We are always talking about how much we love our exclusively designed Northcote Storage as it is both practical and stunning. However it is always good to hear first hand from a customer what they think to our storage solutions and how they have used it to make the most of the space in their home. That’s why we were delighted when Heather from Growing Spaces offered to review our interlocking storage units and drawers.

Here is Heather’s experience of our interlocking storage solution along with some beautiful pictures of how Northcote is perfect for living room storage….

Heather Young – www.growingspaces.net

Back before I had kids I considered myself a storage pro. Nicknamed Monica (from Friends) by friends and family, I was confident that my organisational skills couldn’t get much better. I thought I’d utilised every nook and cranny of our house, and we couldn’t possibly need any more storage.

Pride comes before a fall and when our twins joined our household three and a half years ago, we found ourselves buried under an explosion of kid-related paraphernalia. How could two tiny people need SO MUCH STUFF? Toys, puzzles, books, clothes, craft stuff – all of it needed a home, and we just didn’t have a clue where to put it.

At the end of each day, when the rampaging duo are in bed snoring upstairs I want to relax in a space that doesn’t look like my twins ram-raided a toy shop. I want tidying up to require as little effort as possible because most some days the magnetic pull to be horizontal on the sofa for the duration of the evening is so strong that resistance is futile.

When I saw the Northcote interlocking storage units and drawers, my heart raced just a little bit faster. Modular units that offer plenty of storage, but are compact enough not to feel like they’re taking over a room. The flatpack boxes the Northcote Blackboard Cupboard and Northcote Toy Box arrived in felt reassuringly heavy. I put my OH on assembling duty and he commented on how solid the components felt, and how well they fitted together. I believe “good quality” and “well-constructed” were some of the words used.

The Northcote Blackboard Cupboard and Toy Box in my Kitchen – it fits perfectly in the corner and looks stunning.

This unit sits at one end of our kitchen and it stores all the kids’ craft stuff. The cupboard is the right height for the kids to go and get what they need themselves, and the toy box, with its easy pull-out drawer holds all the bits and bobs we’ve kept for junk modelling. As huge blackboard fans (we already have a huge blackboard wall in the kitchen), we all love the blackboard doors on the cupboard, although most of the time they look considerably messier than in my picture.

We use our Northcote Cupboard to store the kids’ arts and crafts. The blackboard also makes a great memo board for the family.

The beauty of the interlocking system is that you can keep adding to and adapting the combination of units as the needs of your children change. I’m already planning what we might need next…

Heather,

Growing Spaces

www.growingspaces.net

The end of Spring Term is approaching and it’s that time of year when the letter comes home about parent’s evening – for some it can be a nerve racking situation!

We asked Phoebe Doyle our Guest Blogger to tell us about her experience of parent’s evening, having been a teacher herself, we wanted to know - what is it like as a teacher-parent?

When I was a teacher, back in BK (Before Kids) I knew what kind of a parent I’d be. I’d be rational, fair, balanced and wise. ‘ Course I would.

Then out popped my offspring, and needless to say, it was all change. Along with gaining a small infant following labour, I also seemed to lose a great deal of sense; where once I was calm and had the ability to assess situations, I now was suddenly overwhelmingly emotional, protective and fierce.

 Now as a parent of a school-aged child (Rosie is Year 2 and Charles will start Reception come September) I take all of this emotion with me on such occasion’s as parents’ evenings, like the one I went to last night. The ‘Teacher-Me’ doesn’t care about ‘Practise-Me’ as ‘Teacher-Me’ knows it’s all about data, stuff the school should care about but not really me. Kids develop differently, at different paces…. It’s all good. The ‘Parent-Me’ knows no such thing, “how’s she doing compared to others?” I ask anxiously, “is she keeping up, I know she sometimes struggles” says I nervously (non-sensically!)

 ‘Course as she’s at such a lovely school, with fantastic teachers and basically skips to school each day nothing  else really matters. She’s learning ‘cos she’s happy. She’s flourishing because she’s safe; safe from harm of course but safe to ‘have a go’ too. So when Charles starts school will I be able to keep my head on Sensible Teacher Mode? Will I be rational? Calm? Collected?

 …….I doubt it!

Phoebe Doyle x

 So, what was your latest parent’s evening experience like? Were you pleasantly surprised or will next term require some fair and balanced parent teaching?

 Read more of Phoebe’s blogs here at Tremendously Two in particular we love her Ramblings and Reviews!

Sorry it’s been a while since we last posted!  January has been a busy month, mostly tidying up after  Christmas and preparing for 2013!

Like everyone, in the midst of the January blues, as lucky as we are to have our families around and to be inundated with presents, you do end up thinking to yourself “Where am I going to fit all of this!”

New toys, bits, bobs & gadgets end up making the home look more like Auntie Wainwright’s from ‘Last of the Summer Wine!’  The weather is too cold and wet to be outdoors, so we end up spending more time at home, which ultimately means even more chaos! Children are back to school now so it’s a battle of “where are my shoes” or “where did you put your homework”, then we discover they slipped down the back of the sofa or have been resting under a soggy PE Kit.  Sound familiar?

So enough is enough, we’re trying to get organized by having a clear up and getting our homes back on track.  To do this we need STORAGE! STORAGE! STORAGE ! Somewhere to put all of those excess items , somewhere we can hang up our belongings and TRY to keep them in an orderly manner. So, we have pulled together our top picks which we hope  you’ll like!

What’s more, until Friday 25^th Jan at 2pm we have 20% Off Lazzari Storage which is even better!

One of our favourite home saviors is our selection of home storage, from Shelf Units, Storage Cubes, Trunks & Chests to Underbed Storage Drawers, they have all been designed for a quick tidy up meaning you can have a place for everything. Equipped together with Canvas Storage Cubes of various designs and colours, you can easily encourage the children to get involved and put their belongings back in a special place.

Another idea, is to make sure the homework doesn’t get lost and also that the books go back where they belong.

It could be that you just need a storage place with a book shelf or book end or you could go all out and have some fun, with a Dolls House or Fire Engine Book Case. The selection goes on, but there is one thing we are sure of, it brings an element of fun to tidying and it will encourage the children to put their books or homework away afterwards, so you will always know where to find them.

Our final idea to prevent chaos when you step through the door is for some fun Coat Stands and Peg Rails. Children love having their very own coat peg at school as it is somewhere that is their own, you can have this at home as well. We have some quirky designs that will prevent damp coats and bags from being thrown on the floor creating unwanted mess, which means no more searching for your keys or your latest magazine underneath a pile of clothes!

Now we have that out the way, let’s start looking forward to Spring 2013. We are bursting with exciting ideas, so keep your ear to the ground as we will be posting about them very soon.

Everyone at GLTC x

Many thanks to all our customers & suppliers for another GREAT LITTLE  12 months!

We’ve had a brilliant year and couldn’t have done it without you all.

Thank you for your support. We hope you have a wonderful holiday and see you in the New Year.

Everyone at GLTC x

Really chuffed at GLTC HQ today to spot out Rainbow Star Sling Bookcase at Jamie & Jules Oliver’s house. Brilliant!

Hope they love it as much as we do!

Phoebe Doyle from Tremendously Two writes regularly about education and family life  - She’s often GLTC’s Guest Blogger and we are a big fans!

We’re just back from Waitrose Cafe. Our longed-for outing. Charles has been asking for a gingerbread man since 6am and I’d been dreaming of cake since my reluctant martyr-like trip to the gym last night.

“1 iced cinnamon swirl and one gingerbread man please” I say to our beloved cake serving lady.

We sit down. Charles grabs my cinnamon swirl, the smell of which is now tantalising my nostrils, virtually prompting a sweat of desire, when Charles yells the M word; “MINE”.

I do the right thing, I know what to do, I’m in control, I’m the parent…

“No Charles, that’s Mummy’s,that’s (show rather rejected looking gingerbread dude) yours”

“MINE” (holding delicious, scrumptious, cinnamon swirl which is getting squashed against Charles’ chest)

“Well Mummy will share my cake with you, that’d be lovely, but give it to me (NOW!!!!) so I can cut it”

“MINE” followed by a shrill scream that must have had dogs within the vicinity wincing and certainly had a few ladies in their autumn years in Waitrose turn to see, some to smile, others to turn back to their friends with a look and a tut about that dreadful mother who can’t control her child.

So what did I do? Well, it’s not like I hate gingerbread men, it’s nothing personal or anything, but suffice to say I was a little disappointed with my treat in Waitrose this morning. My cinnamon-less pathetic treat with rejection in his eyes. OK, it had smarties, but c’mon.

Well, I’ve had enough. I’m the boss. Well, clearly I’m not at the moment but I will be, very much so. Oh yes, no more good cop, meet Bad Mummy Cop, don’t mess with me kids. I’ll have my cake and eat it next time.

Well. We’ll see. Wish me luck!!

Sorry to everyone who had problems getting out Shop & Theatre into your basket earlier this week – Due to extroadinary demand we had a technical glitch, but we ‘turned it off and on again’ as they say in all things TECHNICAL and all is now dandy. Thanks to all of you who were very patient waiting for us to sort it out!

Dragons move over, Mary Portas would be proud of these 20  ideas for your Shop & Theatre based business!

May the trading commence:

1. The next best thing to Waitrose
2. Post Office – ‘Stamps are very dear these days, my dear…’
3. Pizza Parlour – ‘Pepporoni & Mozzerella, We’re the Pizza Kings and Queens!’
4. A Hog Roast Stand with Apple Sauce and Cracking (Maybe not)
5. Circus Entrance  - ‘Get your tickets & Candy Floss here!’
6. Ice Cream Parlour (Risk of cold hands)
7. A Perfect Patisserie (YUMMY with home made cakes)
8. A Brilliant Bakery – Hard to find
9. Lemonade Stall – Out in the Garden on a hot summers day
10. A Traditional Punch & Judy Puppet show
11. A Tea Rooms  (Minus the hot water)
12. A Crazy Cafe for Teddy Bears & Dolls
13. A build your own Sandwich Shop
14. Charity Raffle
15. Hairdressers (oops)
16. An Art Gallery – Selling their latest masterpieces
17. Fish & Chip Shop
18. Bank (of Mum & Dad)
19. Entrance to the Tower, positioned at the base of the stairs. Sure to generate revenue.
20. And Finally….it has been know….A Tattoo Parlour.  Don’t ask.  Not endorsed by GLTC!
21. Etc

Last night we were really chuffed to be shortlisted for ‘Best Lighting Range’ by  House Beautiful Magazine Team & Readers! Our Twenty-Twenty Child Safe Lamps (£37)  means there’s no need to sacrifice design for safety; these great looking lamps feature a fully enclosed bulb to make it safer for use in a child’s bedroom.

The encased bulb means there’s nothing hot to burn little fingers or set fire to carpets or bedding if it gets knocked over. To put it simply, it’s a Leading Light – and it’s exclusive to GLTC!

The tricks have been played, treats have been eaten, fireworks have ceased & the bonfires have gone out. It can only mean one thing at GLTC HQ – we’re ready for Christmas!

Here’s our Hot Picks for the Big Day  - Today … Big Present Ideas:

Play Shop & Theatre – £130

This is one of our best productions yet. This fabulous play shop for kids will inspire hours of pretend play, but if and when your children tire of playing shops they can put on a show instead!  Features: Very handy drawer at the bottom for storage and castors so you can wheel it away at the end of the day! Exclusive to GLTC.

Almond Blossom Doll’s House – £105

Almond Blossom Doll’s House has everything a little girl could possibly want in a doll’s house. Six spacious, beautifully decorated rooms and a gorgeous exterior, this really is the Doll’s house of their dreams! The inside is cleverly detailed with lots of accessories such as bookshelves and pictures, so there’s lots of inspiration for all sorts of stories and play. The outside has pretty shutters, window boxes and a lovely pink roof which opens onto the large attic room.

Features: Staircase, opening shutters and windows, attic space, and a super practical, magnetic closure on front doors.

Our Play Kitchens – From £115

Camelot Castle – From £59

This wooden, toy castle offers lots of inspirational play for the knights of your realm!

Populate it with a set or two of Knights, and if you want to add an extra dimension to battles have look at the matching Siege Tower!

Features: Drawbridge, prison, flags and other wooden accessories, plus a split base for easier storage.

Pippin Toy Farm – £66

A painted, wooden toy offering years of play value for children!

It sits on a solid base-board and has lots of interesting things too – just as you’d expect on a farm!

Features: Cow shed, stable, barn, ladder and movable fences.

Our Complete Train Set Bundle – £120

Train sets are one of the classic and most popular toys for kids – this is one of the best toy investments you can make!

The beautifully illustrated wooden accessories and trains are the icing on the cake.

Dressing Tables – From £125

These lovely girl’s dressing tables, mirrors & beautiful jewellery boxes are the fairest of them all.

Height Adjustable Easel – £71 

We designed this ourselves so we think it’s a bit of a masterpiece!

This brilliant Easel also comes in a Natural (L1151) colour.

Key Features:

Height adjustable and brilliantly solid and sturdy,2 blackboard surfaces, a paper roll holder and 2 useful shelves – one with specially designed paint pot holders for our non-spill paint pots. And it folds down for easier storage!

All of our Toys & Games have been carefully selected for extra WOW factor on the Big Day – Hope you find lots of inspiration!