Flights of Fancy Newsletter

Come and see us in all our glory…

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:53:25 +0000

Come and see us in all our glory…

Spring Fair - 5th to 9th February

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:34:01 +0000

All change again. In the wisdom of organisation, everyone has been forced to move around, if anyone knows why then please let us know.

Anyway we’ll be there as always ready to show you our range of Nature and Nostalgic gifts, just listen out for the birdsong.

Our new home is in Hall 6 - Stand P05, hope to see you there.

Photo

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:27:00 +0000

Bird in the hand...

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:25:00 +0000

Deryck has been affectionately known as the ’Bird Man’ since he started

Flights of Fancy back on April Fools Day in 1989. Over the years he has produced a wide range of gift products with a bird theme; Mobiles, Cards, Postcards, Posters and even a popular Bird Watching Kit. As a company we have always promoted an interest in Nature and our environment and 2012 is no exception, with an exciting NEW RANGE of realistic 3D Bird Models.

Beautifully detailed and simple to assemble they come Gift Boxed as two sets of six Garden Birds and a set of 3 flying Birds of Prey.

We look forward to showing you them in the flesh on our new stand in Hall 6 at the Birmingham Spring Fair - Hall 6 P05.

Let’s hope things get resolved… Wishing all our...

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:04:52 +0000

Let’s hope things get resolved…

Wishing all our customers a very Happy Christmas and Prosperous 2012

Message from a customer… Well I give in, I have had your...

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:53:00 +0000

Message from a customer…

Well I give in, I have had your Indian Rope Trick for some time now.

How can you separate two circles without breaking one, its driving me mad please send me the answer if there is one.

Thanking you in anticipation, Kindest Regards,

Brian Kings.

We sent the solution and he answered:

At last thank you, I hope my hair grows back

Regards, Brian

Message on our website from a customer today ‘I have just...

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:56:00 +0000

Message on our website from a customer today

‘I have just unpacked your pinhole camera kit and felt I had to write to say that the little booklet with the kit explains the pinhole system (and photography in general) in the best way I have ever seen - the clarity of the instruction is exemplary and exceptional. Who ever wrote it is a person with special understanding of the needs of the novice.’

Best wishes and thanks again.

Richard Fenlon

(Thanks Richard, we aim to please and it’s nice receiving the praise).

Autumn Fair 4th - 9th September

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:57:00 +0100

Yes, we’ll be their as usual but moved a couple of aisles over to:

HALL 3 - Stand S41

Come and see us in all our glory and as a little thank you, all carriage paid orders placed at the show for delivery before the end of September will receive a 7.5% discount.

Look forward to seeing you.

Common Radio Problem

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:33:58 +0100

We occasionally receive an e-mail from customers who are having a problem receiving a signal on their Crystal Radio set. One of the common problems is the earth (or ground for our American customers) is as important as the aerial (antenna). With modern buildings, radiators and plumbing is not directly earthed, but goes through a trip switch, so if you ‘short’ the circuit the supply will ‘trip’ and switch off.

When demonstrating the radio, it is nigh-on impossible to get one working in a modern building such as exhibition halls etc. Give me a tent or marquee in the middle of a field miles away from any electrical supply, I’ll stick a bit of copper in the ground and pick up a crystal clear signal. One such recent e-mail explaining this problem prompted this reply from a customer:

‘Well I got there in the end I have a mate who works as a Plumber and he kindly gave me a piece of 2 metre copper pipe that he knocking about in his garage, so I hammered one end flat banged it in the lawn connected the earth and yeah I got The Beach our local station, mind a few odd looks from my neighbour I think it is a great piece of kit as I did have one years ago as a child fun to make mind I think summer and autumn listening’.

The 3 (colourful) sisters - Maizy, Lydia and Flori in that...

Thu, 12 May 2011 08:44:00 +0100

The 3 (colourful) sisters - Maizy, Lydia and Flori in that ‘sweet’ dress…

Swiss family Rhona ...

Thu, 12 May 2011 08:41:01 +0100

One of our employees who has worked for us since we moved to Scotland has a large family, and somehow we’ve taken on two of the daughters, Flori and Lydia. Flori is a student at the Borders College, soon to start Art School and is a dab-hand making Owls and Cuckoos.

She recently presented her mother with a lovely box of Roses chocolates for her birthday, but there was just one problem - they were all unwrapped. On asking the reason why she’d received a box of unwrapped chocolates the answer was simple - her birthday is coming and she wants to make a dress out of sweet wrappers!

We’re sure she’ll do well at art school, she certainly has the right approach.

Our 2011 catalogue.

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:03:58 +0100

Our 2011 catalogue.

We're Back...

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:02:50 +0100

Sorry about the long delay but we had a little hiccup over the last few months. But after holding our breath we’re back to normal so to speak. To celebrate we’ve been hard at work on our new catalogue which should be on its way to all our regular customers. If you haven’t received one give us a shout and we’ll put one in the post to you. We’ve consolidated the range a little and weeded out a few of the labour-intensive products but what’s left are our best sellers.

Be in touch soon with more news.

Just so you remember what we look like…

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:12:37 +0100

Just so you remember what we look like…

NEC Autumn Fair

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:10:13 +0100

Well, just blink your eyes and the next show comes before you know it. Where does the time go?

Just sorting out the last few samples before loading the van and driving the long and winding road down to Birmingham. All ready for this Sunday’s opening, so if you’re coming, just listen out for the usual birdsong in hall 3 - Stand X20/Y21 … by the loos and restaurant. See you there.

Just to remind you what our US booth looks like…

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:49:16 +0100

Just to remind you what our US booth looks like…

We’ll miss you

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:48:19 +0100

For the first time in about 15 years we won’t be at any US shows this summer. Sarah has not been so well this year and Deryck is needed back at base to take her place and wield the whip! Also Sarah will be going into hospital soon for treatment and we all want to keep a close eye on her which isn’t possible 3000 miles away.

So if you’re about to venture out to New York which opens this Sunday, we’re sorry we can’t be their to chat. In the meantime we’re still making and flying orders over to you every 2-3 weeks, just e-mail, fax, phone or place an order through the website and we’ll get it to you in a trice!

As a little incentive we will offer FREE FREIGHT door to door on all orders over the usual $200 received in July and August.

These duck calls are still as popular as ever…

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:58:10 +0100

These duck calls are still as popular as ever…

Half a Million and still growing

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:56:55 +0100

Our wood supplier in the north of Scotland has always been in forestry, we chanced upon each other at the Aviemore gift fair some 9 years ago. To our surprise he announced he has now supplied us with over half a million pieces of timber - that’s a hell of a lot of trees!

Not that we go round willy-nilly chopping them down; in the forestry world Silver Birch regenerates naturally and grows quickly (often referred to as a weed tree) and is an ideal nurse species for slower growing trees. Birch needs to be thinned and respaced to produce well formed mature specimens. This thinned material is left to rot, chipped or burnt as it has no real commercial value in the timber trade. They are really a natural waste product. The wood is collected and carefully graded into the appropriate quality and size from whittling sticks to blackbird calls before being cut, drilled and slowly air dried over 6 to 8 weeks to avoid cracking.

Each piece is then hand-crafted in our woodshed here in Selkirk to create anything from a Cuckoo to a Duck , Pencil or a Dibber before being packaged and sent around the world. So all in all the process from ‘tree to thee’ takes a minimum of 3 months and a lot of experience. Here’s looking forward to making the next half million…

Are their any fish in here?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 17:56:47 +0100

Are their any fish in here?