Goodness me! It’s been too long, hasn’t it.

AbsintheHour is not forgotten; we were very busy finding a new place to live and Neil had a surgery to get through. All is well and we’re settled into a new house in Cornwall and ramping up activity on the things we had to set aside for a bit.

The shop (Absinthe-Shop.com) is doing well and although economic times have affected us all, I’m pleased to say that as a brand new shop, we’re making positive steps forward. We’ve also been quietly adding more and more products and I’ll be adding even more before long. I had wanted to get a newsletter out last month, but moving house and tending to the recovering Neil put the newsletter on pause. It’ll go out this month.

Also in shop news, there is a 10% discount going on for the month of April. I released the coupon code on MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, but if you didn’t catch it yet, here’s the scoop:
Beginning on the 1st of April and ending on the 30th of April 2010, the code will be good for 10% off the regular price of absinthe and accessories, excluding items already on special offer. To get money off your cart, enter the code in the box on the My Cart page before you hit the Checkout. It’s that easy!
The code: springtime10
Coupon codes are good for one order per Absinthe-Shop customer only, so make it a good one to maximise your savings.

The photo above features two glasses of François Guy being louched with the help of an Antique II fountain. It’s the first time I’ve filled up the fountain in the new house. We’re no longer living out of boxes and I was pleased that my packing skills seemed to protect all the glassware.

That’s all for now. Be back again soon. Promise!

I started a YouTube channel today for Absinthe-Shop.
Here’s a quick little something I’ve posted. Enjoy!

It’s been a busy 24 hours since launching the site, but I’m pleased with how smoothly things are going and that the orders are happening. First shipments were sent today and more are due to go out tomorrow. It’s really very exciting and it’s lovely hearing such positive feedback.

If you haven’t had a look, I invite you to have a nose around, perhaps even sign up for the newsletter. If the spirit moves you to place an order, I’ll do my best to make it a really good experience.

Also, if you’d like to save some money on your orders, keep an eye on the shop Twitter and the shop page on Facebook. I have released Grand Opening discount codes on both of those, and they’re both good until January 31st. Keep up with Twitter, Facebook, and the shop newsletter to stay in the loop for future offers.

I’d like to thank the my six site testers– you know who you are. Your input was so valuable, your help with emails, newsletter tests, clicking buttons and forms was so important. Thank you.

Now the focus is service, marketing, and looking ahead to future product releases. Good times!

Signed up Absinthe-Shop to Facebook the other day, so if you’re on there, I’d be honoured to have you as a fan.

Things are looking good for launch this month and I’m down to scrubbing and polishing the little details now. Exciting!

Just spent the morning shooting 50mm still and HD video for content for both this site and my new business.

Did I say business? Oh! I just realised I haven’t mentioned the business here! Well, the business is an absinthe shop, actually Absinthe-Shop.com and I am rebuilding that existing domain from the bottom up. It was an absinthe retailer before me, but I’ve been called in to make it an even better place to both buy and learn more about absinthe. It’s a huge and wonderful opportunity for me and I’m so thrilled to turn my hobby into a job. I even quit my ‘day-job’ for it and so I’m back to web work through the wonders of eCommerce. It’s all very exciting!

On a side note– if you come here for the information, thank you, and I won’t be using this blog purely as a sales pitch and nothing more. No, I still love to blog about absinthe and will do so here as a separate entity. The work will creep in and I will link to some products here and there, but Absinthe Hour will not turn into the Absinthe-Shop blog. Consider them cousins, but this blog has been around for a couple of years on its own and will continue to do its own thing.

And to bring you up to date with the wormwood…

This is the strongest plant of the bunch, although there is another little pot on the windowsill doing very well. Hooray!