Due to unavoidable circumstances we will not be able to process any orders received between the 13th and 16th December. Please DO NOT order if time critical. Thanks, Mark
Author: admin
Fresh Spruce Bundles
The first load of 5kg bundles of spruce has arrived!
Evri Problems
My little micro business has used Hermes/Evri for many years to send out wreath making supplies to my loyal customers. It has always been of great value and exceptionally convenient.
Not just for the peace of mind but also to comply with the policies of Paypal (our primary payment method), I have always paid for a signature and insurance to the value of the total order. On the odd occasion a parcel was not delivered, the old Hermes website eventually allowed me to make a claim which, whilst an administrative burden, was always paid out eventually.
However, the new Evri service has a big issue of which ALL senders should be aware.
- When there is a problem, Evri advises the parcel recipient to contact the sender for more information. There is no more information that the sender can offer. Both the sender and the recipient can only access the very same tracking information. I accept that the problem ultimately remains the responsibility of the sender but as Evri knows there is nothing we can add then their suggestions are little more than deflection.
- There is no option on the website, robot phone line or chat function for the sender to raise a claim for a lost parcel. No matter where you start from on the website, you end up with the tracking information that correctly reports non delivery but with no option to submit a claim.
- There is no access to a human being, there is no escalation (automated or otherwise) and there is no complaint procedure.
The closest you can get to interacting with a human is on the Evri facebook page. To be fair, they do respond to non abusive comments in a timely manner but their advice (by design or by ignorance) is fundamentally flawed; frustratingly always referring the complainer back to the robot chat/telephone about which they are complaining in the first place. When things do go wrong it is quite apparent from the comments that the performance of Evri is very very poor and, worse, no one is listening to the fundamental flaws in the service that customers have taken the time to point out..
It isn’t good. I always pay the insurance on my parcels but it turns out that there is no longer a way to submit a claim and no one to raise the problem with. It could be an oversight, it could be a tech problem or it could be outright fraud.
In a fit of pique I did open an account with DPD but then found out that the local DPD pickup shop might well be a somewhat irrelevant 3.67 miles as the crow flies but is actually 17.4 miles away by road.
I continue to use Evri but will not be letting this drop. Raising these matters on social media is my next-to-last resort; It will be a very sad state of affairs if going through the small claims court is the only way to get to speak to a human about this but I can see that being the only way to get attention.
2022 Fresh Christmas Wreath Prices
We are pleased to announce our 2022 season prices for fresh Christmas Wreaths. We will be supplying 10″ plain holly wreaths and a variety of sizes in plain spruce.
Order early if you need specific collection dates as we do have limited materials and capacity to make them.
Please see Holly Wreaths and Spruce Wreaths for prices and more details
Making Straw Wreath Bases
It might be the last day of August but, as the kids go back to school, thoughts turn to Christmas and orders for our straw bases are starting to arrive.
We do hold some stock of made up wreath bases over the rest of the year which get used for a variety of other crafts but once the seasonal wreath orders start, we try and replenish stock as and when we can.
The wreath binding machine wraps a filament around the straw and binds it to the frame. To save space it gets put away every year so today it has been dragged out of storage, dusted, serviced and set up next to the bales of straw to minimise the mess when opening and moving bales in the shed.
A few 10″ rings and 14″ rings were made today so production is officially underway!
Seasoned Straight Willow Sticks
It’s wet and windy outside so just the day to cut up a bundle of willow into lengths ready for crafts and the upcoming wreath making season.
The willow is grown on our farm, harvested by hand between November and February/March and then air dried under cover in our barn. We use a small bandsaw to cut up hand selected willow whips into either 60cm or 10cm sticks. The larger sticks are mainly used by schools for various crafts and the smaller ones used for log bundle picks for decorating Christmas wreaths.
Hemp String back in stock
The popular small 10m reels of natural hemp string are back in stock. These are fantastic around the house and garden as well as for crafts.
We use it on our woodland burial wreaths to bind foliage to a twig base such that we comply with the requirement for everything being biodegradable. We also do bigger reels of jute twine which are more cost effective but are a bit cumbersome to hold whilst making wreaths.
As with everything, there is a small price increase but not as shocking as it might have been. They are now at £1.80 a reel.
Click here to buy.
Holly Plants
We try and add a minimum of 100 new holly plants a year in order to keep up with the growing demand for freshly cut holly for wreath making.
It is all planted as dual purpose, more often than not it is planted alongside the farm stock fencing to provide a substantial barrier for livestock whilst still allowing a ‘crop’ of holly to be harvested for our wreaths. More recently we have added rows of holly to act as windbreaks for other, more delicate, horticultural crops and this has been quite successful.
We took these plants as cuttings last year and will grow them on in pots until November this year when they will be planted out. It might be 15 years or so before these plants are providing a good annual holly harvest.
Website Checkout Live
We are still wrestling with the new website configuration and uploading products. Today we have added payment options and shipping for online orders. Please do get in touch if anything doesn’t seem right.
Postage is calculated by the weight of the total order. At the moment we only have standard shipping available which is equivalent to 2nd Class and usually takes 3-4 working days to be delivered. We hope to add more options later.
Please watch the shipping costs as it is easy to jump from normal parcel charges to a charge for a pallet. For multiple heavy items, the cheapest way may well be to do multiple orders keeping the weight under 15kg.
If you are local, please just get in touch and we will sort out a convenient time for you to collect your order and save the ever growing cost of postage.
Please watch the shipping costs as it is easy to jump from normal parcel charges to a charge for a pallet. For multiple heavy items, the cheapest way may well be to do multiple orders keeping the weight under 15kg.
For order queries or smaller quantities please ring Rob or Nikki on 07955 095234 or email wreathkits@gmail.com
To arrange an appointment to collect large orders please ring 07834 324080
BIG wreath spotted
I know I should be getting on with the website but, on a recommendation, I did sneak out for a little look at the Holden Clough Nursery yesterday. A great visit with very helpful and knowledgeable staff it certainly was worth the trip. The lunchtime snack was top quality. I couldn’t resist a snap of the big wreath though, it must be 4-5ft diameter.