Mistletoe and Wine...

Did I ever tell you the story about the time we sold mistletoe?

It was the first Christmas (2010) that we started Chase and Wonder and we were flat broke.

We had spent the autumn preparing for our big launch, which included our first range of screen prints and greeting cards. However at the last minute the printer let us down, and we had no products to sell.

So we did what any self respecting person would do and put on our fancy dress.

You see we'd booked a stall at the Ludlow Medieval Fayre, and with nothing to sell had to be creative - so we spent a week picking mistletoe and tieing it in a pretty bow. We also borrowed a urn from the village hall so that we could sell mulled wine.

And so to the sound of Cliff Richard's tuneful ditty, we set off one cold November morning with hope in our hearts, and a toy wooden sword in my belt.

We set everything up and waited for the crowds to descend. Nothing. And so we waited.

And then we waited some more.

A few orders here and there, then a few more, and then the coaches arrived! By 11 things were really selling quick, we even had a queue. By 1 we had sold out of everything.

Success!

I don't think either of us thought that our first product we sold together would be mistletoe, but I suppose with the romantic element of the plant, it is quite apt. It was our first 'win' and we almost immediately invested the profits in buying our own screen printing bed, so that we could be never let down again, and have more control of our future.

It was an early lesson- both that tenacity and hard work pays off,  But also being that we wanted to be hands on in our business - and be in control of the quality all the way through.



This week we reached a reached a significant landmark in our history - reaching over 4,000 five star reviews on our website.

We're obviously delighted that our products are being so well received, and that that second lesson is still paying dividends. Since that cold November day almost a decade ago, we've made it our mission to OBSESS about every detail on everything to keep quality the very top of our list of priorities.

We feel we've come a long way, and yet still have a way to go - so we'll keep reinvesting profits into new products, designs and equipment, retaining the values that we've always had.



We look forward to sharing them with you.

Thank you for reading,


David & Faye,
Designers/Founders & Mistletoe aficionados

Chase and Wonder