What A Month!!!!

First thing I must do is apologise for the lack of any new posts. I have been busy with sales - lots of them!! It has been a cracking month and my thanks go to all those people who have purchased from us. I would especially like to say a big THANK YOU to those people who saw a piece they wanted whilst away and waited to buy until they came back to us - we really appreciate your loyalty!

What else has happened this month..?

Oh yes ... we have been given the details for Bob Dylan's much awaited release of 29 hand signed images from his 'Drawn Blank Series'. It has been said that this could sell out on the day of release so watch out for further information and do ask if you're passing although the actual launch date is Saturday 14th June! Mark it in your diary - champagne will be served so do come along and join us!

We are so excited about this release - Bob Dylan is a music legend and for Washington Green to have negotiated the release of his artwork is a real feather in their cap!! More information and images will be updated on the website as soon as possible www.theacorngallery.co.uk. However if you are interested in this work then please contact us ASAP as it will be sold on a first come first served basis.

It was sad to hear about the death of Beryl Cook this week. She was a great lady who had a wicked sense of humour which is portrayed in her artwork. Her style is well known and easily recognised by many - in fact other work is often said to be 'in the style of Beryl Cook' such is her appeal!

If you have any of her signed limited editions then I would hold on to them as they will in my opinion go up in value.

And finally my daughter turned 15 (going on 30) this week which means she is getting to that age where it isn't cool to hold my hand or give me hugs and kisses any more but yet mum can have as many hugs and kisses as she wants!! Whats going on there then?

Philip Stuttard Preview Event

Well what a busy day we have had. Spent the entire day moving the stock around to accomodate Philip's work and I have to say it looks really good!!!

Diane and I would like to thank those people who attended tonight and especially a big thanks to Phil,Sam & Paige who travelled especially from Wakefield! We would also like to thank Philip Stuttard himself for coming along to say hello and for entertaining us with tales of his acrylic adventures!

His work has gone down well and we all wait with baited breath to see what he comes up with next! 'Mountains of Men' Just you wait and see what he's working on ...

We have received a few emails and texts to thank us for a lovely evening and those who won the raffle were especially pleased. £100 in gift vouchers went to a family from York, Peter Smith cufflinks found a new home in Wakefield and the bottle of bubbly went to another couple, also from York. Well worth turning up we think! Thankyou Philip for being the honorary raffle ticket puller!

Philips work is available to view in the gallery until 17th May 2008 and also on line at www.theacorngallery.co.uk. If you are unable to call into see the work in person but find a piece which interests you then don't be afraid to contact us - we love questions!

It's Been A Funny Old Week!!!!

We have had 76 people through the door this week and a lot of interest in a wide variety of work. Some people still don't realise however that when it says 'last one' it means 'last one'! I do try to make it clear to people that 'last one' means 'I can't get another' but this doesn't seem to help them in their decision making.

If everyone this week who seemed really keen had bought instead of going away to think about it then we would have had a fantastic week instead it has turned out to be frustrating!!!

Anyway ... moving on ... We have now got the castors fitted to our movable walls so we can at last move them!! Which means we can get on with planing the display of Philip Stuttards work for the focus week which starts Friday 9th from 5-7pm - champagne and nibbles will be in abundance!

I just hope people turn up as I forgot to put RSVP on the invitations, what an idiot!!! Fortunately people are already starting to confirm their attendance and so hopefully we will have a good turnout!

Unfortunately my daughter and her friends will not be in attendance to play live music as they have a prior engagement, maybe next time!!

With an extra day off we dragged the kids kicking and screaming to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield. The day started off damp and grey but eventually the sun shone through and the kids eventually enjoyed themselves!!

It got very busy but with 500 acres you were not on top of each other. It was a good day out however their map could do with some improvement as it wasn't clear which pathways were definite routes and which were merely mud tracks - information which could have been useful on a day like today! In the end we ignored the map and just went off to explore!

We saw a vast range of sculptures from small-ish to huge by many artists including Henry Moore, Nigel Hall, Anthony Caro, Barbara Hepworth and Antony Gormley creator of The Angel Of The North.

It started off wet this week, we have had lots of people in the gallery, not many sales and today the sun has shone whilst exploring the Sculpture Park. So as I say it has been a funny old week!!!

The Acorn Grows A Little Bit More....

Well a lot has happened since my last entry. We have put in more wall space in the gallery downstairs in the shape of moveable walls. Thanks goes to my brother-in-law Ian for his ability to make sense of the description of what we wanted and to his skills as a craftman to produce the finished item!!! Diane and I are really pleased with the new wall space. It has allowed us to display an additional 12 images giving us a grand total of 26 artists represented! I hope people notice the change! Before you ask we are still planning the upstairs and hope to start soon on making it into more gallery space.

My feet have been really hurting since my last entry as I have delivered 700 leaflets to various villages and I hope that they will attract people to come to Pocklington and of course to the gallery. Why go to Hull or York when Pocklington has such a range of different shops to explore and of course its greatest asset is the FREE PARKING!!!!

I am also able to update our top sellers. Sorry Peter but Alex has gained top spot once again. Well done Alex!!

Alexander Millar
Peter Smith
Mackenzie Thorpe
Pele

Tied for 5th spot is Paul Horton & John Waterhouse with 6th spot tied between Caroline Shotton, Sarah Jane Szikora & Peter Hildick.

Diane & I are busy at the moment trying to work out which artists to have as preview events and also which artists to request for an appearance. We hope to be able to bring you news on this very soon and hope that when the invites are sent out that people will turn up in their thousands!!! (I wish we had that many names on the database). There will of course be bubbly and nibbles and I may even get my daughter and her friends to provide live music!!!

My Feet Hurt!!!

My feet hurt (sorry Peter for using your phrase) as I spent the morning delivering our new leaflets. I delivered over 150 in glorious sunshine and spoke to a few people who said that they had heard of us and that they will make the effort to call in.

I also should have had my running shoes on as I was attacked twice by two very irate dogs!! Why is it that they let you in to the garden/drive and then sneak up on you and try to bite you?

I finally got back to the gallery and Diane casually over a cup of tea (I would have preferred a bowl of hot water for my feet!) announces that she has had a VIP calling into the gallery to have a browse and a chat. I am not at liberty to say who it is as they would like to keep their visit quiet.

We seem to be attracting VIP's as this is our second VIP visit within a week as we had a VIP visitor last Saturday! It's not what you know but who you know!!

Lambing It Large!!!

This week has been busy, we have had 75 people through the door and our latest marketing campaign has started to work!!

We have had 10,000 leaflets published promoting the Acorn Gallery on one side and Pocklington on the reverse. After brow beating the kids into helping deliver them we got our first customer in on Saturday! Well I suppose I should give the kids some pocket money for their efforts!!

We also had a very nice family in from Norfolk this week (hello to Rob, Michelle & the boys) who after much discussion and thought bought 6 pieces from me to which I say a big THANKYOU. I hope you enjoy them and I hope to see you all again next year!!!

Today Diane & I and the kids went to visit our friends who have a small holding consisting of cows, chickens and baby lambs. Diane and my daughter throughly enjoyed themselves holding and feeding the lambs and Diane was in her element taking 90 photo's! My daughter has suddenly re-owned me with a "daddy if you love me..." she only wanted me to bring two home!! I have to point out that we do not own two baby lambs so I am dis-owned again, it's not easy being a parent!!

We finished our day off with a very nice lunch at The Tanglewood on the A64 which is between Malton and York. Whilst I sit here typing this the snow is begining to fall and the house is in silence except for Sampson (the dog) snoring!!

April Has Sprung

Well March has ended and for the gallery it has been its best month since opening!! So a big thank you to all those customers that bought in March. We have had a mixture of sales from Limited Editions to Originals from traditional to contempary.

Since opening the Gallery our best seller was Alexander Millar, sorry Alex but you have been overtaken by Peter Smith. Well done Peter!!!

Our top 3 sellers are as follows:-

Peter Smith
Alexander Millar
Mackenzie Thorpe

However we have Paul Horton & John Waterhouse tied for 4th spot with Pele, Peter Hildick, Sarah Jane Szikora and Caroline Shotton fighting for 5th spot. It will be interesting to see if the positions change after the release of Alex's new pieces.

On a personal front I do have to wear glasses for reading so I am afraid to say my daughter has disowned me and will not even be in the same room as me when I wear them!!! Good job Diane still loves me and my son still tolerates me just!!!

I am going to make a plea at this point to all those people that stop look in the window and then walk away. I DO NOT BITE, I may look scarey but I am a very nice person honest!!!

March Madness!!!

It's been a mad day today!!. My day started off with a trip to the opticians for an eye test. The result is that I need glasses! I was kindly informed by the opthalmologist (big word!) that it's my age!!!

My daughter thinks it is very funny that her dad needs glasses and can't wait to see what style of glasses I choose. She has said that if I pick any that are too nerdy then she will disown me!! Watch this space!!

In the gallery we had a delivery today of yet another stunning Philip Stuttard original (the one that arrived last week was sold the minute I unpacked it).
Please check www.theacorngallery.co.uk for the image.

Diane and I then spent the rest of the day posting out the 50th edition of the Fine Art Collector which is full of the wonderful new pieces that were released at the Spring Fair. If you would like a copy then please do not hesitate to contact us.

I must point out that the Pele collection is going well and also Peter Smith's Naughty Step is proving very popular. Does this mean that modern parents are using the Naughty Step in reality to discipline their children?? In my day it was a good clip around the ear - my how times have changed (probably showing my age here!)

We have had a good start to March with a steady flow of sales. It will be interesting to see how things continue and whether the issue of the Fine Art Collector has any effect on buying patterns. More goodies from the Spring Fair are due into the gallery soon and so with Interest Free Credit available we hope people will not be shy in filling their homes with everything Washington Green!

We are also looking at a few 'adjustments' so we can improve the gallery with even more new artwork and maybe a percolator - nothing like a hot fresh cuppa on a wild and windy day!

Since opening the gallery we are asked on a daily basis about opening upstairs as another gallery area. I have started a poll on this option. It will be interesting to view the results!!

Excited!!

Well February has got rid of the January blues!!!. We are half way through February and it has been a good start. We have sold an original by Rob Ford, numerious prints and I had to do my first Interest Free application, that was an experiance for me and the customer!!. My apologies go to the customer who had to put up with my errors and who by the time we had finished the application had managed to get her youngest child off to sleep!! I promise to be quicker next time!!

We are getting excited in the gallery as all the new images we had ordered at the Spring Fair are starting to arrive. As Diane says its Christmas every day!!! I have updated the website with the new images so please take a look at www.theacorngallery.co.uk

We are really looking forward to the arrival off the PELE images. Two of which have already sold out from the publisher. Glad we ordered more than one!!!

Please call in to the gallery when you are in Pocklington or if you can't get in then don't hesitate to ring us if there is anything you see on the website that grabs your eye!!!

Spring Fair

Well what can I say, what a day, left home at 6.30am arrived at the NEC, Birmingham at 9am. Located Washington Green's stand (Our main supplier) had a wander round as our appointment with Michelle the area rep wasn't till 11am. Whilst having a look at the fantastic new images we spotted a couple of the artists arriving and had a quick hello with Paul (Horton) and Peter (Smith).

Diane and I decided to have a look at the other stands and noticed a couple of independant artists who may well be added to our portfolio as the standard they showed would go alongside the work from Washington Green.

We had a look at Washington Green's main rival and decided that they didn't have anything worth looking at and once we were back on the Washington Green stand we could see why they are the industry leaders!!

At 11am sharp our tour of the stand commenced with Michelle (who looked stunning in her red suit). By 12.30pm our tour had ended and we went upstairs and had a cup of tea and a recap on what we had ordered... I needed a team of nurses to bring me round after we added up how much we had spent!!!!

I will just say that the new images that have been produced are stunning and show why Washington Green are ahead of their rivals. I would just like to add a thank you at this stage to the artists who's ability and talent is unbelievable. Thank you to all the artists for making my job so rewarding.

I will also say that all the images displayed were fantastic however the ones that stood out for me were Peter Smith, Alexander Millar, Paul Horton, Caroline Shotton, Govinder and Pele yes I did say Pele (you will have to keep watching the website for more info on this).

We had a great day and look forward to delivery of the new pieces!!

Keep watching the website too for the new images... www.theacorngallery.co.uk