What a crazy start to the year we've had here. You may have noticed that we have been a bit quiet recently. Sorry about that, but we have been extra busy onboarding the newest member of the HB team. Beautiful baby Willow was born last month and we are already completely smitten with her. Thanks to everyone who took the time to get in touch and offer their congratulations, it was greatly appreciated.
On a related topic, Mother's Day is coming up next week and after seeing what an amazing job Kellie did throughout the pregnancy and birth I think a dedicated day to appreciate all that mothers do for us is both welcome and inadequate. So don't forget to show some love for the mothers this Sunday, but maybe keep it up for the rest of the year too. They surely deserve it.
Last month's interview with Dr Michelle LaRue had an amazing response. Who knew that Antarctica was such a must-see destination? Luna's February review of John Birmingham's novel drew the attention and reply of Mr Birmingham himself. Needless to say that Luna hasn't stopped talking about the fact that she and JB enjoy reading each other's work.
In other news, just last week the long suffering coffee machine here at HBHQ headed off to the great cafe in the sky - not really a surprise as ol' steamy was the without a doubt the hardest working member of the office. Anyway, since the (let's face it, overdue) demise we have had to make do with instant coffee supplemented with the occasional take away from our local cafe. If anyone has any tips of the best home/office espresso machine for our office they would be very welcome!
As always we welcome your feedback so don’t be shy to get involved by leaving comments below here or on any of our blog posts or send us an email to hello@harlequinbelle.com with anything that wanders through your head.
We had an amazing response to the February Leaflet. It seems that lots of people were interested in what Jennifer Nini had to say and are wanting to be more sustainable in their approach to life. This could backfire, Jennifer, as your little off grid property in rural Queensland might start to get a little crowded!
This month I caught up with Dr Michelle LaRue who had many fascinating insights to share and brought my attention to a particular human impact on the environment that I hadn’t considered. If you’d like to read some more then you can do so here. I recommend you do – especially if you are someone who uses or has used supplements such as Omega 3 and fish oil.
Luna went missing for a few days recently while binging on her latest Netflix discovery, 30° In February. She has made sure that we have all seen it now and I think we all agree with her assessment, although we have disagreed at times about who was our favourite character.
As always we welcome your feedback so don’t be shy to get involved by leaving comments below here or on any of our blog posts or hit us up via email hello@harlequinbelle.com with anything that wanders through your head.
FEBRUARY 2017
As many of you will appreciate, 2016 was a huge year. Worldwide we saw many greatly significant events, including some of the more controversial happenings such as 'Brexit' and the (surprising to many) US election result. 2016 also saw the passing of many important people; the celebrities we all know of and whose great work had touched and inspired many but also many other wonderful humans who were equally important but whose names were not so widely known.
It's important also to remember the multitude of positive things that took place in 2016 - The US banning oil and gas drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic. The wild tiger population has started to increase for the first time since records have been kept which is great news for the species but maybe not so much for the villagers who live nearby. Also, giant pandas have been taken off the endangered list, now we just need to make sure they stay clear of the tigers...
We think it's a great idea to focus on the positive things that happened to us all on an individual level also. Celebrate the small victories we have day to day, share them with one another and show each other support. You never know when your small act of encouragement will come at a time when that person really needs it - it could be life changing for both of you! We would love for you to share your positive 2016 stories in the comments below.
Closer to home here at HB, 2016 saw us welcome thousands of new customers, grow our team further and extend our offering of beautiful products. Harlequin Belle pieces are currently being enjoyed in at least 9 countries - not to mention the dozens more that our pieces have toured with their owners. Of course there were many ups and downs but on the whole during 2016 we had far more ups and so we welcome 2017 with great optimism, hungry to sink our teeth into the opportunities as they arise.
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