The Shop

We’ve just changed one of the displays in the shop, and we think it looks nice!

Great to show off all our gorgeous lanterns.

News from Wilstone!

Great news! We are proud to have been awarded the highest Trade Exhibition Merit Award for our recent stand at the 2012 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/RHS-Chelsea-Flower-Show/2012 - wooo!

We are now on the road for a few weeks, you can see us at the following shows:

RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, from July 5th – 10th http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/Hampton-Court-Palace-Flower-Show/2011

CLA Game Fair from 20th – 22nd July http://www.gamefair.co.uk/

And then, later in the year, we will be at the NEC in Birmingham for the Spirit of Christmas exhibition from October 30th – November 4th http://www.spiritofchristmasfair.co.uk/

Meanwhile, on the A49, the shop is packed to the rafters with wonderful things for the home and garden. Every day we get people coming in who’ve never been here before, and the look on their faces; just amazed at what we sell! Pop in and see the lovely Sally or Sophie, friendly staff and 4 huge rooms crammed full of interesting things! 

The Sunshine is Here! Time for Outside Entertaining!

Now is the time to dust off the garden chairs, make a date with friends and family and get prepared to hold a garden social. 

Wilstone House and gardens are the sole UK importers of the most amazing garden feature. The Kadai firebowl.

Once used for ceremonical cooking in India, Wilstone import original Kadai and recycled Kadai. The difference? The originals were used to cook food inside the bowl.  The outsides are lovely and knarly from the build up of the flames over the years. Full of character, each original Kadai is completely different. Wilstone also sell a recycled range. These are made from recycled iron oil drums. For further information, head to www.kadai.com

I’m often asked, what can you cook on a Kadai? The answer … pretty much anything! From your usual sausages and burgers, to fish or shell fish, either wrapped in foil or skewered, vegetables, joints of meal … anything!

My recent favourite is Piri Piri Chicken. A very simple and easy to follow recipe: 6-12 fresh red chilli’s, 1 tbsp garlic, half a tsp oregano, half a tsp paprika, 100 ml olive oil, 50 ml red wine vinegar. Simply pre heat your oven to 180c/350f/gas4, place the chilli’s on a roasting tray and roast for 10 mins. Cool and roughly chop. Place the chillies, garlic, oregano, paprika, oil and viegar in a saucepan and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Allow it to cool then puree. Store in a lidded container for a month if required. Shake before use. Marinate chicken portions for a least one hour (I prefer overnight). Cook on the hot part of a kadai firebowl to seal, then move to the outer edge to cook properly. Always test food before serving.  

 

The Wilstone Shop

The centre of room 2

If you’ve never visted us before, you are absolutely sure of a treat! We thought it was time to tempt you with a few images of our wonderful shop.

One side of room 1

We have 4 rooms and an outside area filled to the brim with interesting things to buy. 

Each of our interior rooms measure 25 feet x 20 ft (ish!) and with fresh coffee on offer and free to customers you’ll spend a long time wandering around enjoying what you see.

Some customers have been here for over 2 hours looking at everything!

With Indian fabrics, cushions, old shrine mirrors and many more interesting items, room 1 is often full of customers ’Wow’ing at what they see.

We’ve even known people to walk in the door, with eyes and mouths wide open in amazement! When did you last do that?!

Our shop is staffed by our two ladies, Sophie and Sally. Friendly and approachable, our staff are always on hand to help and assist with purchases.

Room 3 - full of mirrors which were once windows

New Stock for March

We always get very excited when we know new stock is arriving. Packets and boxes full of interesting things to dust off, price up, and get onto the shelves.

This Spring, we’ve got some really pretty practical items coming. And here is a sneak preview! Here is one of the range of hand painted wooden boxes with ceramic drawers. The drawers are also hand painted in various designs. A great item to keep things in such as earrings, dried seeds from the garden, herbs or spices or even just those things that never seem to find a place to live!

Hand painted 6 ceramic drawer box

If you are an avid reader then you’ll know the benefits of bookends. I certainly do! I’ve got books all over the house, some wedged with boxes or just plain lumps of wood. Not very attractive as you can imagine! These delightful elephant bookends are just such a lovely and novel idea. Again, pretty and practical and very unusual!  If you like elephants, we’ve also got hand painted elephant coffee tables coming in too. A really great idea!

We’re hoping the new stock will be in the shop about mid March.

Elephant bookends

 

Happy New Year from Wilstone!

It all went a little mad (in a good way) for us around Christmas. People were ordering kadai firebowls www.kadai.co.uk for Christmas pressies, they were ordering kadai firebowls www.kadai.co.uk for their New Years Eve parties, it was just crazy!

We all thought that the time between Christmas and New Year would be quiet, but no, the phones were going constantly with orders to be sent all over the country.

Last year, we sold over 3,000 kadai firebowls. Not only just the firebowls, but also hundreds of items from the kadai accessories range. These include the popular and award winning Kadai Charcoal Maker (Prince Phillip bought two you know, at Chelsea Flower Show last year!)  The blow-poker, tripod stand, cooking bowls, zara roasting pan, skewers and skewer racks, shovels and chopping boards and more. For further information on the kadai accessories range, please click here http://www.kadai.co.uk/shop/4_Kadai_Accessories

I’ve had my kadai lit quite a few times over the festive period. Its been so nice,  just to use it for heat while we all sit outside under the stars sipping mulled wine heated up in a solid saucepan placed on the grill.

I can’t enthuse enough about this product. It is so very easy to use and it’ll last for years unlike many firebowls or bbq’s on the market today. They simply can’t take the heat like the Wilstone kadai can.  Click here for further information about the kadai firebowls we sell. http://www.kadai.co.uk/

 

 

Christmas is a-coming!

Unlike a lot of high street shops, we haven’t had our Christmas tree up since August or be-decked our halls with boughs of holly – but we do have an amazing array of interesting and very unusual stock for your to peruse!

Pressies for everyone here; we have a huge array of sparkly silver jewellery at reasonable prices. Earrings, pendants, chains and some gorgeous rings to make your heart skip a beat (if rings  ‘float your boat’, as it were!) We also have wooden boxes of all sizes and all prices. Boxes to hide or keep things in. Previous customers have bought boxes for their antique guns, jewellery, family keepsakes, letters, cards, money, everything!

I could detail so much more, but I’d hate to bore you! In short, we have masses of stock here.

Four huge rooms packed to the rafters with the interesting and unusual. We also stock St Eval Candles (http://www.stevalcandlecompany.co.uk/); delicious scented candle tins that have a burn time of 45 hours.  Available in a range of really scrumptious scents such as Orange and Cinnamon and Lime and Grapefruit. They sound like they are, but unfortunately they aren’t edible!

We also sell our very popular kadai (pronounced KA-DAI) fire bowls all year round! Click through to www.kadai.co.uk for further information.

Come along to Wilstone, located on the A49 south from Shrewsbury, and a couple of miles north from Church Stretton.

Give us a ring if you get stuck finding us, we can always help! 01694 751747