How Do You Chill?

HOW DO YOU CHILL.......

Every day we jump out of bed and the race is on.

 It may be that you have children to get ready for crèche or school, animals to feed and walk, partners to hurry up and gently push out the door.

Then its the commute or drive or walk or cycle to work, to a friends, to a meeting, or to shop.

The end of the day approaches, work to finish, children to pick up, dogs to walk, gym sessions, dinner to cook, children to bath, books to read, study to be done.

Finally....Finally some time to relax. Me time You time and Partner time.
My question is though..When do you REALLY chill out?

My husband answered this question the other day when one of our children said, "Mum just chill out I will get it done!"

"Dont you understand," my husband said, "We cant chill out until it is done and these days it seems like NEVER."

I was horrified..Do I never chill out and have the Me time I long for? I sat and thought about it and he was right. It didn't matter if I was sitting, walking the dog or doing the dishes my mind is always on go and I am thinking about the next thing on my agenda, tomorrow, the kids, work, everything!

Our lives have become so full that some days I long to sit on a porch, rock gently and watch the world go by one minute at a time and not think about anything.

When do we stop and get off the treadmill and stop to smell the roses? Is it in retirement? because for me that diary is already fairly full with places to see, people to visit and new friends to make.

One thing I have never compromised on is our sit down family dinner.

 Each night whoever is home we sit at a set table and enjoy the comfort of sharing what we did for the day. No television just us and that my friends I realise is when I really do CHILL OUT! Not at night under my quilt cover but at dinner surrounded by my family :)

Enjoy your week and I hope you find your Chill Out time!

Jane
http://www.ecosleepaustralia.com.au

So....Does size really count?

So… Does size really count?

So you’re thinking of checking up on a size, any size, doesn’t matter which because you know your sizes right?     WRONG!

How often do we hear friends say ‘I am a size 12’ only to find in one store they are a size 10 and in another a size 14!

This has been greatly debated for the last few years with Asian sizing often being smaller than ours and this being reflected in the clothing when it arrives here. The term ‘standard’ sizing seemed to get lost for a while but the public started to ask for answers and now we seem to have found our way back to sizing in clothing being nearly what it should be…..a standard we know and can pick of the clothing rack with confidence the garment will fit.

So now that our clothing is sorted what about our bedlinen? Is there a standard and what is it?

Australia and New Zealand have a size that matches across the waters so we know we can order our doona covers and quilts and they will match up perfectly. For ease of conversation here are those sizes:

Single:  140cm x 210cm (L x W) Measurements for Quilts, Doonas, and Quilt covers

Double: 180cm x 210cm

Queen:  210cm x 210cm

King:      245cm x 210cm

Super King: 265 x 210cm

Now, when we purchase these items in store we know they will fit our existing bed linen if we buy a new quilt or quilt cover and we can look at our bed and be happy with our purchase.

What happens though when a retailer decides to bring in bed linen that is not in our sizing but just a little bit out? Just a fraction, but a fraction enough to make a difference when placing an existing quilt in a cover that it will bunch, or we buy the a new quilt and it doesn’t quite fit in our existing cover. Ten centimeters difference in length or width with your current sizing will make a difference to look and style.

So, does size matter in this case? Is it fair that larger retailers can sell the UK or European size bedlinen here and we accept it? Especially when it is being sold here with our sizing tags! Is it time we changed our sizing to be in line with overseas groups so that we have a wider selection or are we happy with what we have and want to see our own size stay?

No matter what we think with the onslaught of overseas retailers more and more will see a difference in sizing and again we must ask the question……

Does size really count?

Jane Tepper

Director EcoSleep

www.ecosleepaustralia.com.au

Jane Tepper

No More Making The Bed

http://www.youtube.com/v/CA1cONT42po?version=3&autohide=1&showinfo=1&autohide=1&autoplay=1&feature=share&attribution_tag=PBak7M2ta0FD-hKru-69JQ

Why Are Australian Retail Buyers Unwilling To Give Innovative Local Designers a Fair Go?

Jane Tepper knew she had developed a winning product when she was invited to exhibit at the Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishing Fair and her Coshee® bed linen won an International award for ‘Best New Homewares Product.’

“We started selling our bed linen firstly on our own website and we quickly found other online stores that wanted to stock our range.  In the first two years I exhibited at all the major trade shows in both Australia and New Zealand and knocked on many doors to present our Coshee® bed linen.” said Jane.

You would have thought with all the ground work  done that approaching major retailers in Australia would be easy but Jane soon found they were not interested in anything new, innovative or Australian.   “I started to wonder if buyers had become complacent and out of touch with consumer needs and are too set in their ways.”

 “When was the last time you saw a new product like this that could shake the market around?” Jane asks. There are many innovative Australian designed products available online but the majority are never seen here in our retail stores.”

“It seems to me that the retail buyers’ at many stores have their own code.  Many will ask you to provide a sample and then don’t return phone calls, or answer enquiries so you can’t get feedback and in some cases we have had stores that do want our range but buyers who don’t.” 

“Isn't it amazing that Coshee® bed linen has won awards and is getting traction in the US and other countries?  It has already attracted imitators in breach of our patent – Yes this is a patented product deemed innovative enough to have already been granted patent rights yet despite all of this, no acceptance by retail buyers in the country of origin.” Jane says.

“I will continue to pursue buyers here in Australia as well as overseas, Jane says, as I know there are many other Australian business’s like mine that have amazing products and ideas that work and I think the Australian consumer would love to know more about our home grown assets.”

Jane’s fast growing accolades as a reputable authority on manufacturing has seen her invited to speak on a panel next month in Melbourne at the Australian International Sourcing Fair Nov 13-15^th where she will be discussing manufacturing requirements for Australian based business and designers with other International speakers. Her Coshee® bed linen by EcoSleep Australia are sold in Malaysia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia and the USA.

Coshee® bed sets are a quilt cover with a clip on top sheet. No more messy tangled sheets or mounds of washing and best of all no more bed making. Just smooth the cover and the bed will always look neat and stylish. Perfect for all the family. 

www.ecosleepaustralia.com.au

Jane can be found at www.ecosleepaustralia.com.au,   jane@ecosleep.com.au     and on 0419 104 838

Are you a Chicken Soup or a Thai Laksa?

This morning my daughter Caitlin started talking about her week, her friends and what a busy life she leads!

I asked her how she thought parents do it with children, and work, and friends to visit and she answered “You know what you are doing, you have had practice and anyway you’re a chicken soup”

Pardon? Repeat that line.. ”You’re a chicken soup”

What do you mean? I asked. “Well, she said. I think of you as warm and comforting. The kind of person I always need to have around when I don’t feel well or I need to chat to, just like the chicken soup you make when we didn't feel well as kids.” 

“Me, on the other hand, Caitlin said. I am a Thai Laksa, hot and spicy and something to be enjoyed with friends with lots of laughs on a Saturday night when there is a party to go too!

In our group of friends we often talk about what sort of foods we are like as people, it’s fun and when you think of it you do match the Chicken soup and I right now am a perfect match to a Thai Laksa.”

I had to stop and mull over this for awhile and decided she was right. When my children were sick I always made chicken soup with loads of parsley to make them feel better and give them nourishment and snuggled them in bed.

The first time my son felt unwell after leaving home he rang and asked if I could make the soup as he was sure that would make him feel better.

So Caitlin has raised an interesting topic. What sort of food are you? And can it change? If I am now a chicken soup can I become a Thai Laksa when the children have all left home and my husband and I have unlimited freedom? Or will I always be a Chicken Soup and do I mind? Ummmm….

What sort of food would you like to be?

Jane
http://www.ecosleepaustralia.com.au

No More Making The Bed

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