The past week has been madness, as we all rushed around preparing our studios and the house for the big launch do on 7th Feb.  It's preoccupied us all for the last month and the changes here have been incredible.  Superhuman efforts from all involved meant that everything was presented to utter perfection when at last, we were able to open our doors to all you eager folks keen to have a look-see and explore Princes House Cornwall.

Preparations were taking place right up until the last minute including the delivery of a fabulously luxurious sofa, curtain and dressing screen for our lobby area, styled and kindly provided by Debbie of Interior Dynamics.  It adds real panache to the hallway and is dead comfy as many guests discovered at the party later...

The day began for us with the Town Crier (Mr John Sweetman) travelling valiantly in the cold around Truro and calling all who heard him to come to the party that evening.  Holly followed and tweeted and videoed the whole affair.

Back in the day when a wedding was to be held, and they were much bigger community affairs than they are now, guests were invited in exactly this same way - with everyone within earshot being taken as invited to the ceremony.

We felt it was only fitting therefore to spread the word in this way and it certainly went down well when our Town Crier generously returned to hold the door for our many guests.

Speaking of which we had some 500 guests, yes that's right FIVE HUNDRED people came to see us.  Wow.  We are all totally blown away by the support you all showed us and the positive things that were said by many in reference to the Collective, the building, and the talented business who reside here.

Those who came were treated to a glass of bubbles supplied by the Truro based winery - Old Chapel Cellars or for the more robust among them, a pint of Cornwall's finest courtesy of Skinners Brewery just round the corner in Newham.  Massive thanks to them both for supporting us on our opening day.

Keith Kneebone, a professional Master of Ceremonies welcomed guests and made introductions before the lovely Daphne Skinnard, Deputy Editor of BBC Radio Cornwall (and newly made Deputy Lieutenant of Cornwall to-boot) kindly joined us to say a few words and introduce all the businesses to the guests on the night. You can see how crowded it was with people unable to move on the stairs or landings and backed up into all studios off the ground and first floors...   

Then the Mayor of Truro, Councillor Ms Lindsay Southcombe, officially cut the ribbon and everyone was free to explore the building and the hidden gems inside each inspiring studio.

Local boy Tom Cary an acclaimed singer / sonwriter played throughout the night adding some real atmosphere to proceedings which was appreciated by all, we are thankful and lucky to have had him to join us!

All in all it was a truly fabulous evening, one we will never forget and the best possible start to this exciting enterprise of which we are all so proud to be a part.  

On behalf of the Collective we'd like to publicly thank everyone who contributed to our evening including our guests for turning out, being interested and helping to really make the party happen!  We look forward to welcoming you into Princes House again soon.

On Thursday this week we'll announce the winner of our prize draw - entries close at midnight on Wednesday 13th so if you weren't able to make the launch do pop by and pick up a form - they're in the lobby and the building is now open every day from 9:30 - 5:30 for you to wander around and meet the suppliers!

Did you make the launch evening?  What did you think?

Excuse us while we squeal with excitement but did you know two weeks from today Princes House will throw open its doors to everyone for an exclusive launch event?

There's a fabulous draw with some incredible prizes on offer from members of the collective -  behind the scenes peeks into all these gloriously creative studio spaces and a chance to meet the faces behind the business.  And all that with a glass of bubbles to send you on your way!

To RSVP simply fill in the form on the page here, or email us at [email protected]

How could you resist...?!

Today I went along to the Liberty open call, an event where Liberty open their doors to all designers who would like to showcase their work in this prestigious London department store. Everyone has just three minutes to convince the panel to take them on so it was important to get my pitch right - Kathy Morris a specialist in this area gave me a helping hand before I went so I felt confident that they would understand what Holly Young Headwear was all about!

I had a long wait ahead of me so I made the most of it by meeting some other designers to seeing what everyone had to offer. The very first people I met were also from Cornwall (small world!)... Richard Vasey and his wife make bespoke yacht sculptures and Trophies, they currently have work in Harrods and have made trophies for the Olympic British sailing team! From Liverpool was Ilsa Parry, a 3D designer of innovative products, she is pictured below with a walking aid that helps the user to get up from a seated position, so clever!

Also in our queue from Belfast was Emma Majury of Longshot Press with her unique set of illustrated card designs.

After two hours of chatting and swapping stories we reached the inside of the building, little did I know there would be a further two! At least once inside it was warm! We then got divided into our specialist areas and I went to wait in the accessories area where I met Johanna Fleming a talented silk scarf designer from Scotland and Marie Hayden a hair accessories designer all the way from New York!

After a nail biting wait it was eventually my turn to see the panel.

I first showed them my photographs which were taken by both Andrea Pennington and Sarah Falugo. They absolutely loved them and especially liked the styling from Sarah Falugo Nordic/woodland shoot. They liked my vintage inspired bridal accessories and said that my strength was also in my sculptural fascinators. It was very friendly and informal and they gave me some really useful feedback. They said they were looking for something more crazy and Avant Garde but they thought my style would suit Fenwicks!

It was a great experience and would recommend it to any designer.

Next stop Fenwicks!

Wowsers - after nearly 6 months of talking,  planning,  painting,  moving, shooting, planning a bit more, tweeting and rennovating we are delighted to announce that Princes House formally opens its doors to the public on Feb 7th at 6pm. 

Its all still in development but we can tell you it's going to be a very swish event, in the luscious surroundings of this beautiful Georgian mansion house, and we are SOOOO excited to share it with all you festive newly-engageds (not to mention soon-to-be engageds as valentines day is just round the corner!) If you're already married you're also welcome to come and join the celebrations - as we offer a host of services designed to show you off at your very best year round and not just for the Bridal market.

Keep checking back here for up to date news on the launch, details of the special prizes on offer, and don't forget you can register for an invite by clicking here or emailing [email protected]

Don't forget you can also follow our progress and get behind the scenes peeks inside the beautiful studios by following us on Facebook or Twitter.