Potions goes to Hospital

Julie Foster of Potions & Possibilities has always had a different approach to selling her luxury toiletries and aromatherapy products. Whereas most budding retailers would choose a prime location and then set up shop, Julie has always considered where her potential customers might be and taken her shop to them. For over ten years now she has exhibited at premium countryside events and top consumer shows such as Country Living Magazine.

Never one to stand still, she is opening a concession at the busy Ipswich Hospital site.

"I know from the visitors to my site at Martlesham or questions asked via my website that Nurses, Mid-wives and palliative care specialists all embrace a more holistic approach to the care of their patients. The other aspect to their interest is the stress under which they work and the impact of shift patterns. I will also be able to cater more easily for the visitors who want to take in a present with a difference. Whether it is a bottle of tea tree and lavender for a soothing post natal bath, a basket of fragrant treats for a patient or a natural fatigue remedy for a Nurse, we will be much more accessible"

The hospital prescence is only one aspect of Julie’s business strategy which embraces growth and builds her British brand credentials in a market sector that is rapidly being overwhelmed with cheap imports from the Far East. She has also diversified into training with the development of a private training school for holisitc and beauty skills and qualifications with the “Academy of Health & Beauty" at Martlesham.

"I have been involved in training for several years now - when we supply to an International Spa for instance it is expected that we back the product launch with staff training. This is taking it one step further with professional qualifications on offer. The clients attracted to private training tend to be mature career changers and those already involved in the health sector and those who want to learn for the sheer joy of it"

Fantastic opportunities at The Academy

Thinking about changing your life?
Thinking of learning for the sheer joy of it?
Thinking of a perfect Christmas present with a difference?

We specialise in premium fast track courses and leisure experiences in the beauty and holistic sector - see our list of course attached, or at http://www.academyofhealthandbeauty.co.uk/ (click on The Academy in the menu.) With our supportive, high quality teaching techniques and practical approach you could be qualified, insured and in your own beauty or holistic business within 16 weeks. Book now, by calling 01394 386161, before the end of November using your privilege code VIP100 and you will be entitled to 50% discount on any course between Nov 7th and March 8th. Email info@academyofhealthandbeauty.co.uk for more information or call 01394 386161 and ask for training director Julie Foster for more info.

Lip Balm back in stock

Delighted to say that our wonderful lip balm is now back in stock. With Tea-Tree and Spearmint Essential Oils, Propolis and Vitamin E, this balm will soothe and protect - just what's needed now that Autumn is well and truely here.

Fatigue Relief Balm - back in stock!

Our Fatigue Relief Balm is now back on the shelves! Fatigue Relief Balm contains Lemongrass for concentration, Geranium to calm anxiety & lift the spirits & Grapefruit to counteract physical fatigue & lethargy. These essential oils have been hand-blended into an invigorating & freshly scented gel (Apply to the pulse points as required).

Heavy Duty Relief Gel - Back in stock!!

We are proud to announce that our ever-popular Heavy Duty Relief Gel is now back in stock. We apologise that it's been missing for a little while, but you can now order it either on the website or via phone on 01394 386161. We've taken out the colour so it is now a clear gel (new photo coming soon) and it is still as effective as ever.

It's back - Finger & Heel Relief now in stock!

We are delighted to let you all know that our Finger & Heel Relief is now back on the shelves ready for your orders. Sorry it's been missing for a while but you are welcome to order as many as you wish and we will be contacting those of you who have placed pre-orders too.

Summer Specials!

If you haven't already tried our wonderful Floral Range of products now is the time! With our fabulous scents of English Rose, English Lavender and English Garden you'll be spoilt for choice. From room and linen sprays, bath and shower gels, body lotion, soaps, hand and nail creams through to scented candles there's everything you need to celebrate the summer!

Hello all Harry Potter fans!

We can see you've been busy searching for some 'potions' and have come to our web site! Sorry we cannot help with the particular potions you are looking for but we are glad you've found us. Hope you are getting on well with the latest book.

Silver Clay Workshop

Have a look at our In The Community section for information on the next workshop!

Relaxation Balm - back in stock!

We are pleased to say that our popular Relaxation Balm is now back in stock - we look forward to sending it out to you.

Potions & Possibilities on the road - come and meet us!

We are taking Potions & Possibilities out and about and will be appearing at the following shows in the coming month. To see where we will be from August onwards, have a look at the 'In The Community' section which will be updated regularly.

8 July - Heveningham Hall, Suffolk - say hello to Rachel
21-22 July - Holkham House, Norfok - Julie will be running our stand so do say hello!
27-29 July - Harewood House Game Fair, Yorkshire - Patricia & Simon will be pleased to see you

Summer's here - celebrate with our Floral Range

Despite all the rain, the flowers are out in fully bloom here in Suffolk and the scent is wonderful. To keep that wonderful scent with you at all times, why not try our fabulous Floral Range. English Rose, English Lavender and the fresh scent of English Garden are sure to delight - the sprays can be used to fragrance a room, your linen or direct on your body. All our Floral Range is SLS and Paraben free too!

Split Finger & Heel Relief, Lip Balm and Relaxation Balm - sorry sold out

We are sorry to have to say we are sold out of our Split Finger & Heel Relief Balm, Lip Balm and Relaxation Balm. Clearly news of how effective and wonderful they are has spread far and wide, which is marvellous and we are working away on producing the next batch - we'll put up a notice on here the moment they are back in stock - promise! Thanks for your patience.

Julie Foster on MySpace

There's been a burst of activity at the Potions site recently, as well as your opportunity to make money with Potions, Julie now has a MySpace page!

If you are a MySpace user, why not add her as a friend? Due to the potential for misuse, we are only accepting legitimate users so please drop us a message to say hello at the same time.

Our online affiliate scheme is now ready...

You can now sign up to make money with Potions & Possibilities. We are looking for people to join our Online Affiliate Scheme. It's very simple - post our adverts up on message boards, forums, websites or anywhere online and earn 10% commission on every order that your ads generate.

You can read more information at www.potions.co.uk/onlineaffiliates or contact onlineaffiliates@potions.co.uk for more information.

If you wish to sign up, click here and you could be earning within minutes!

The Potions & Possibilities Team

Smart Shoppers' Guide to the Internet

You may be interestd to know that we are in the Smart Shoppers' guide to the Internet that is included with the new issue of SHE magazine. The Guide offers a unique selection of the best in specialist shopping online - we are delighted to be included!

potions.co.uk

We have finally made the move from our old address, potions.org.uk to our new address at www.potions.co.uk - if any of your old favourites/bookmarks aimed at the old site, please update them as soon as possible.

You shouldn't notice any difference to the site and you can still place orders 24 hours a day, with complete security and confidence. If you have any questions, drop us an email at info@potions.co.uk and we will be able to help.

We look forward to hearing from you,
The Potions Team

Potions - In the Community

If you haven't already done so, please have a look at our Section titled 'In the Community'. In this area, you will find details of where our stand and team will be in the next month and also details of workshops being held at the Academy. Workshops being run include Indian Head Massage, Reiki and Silver Clay.

Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials 2007

We hope to see you at the Badminton Trials! Our team will be there from 3 to 6 May with the Rural Crafts Association and we'd be delighted to see you.

Thanks for coming to see us!

It was lovely to see so many of you at the County Living show. The weather was fantastic and clearly contributed to the day. You may also like to make a note of the date for the Christmas County Show, that will also be held at Trinity Park, from 16 to 18 November 2007. There will be even more stall holders and it will be an excellent opportunity to do your Christmas shopping.

Spring is here - see us at the Suffolk County Living show!

We will be at the Suffolk County Living Show from 13 April to 15 April 2007 - we would be delighted to see you there!

Being held at Trinity Park (formerly Suffolk Showground), Felixstowe Road, Ipswich IP3 8UH with 100 Exhibitors indoors.

Celebrating the very best of home, garden and lifestyle shopping
Gorgeous gifts, food, clothing and accessories
Cafe serving delicious light lunches and afternoon teas
Take a test drive in the Toyota range at the show

Friday April 13th - 11am to 5pm
Saturday April 14th - 10am to 6pm
Sunday April 15th - 10am to 4pm
Admission £5, Concessions £4.50, Children under 16 Free

FREE PARKING
For further details call 01473 707121

Silver Clay Workshop at our Academy

We are delighted to be hosting a Silver Clay Workshop on 28 March 2007 at the Potions & Possibilities Academy. Melanie Blaikie will be leading the course and you should expect to make at least two pieces of jewellery during your day here. The cost for the event is £65 - please call 01394 386161 to secure your place. Further details can also be found at www.silverclayworkshop.co.uk. No previous experience is necessary - the aim for the day to be fun and relaxing with plenty of time to experiment and be creative!

Country Living Show - Welcome!

We'd like to welcome new visitors to our site that we met at the Country Living show. What a lovely event - and it was great to see so many familiar faces and introduce ourselves to lots of new people too. We look forward to being of service to you and remember to use your CL07 offer code when placing your order to receive your discount.

A treat for all Gardeners!

It's time to get out into the gardens again - so much to do! In recognition of all the hard work, we will send you three of our Gardener's Hand Cream when you order two. A treat for your hands after all that hard work - lovely! It provides heavy duty, natural protection for hands & nails when working around the garden.

Latest Posting Date for Mothers Day

Update on message from 12 March. Please be aware that our latest date for sending items to arrive in time for Mothers Day is today, Thursday 15th March. Orders will need to be with us by 12 noon - thank you.

SALE - an amazing 20% off all orders over £35!*

From 9th to 17th March, we are delighted to give 20% off all orders over £35.00* placed with us via the internet. What an excellent opportunity to buy some gifts for the people you care about and treat yourself too!

* excludes post and packing

Wonderful Gifts - perfect for Mother's Day too!

We are delighted to have a wonderful range of gift sets; boxed, wrapped and hand finished with ribbon - all ready to be given as a present. The Time for You Collection, the Relaxation Collection and the Energising Collection are extremely popular at this time of year and when you see them we're sure you will understand why. We can send these gifts direct to the recipient for you - a lovely change to sending flowers or chocolates!

Wonderful Essential Oils!

Experiment with scents and smells to fine-tune your personal aromatherapy. Discover which aromas make you feel more energetic and productive. Pay attention to what makes you feel calm and centered and then use these aromas when you feel the need to focus or relax. Have a look at our Essential Oils to see what they have to offer!

Bath Salt & Soap Making Workshop

Sunday 18 February - 4.00pm - 5.00pm

Due to popular demand, we are again running our bath salt and soap making workshop this half term at our unit in Old Martlesham, Suffolk. If you would like to book a place, please contact us on 01394 386161 - tickets are £5 per person.

Anna's Hope

Julie wanted to let you know about a very important charity that she am honoured to be involved with. It is called Anna's Hope and is dedicated to the memory of a very special little girl who sadly was diagnosed with a brain tumour in February 2004. The tumour was removed and for the next 15 months, Anna spent a lot of time in hospital but tragically she lost her battle at the young age of 3 years and 8 months.

This charity has been established by her familily as they want to help children with brain tumours and try to improve their chances of survival and rehabilitation. More information is available at the following website; we do hope you have a look and are able to help support this charity.

http://www.annashope.co.uk/

About our products ...

Our products are not tested on animals, we don't use any animal sourced ingredients, they are suitable for vegetarians and are made in Britain. Our new Floral Range is also SLS and paraben free and we have recently introduced an Organic range.

Valentines Day - 14 February!

We can help you with your gifts for Valentines Day ... we can even send it direct to the worthy and special recipient for you!

Why not send a 'Because you deserve it' collection - sure to make a favourable impression - go on, you know they do deserve it!

Free P&P - offer ends midnight 31 January 2007!

Just a reminder that our offer of free P&P on UK mainland orders (normally £2.95) ends at midnight on 31 January - get your orders in now to take advantage of this offer!

Free Post and Packing*

We are delighted to be offering free postage and packing* on all purchases from 23 January to 31 January. This would be an excellent opportunity for you to buy your gifts for Valentines Day and maybe get ahead with presents for Mothers Day, Easter and birthdays too! You could also treat yourself - why not try one of our pulse point balms to help you relax, sleep or increase your energy.

We also have some wonderful detox products which have proved very popular with customers working hard to keep New Year resolutions. With the continued interest in natural healthcare, our Essential Oils are as attractive as ever with the Lime Essential Oil proving the most popular.

Our products are not tested on animals, we don't use any animal sourced ingredients, they are suitable for vegetarians and are made in Britain. Our new Floral Range is also SLS and paraben free in response to our customers requests for even more natural products and Julie has produced a range of Organic Day, Night and Facial Scrubs. Julie is currently reformulating our firming eye gel and essential eye cream and we'll let you know as soon as they are available.

If you've not yet had the opportunity, do have a listen to our podcast and read the new Julie's blog which will be regularly updated with information about aromatherapy as well as Julie's news and views.

Finally, if you would like a bit of a bargain, do have a look at our End of Line items and our Craft Items, Sundries and Seconds.

We look forward to hearing from you - remember that our free Postage & Packaging offer finishes on 31 January.


* standard Postage & Packing at £2.95. Next day, Saturday deliveries and international deliveries are excluded from this offer.

Spirit Of Christmas 2006 - Video

The Spirit Of Christmas show at the end of 2006 was a great success for Potions, we would like to thank everyone who came along and said hello.

While exhibiting, our sales director Marian was interviewed by the team at Attend TV - and took to opportunity to talk about the company and the range of products we had on show. Click here to view the interview.

Well done Marian!!

Valentines Day Gift Ideas

Looking for something special for Valentines Day? Have a look at our wonderful gift boxes, beautifully wrapped to show how much you care - we'll even send it to the lucky recipient with a gift card and message from you. We've also produced some delightful double luxury soaps and bath sizzler with romance in mind ... enjoy! What a wonderful change from chocolates and flowers - get ready to start dropping hints about what you would like to receive from us on 14 February!

Potions & Possibilities Academy now open!

The Potions and Possibilities Academy is now open at The Barn, Bridge Farm Business Park, Martlesham, Suffolk. Our professionally qualified and experienced therapists carry out a range of exclusive beauty and holistic treatments, personally designed and tailored to suit your individual needs. All of the treatments use our high performance products and are designed to leave you feeling relaxed and revitalised. Trust us … you will look and feel fabulous! For any questions or to book a treatment please call 01394 386161 - we look forward to hearing from you!