As we approach the end of 2023, our fantastic team here at Love Kate’s
has been looking back at a year filled with exciting new ventures
including musical
balloons, Pop
Up cards, royal
celebrations and more! Whilst December is always the busiest month
for us, it is important for me to spend time reflecting on the past year
and begin to look forward to 2024. I want to start by thanking our
growing team of hard-working staff; our loyal customers, old and new;
and all of our suppliers who help us to offer such a wide and varied
range of cards and gifts.
I am so thankful to everyone who continues to make Love Kate’s the
wonderful online card and gift shop that it is today – it is so much
more now than it was when it originated from my small dining table 15
years ago!
Let’s start by taking a look back down memory lane at some of the
highlights of 2023:
Pop-Up Cards
One of the stars of 2023 was our brand-new line of
Pop Up Cards. From Valentine's
Day to Mother's
Day, and even Christmas,
these cards added an extra special touch to every occasion with
personalised tags for EVERY recipient. That’s right, whether you were
celebrating a special Mum,
Uncle
or even sending a card from
the dog, we made sure that a spectacular collection of Pop Up
designs were waiting for you to choose from! Our Pop Up range proved to
be extremely popular all year round and you seemed to love the
personalisation element of them. I must admit that these have been my
go-to choice for my own family and friends. We have exciting plans to
expand our range of Pop-Up Cards in 2024 so be sure to keep your eyes
peeled!
Balloon in a Box
This year, we also introduced our exciting Balloon
in A Box surprise. What started as simply adding a card and balloon
to a box, soon transformed as our team prototyped the idea into a
magical musical surprise bursting with WOW factor. From designing
mechanisms to finding the best quality balloons, we eventually launched
a product we hoped you would all love – and it turns out you did! Again,
my loved ones, perhaps predictably, were frequently gifted a Balloon in
A Box, including my eldest daughter Jasmine on her 27th birthday and my
husband, and fellow Love Kate’s employee, on his 65th birthday. From
testing how long each balloon would last to even
making our own advert (which, by the way, involved an impressive
amount of party food consumption), we wanted to ensure that every box
brought a smile to your faces!
Spreading the Love (Kate’s)
I have always tried to seize opportunities to be charitable and spread
love through Love Kate’s, and this year, we continued our commitment to
giving back. We donated our sound
cards to the Eye Clinic at Musgrove Park Hospital to help them raise
money for Somerset Sight.
We also spread some sweetness through chocolate donations to DISC
Newquay, a charity supporting vulnerable people in and around
Newquay. After building the business from nothing, it is even more
important to me to give back to both our local communities here in the
South West and other charities nationally, and I’m looking forward to
doing even more in 2024!
The King’s Coronation
Although May - and the King’s Coronation - feels like a distant memory,
I can definitely look back with a smile as I remember just how much you
all loved our DIY
Crown Kits. It was wonderful to see our customers get involved in
the creative process as they created crowns fit for royalty; you can see
two of our very smiley crown-wearers here.
We love to ‘go big’ for events like this and it makes me very excited to
see how much joy it brings all of you!
Navigating the Postal Prices
Although we enjoyed lots of exciting highlights in 2023, there have also
been some challenges to contend with. Much like the postal strikes in
2022, we were again reminded this year of the difficulties that the
ecommerce industry can bring. This year, we’ve faced the ongoing cost of
living crisis and the uphill battle of rising postal prices earlier this
year. In order to combat this and ensure that Love Kate’s is as
affordable and transparent with our pricing as possible, we no longer
include delivery charges in our product pricing. We believe this makes
it easier for our customer to compare our prices with other stores
online. Like many other small businesses, we also faced the uphill
battle of rising postal prices earlier in the year. However, to
introduce this change, we are proud to currently be offering free
delivery on orders over £15, perfect for when you need to stock up on
cards for the months ahead and thankfully, sending love via a 2nd class
stamp is still as affordable as ever!
Looking Forward: A Sneak Peek into 2024!
Before we log off for Christmas, we want to talk about the exciting
things on the horizon for 2024. We're gearing up for the launch of our
new website in 2024. Inspired by your feedback, we've added nifty
features like filters for postal size, card size, colour preferences,
and the ability to add images to personalised products. Although we
don’t have a confirmed date yet, we are so excited for you to explore
the new website and provide your useful thoughts; we really do rely on
our customers’ feedback to improve and develop Love Kate’s. And finally
from me, I will let you in on a little festive secret! Shh, it's
hush-hush, but we're currently working on a fresh range of exclusive
Love Kate's products for 2024. We won't spill the beans just yet but
stay tuned for the big reveal! So, thank you everybody, again. Your
support, feedback, and smiles make every twist and turn in this journey
worthwhile. Here's to more love, creativity, and surprises in the coming
year! Wishing you a fantastic end to 2023 and an even more fabulous 2024!
With love,
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