Hong Kong experiences part 2 not the outcome I expected!

As I said in the part 1 blog I have had the opportunity through my previous job to go to Hong Kong twice, first in 2005 and then again in Oct 2006...as I mentioned before, both these trips would be so memorable for me, but for completely different reasons...here I talk about the 2nd trip to Hong Kong...

This time my trip to Hong Kong I was with design manager Jenny and product manager Stella along with our Managing Director David

On this trip, due to the flights, we actually arrived in HK on the Saturday which meant we had Sunday to do some sight seeing...

We went to a recently opened mountain top retreat (and for the life in me I cannot remember it's name) but it was beautiful..
The humidity was unbelievable and with this experience being new there were so many people ahead of us queuing - but being "typical" Brits we queued patiently. Finally after about a 2hr wait we were able to start the sight seeing

We had to get a cable car up to the top of the mountain which gave us some amazing views over HK

As we cleared on smaller peak we saw where we were heading as the rather large Buddha kind of gave it away!

Below are some photo's taken on the day











Whilst it was a truly lovely day and experience, we all admitted that we were all really looking forward to what the evening held in store for us..we had been invited to the Hong Kong Jockey Club by Mr Lau (who had taken us to the China Club previously) we were told we had to dress up for the evening..

We were picked up by Mr Lau's chauffeur and taken to the club...we were taken into the cocktail bar where there was a pianist and singer to entertain us (we were the only ones there at that time)
Being in a cocktail bar the only drink I could think to have was a Vodka Martini...and it was so nice!
The menus were brought to us, David asked Mr Lau if he had any recommendations and Mr Lau suggested the steaks as they were prized Kobe Beef steaks...along with a few others I chose this.
This was the most amazing steak I had ever eaten, and I guess it should be as one steak cost £40!!!!
I couldn't wait to tell my Mum (who was a cook) about the steak, she would be so jealous!

We enjoyed a lovely time at the Hong Kong Jockey Club in the company of Mr Lau, and afterwards his chauffeur dropped us back off in the city and we enjoyed a few drinks in some clubs..

Back at the hotel I had just got into bed and switched the light off when my mobile started ringing - it was Paul, my uncle (he says he is too young to be called Uncle)we exchanged pleasantries and then he just said...
"I don't know how to tell you...your Mum has died..."

I think I screamed, I think I shouted NO and I remember Paul crying down the phone to me saying how much he just wanted to hold me tight and make the hurt go away...

As I tried to compose myself and take in the devastating news the reality of me being at the other side of the world suddenly hit me...I needed to get home, and I needed to get home NOW

Just to put you in the picture my Mum had been diagnosed with Liver Cancer in the June and had been having chemo... this had really taken its toll on her and she really had been suffering..and then at her last hospital visit she had been told it had spread into her lungs.
We knew this was serious, but at no point was she ever told that this was terminal and having beaten Breast Cancer 10years prior she was determined to do this again.
She was adamant that I went to HK and now I look back on the last time I saw her, she was in bed and we had a lovely hour together, and the last thing I did for her was put a hot water bottle against her back for her...at that time little did i realise how special that memory would come to be to me

Back to HK I phoned David, I remember apologising to him for waking him and saying im sorry David but I need to get home...my Mum has died

Obviously David was very shocked by this news and offered me all his sympathy and he would start making phone calls

Everyone at the company knew my Mum as she did all the buffets/catering for the company meetings/launches etc (everyone loved her quiche!) and so it made the whole thing a little more personal to everyone

David called Jenny who came down to my room to sit with me, and kept topping my glass up with everything and anything she could from the mini bar

I had spoken to my Dad (my Dad and Mum split up when I was 13 - and I chose to live with my Dad so we were very close) I had cried my heart out down the phone line to him, I was feeling so guilty for not being there and for having been out having the time of my life whilst Mum was dying in hospital..

Within an hour David had arranged, via Hallmark's CEO's personal assistant, a flight for me at 10am - a car would pick me up from reception at 6am and take me to the airport. I had to fly to Amsterdam and from there onto Manchester.
David met me in reception before I left, I felt so sorry for him and Jenny who had both been up all night now and had a long journey into China ahead of them.

When I got to the airport I picked up my ticket with a message from the CEO's assistant telling me I was being flown home first class, and that she had got me a window seat so that I could have as much privacy as possible.

As I bordered the plane the stewardess checked my ticket and pointed me towards to staircase - I was going to be in the upstairs part of the Jumbo Jet. This is where I found out how the other half lived!
As I sat down in my HUGE leather seat the stewardess passed me a glass of champagne..I raised my glass to my Mum and my journey home began...
The flight was amazing, I just wish I had been able to appreciate it more at the time...5* treatment, a constant stream of beautiful meals and drinks and no one sat next to me, so I could just turn away and stare out of the window and grieve

From leaving the hotel to arriving at Manchester it took me 20hours to get home..20 long and torturous hours...but finally I was being hugged and held by my Dad.

Once home Paul arrived to see me and gave me the hug he had wanted to give me when he broke the news to me on the phone, and he filled me in on what had happened.
Mum had been taken into hospital as she was struggling to breathe...Barry, her husband had been with her and had, on the suggestion of the ward sister, gone home for a break and chance to freshen up. No sooner had he got home (about 8 miles away) the hospital were calling him to tell him to get back asap.
By chance Paul and his wife Alison were already on their way to visit Mum and as they sat at her bed Paul held her hand and said.. "I'm here Kid" and with that she died. I strongly believe she held on just long enough to have someone with her..
Just a few minutes later Barry arrived, but it was too late - she had gone.

The next few days went by in a blur, I had to visit my Nan (Mum's Mum) who was at that time 88years old (she is 93 next week!!)Like us all she was totally devastated, no parent should outlive their child, it was so painful to see her getting upset.

A few days later it was her funeral, it was the day I was dreading, but also one I knew I had to get though to allow me to start moving forward.
I kept having my teary moments whilst in the car following the hearse
I remember walking up the path to the church and then I can't really remember much of the service...but do remember being the one to walk out of the church directly behind my Mum's coffin and letting out an audible gasp of sorrow and seeing so many people in the pews with tears in their eyes.

As everyone gathered outside the church to pass on their condolences to all the family I remember my Dad hugging me and holding me tight - and we both sobbed together...

We went from the church to the crematorium and as as we stood outside the crematorium I remember smiling for the first time that day as I heard the song that was playing..it was one I had chosen - It was Meatloaf, Bat Out of Hell..for most people they would be thinking what a bizarre choice and not the kind of music Mum would have liked, but I knew different. Mum used to play Bat out of hell as loud as she could whilst she did her ironing, and I knew as she looked down on us she would be laughing and smiling with me...

There isn't a day goes by that I don't think of my Mum and hate the fact she is no longer here...she was only 56 when she died - I was 32. Today as I look back I am able to now see I had 32 wonderful years with my Mum and whilst it would have been so nice to have had more time with her, I am so grateful for all those precious years... Love you Mum..xxx

Hong Kong experiences part 1

I mentioned previously that when I worked as a Product Manager for Hallmark Cards I was given the opportunity to visit Hong Kong & China on 2 occasions. These 2experiences will stay with me for life, but for completely different reasons

Sometime around 2003 the manufacturing of all our cards moved from Bradford to China and whilst I am all for manufacturing staying in Britain and buying British it was amazing to see the level of quality and attention to detail in the products that were coming in from China compared to the constant faults and problems we experienced from Bradford

Towards the end of 2004 I was called into the Managing Directors office - presuming something was wrong or I was getting more work you can imagine how thrilled I was when he told me they wanted me to go to HK on the next trip

Feb 2005 I was en route to Manchester airport with 2 colleagues Louise who was also a Product Manager and Chris who worked as the liaison between our office and the HK office.

We got the shuttle down to Heathrow, there we had about 4 hours to kill until we got our flight to Hong Kong

I was excited and apprehensive at the same time about what the week ahead had in store for me.

I had never flown long haul before and the thought of an approx 13hr flight didn't thrill me, but it had to be done...

We survived the journey - it wasn't the most comfortable and we really didn't manage to sleep (well actually Chris slept most of the way!)

Once at the airport we were met by the hotel's car and given fresh wipes and bottled water - I remember thinking this is going to be amazing

We were staying at the 5* Langham Hotel



This was the view that greeted us as we entered



As you can imagine WOW was often in our vocabulary

Our rooms looked like this



with a bathroom like this



WOW WOW WOW :-)

The week consisted of us spending a couple of days in the Hong Kong Hallmark office, talking about production, costings, issues etc and then we also went on site tours of several of the manufacturers - these were all based in China

Every lunchtime consisted of a different manufacturer taking us to lunch and every evening meal was the same - a different manufacturer would take us for a meal.
It was the manufacturers opportunity to wine and dine us and clearly tout for more business

The lunch meals had pretty much the same format - taken to a private room in a restaurant where copious amounts of Chinese starters and main courses were brought out - all placed on a large "lazy susan" turn table in the centre of the table and everyone tucked in

The evening meals varied more...we went to an outdoor Fish restaurant where we had 9 courses of fish dishes!
You could even choose what you wanted to eat - although we didn't






I promise we didn't eat this one (just one that looked similar!!)


We also went to an Italian one evening but the most memorable eve was when we were taken to the private members club The China Club by a lovely gentleman called Mr Lau
He was so proud of his heritage and was passionate about tea and being lucky enough to sit next to him he told me all about this passion..

We had spent most of the week persevering with chop sticks and had just about got the hang of them, but here at the China Club you didn't get common wooden ones - these were solid silver - and much heavier than we were used to...
Louise and I managed to use them(just)...but Chris struggled, Mr Lau noticed, beckoned a waiter over and within a second Chris was presented with a knife and fork :-)
Our lovely meal was interrupted so that we could go into the main restaurant to watch the "entertainment", which consisted of the head chef doing a demo where he created noodles...It may not sound like much, but believe me - it was amazing! Especially when he skipped (still wearing his chefs hat) with the noodles







The days were long, but the nights were even longer...a typical day consisted of breakfast at 7.30, walk to the office, meetings all morning then lunch which was usually at least 2hrs...back to the office til 5pm ish..quickly back to the hotel for a quick change and then usually out for the evening meal between 6.30 and 7.00.

The meal would probably end around 10pm...and then 4 of us (Me, Chris, Louise and our MD David) would head for the nightlife of Hong Kong - which resulted in us generally getting back to the hotel and bed by 4am...and then the alarm would go off at 6.30 and it all started again
We worked it out - from leaving the UK to getting back to the UK we had no more the 20hours sleep across the whole week!

No surprise we slept well on the flight back!

Water....So much Water!

Some weeks ago I had a devastating burst at the shop and getting straight has been a complete nightmare.

Just to put you in the picture the building consists of my shop and the cellar, then above the shop are 3 flats

The boiler in the flat directly above the shop finally died and quite literally spewed gallons of water out - and of cause water only travels in one direction, down! and that means coming through my ceiling into the shop

Fortunately it happened whilst I was at the shop and I have in my cellar the water shut off taps for all parts of the building...so I shot down stairs only to be met by what seemed to be countless taps (the water system in this building is crazy!) so the dilemma was which do I switch off - only thing for it was to turn them all off

Back up in the shop the water didn't stop or even seem to be slowing down...so I went back into the cellar and checked, yes all taps were off...Time to call my hero..Dad!

He told me of another tap that was in a completely different part of the cellar to all the other taps - I found it, turned it off and headed back upstairs...shortly afterwards I started to notice the water was slowing down

I put a call into the Landlord who had only bought the building 3 weeks prior, and all credit to him he was at the shop within 15mins, followed shortly by my Dad who had come out of work to help me...



Stock was ruined, the ceiling tiles were ruined, the carpet tiles were ruined...I could have cried
But when running your own business you soon learn you have to take the bad with the good...and this wasn't the end of the world, and if nothing else I'd had a free shower! :-)



I put a claim into the insurance company straight away and due to all the bad weather we were experiencing at the time they were inundated with masses of claims for burst and therefore due to it not being classed as a large claim they wouldn't send a loss assessor, I just needed to provide invoices for all that I was claiming for.
This I did duly and 8 weeks later after much tooing and froing I finally got paid out for the lost stock, but once they take the excess off there really didn't seem a lot left...

So this week I have finally been able to get the floor sorted and the carpet tiles were relaid on Tuesday and next Thursday they are coming to redo all the ceiling tiles

It was just nice to get the display stands back in place and stock back to where it should be rather than it being crammed around the shop and generally making the place look untidy

So what is Serendipity?

Serendipity has a variety of definitions, but to me it means, To come across something pleasurable by chance or a fortunate occurance. Both defined what I wanted my shop to stand for...

To own a gift and card shop was a dream I had held onto for many years, so when I was made redundant in Dec 2007 I decided this was my now or never opportunity to realise the dream and so I set about creating Serendipity and the shop opened on 26th May 2008..

I had, up until being made redundant, worked as a Product Manager for Hallmark Cards Wholesale division and had been in this role for over 11 years. It was a job I adored and it would be an understatement to say I was devastated at the redundancy - but with a pending recession the business had no choice but to let 20% of it's workforce go...and that included me.

The job had given me many great experiences and opportunities, and had shown me so many aspect to running a business that opening my own business didn't really faze me too much.
I had been responsible for multi million pound ranges of cards, managing the cards throughout their "life" from working with a Design Manager to concept the card design, working with artists who turned the concept into a finished piece of artwork, working with pre production to ensure everything was correct for print, working with the Far East as our ranges were printed in China with a production office in Hong Kong, working with the internal sales team and external sales reps to ensure that the ranges were selling, through to monitoring sales and doing sales analysis to learn more about the products and market place needs..so all in all at every stage of the cards life I was responsible for it.
The job had also given me the amazing opportunity to go to Hong Kong and China twice - experiences that I will discuss in more detail at a later date...

So I'm sure you will agree with me that I know cards...whilst gifts on the other hand was quite a new experience to me...but with the help of a couple of good trade fairs and talking to relevant people I gained great insight into the gift world

I knew almost instantly which shop I was interested in, and in the new year I made an appointment to go and view 161-163 Burnley Road, Padiham...It was a large, double fronted shop with a short stay parking bay right out side the front door..it was perfect


It needed quite a lot of work doing to it - I got the keys on 2nd May and the following 3 weeks were very full on - the shop needed to be transformed as the walls were peach, the woodwork was burgundy and the smelly carpet was faded pink - yes it was as gross as it sounds!



But the 3 weeks of hard work paid off and when I opened she looked like this.
Clean fresh yellow walls with white woodwork, and an amazing sign which just finished the look off



I spent the first year getting to know my business, my customers and my suppliers and then once I felt like I had a good selection of Gifts and Cards I set about moving the business to the next level - I ventured into the world of e-commerce by creating my first website

I had no idea about starting a website, but I also knew I couln't afford to pay for a company to generate one for me - therefore I had to find a means to create one myself.
Through research I came across a brilliant company called CREATE which enable you to make your own website, and with a lot of determination, hard work and late nights I launched www.giftsfromserendipity.com at the end of May 2009 to complement Serendipity's 1st Birthday

Initially I had cards on this website as well as gifts, but I decided a website called Gifts from Serendipity didn't scream out cards...so I created my 2nd website about 6 months ago and of cause I had to call it www.cardsfromserendipity.com

Both websites are going from strength to strength, and I am very proud of what i've achieved so far..but this is only the beginning

Serendipity has evolved so much in it's first 2 years, but it also has so much more to achieve yet..and that is the future...