Quest for the best!

Chickens for Easter at Carluccio's

Nice gifts at Carluccio's

Assorted cakes at Carluccio's

 Last night a couple of friends and I met at Carluccio's in Chichester for a treat. Eating anything there gives you a hint of what it must be like eating out in Italy. As I've never eaten out in Italy I have no comparison but I do think the food in Carluccio's is delicious.

I've been thinking a lot lately about making the shop the best that it can be. Doing some online research and thinking about the future.

Everyone tells me that shops can't compete with shopping on line any more.
That people have got out of the habit of looking round shops. I acknowledge that this is true for some people. Some of my friends only shop on line. But personally I like to feel what I'm buying. Something that may look good in a photograph may not look so good in real life and I like being served by a human being not a machine...

I also think that looking on line for something you want to buy can take hours and it's so easy to get side-tracked. I find this with Pinterest and I'm trying to limit myself to 10 minutes only on this addictive site!

So what is the answer? My answer is to be on a quest for the best. I want my shop to represent the best that I can find and for people to acknowledge the quality of everything in it. Now that Wild Damson, my neighbouring shop has gone (a big shock to a lot of people) I must make Handmade Happiness more of a destination store than ever.