Some Mayans relaxing at home. Way too hot even for chinos.

Last year we made some resolutions that we didn’t stick to and this year we’re determined to do the same. Here’s a selection from Peppersmith HQ…

Love is in the Air

Gracie has vowed to find her mum a boyfriend. We’ve not met Gracie’s mum but apparently she’s caring, short and flirty, which could be perfect if you’re infirm, have low ceilings and are good at footsie. If this sounds like you then email us at iwanttodategraciesmum@peppersmith.co.uk and we’ll put in a good word.

The Born Ultimatum

Mike’s imminently going to become a dad for the first time, so for him it’s all about embracing this change. No more snowboarding holidays, eating out, lie-ins and all that other nonsense, for him 2012 is all about changing as many nappies as possible and keeping the house clean and tidy. Oh boy.

Dance Monkey Dance

Dan’s vowed to dance more in 2012. Seeing as he’s reaching the end of his clubbing days this will probably start with the purchase of some expensive tap shoes and end with the swift and stark realisation that he can’t actually dance (especially when sober). Could be a bumpy year.

The Status Quo

After much reflection Dave has decided that he’s not going to make any resolutions this year. We’re not sure if this is because he feels he’s reached a state of perfection and nothing needs changing. More likely though it’s because of the 2011 New Year resolution debacle which lead to his lifetime ban from the Good Vibes Body Studio in Bromley. Never again.

Today is our last day at Peppersmith HQ for a little while as we’ll be heading home to eat some turkey, open some presents and think of new innovative ways to get out of the washing up.

We hope you have a lovely Christmas and see you all again in the New Year.

Dan, Dave, Gracie, Mike and Paul. x

We’ve learnt a few things already this December…

1) Our office is a wonder of nature.
It has the amazing ability to be very cold and yet very warm and stuffy, all at the same time. We think it may have been built on an old Indian burial ground (which would have been handy for them, it being just around the corner from Putney train station).
2) Mince pies are for Christmas not for life.
We’re not sure what our life expectancy would be if they were on sale all year round. Mmmm that sweet pastry goodness <insert Homer Simpson gurgg.

3) Our little packs of mints and gum make good stocking fillers. This isn’t some cunning marketing brainwave we’ve had, it’s just lots of people have been telling us this after buying stuff from our webshop. Thanks to them for the tip-off. If you want to grab some to keep your tangerine and walnuts company* (*not a euphemism) then we reckon you’ve got until Monday 19th to make sure we can get them to you in time. Visit our webshop here.

Our favourite though is finding new stockists – it’s always a proud moment seeing our stuff appear in someone’s shop. We’re now available in more and more places across the country and even quite a few in Holland and further afield. But like that first roll in the hay, we’ll always hold a special place in our hearts for the ones who got there first. Here are 3 of our first loves…

The Scandinavian Kitchen. Based just off Oxford Street in the heart of London’s West End, SK was the first ever outlet to sell Peppersmith. Set up by our good friends Brontë and Jonas, it is a Nordic themed deli come grocery store which has many of our favourite things including hot dogs, open sandwiches and bad puns written on the sandwich board outside the shop.

Bronte has a big bowl of Peppersmith, a nice scandi deli and a questionable line of nordic themed puns

In Holland the first place you could ever find Peppersmith was Organic in Amsterdam.  Just down the street from Dam square you will find Yvonne and the team. Organic has a couple of stores around town and, if you excuse our Dutch, they are dam’ nice.

Put your hands up if you were the first place in Holland to sell Peppersmith

And now we’re pleased to reveal our first ever stockist in the Big Apple, New York, New York. Chelsea Market Baskets is a cool as you like speciality food store in lower Manhattan. Run by David and his team of hugely enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff, it is a brilliant place to grab something unique.  Start spreading the news.

David keeps a well ordered ship down in the Chelsea Market building in Manhattan. A welcome break from the hustle and bustle found outside on the streets of New York

We’re not going to ask you to think too deeply about these interesting words by Morgan Spurlock but instead we want you to carefully watch the first minute of this clip (especially at about 40 seconds in) and see if you have a sudden yearning for something minty fresh. Mmmm mints.

This was spotted by a particularly eagle-eyed viewer of Dutch TV show Hart Tegen Hard (sadly not starring Robert Wagner).

We’re not quite sure how we got there but we are certain sales amongst fans of Dutch TV crime thrillers will rocket over the coming months.

We headed to Brickfields Meadow in Croydon to work with campaign members and local residents to clean up their estate and pond.

We jumped off the train at Norwood Junciton and walked down to the green.

This photo doesn't do it justice. There were bits of rubbish everywhere.

The special glittery Love Where You Live broom.

Gracie just looks very at home with a glittery broom.

Getting tooled up. Sadly we were not required/allowed to wear the waders.

The safety briefing. "Please avoid getting dog poo in your eyes". Kill joys.

A welcome speech by some big cheeses; Phil Barton (Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy) and Caroline Spelman MP (Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). Impressively they mucked in with everyone else.

We're guessing this beauty hung on some kid's wall before they turned 13, decided that Tigger was wack and jettisoned it into a bush. It was probably immediately replaced by a Slipknot poster. Well one man's rubbish is another man's treasure.

Gracie is so gung-ho. She was in her element rummaging around in the bushes and pulling out large items of pond waste.

Here she is with her haul, looking like a kind of junk collecting hobbit protecting her stash (in the nicest possible way).

Dan was much more into the sedate arm's length picking approach. The grabber reminded him of his favourite Robot Arm He-Man toy which made him very happy.

The obligatory johnny wrapper. Hmm blueberry flavour.

The pile of rubbish collected grows...

and grows..

and grows.

And finally some kind words of thanks from Kirstie Allsop. What more could you want? The end of a great day.

Here are some of the official photos from the Brickfields tidy up and here is the Love Where You Live blog about all the stuff that went on across the country.

It really was very satisfying being able to make such an immediate and tangible positive difference on the area, while at the same time being outdoors and meeting lots of good people. We can highly recommend getting involved in similar events in your area.

The fantastic Peppersmith display in Peckhams.

We spend a fair amount of our time out and about looking for shiny new stores who’ll stock our mints and gum. We visit some great places and in the process our Dave, the lucky swine, gets to consume huge quantities of top notch food and drink.

It’s only fair that he shares his favourites, so here’s a handful of our recent additions that we urge you to check out if you get the chance…

Rhode Island Coffee.  They’ve six stores around the North West and recently won Coffee Shop Chain of the Year for good reason. Serious coffee.

Peckhams. A Scottish institution. Meats, cheeses, coffees, cakes, fresh bread, fine wine; you name it, they have it.

Barburrito. Taking burritos to the next level.  Make sure you try the slow cooked pork.

Crussh. As you may know, we’ve always had a fondness for smoothies and you can find our mints in these smashing juice bars around London and the South East.

Gracie (l) and Paul (r) at the show. Here Paul (who always wanted to be a magician) plays havoc with perspective to pretend he is the same height as Gracie. Mind-blowing.

Gold. Something we always dreamed of, whether by winning some sort of multi-discipline International Dance Olympiad or simply by finding it in large quantities in our back garden. Surprisingly neither of these has happened (yet) but our wait for that shiny precious metal is finally over.

At last week’s excellent Lunch! Show we were chosen to take part in their Innovation Challenge, which showcased the best new products across the food and drink industry. The very good news (for us) is that the judging panel selected us as Gold Winners; the highest award on offer.

We really are chuffed to get such great recognition for our efforts, or in the words of the mighty Spandau Ballet…

When it comes to fashion, our Gracie is streaks ahead of the rest of the office. She’s always pushing boundaries.

Today she’s gone for a green ensemble which has made Irish Dave particularly happy with its striking resemblance to an Aer Lingus hostess outfit c1975. Here she is offering him a hot beverage selection at his desk. First class.

(l to r) Dan, Gordon and Paul

We were really pleased to have been named in the Smarta 100 – “the most resourceful, original, exciting, disruptive small business in the UK”. And it was also nice to be shortlisted for their marketing award.

The awards bash was this week and on Wednesday we put on our pointiest shoes and headed for the 02. When we arrived our excitement levels peaked when we discovered that not only was Gordon Mac DJing but the do also had both a free bar and an extensive hors d’oeuvre selection. Bingo. That sadly was as good as the night got for us as Naked Wines snapped up the best company award. They were certainly deserving winners (we are big fans of theirs here at Peppersmith HQ).

As the bloke collecting the award said, we’re all winners, which of course isn’t true but we still had a very fun night meeting lots of interesting people from other small companies.

A big thank you to everyone who voted for us.