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 Issue 1, December 2005Welcome to the very first edition of our newsletter - thank you all very much for signing up for it in the first place, and for your patience! I've finally mastered the technology (more or less) and got round to writing it... From now on, all being well, the newsletter will hopefully land in your mailbox on a monthly basis.It's been an exciting month in our shop on the edge of the Peak District, as we have now opened the upstairs showrooms. One room is a dedicated Farrow & Ball showroom, with good stocks of paint, reference books on colour schemes and paint effects, and all the wallpaper books to browse through. Another is now a lighting showroom (the lights are not yet on the website, but we're working on it). You can sit down, too, and help yourself to proper coffee, tea and biscuits (if we haven't got to them first, that is). We look forward to seeing you here one day! Leek is a lovely place for a day out, with its numerous antiques shops and scenic location. And finally: a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, from all of us here at Period Features! Lucie Lighting In The Victorian HomeThis month's article is by www.buildingconservation.com, which is a really useful directory for period homeowners.During the 63 years of Queen Victoria's reign, from 1837 to 1901, life in ordinary houses was transformed by a succession of technological developments we now take for granted: flushing toilets, plumbed-in baths and showers, regular postal deliveries and light fittings capable of illuminating whole rooms at a time. At the start of the Victorian period most houses were lit by candles and oil lamps. Interior fittings included chandeliers (suspended from the ceiling) and sconces (fixed to the wall). However these were mainly used on special occasions, and most ordinary events after sunset took place using portable light sources such as candlesticks, candelabra (bracketed candlesticks) and oil lamps, and by the light of the fire. By the end of the period gas lighting was common in urban homes and electricity was being introduced in many... Read more » Testimonial"You are running a business that is top flight. Your personal response on Sunday was fantastic – that alone made me want to buy from you. And even though I waited a couple of days to see if any of the other places I queried had what I wanted, only one replied, with nothing like what I need. So this evening, I placed an order through your web page for the bell pull. It's perfect; your personal service is wonderful. Keep up the good work!"R.L. from Fowey, Cornwall Wonderful WebsitesThis section of the newsletter lists various websites which we hope our readers may find useful. We don't benefit in any way from listing them; they're only here because we think they're good!Readers with their own business to promote may find the advice of Paula Gardner at Do Your Own PR useful - I know we do. Click here to visit the site: www.doyourownpr.com The other day, I came across an interesting Australian website called Ian Evans' World of Old Houses. It has a handy directory of suppliers from all over the world, interesting articles and links. Click here to have a look: www.oldhouses.com.au One of the interiors magazines I like best is called Period Living & Traditional Homes, and I'm sure many of you are already familiar with it. However, what you may not know is that it also has an excellent website, with competitions, details of great days out in historic houses and (best of all) an excellent directory listing all kinds of specialist suppliers: www.periodliving.co.uk Win A £50 Period Features Voucher!Do you feel like winning a £50 voucher to spend with us? Then just click on the link below and answer one simple question. After the closing date of 31 December 2005, we will pick one winner from all the correct entries received. There aren't that many people on our mailing list yet, so you're in with a good chance!Read more » Enquire WithinHere at Period Features, we're quite good at knowing where to get things - even if it's not something we sell ourselves. On a similar note, if you need to know how to repair, care for or maintain your period house, we can point you in the right direction. And we really like being helpful... so we'd love to hear from you, and maybe we can help solve your problems! Although we would like to point out that we have no idea exactly where you last saw your car keys, sorry...I will do my best to answer every query we receive; the most interesting questions and answers will be published in this section in future editions of the newsletter. Email your queries to us at Enquire Within One Last ThingThe November issue of Eve magazine had a four page feature on the shop! They have a regular article entitled "Women Doing Their Own Thing", with stories which will hopefully inspire others to succeed in their business, year out, new start or whatever they may have embarked upon. We're delighted they wrote about us.The January issue of the excellent BBC Homes & Antiques, which comes out at the beginning of December, also features us in their one-page Shop With A Difference feature on page 111. In the near future, we will be setting up a Press Room section on the site where you can read all the articles about us, if you want to! We're also going to have a links section featuring sites we like; some are related to period houses and others are more general, but we hope you'll find them all useful nonetheless. Last but not least - if you have any suggestions or comments, then please feel free to drop us a line. We'd love to hear from you! Email us at One Last Thing Kind regards, Lucie Storrs, Proprietor |  This Norfolk Fire Pipe (£27) is really good for bringing a dying fire back to life - just place the end in the embers and blow. We also have toasting forks and chestnut roasters. Read more »  The Week-End Book is a great stocking-filler, covering such diverse subjects as food and drink, poetry, games, architecture and travels with a donkey in its 350 pages! This hardback copy of the 1920s original costs £10.99. Read more »
 The new Homewares section of our site has lovely things like these fairly traded jute rugs, priced at £18.50 and £23.50, as well as cotton rugs and fluffy mohair throws. Read more »  These fabulous French soaps are available in nine fragrances and cost £4.35 each. Click on the link below to visit our Bathroom section, where we have plenty of other products too. Read more »
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