Supplies Visit!

We welcomed Managing Director Richard Ashford and Sales Manager Kate Sherrat during their visit from Ashford, New Zealand in April. The team here at Fibrecrafts enjoyed putting the names to faces before our visitors, along with David Herring (Ashford UK), were taken for a tour of the warehouse by our Managing Director, Ian Bowers.



Photographed here by Richard; David, Ian and Kate are about to take a look at the Ashford spinning and weaving products stored in the warehouse, having just seen the range of equipment on display in our showroom.

Happy Retirement Howard

Howard left us on Tuesday and I forgot to bring the camera to 'tea and cake'! Nonetheless, the cake was lovely as usual (thanks Sylvia) and we enjoyed a pleasant break wishing Howard well for the future.

Howard, we hope you find time to indulge yourself at the bowls club and with your art group.

Wishing you every happiness in your retirement, from the Team at Fibrecrafts.

Are you an Intrepid Explorer?

FIBRECRAFTS have launched a selection of Explorer Packs designed to encourage the cautious, excite the creative and provoke the imaginative.

Each pack contains the main items needed to explore the craft by which it is named. The Knit & Crochet Explorer Pack includes a chunky crochet hook, four types of yarns and a FREE set of handmade Surina Knitting Needles. We've even included basic instructions to get you started!

The 3 other Explorer packs, which include Feltmaking, Weaving and Silk Painting can also be found in the Special Offers section of the site. Each of them contains a FREE gift - worth at least £3.30 - and all the ingredients to get you started.

Many Hands Make Light Work

- if only we had them!

Here at FIBRECRAFTS we do not, under any circumstances, begrudge our colleagues their well earned holiday. But Jo we miss you so!

Our small team is suffering the impact of Jo's need for relaxation and sunshine and here we are running to chase our tails. Our priority is customer service and we WILL try to get your orders to you as soon as possible. We are sorry but the usual, efficient next day delivery is likely to be the day after!

Please bear with us for just one more week...

MORE NEWS..................................................................

Not only is Jo absent but we've also learnt of Howard's decision to now take his retirement. Howard has worked for FIBRECRAFTS for 7 years (almost to the day!) and he will be greatly missed.

Howard will be with us for a little while yet and we'll post pics of his farewell cake and tea party when we have it. Take care Howard and thank you for your service (we're sure to bump into you sometime in the shop that gives out those bright orange plastic bags!).

Bag Free Britain?

You may have noticed that we're offering a canvas shopping bag in the Special Offers section of our web site. I hope this blog will urge you to consider buying one or a reusable one like it.

As you are aware, plastic carrier bags are getting a lot of negative press at the moment. There are calls, from the environmentally conscious of us, that these bags should be banned.

Here are just a few good reasons why I think shoppers should leave their carriers at the till:

When I looked out of the window after all that wind this week, I expected to see leaves and branches blown across the garden and maybe the odd cracked fence panel. Instead, there were two torn carrier bags and a crisp packet.

On the way to work I noticed a familiar bright orange plastic bag stuck up in a tree - further along the road I noticed another!

Driving home, I witnessed the near disaster of a motorcyclist swerving to avoid an air born carrier bag (not orange this time!) fully inflated and swirling erratically across the road.

Allison Farlow
Graphics & Marketing, FIBRECRAFTS

Here's One for the Album!

The Surrey Business Awards have kindly sent us a photo of Ian and Jo receiving a certificate confirming FIBRECRAFTS place as a finalist for the Small Business Award.


Jo first began working for Fibrecrafts as a picker and packer. Nine years on, she is now Sales Manager and responsible for the smooth running of the sales department and dispatch. Thanks to Jo, the team runs like clock-work to deliver your orders within 24 hours.

And the Winner IS...

Not us, on this occassion!

The Small Business Award has eluded us but the team here at FIBRECRAFTS are still very proud to have been amongst the four finalists.

Our Managing Director, Ian Bowers, and Sales Manager, Jo Barrell, enjoyed a pleasant evening amongst 'the cream of the business community' at Sandown Park in Esher.

Congratulations to the 34 finalists from all of the categories. We look forward to meeting again!

Spot the Difference?

We hope you like the new look of the Fibrecrafts website. The design is in transition and we hope you'll be patient with us while we weed out any problems that still remain.

Please post your feedback and comments on this blog as it will help us to provide our best service to you.

Pics and Cake

Here is a photograph we had taken today in readiness for the Surrey Business Awards!


We are almost complete except for Howard who wasn't working today (click here to meet the team and to see Howard's pic). The photograph includes (back row) Allison, Susan, Ruth, Jo, Julie, Ian, (front row) Sharon, Dave and Sylvia.

Sylvia retired two years ago after working for Fibrecrafts for more than 15 years. She still maintains a welcome link by performing the role of 'House Mother' which involves providing us with essential supplies.

Sylvia also keeps a close eye on the Birthday Diary which triggers the delights of tea-time chocolate cake. Todays tea-time chocolate cake was eagerly received by Ian who is celebrating his 21st birthday today - for the 45th time!

NEWS: Surrey Business Award Finalist

Great news for FIBRECRAFTS! The shortlist has been shortened and the finalists announced - George Weil & Sons Ltd have made it to the last four contenders for the Small Business Award!

FIBRECRAFTS is the mail order division of George Weil & Sons Ltd and it is the hard work, commitment and imagination of the small team here that has led to this success.

The winners of the Surrey Business Awards will be announced in February 2008 and we're waiting with baited breath for the results. Wish us luck!

NEWS: We've only done it again!

The team here at FIBRECRAFTS are delighted with the news that the business has been shortlisted for yet another award!

The Surrey Business Awards have decided that FIBRECRAFTS has the credentials of a successful small business. The Small Business Award category, for which we have been entered, is for businesses of 25 employees or less (we fall into less, operating with just 3 full-time and 6 part-time).

The general day to day running, and as important, long term management decisions will all be taken into account when deciding their winner. Watch this space!

What Postal Strike?

As a small business that relies heavily on the Royal Mail, the team at FIBRECRAFTS have been determined not to be beaten by the recent strikes.

Of course it has had an effect, not all of our customers have received their goods as quickly as we would like. We endeavour to fulfill orders and dispatch on the same day that they're placed - providing our customers with a fast and efficient service.

Some of our customers have opted to pay a little extra and used our courier service. This has guaranteed delivery by the next working day. Nonetheless, nothing does compare to the British institution of the Royal Mail and we're glad to hear that they've decided against any further action - at least for today!

FIBRECRAFTS Catalogue 2008

It's here! The 26th FIBRECRAFTS mail order catalogue containing page after page of textile crafts materials and equipment.


There are lots of new products including the Bubble Jet Set 2000, Ashford & Louet Spinning Wheels, block printing inks, handmade papers and papermaking materials as well as new fibres and yarns...

You'll need to take a look inside to see what else is new. If you would like to order a copy, please click here

NEWS: BT officially becomes a swear word!

We've been without internet access for 2 weeks here at FIBRECRAFTS. Up until three years ago we didn't even have an internet connection and email was still a novelty - a great surprise to us therefore that its been so difficult to cope without.

Ian's been dragging the server back and forth to download and upload emails, so we've never been more than a day behind - but, oh the frustration. Poor Ian (our MD).

You've been able to see the web site, it has stayed open for business but the Team here at FIBRECRAFTS have had an extremely perplexing two weeks. We haven't even been able to update the site until today or start getting it ready to coincide with the 2008 FIBRECRAFTS catalogue launch...

Technophobes we concur!

It's Our Turn!

It wasn't until we were at the mercy of torrential rain this morning, that we began to understand what some of you have been experiencing with the flooding across Britain.

It's quite amusing to look out the door here and see our temporary lake, but just a short while ago the water was lapping at the warehouse door threatening to creep in across the floor and damage fixtures and stock. We began to realise that if the rain didn't stop, there wouldn't be much we could do.

We're counting our blessings and hope we're not jinxing our luck - the rain has stopped and the water recedes...

Getting stuck in at Fibrecrafts

Hey, I’m Sam and I’ve just finished my GCSE’s. I’ve been at Fibrecrafts for almost a week now doing work experience with them.

I’ve found it different to how I thought it’d be, I imagined an office full of grumpy employees with a new kid to baby sit. Instead I’ve entered a massive world of colour and texture, with a continual flow of tea. Everybody’s been friendly, Dave in the packaging room, a jolly bloke, never afraid to have a chat. Susan and Ian supervising and giving jobs, even if they are a bit dull, such as straightening books on a shelf. The warehouse gives smells that you might find in an Indian market, reeking of different scents from the natural dyes and bursting from the silks and wools.


I sketched out the initial design on Microsoft word which included much of the wording taken forward to the final design.

The design has been taken further by Allison, using an extremely complex computer design program, which had a manual half a metre thick. After the work on trying to get star shapes on the back, it was looking pretty good and even Susan described it as “sexy”. I enjoyed learning how much effort goes into even a smallish card like the one I contributed to.

A Duck's Tale

We've had some very exciting visitors today. Apart from our usual welcome customers, a family of ducks have popped by!

When asked if there was anything in particular she would like to see from the showroom, Mother duck politely quacked that she was just looking.

Later she was overheard to say that she rather fancied having a go at silk painting and possibly feltmaking...

NEWS: New Faces

Welcome to Sharon who has come to join the sales team at FIBRECRAFTS. There's nothing like being thrown in at the deep end and poor Sharon has joined us at a particularly busy time - our April free gift offer having proved very popular!

Sharon attended Godalming College and has an A level in Textiles as well as AS levels in Photography and Media. She is keen to become familiar with our products and can't wait to take some of them home to see what she can do with them.

In the meantime, Sharon is up to her ears in fibres, natural dyes and mordants - helping Julie to pick your orders and learn all about the business at grass roots. We're sure you will all join us in wishing Sharon luck with her new job

NEWS: FIBRECRAFTS Wins ECMOD Mail Order Business Award

Allison, Jennie Bond and Ian

Last night Ian Bowers, MD of FIBRECRAFTS and Allison Farlow, our designer, were at the annual award dinner of the European Conference of Mail Order Distributors (ECMOD) - sounds exciting doesn't it? We had entered the Fibrecrafts business for an award as a mail order business in the category 'Home Based Hobbies & Pursuits'.

The assessment is based on the catalogue, e-commerce web site, customer support and business development in the year. The event was in the Natural History Museum in London along with all the dinosaurs, and 500 others from the mail-order industry. We were rather chuffed to have been short-listed along with John Lewis Direct (a huge chain of classy and effective UK department stores and a mega web site, rated 8th of the national leaders) and the leading Irish mail-order business selling nice 'tat'!

The first surprise was to find that we were seated on the top table with the organisers and the celebrity, Jennie Bond - obviously this was a consolation prize for effort. However WE WON and we're delighted to share our news with you.

Thank you to all our customers and friends who have supported us for these 25 years. Now, to find the next mountain to climb!

Central Hall at the Natural History Museum where the event was held

FIBRECRAFTS - under attack

Monday 5 February 2007 will be remembered at FIBRECRAFTS for some time to come.

We opened up, as usual, and as a part of our normal routine, checked the emails for orders from the web site. On the previous evening 16 identical orders had been placed by an individual with the name of ‘Sad’. After a few more minutes we realised that a file on the site which held some credit card details had been completely wiped.

More research, particularly using a free Google tool, told us that over a period of 2 hours the site had been attacked from a computer in Hanoi, Vietnam. The technique used is known as ‘SQL injection’. This attempts to trick the web site into giving away its structure so that, through a series of intelligent guesses, the data can be extracted.

All the key data on the site is, of course encrypted, using strong processes which we understand should take 30 years to crack. The evidence on the site suggested that the attacker had only been able to delete a data file. However we thought that the responsible way to handle this was to email everyone whose data could have ever been on the site. We told them of the attack and that our estimate of their credit card data being accessed was a ‘moderate’ risk.

We immediately closed down the web site and over the following days worked to harden it to ensure that no more damage could be done and we will remain ever vigilant of future attacks.

The site was re-opened on Thursday 8th February. On the following Sunday the site was attacked again, again from Hanoi, with two individuals working simultaneously. However this time the attack lasted only six minutes and there was no damage. Again we emailed all those who had registered on the site saying that we believed that this re-attack suggested that no data had been extracted.

There have been two lessons from this for us; never to assume that a site is safe and therefore to make sure that no valuable data is held there, ever. Secondly, just how cheered we were by the very many positive responses to our emails thanking us for the warning, and assuring us that they admired us for being prepared to admit that the attacks had happened.

Over the past two weeks orders through the site have continued to flow in at an ever increasing rate.

NEWS: FIBRECRAFTS shortlisted for ECMOD award

FIBRECRAFTS have been short listed for the 2007 ECMOD Awards for mail-order businesses, alongside industry giants John Lewis Direct and 4giftsdirect.com. The major elements sought by the Judges were the quality of the Catalogue and web-site, customer support policy and the business strategy.

This picture of the FIBRECRAFTS Team and a press release were featured in the Surrey Advertiser on 16th February 2007. Well done to (left to right) Jo, Ian, Dave, Allison (the designer), Julie, Coralie and Susan. Also to Ruth, Howard and Rosina (not pictured)