Hello all!

More exciting news from the Frog & Pencil camp! A little while ago I signed myself up for Not On The High Street’s (NOTHS) ‘Pitch Up 2016’. In a matter of weeks I will be travelling down to London and I have 10 minutes to pitch my Frog & Pencil stationery loveliness to discover if they’d like to partner up with me. Eeeeek, slightly pooping my pants!

Even though this is completely out of my comfort zone (that’s a good thing, right!?!) and I’m super nervous, I couldn’t turn the opportunity down. A few months back I was having a meeting with the awesome Norfolk Brides and we got chatting about F&P selling online which in turn led to NOTHS. We both didn’t quite know how you became one of their sellers but I had an inkling it was a curated marketplace and that you’d most likely have to apply online. No word of a lie, after that meeting I walked home and logged onto Twitter. The first tweet I spotted was NOTHS calling out for the next generation of suppliers and welcoming people to join ‘Pitch Up 2016’. Oh snap! It’s got to be fate! Moment later I seized the day and grabbed a spot.

Visions of Dragon’s Den keep flashing into my mind and I fear hearing the words “I’m out!” but having started preparing and researching for it this week I’m feeling a little calmer. It appears to be more like an informal chat, they will even listen to you if it’s only an idea at this stage, which I think is fantastic. I came across this little nugget during my digging and it has been brilliantly helpful. Not only the content, but the images they’ve included gives me a peace of mind that it’s going to be a more relaxed environment. At the end of the day, they want to hear about me, my story, how my business will fit in with them and their customers and what makes F&P special. I have to remind myself that the person who know Frog & Pencil best is of course moi. I believe in my work and I believe in me which I think is a bloomin’ good place to start.

I’m positive with how it’s going and next week I plan to nail down what I want to say about my chosen pieces of work. It would be incredible to be a partner with NOTHS as they support so many talented small creative businesses and it would be an amazing platform to sell Frog & Pencil goodies. Having watched some videos and read stories they also seem to have developed a great community of suppliers who are all like-minded and passionate…who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?

So, I’m going to give it my best shot and enjoy the experience…and if I only come away with great advice, then I’ll be much richer for it.

I’ll keep you all posted and wish me luck in my prep!

Until next time you lovely lot,

Cx