Sublime creativity partnered with business entrepreneurial acumen leads to another marketing success.

Every day numerous products are placed into public facing media but it takes both exceptional products and knowledge of what publisher want to see to ensure that the public actually get to see beautiful rather than just well advertised products.

A case in point is seen in the Independent on line article by Kate Hilpern, 24 February 2012, 10-best-plates .

In this article a beautify hand painted ceramic plate by Betty Raspberry is featured. Betty is an Illustrated Ceramics Illustrator who specialises in up-cycled vintage ceramics with unique illustration drawn directly by hand. She sells her unique ceramics through Tastia.com a marketplace for small-scale producers that make fabulous food, drink, plates, mugs, aprons and tea-towels etc, in fact everything for the foodies that are tired of the mass produced fare that is typically found not just on the high street but increasingly on the numerous web sites that in effect just replicate high street shopping.

So how come the plate is featured alongside others from big companies such as Villeroy-Boch? Well the plate is beautiful and obviously well worthy of its place in the top ten, but placement into the media is where Fiona Marshall proprietor and Director of Tastia.com comes in. Fiona has established links with reporters and publications that are always looking for interesting and beautiful products to introduce to their readers. Tastia.com and its sister site notmassproduced.com are full of just such beautiful products but Fiona’s trick is to have a brilliant knowledge of the artisans and products on her sites and to be able to match particular products to particular publisher’s requirements. It not surprising then that Betty Raspberry’s lovely ’Beatrice’ plate joins a long line of equally unique and delightful products that Fiona has placed into publications on behalf of artisan producers.

Watch this space, Fiona recently won one of two £50k investment prizes from Village Capital . The investment will enable expansion of the Tastia and NotMassProduced social enterprise businesses to the benefit of the artisans that sell via the sites and will help to ensure the public have a real opportunity to learn about and experience quality British products direct from unique artisan producers.

Guess whose cake won the Guardian's taste test?

Well ours obviously!

My Cottage Kitchen, one of our small producers on the Tastia site makes the cakes and won the award for the best tasting.  She was the only one to get the full 5 stars!!!  She beat the likes of Bettys, Daylesford Organics and M&S, to name a few.  What an accolade.

Mind you I'm not surprised.  These cakes are slow baked in an Aga for up to 12 hours, with brandy poured over regularly and only the finest, freshest ingredients are used.  A small one only costs £11.50, what unbelievable value.

This is why I am so passionate about small producers, they're just amazing!  They love what they do and it shows.  I want to jump up and down and tell the world about them!!  This is me doing a little jump (and a skip truth be told!)

Check out the article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/nov/25/christmas-taste-test-christmas-cake 

900g, £22.50. Best classic cake
I still firmly believe that the best Christmas cakes are homemade - especially if that home happens to belong to Ursula Evans of My Cottage Kitchen. The joyful smell of brandy hits me as soon as I open the tin, and the simple topping of figs, prunes and pecans sends my own festive spirits soaring after all that sugary icing. Dark, sticky and very moreish, this is the one cake I'm keeping for myself.
★★★★★

See Tastia.com mentioned in the Telegraph magazine today 02/07/2011!!

Father's Day Gift Ideas

A few suggestions for Father's Day.  We offe a selection of unique gifts available from the site.

 Award winning all butter yummy fudge £1.99 a packet

 Messy eater?  Set of 4 cotton satin napkins £40

 Hand screen printed hare cotton tea towel £8

 Tin of 22 carat gold chocolate lollipops £12

 For cooks and comedians Oscar Wilde bib style apron £25.00
"After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations"

 Make your own pesto kit £16.50

Hand decorated VW Camper van mug £16.50

Handmade in Wales with fresh natural ingredients, mixed box medium £9.00

Biscuits for Father's Day

Make some biscuits for Father's Day.

I've used a simple recipe for Shrewsberry biscuits which you can find on the website.

Once the biscuits have been baked, add some red jam and then sandwich the top biscuit with the letters D, A, D cut out, on top. 

Very simple and something you can get the kids to help with.

http://www.tastia.com/recipe/6369643d30267269643d3133/shrewsbury-biscuits.htm

A great British celebration

The Royal Wedding was a great celebration of British produce.  For example, Scottish smoked salmon, Scottish langoustines, Cornish crab salad, English goats cheese, lamb from the Windsor estate, British cheese selection, Gressingham duck and wine from Chapel Down in Kent.  The fruit cake was from Fiona Cairns and a biscuit cake from McVities. 

At least the Royals recognise the importance of British produce, especially on such a British occassion.

This is not something to be taken for granted for, at the British Olympics, it is said that only about 8% of the merchandise is made in Britain and the food and drink sponsors are McDonalds, Cadbury's and Coca-Cola.  It would seem our politicians do not have the same principles or loyalties.