Ta Dah! - It's our Birthday (by Lesley)

Well here we are, Chocolate Baroque is five years old today! This is quite a milestone in the company's career and I couldn't be more proud. When I helped set this up with Glenda and Adrian five years ago I never dreamt that I would now own the company. I still pinch myself now and then to make sure it is true.

In those five years we have introduced you to fabulous stamps designed by the hugely talented Sue, made and quality checked by our stamp maker supremo Val and brought to life by our amazing Design Team. And now we have a new member of the team, my husband David who many of you will know as Chef. He has joined us on a part time basis taking on such roles as apprentice to Val, moonlighting as one of the picking and packing elves and if you ring us at the office you may also hear his dulcet tones on the phone.  He's not covered in glitter yet, but we're working on that one!

In addition to our stamp designs we have continued to provide you with quality craft and art products and are currently trying hard to support British manufacturers where we can.  We continue to try and bring you new and innovative materials and are in the throes of designing new Chocolate Baroque products which we hope to launch in the near future.

All of this sounds very grand but the real top and bottom of everything is you, our stalwart army of flag waving fans. Whilst every business has to have its customers, you go beyond that. You are part of the Chocolate family now, you are our friends and a constant reminder of why we do what we do.

Above all else we want to inspire you, stir a passion for art inside of you and stimulate you to create your own world of colour and design. And if we want to see if we are succeeding then we just need to see all the fantastic artwork you are producing. You only have to look at our Challenge Blog, on Facebook and Pinterest and many other social media platforms to find the most amazing, creative art, all done by you.

So whilst I hold a glass up to wish us a Happy Birthday, I also toast all of you for being such a fabulous, supportive, talented group of people. A huge THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for being there and here's to the next five years.

Cheers!