Time to say goodbye !
It’s with a heavy heart that I announce the end of my journey in the businesses.
To all my wonderful customers, I want to express my deepest gratitude for your support, trust, and loyalty over the years.
Each interaction, recommendation, and kind word has meant the world to me.
I’ll always cherish the memories and relationships I’ve built.
This year has been incredibly challenging for me and my children — we’ve lost everything and now need to focus on rebuilding our lives.
It’s time for us to step back, heal, and prioritize our mental health.
I am handing my wand over to my wonderful friend Louise at Peachey Events.
Louise is an incredibly talented balloon artist, and I have full confidence she will take great care of you all.
She will be taking on my contracts and existing jobs, ensuring you’re in the best of hands please get in contact on
07756 701606
I want to take a moment to thank my amazing, caring parents for everything they have done for us over the past six months.
They’ve given us a roof over our heads and supported me through this incredibly difficult time as I work to rebuild our lives.
Their love and generosity have been a true blessing, and I don’t know where we’d be without them.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Mum and Dad ❤️❤️
While it’s hard to say goodbye, I’m hopeful for the future as we begin this next chapter.
Thank you for understanding, and please take care. 💜
#cheam #cheamvillage #timetosaygoodbye #newchapter #goodbye #worcesterpark #epsom #epsomdowns #kingswood #tadworth #waltononthehill #carshalton #wallington #ewell #worcesterpark #banstead #surrey
#sutton #caterham #purley
#BreakTheSilence
#SpeakUp
#YouAreNotAlone
#SurvivorStrong
#NoMore
#LoveShouldntHurt
#BreakFree
#ESDAS
Seeing as we have a new government this morning.this song came to mind and well done Labour !
Please please fix our broken country, work hard and prove all the haters wrong, this year I was denied my vote as tam officially homeless and temporary living at my parents so I was sad to not be able to have my say !
I have always voted conservatives or Liberal Democrat’s in the past but feel greatly let down by them and sometimes a change is a good thing and time will tell as any government will struggle to fix years of decline ?
Just please help our young children’s and teenagers mental health, they need time and money and expertise, give them hope and aspirations and places to go, where are the youth clubs that when I was young we looked forward to going to on a friday night ?
Schools need more money, you cannot expect schools to safeguard children without the proper funding, all teachers shouid be trained to see the signs of children struggling.
Fix our amazing NHS and pay all the staff a decent wage and give them incentives to keep them well mentally and physically.
And lastly protect all domestic abuse victims with the full force of the law and make it easier for them to seek help from charities like ESDAS who have been my lifeline since March and improve the horrendous social services department as its not fit for purpose!
Over an out for now
Charlotte x x x
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#timeforchange
#makegreatbritaingreatagain
#CAMHS
#socialservices
#schools
#newgovernment
#thingscanonlygetbetter
#hope
#faith
#peace
#love
Update from Village Ceramics studio !
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#ceramicstudio #surreymums #surreyparents #birthdaypartyvenue #kidsactivities #artsandcrafts #childrensparties #holidaycamps #cheam #paintyourown #paintingstudio #surrey #surreyfamily #surreylife #summeractivitiesforkids #sutton #carshalton #wallington #worcesterpark #northcheam #ewell #epsom #wimbledon #banstead #kingswood #epsomdowns #waltononthehill #summercamps
#update #timeout
Golf Buggy decoration coming to a Golf Club near you !
Another thing ticked off my bucket list - drive a golf buggy AND not crash 💥into a Tesla!
Fun in the sun ☀️
Thank you @hamptoncourtpalacegolf for trusting me with you golf buggy
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#balloon
#balloondecor
#balloons
#balloonartist
#bespokeballoonssurrey
#balloonbouquet
#ballooncolumns
#balloonarch
#balloonshop
#ballooninstallations
#surreyballoons
#cheam
#surreymums
#topblowers
#weddingballoons
#surreywedding
#corporateevents
#sutton
#stuffedballoons
#balloonstylist
#banstead
#kingswood
#epsom
#chessington
#wimbledon
#waltononthehill
#tadworth
#carshalton
#wallington
#golfbuggy
This Saturday 29th June 2024 will be my last day of trading at our studio based in the place I have loved all my life “Cheam Village” where I at the crazy age of 17 years old I started my own business in July 1997.
Although my heart is broken 💔I am left with very few options and have been told in no uncertain terms I need to focus on my traumatised children and the possible court case ahead of us and getting them professional help at CAMHS which 14 days after our stay at St Heliers hospital has still not materialised !
Still no contact by social services and I just don’t know what else I will have to do to be heard and listened to but I guess it will have to be something spectacular !
So their will be lots of tears 😭 and I have already been so touched by all the flowers and cards and been enjoying all the chocolates 😋
So for this last Saturday day please come and paint 🎨🖌️ for free (no session fee) just pay for the item you pick, drinks and cookies 🍪 and aprons all included, just turn up no need to book we are open 9am-5.30pm.
As nearly reaching 27 years is a big deal and I am going to miss my studio, it holds so many lovely memories and it’s going to leave a gapping hole in my heart which I hope will be filled in time 💜
I want to thank all my customers and staff members and to the Cheam Village traders for all the years who have been incredible loyal and supportive I have always tried to support local schools and charities and loved our great community I will be back, not sure when and I WILL continued to try to survive on my income from Bibbidi Bobbidi Balloons 🎈
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#freepainting
#nosessionfee
#lastday
#closingdown
#entrepreneur
#girlboss
#singlemum
#camhs
#socialservices
#family
#thankyou
#grateful
#blessed
#timeforchange
#itsokaynottobeokay
#mykidsaremylife
#ceramicstudio
#paintyourownpottery
#surrey
#cheam
#sutton
#epsom
#banstead
#wallington
#waltononthehill
#kingswood
#ewell
#carshalton
#ashtead
#wimbledon
It’s with a heavy heart and with little options left that Village Ceramics studio will close its doors on Saturday 29th June 2024.
On March 14th 2024 my son Joshua was assaulted by my husband Jeremy Harris.
In the past 3 months I have had to move from our rented home, move to my parents, sell or dump or giveaway all of our possession’s, rehome our puppy Bruno, and try to juggle two successful businesses.
Joshua and Carrie are both suffering mental trauma and last Thursday Joshua had a severe breakdown which resulted in us going in an Ambulance to St Heliers hospital and because of the things he was saying we had to stay in a secure padded room with a guard until
CAMHS arrived which was 20 hours later !
I have been told in no uncertain terms that if I do not improve my work life balance that a worse case scenario will be he may be taken away from me.
For over a week I have tried to work out how I can stay at the studio as this business is something I started at the age of 17 years old, my Grandad Phil and Aunty Mary (god rest their soles) invested in me as did my parents.
Over the past 27 years my parents have believed in me, helped and supported me as have both my sisters Lucy and Georgiee who have both worked in the business.
I have to be realistic as soon I will have to have an operation, and we all possibly will have to attend court and I just physically won’t be able to give the time and dedication that the business needs with all the huge increasing overheads.
My dream and goal is to focus more on my children and get them well and for me to relaunch myself as a mobile painting studio so I can come to you, possible another location on an existing site, train and specialise in AEN & SEN, and I WILL continue with delivering and doing balloons.
I want to thank Jess and Sophie for coming to the rescue this past 3 months.
To my amazing daughter Chloe who has been such a huge part of Village Ceramics and who I consider my best friend and who I am so ver
What a day since 7am this morning I have been heavily bleeding, we had to close the studio early and arrived to St Heliers hospital just after 12pm.
At first I was seen quickly, my bloods taken and an intravenous (IV) line with a needle was inserted into one of my blood vessels.
The triage nurse said he had made the call to gynaecology department and they would be down to collect me by 4pm, after waiting until 8.30pm in a very busy A & E department I asked a receptionist (who really is in the wrong job as her manner and tone was horrific) to see what update she could give me and she simply said she didn’t have the number for gynaecology department and that she couldn’t help or assist me even though I was bleeding through my trousers onto the chair, feeling faint and pins and needles down my left arm, she told me to walk into the urgent unit and speak to a nurse.
In all my life I have never ever seen such a sight of disorganised, and dirty, trolleys and trolleys of people lining up in corridors, relatives pacing up and down, nurses looking like they are about to break down, police arresting vile drunken men who were swearing and being so racist towards the nurses, a poor old lady walking around with no shoes and hardly any clothes on, paramedics looking like rabbits caught in headlights, I stood for 15 minutes and witnessed the utter chaos, I spoke to some parents who’s son had been waiting for 36 hours and his leg was now turning black, what the hell has happened to our NHS!
I finally spoke to a nurse who said I’m sorry l’ve paged them 3 times they are just too busy to come down, so l thought *uck this I will walk myself up to gynaecology department, when I arrived they had no record of me, no one was ever coming down to get me and I would probably still be sitting in A & E.
They found more polyps, I have to get an ultrasound, l am lacking in vitamin D (aren’t we all), and Peri menopausal, HRT has to be stopped and Mirena coil has come out and I nee
Our Kilns are the most essential working part of our studio which is a background daily job that takes time and patience and skill.
Our electricity bills have been costing me a fortune 🔌💷£ which is long story but I had a call in January 2023 from who I thought was E-ON who we are currently with but it was actually a broker and he claimed that if I didn’t lock in these rates my bills would sky rocket even more I stupidly fell for his chat and verbally agreed over the phone and got locked into a years contract of 60p per KW, at the time of the call I had a busy studio full of customers and felt pressured into having to make a decision which has cost me dearly as the bills went from £200 per month to over £1000 a month !
E-ON have been amazing and they are aware of the situation of these brokers poaching customers and have listened to the call and admit they do refer to
E-ON but a verbal agreement is still legally binding so I agreed a weekly payment plan and I am nearly all clear with my debt as it’s hit me hard but with hard work and perseverance I am nearly sorted 🤦🏼♀️.
Also thanks to the @fsb_uk who I belong to as a business for their free legal advice who had their solicitors ring me and explain the situation and help me out.
But at the end of this month I have finally got us onto a better fixed business plan 🌈 lesson learnt never feel pressured to make a decision over the 📞 and learn to say NO !
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#broker #electricity #electricitybroker #fixedcontract #verbalcontract #duped #costoflivingcrisis #EON #lessonlearned #phonesales #learntosayno #lightattheendofthetunnel #kiln #kilncosts #firingakiln #pottery #potterystudio #firingceramics #power #lifesaclimb #rippedoff #bigmistake #bigmistakehugeihavetogoshoppingnow #fsb
Our glazing process so after you have been into our studio to paint your pieces have to be glazed.
The majority of items can be dipped carefully but some items have to be hand painted with glaze which is tiles as they have to have 1 surface not glazed and clay imprints and giant items that are just two heavy to submerge.
The glaze is tinted green so you can check for full coverage and this green colour disappears at roughly 500 degrees and the kiln fires 🔥 to over 1000 degrees.
Our firing process takes 3 days to cook and cool and cannot be rushed, so we say our turnaround service is 7-14 days although the last few months this has had to be extended but I am not caught up so delays should be a thing of the past 🎨🖌️
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#glazing #glazingpottery #kiln #firingprocess #ceramics #ceramicstudio #paintyourownpottery #dipping #clearglaze #surrey #surreystudio #ceramicstudiosurrey #sutton #cheam #kingswood #waltononthehill #epsom #wimbledon #carshalton #wallington #purley #caterham #worcesterpark #ewell #epsomdowns #chessington #newmalden #surreymums #surreyactivities
Did you know we offer work and corporate team building pay as you paint sessions in the daytime or the evening or we can come to you 🎨🖌️
You can hire the studio exclusively also and we can accommodate 40 people.
Bring along bubbles 🍾🥂, soft drinks, snacks and cake 🍰 we also have our cafe area available for your complimentary tea/herbal tea and coffee we can organise a takeaway from Prezzo (1 minute away) and get you a 20% discount.
We provide you with an apron, brushes and paint and all the materials to create your masterpiece.
We have two different paint finishes the first option is painting in our acrylics, metallics and glitters and this is for pieces that are just for decorative purposes, you would not be able to eat or drink from them and you can take these pieces home the same day.
The second option is our glazed paints these paints require us to put a top coat of glaze over them and fire them in our kilns located to the rear of the studio, this process takes 7-14 days and we then phone you to say your items are ready for collection and each customer gets a unique reference code to ensure nothing gets muddled, you piece can then go in the dishwasher and the microwave and is fully functional.
Please get in touch to find out more details on 020 8661-7837 or pop into the studio to discuss.
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#ceramicstudio #surreymums #surreyparents #birthdaypartyvenue #kidsactivities #artsandcrafts #childrensparties #holidaycamps #cheam #paintyourown #paintingstudio #surrey #surreyfamily #surreylife #summeractivitiesforkids #sutton #carshalton #wallington #worcesterpark #northcheam #ewell #epsom #wimbledon #banstead #kingswood #epsomdowns #waltononthehill #summercamps
#teambuilding #teambuildingactivity
May half term is just around the corner and our Creative Day Camps are back !
They are running Monday 27th May to Friday 31st May the children arrive at 9am and stay until 5pm.
We provide breakfast, drinks and cookies, ice lolly after lunch and popcorn 🍿 with the Disney + movie and dinner is pizza 🍕 or pasta from Prezzo’s.
It’s a fun filled day of arts and crafts, we will be decorating cupcakes, making slime, painting ceramics and so much more and the children get to take all their masterpieces home on the same day.
All you need to provide is a packed lunch and a drink.
It’s £55 per child and we offer reducing to £52 if you are booking more than 1 camp for your child or if you are booking with a sibling or a friend.
To book please give us a ring on 020 8661-7837 or email [email protected] or pop into the studio to book.
🌞Summer holidays 🌞are on the horizon and now our booking system is open for the 6 weeks Creative Day Camps starting Monday 22nd July to Friday 30th August !
We are offering an early bird offer for our Summer Creative Day Camps that if you book by the end of June 2024 it’s just a £25 deposit per camp for each child with the balance payable on the day of each camp just quote : EARLYBIRD24
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#ceramicstudio #surreymums #surreyparents #birthdaypartyvenue #kidsactivities #artsandcrafts #childrensparties #holidaycamps #cheam #paintyourown #paintingstudio #surrey #surreyfamily #surreylife #summeractivitiesforkids #sutton #carshalton #wallington #worcesterpark #northcheam #ewell #epsom #wimbledon #banstead #kingswood #epsomdowns #waltononthehill #summercamps
#summer #kidscamps
Huge apologies in the delay in our firing process I have literally been swamped !
You will be really pleased to know that I am nearly caught up 🤦🏼♀️
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#ceramicstudio #surreymums #surreyparents #birthdaypartyvenue #kidsactivities #artsandcrafts #childrensparties #holidaycamps #cheam #paintyourown #paintingstudio #surrey #surreyfamily #surreylife #summeractivitiesforkids #sutton #carshalton #wallington #worcesterpark #northcheam #ewell #epsom #wimbledon #banstead #kingswood #epsomdowns #waltononthehill #summercamps
#kiln #kilnfiring
