Celebrating 10 Years

Moments to be proud of are always lovely but it’s the funny ones that have made the last decade such a joy and there have been lots of these.

There was the photoshoot on the beach which was going brilliantly until we realised that the van we were shooting from was gradually sinking into the sand beneath it! After a mild panic from all involved, we managed to find a kind man with a tractor to haul us (and the van) back to safety.

Vicky’s dog Bertie played a key role in the early days of P&A and was the source of many a moment of fun. He was once even asked to be on the cover of a crime novel! Unfortunately, this role required Bertie to pull a quizzical “deductive” expression and whilst he will do most things for a cube of cheese, crime solving clearly wasn’t his thing.

We also ran a competition at one point to find Bertie a girlfriend and were inundated with far more photos of beautiful dogs than were really prepared for. We did find a winner though and her name was Tillie. A lit later down the line though her owners got in touch to say that Tillie was looking for a new home. We felt that since we had now found her, it would be very sad for Bertie to be without her, so she joined Vicky’s family and remains a much-loved addition by all.

Ten years of business is never plain sailing, but these times have all helped us learn and grow and so we wouldn’t be without them. These have often been times that arise due a little underestimation on our part. Like the time when we moved into our new 6,000sq/ft warehouse believing that we would all just be able to muck in and build the 20ft of warehouse racking we needed to fill it on our own. It didn’t take long for us to realise that, with a single screwdriver between us, we probably needed to call in the experts.

It is at times like these that our and our team’s friends and families are often invaluable. There was a particularly memorable occasion where we had completely underestimated the popularity of a new product launch and were not able to manage the demand ourselves. There was a quick ring through the team’s phone books and soon we had a warehouse full of loved ones all helping to pick and pack.

It has been a wonderful decade. One filled with a lot of laughter and learning and one we are immensely proud of. But really it has all been possible because of the lovely team we have built here and our incredibly loyal, funny and generous customers that have made the whole journey worthwhile.

 

Thank you so much, and here’s to the next ten years.

 

Vicky & Freya xx