Tinpot Alley

I’ve well and truly learnt my lesson about spouting my mouth off, counting chickens and all that palava after the many disasters that have befallen mostly me to be fair.

Things like:

The Canary Wharf Garden Show. (Rubbish, sold bugger all and half-wrecked the hire van.)

Free photo shoot in Gardeners’ World. (They took the photos but never told us that the planters weren’t going to be in, but we still told all and sundry to buy a copy. (All and sundry then laughed at us.))

Planters on the telly.(Rushed around like loons for a paltry link from the Channel 4 website.)

Those three things are the ones that stick in the mind, but there’s one or two other things that also crashed and burned.

And the one thing they had in common?

I bleated mercilessly about every single one. I’ve become so convinced that any prior mention on this blog renders a project useless that I’ve decided to stop doing it so I don’t put a hex on anything. (I must be more superstitious than I let on.)

So, it’s with a certain amount of relief that I can report we’ve finally been approved for a NeedIT grant to invest in computer stuff and e-commerce.

This means that we’ll have a far better computer setup and we’ll finally be able to trade properly online and show our full product range as opposed to leaving it to your imagination.

We’ve spent enough time now with a computer that’s more tempremental than your average menopausal fishwife; it also has to be said that we’ve been awfully slack with things like brochures and other offline marketing efforts aswell - or at least that’s the conclusion me and John came to in the pub after six pints of Kronenburg. (You really don’t want to know of any conclusions drawn after that.)

It also just so happens that Robo-bender Matt and Deadly Derek have finally sorted out the press tool to make up square planters without the need to get them lasered. I think we might just have the production side screwed down. (More on that another day.)

It obviously would’ve been bloody marvellous if we’d sorted out the grant and the tooling before the spring/summer as opposed to afterwards, but the point is it’s sorted.

I’d also recommend using your local Business Link, who were extremely helpful and efficient in doing our micro business review and sending us down the right path.

Here’s something I’ve managed to resurrect from the Tinpot Alley stainless steel planters archive. (By that I mean that I’ve found an old lead to download pictures off my camera!)

There would’ve been more but some over zealous security chap prevented me from doing so in case I was casing the joint to bomb it. I’m sure after five days of worthless exhibiting I may have felt suitably miffed, but when you’ve had a big sign saying Tinpot Alley and most of your business cards handed out, I doubt if I’d have gotten away with it.

You may recall the collective Butler Sheetmetal Ltd breakdown that took place trying to get organised for that damn Canary Wharf exhibition. Well this picture proves that it was more than worth being plonked in the middle of an underground mall whilst most people stole pebbles, booted the balls and vented their fury at us for the poor state of the ‘garden show’ in general.

Although, we did manage to flog one of the bay trees. It would’ve been two, but the guy would’ve struggled carrying them both on the tube.

John’s become very philosophical about the whole affair and his twitch is hardly noticeable as he mutters ‘You live and learn’, or ‘Just put it down to experience.’

Anyway, the above ribbed stainless steel planter was by far and away the crowd favourite from a planter and plant perspective - until the price was mentioned, of course. (For the record, it’s a John design )

No wonder we try and stick to bespoke.