Hey iUVO Family
I’m not going to lie… I’m nervous about Belfast.
Every year it is the same pattern, the chaos before the calm.
Packing the van is never my strength. I think I have it under control, then call my dad in and suddenly we are playing Tetris with boxes. By the end, the van was so full nothing could have moved even if it tried.
I realised there was no time to leave West Bromwich, drive to Handsworth and pick up Rohan, so I asked him to grab a taxi instead. The taxi took longer than we hoped, but this is where my extra contingency pays off. I missed a ferry once with the business and I am not repeating that lesson.
We reached the gate with twenty two minutes to spare before it closed. Then we sat there for another two and a half hours. In the end we found out there was more freight than usual, so everything was delayed.
Once on board, we got some food, grabbed a bit of sleep, and then it was straight back into work mode. Donegall Square is only about fifteen minutes from the port, and we were among the first off the boat, which really helped.
We drove onto site with a clear plan. Flooring down first. Get as much stock out of the van as possible.
Then off to Screwfix for all the unglamorous but essential bits, shelving, tarpaulin and a damp proof membrane to keep our little stock shelter dry.
Thursday was all about the flooring and dressing the shelves with Christmas wrap and decorations.
Friday was stock day. Karla came down to help and we focused just on getting everything out, placed and ready.
Saturday, opening day, started with the finishing touches and price tags before the midday launch.
And then the doors opened.
People poured in, queues wrapped around the square, everyone ready for the Christmas lights switch on. We were busy from morning right through to night. It was so good to see how many people are now choosing natural and organic products to bring their skin back into balance and support sensitive skin.
I went from nervous to proud in a single day. Proud of the team, proud of the graft that goes unseen, and proud that iUVO made it back to Belfast Christmas Market for another year.
If you are nowhere near Belfast, you are still very much part of this.
This Saturday we will be with Kordia Vegan Events in Thame.
On Sunday we will be in Bakewell.
And there are many more markets still to come.
You can always see where we will be next here:
https://iuvoskincare.com/pages/events
If you are thinking about gifts under the tree, or want to gently nudge someone to treat you, you can find all our Christmas gift sets here and our site wide sale starts on Thursday night 🌙.
https://iuvoskincare.com/collections/christmas-shop
Thank you for reading, for cheering us on from near or far, and for being part of the iUVO family. It really does mean everything.
With love, always
Shani
