Now that we’ve entered a new year, we’ve been reflecting on all that 2023 brought us here at Songbird Naturals. There was plenty to keep us busy last year, including product development, trade shows, and a growing team. Here’s our Songbird round-up for 2023…
During 2023, we welcomed 5 new members of staff to the team. Thank you to Kim, Jya, Nat, Simon and Ruby for joining our labelling and packing departments.
We enjoyed attending six shows/conferences across the country last year:
- The SMTO (Scottish Massage Therapists Organisation) Conference in Edinburgh, and the Professional Beauty show in London in March
- The McTimoney’s Chiropractic Association’s Summer Conference in Oxford, and the Elevate Show in London in June
- Olympia Beauty in London in October
- Therapy Expo in Birmingham in November
A particular highlight for us was the National Massage Championships in October, which took place in its new home of ExCeL London, alongside the Olympia Beauty show. We attend the National Massage Championships every year, and it’s a brilliant opportunity to see lots of therapists showcasing their skills and techniques in person.
We enjoy sponsoring a small group of therapists at each National Massage Championship, and this year we wanted to focus on sponsoring up-and-coming and newly-qualified massage therapists. We had the pleasure of sponsoring Giedre Dromantaite, Andreea Oana Dunitrescu, Ismail Hasan, Jadwiga Nowak and Carolina Rubio, and we were delighted to see Carolina Rubio place 2nd in Spa/Wellness Massage, and Ismail Hasan place 3rd in Chair Massage. A special congratulations to Alexandra Fraser for winning the Judges Excellence Award.
April saw the return of the London Marathon, and we once again supplied the NSPCC Recovery Team with a stock of our Massage Waxes for their therapists to use on well-deserving marathon participants at the end of the race. Huge congratulations to everyone who took part in the marathon, and good luck to everyone entering this year!
In May and June we celebrated World Bee Day and National Pollinator Week by taking part in 'No Mow May', and by sharing the good work of the Mount Edgcumbe Black Bee Reserve at Mount Edgcumbe House in Cornwall. The reserve aims to protect and improve the indigenous stock of Black Bees (the UK’s original native honey bee) as part of a specialist breeding programme. To help support the vital work in protecting the genetic quality of these native Black Bees, we now make a monthly donation to the Mount Edgcumbe Cornish Bee Group, who are committed to educating the public about the importance of pollinators, with a special focus on local Cornish honey bees.
In August we said farewell to Theo, one of our longest serving team members, as he retired from Songbird Naturals. Theo and his family have subsequently spent the last 4 months travelling across the globe to Australia, which they have done by train, bus and boat in order to avoid flying, in an attempt to keep their carbon footprint as low as possible. You can find out more about their adventures here: www.buckleupdorothy.co.uk
Songbird team members Jya and Jay got creative in September, and had fun photographing a new portfolio of product images for our waxes and balms. We’ll be adding new photographs to our collection this year, too.
December was a busy end to the year for us, as we launched our brand new 600g EcoTubs, our ‘Mixed Cases of 12’ option on our website, and our Gift Cards (just in time for Christmas!) Our 600g EcoTubs seem to be a hit so far, and we’re looking forward to hearing more of your feedback on them over the coming months.
As we make headway into what’s shaping up to be a busy 2024 for us, we want to take a moment to thank all of our customers for supporting our small, UK business throughout 2023. We look forward to sharing more exciting news and developments from Songbird Naturals throughout the New Year.
Happy massaging!
