with their CV relating to; your expectations of the role, your responsibilities, your experience and of becoming part of the Velvet team!  If you have any questions please contact a member of our team on 01273 326007.

click on the following link for details of the management vacancy: velvet-management-vacancy.docx

Our current furniture promotion, valid in-store until 31st January 2010:

As Christmas approaches our window displays are starting to get festive!  This Christmas we have a great range of sophisticated decorations and fun and thoughtful gifts, this window features knee high boots, traditional furniture, cosy winter accessories and cushions and hot water bottles galore!

If you love our website and our stores why not stay up to date with all things Velvet and sign up for our monthly e-newsletter, featuring new product ranges and special offers to spend in store and online!  Here is a preview of our October newsletter- just enter your email address into the box to the left on this screen to receive our November news…..

Our 2nd autumn window display features a traditional autumnal woodland feel with beautifully finished oak furniture, red leather upholstered armchairs and beaded lampshades, accessorised with shabby chic white painted frames and rich red and cream floral displays.  Warm scarves, boots, jackets and layered knitwear complete the 2nd Velvet autumn style story .

This year we showcased 3 of our top autumn/winter 09 looks at the Unique Brighton fashion show, held in the popular South Laines area of Brighton on Sunday 6th Sept, for information about the clothing and accessories featured in these photos or to place an order please call us on 01273 326007.  Click on the thumbnails below for the full sized image.

We have some great new autumn clothes and shoes in our stores, with some gorgeous coats and jackets ready for the cooler weather!  A huge range of new season scarves have also arrived at Velvet, perfect for that in-between weather in September.

The Velvet summer sale is now on at both of our stores, with bikinis, kaftans, sandals and summer fashion at fantastic prices!  Come in and pick up some purse-friendly summer bargains while the weather’s still great!

George and Karen worked their merchandising magic this week creating lush new table displays for our Brighton store.

(click thumbnails to see full size images!)

This is the third of our fabulous summer window displays, featuring our beautiful pink garden parasol, only £22!

Velvet are proudly supporting the Lily foundation for Mitochondrial Disease, a devastating genetic condition which sadly is currently incurable.  The Lily Foundation sponsors work for research into Mitochondrial Disease and other metabolic disorders, hopefully through their support a cure will one day be developed.

To find out more about Mitochondrial disease and what you can do to help support the Lily Foundation visit www.thelilyfoundation.org.uk

Velvet are donating a hamper of goodies worth over £55 to the Lily Foundation for a fundraiser on 7th June 2009, and would like to wish everyone at the foundation the best of luck in raising support for their cause.

Pastel shades and feminine furnishings, a playful but sophisticated take on shabby chic  (click on thumbnails to enlarge)

This year we’ve been working on expanding our Church Road store in Hove by opening a second floor and including our entire product range.  Our Hove Velvet  is now our first lifestyle boutique-department-store, featuring everything from greetings cards to dresses, shoes and accessories, gifts, lighting and furniture.  Here is a sneak peek at some new photos of the store- to be updated shortly!

The first of our great summer window displays, filled with summer brights and bold prints to start the season!

(click on thumbnails to enlarge)

 To coincide with our featured products this month we created a Union Jack window display to match, photos below (click thumbnails to view larger versions.

Here at Velvet we’ve been working on a bit of column re-design for Latest Homes Magazine (local to Brighton and Hove), don’t forget to check out the new style column fortnightly!  For those of you outside of Brighton and Hove you can also view the column online by clicking here.

Dear Friends and Velveteens,

I just wanted to thank all those involved for helping us raise loads of cash for Comic Relief.

We raised £770 on Friday from street/shop collecting from customers, staff and generous neighbours (Badger gave us £100!), combined with 10% of all our sales in Hove and Brighton (luckily it was a very busy day!).

Plus the staff on that day collectively spent £120 on t shirts.

So a big thank you especially to those  gave money and raised money on the day … Karen, Adam, Colette, Moise, Gemma, Misha, Vicky, Helen, Menna, Lou, George R, George D and Iris.

It has made me very proud to send of that cheque today – so well done and thank you team!

Love Emma

(click on the thumbnail for larger versions)

On Friday 13 March all the team at Velvet will be celebrating Red Nose Day 2009 to raise buckets of cash for Comic Relief!

Join us at 27 Bond Street, Brighton and 66-68 Church Road, Hove to see the whole team looking funny for money.

Every member of staff has purchased an iconic Stella McCartney Red Nose Day t-shirt and will be strutting their stuff around our stores in these and Comic Relief Red Noses! Red lipstick and nail varnish will complete the look!

Staff will be encouraging customers to empty their pockets, purses and wallets to donate their small change to Red Nose Day.

Velvet will also be donating 10% from every purchase made on the day to Comic Relief.

Every penny they raise will go to Comic Relief to help transform lives across Africa and the UK.

For more information or photos (available from 15/3/09) contact Menna or Emma: info@velvetstore.co.uk, 01273 326007

As mentioned earlier this year, our renovation work at Church Road is complete. We now have a beautiful clothes and shoes ’boutique’ section at the back of our ground floor, complete with stunning new changing rooms.

And down stairs has been transformed from a dingy dark stockroom into a gorgeous new basement full of furniture, lighting and mirrors. Be sure to come and visit us, we’d love to welcome you (but here’s some pictures for those of you who can’t! Click Thumbnail to enlarge…)

Well, not quite a boom, but we are expecting two Velvet babies this Summer!

Directors Nick and Emma are expecting their 3rd in July. And Menna our PR and Internet Manager is expecting her 1st in June… there must be something in the water..!

All this baby talk must have rubbed off on the buying team… we have some beautiful gifts for expectant parents, families and friends, as well as stunning new products for around your home, available in store and online.

(follow us on here and on our twitter for all the latest news!)

 As wikipedia so kindly explains… Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

Keep up to date with all going ons at Velvet…

Follow us at: http://twitter.com/velvetstore

Happy New Year to you all!

The New Year is a time for resolutions and change.

We have some exciting changes happening here with us at Velvet and it involves a massive SALE! Our furniture store on Bond Street, Brighton is relocating to our Flagship store on Church Road, Hove. Over the next few months, Church Road will be undergoing some big changes including  the opening of a new furniture floor and the introduction of clothing, shoes, accessories and swimwear – all in time for the summer!We can’t wait for you to see all the changes that are going to be made but in the mean time we would love you to visit both stores to make the  most of the massive sales that are happening!

We are very excited to tell you that on Friday 26th September at the glamorous Hilton Hotel on Brighton Seafront, Velvet were announced Best Independent Retailer for the second year running!  There were over 200 entries from around 150 Brighton companies making this a huge win for Velvet, as Brighton is now one of the busiest shopping areas in the UK. Stand up comedian Stephen Grant announced the winners of the 5th annual Brighton and Hove Business Awards at the Hilton Brighton Metropole no Friday 26 September. The gala business event was attended by over 400 business representatives from across the city.  Once again, all the staff at Velvet looked amazing in their dresses bought especially for the event!“We are so excited about winning ‘Best Independent Retailer’ again for our 4 stores. The Velvet team work very hard to excel in Retail and this award confirms we are doing something right! We are very proud of our staff who put a lot of effort into Velvet and the award has been great for morale.” Says Emma one of our Co-Directors. We were also finalists for Business Growth Award for our four stores and successful e-commerce website! We are delighted to have won such a prestigious award for the second time! Well done to the 30 very hardworking members of the Velvet team, they really deserve this. And a huge thank you to our loyal customers who have supported us over the years!

You can view some photos in our Latest News Section, on our Velvet facebook page… and here’s some hilarious outtakes for you to enjoy!!

Although it’s been a while since we had our van and beetle wrapped we thought it was something worth shouting about!

They were a labour of love but we think you’ll agree that they were worth the effort! Just look at them – they’re hard to miss!

12/9/08:

This morning we re-took our team photos as we have lots of new staff! You can veiw the outcome on our meet the team page but we thought you may like to see some of the outtakes as well! (click on the thumbnails for larger images)

5/9/08:

For the second year running we have reached the Brighton and Hove Business awards!

And this year we are up for not one, but two awards!

Once again, we are in the final three for the Best Independent Retailer category.

And this year sees the introduction of a new award for Business Growth – in which we have also made the final four!

The competition is tough so wish us luck!!

We will find out in three weeks!

On Thursday 7th July, Velvet’s Area Manager Karen Giles and PR Co-ordinator Menna Pritchard enjoyed an afternoon at the Races.

They were kindly invited by Brighton’s best free weekly magazine – Latest Homes, in which Velvet has a design advice column (available on this website)

Once again, they were lucky enough to escape the all the rain and enjoyed blue skies, wonderful sunshine and great company!

They weren’t however, quite as lucky with their choice of horses.

Transvestite, which they thought could not lose at this particular track failed! But at 4.30pm the tables turned and betting each way brought them a little slice of success with Tuscan Treaty and Star Strider!

(click on thumbnail for larger version)

On Sunday 20th July we enjoyed our second annual team BBQ on the beach! It was a huge success and, like our Christmas Parties,  will definately be a long running fixture in the Velvet Calender.

The Velvet team as well as being colleagues are also great friends which means not only do we enjoy regular social outtings together but you will notice when you visit us that the shop floors have a lovely, relaxed, friendly atmosphere.

We were lucky enough to escape the recent rain and were treated to blue skies, glorious sunshine and delicious food for veggies and meat-eaters alike!

Feel free to have a nose through our photos below! (click on thumbnails for larger versions)

On Thursday 3rd July, to celebrate the opening of our fourth store, we hosted a fabulous Launch Party at our flagship lifestyle and interiors showroom located at 66-68 Church Road.  Champagne was served all night by our beautiful Velvet Team and guests indulged in a selection of bagels and specially themed purple and gold fairy cakes kindly provided by local independent businesses – Bagelman and Angel Cake Bakery. 

Guests included local press and journalists, interior designers, local businesses and our friends and family!

Take a look at some of the photos from the night!

(click on the thumbnail to see larger versions)

We are so excited to annouce that the brand new Velvet Furniture Showroom is now open!

Come and visit us for lots of inspiration for your home… Buy beautiful felt cushions and damask light shades, come and try out our comfy sofas, decide which of our 30+ chandeliers is your favourite and picture all your clothes in our huge armoires!  You will find us at 66-68 Church Road, Hove (the old Gamleys).We look forward to seeing you!(click on the thumbnails for larger versions of the photos)

Take a look at our new store slowly taking shape…

We have been fortunate enough to make some great discoveries as the rennovation has been underway, including beautiful sash windows at the back of the store, amazing high ceilings and wonderful panelling around the pillars – all these perfectly complement the Velvet  look!

You will find our wonderful new Velvet store at 66-68 Church Street, Hove

The exciting news is out - We are opening our fourth store! A new furniture and home accessories showroom on Church Road, Hove in the old  Gamleys Toy shop. The new store will be open mid June. During the renovation we will be posting a photo diary of the progress, do check back over the next few weeks to see how we are doing!

We are so excited about the new store, “The old Gamleys shop is one of the best sized stores in Hove, so we jumped at this opportunity to show the huge range of furniture we sell from our website. Existing customers have been asking us to open a furniture store in Hove for ages, so we are planning not to disappoint!” says our Co-Director Emma Harrop.

You will find our wonderful new Velvet store at 66-68 Church Street, Hove

We are very excited to tell you that on May 22nd at the glamorous ‘Greats’ Gift Retailer Awards 2008 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, Velvet won the Best Gift Retailer South and South East for its three Lifestyle stores in Brighton and Hove!!

We also reached the final for Best Retail Display and Retail Employee of the Year for our Area Manager and Buyer – Karen Giles. 

We are delighted to have won such a prestigious award within our industry, especially after winning our ‘Best Independent Retailer’ 2007 award in the Brighton and Hove Business Awards last September. Well done to the 30 very hardworking members of the Velvet team, they really deserve this. And a huge thank you to our loyal customers who have supported us over the years!

A very glamorous affair … walking into the foyer of Ladbrooke Hall to a buzz of excited press and an anticipated design team. Champagne to get into the spirit of the evening (well it would be rude not to!), big screens of Kylie draped in sumptous bedding, and on the Versailles bed Velvet supplied.

Then we ventured into the Grande Hall, looking for Kylie… and out she comes, all petit and glamorous! Yes she is as fabulous as you can imagine and her bedding range reflects that perfectly.

All the beds used at the launch looked great and complemented Kylie’s new bedding range to a ‘T’.

What a fabulous event!

Liza, Manager

Hi all,

January is a great time for peace and quiet after all the decorations and festivities are over!

It’s the perfect oppotunity to reflect on the year gone by and make plans for the year ahead.

Here at Velvet we are having a huge clean and sort out, no corner is going untouched! All the floors and walls are being repainted! The office is having a face lift – it’s brilliant!

 We will also be attending lots of Product Fairs and sourcing lots of exciting new products for the shops and website, so keep checking back and hopefully we will have something that is just perfect for you!

Speak soon, Menna

Hello and Welcome to the Velvet Blog,

This is an area where we can keep you regularly updated with any news and special offers, a place where we can give you advice and tips, or just have a general ‘chit chat’ about life at Velvet! All the team here will be able to contribute to the page so it’s always worth checking back to see what’s been happening here at Velvet!

Speak soon, Menna