It's been nearly a month since I last posted, but as usual, it's not that we've been lazy! I can't tell you everything that we've been up to (don't worry, you won't have to wait long to find out) but can let you know of our most immediate plans: our London boutique revamp.

The What Katie Did boutique can only be described as rather bijous, which means that at busy times it's not only our girdles that feel snug! We really do love Portobello and wouldn't dream of moving so have managed to persuade our landlords to let us knock down that wall between our boutique and next door. The result will give us more space which we'll divide into a dressing area and a little press office. The dressing area will be of most interest to you as you'll be able to book it in advance if you know you're going to need a lengthy fitting session, whilst your boyfriend can relax with a cup of coffee and the latest issue of Peek magazine away from the bustle of the main boutique. We're also taking the opportunity to revamp our existing boutique, giving it a more glamorous and opulent feel. Staff-wise things are also changing: our current manageress, Nicola, is leaving to concentrate on her make up career (she just done her first cover for Front magazine - out next month - and is a regular at LFW). Vicky (Nicola's ex boss!) is going to take over as manageress: you might have already met her as she's already done a few Saturdays for us.
Meanwhile Mam'zelle Maz will be joining Clare in what must surely be the most glamorous press team in London.

Unfortunately we don't have a magic wand and we will have to close for two weeks for the work to take place. We'll be closing at 6pm on Saturday 13th February, re-opening on Monday 1st March.

Make a note in your diary to keep Sunday 7th March clear. That's the launch date for Peek magazine, a new magazine devoted to stockings, fun and frolics! Join us at our boutique between 2 and 4pm to meet the Peek team and have a bit of a knees up!

We're recruiting!

2009 was a very exciting year for us and 2010 is shaping up quite nicely too - not that I can give too many details away at this point. If you are looking for a new job and are based in or around West Reading/Pangbourne then please take a look at our vacancies page.

We're in the Daily Mail today!  Summer Strallen is set to play the Ooh La La girl in composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and director Jack O'Brien's new  musical Love Never Dies, which follows the Phantom from the Paris Opera across the Atlantic to Coney Island, where he calls himself Mr Y and runs the Phantasma funfair attractions.

Our Raw Silk Sophia corset in claret and Striptease Ballet knickers certainly add a little ooh la la!

Ruka makes pasties for some of the most  well known lingerie companies in the UK  (we're talking far posher than WKD here!)and also has her own lingerie company: Sugarlesque. Ruka has just relaunched Sugarlesque which explains why we have had a little gap between workshops recently.

Those of you who are regular visitors to our boutique will also recognise Ruka as she also manages to find time to help us out:  she's a busy girl!

Sunday 1st November: make your own nipple tassels !
1-4pm, £30
Learn all the steps involved in making a pair of your very own nipple pasties, to take home and keep. Rifle through an extensive collection of sequins, feathers, ribbons, crystals and trimmings.

Sunday 6th December: make your own fascinators !
1-4pm, £45
Choose from either a mini tophat or a sinnamay hat-base to create a beautiful fascinator to take home and keep. Learn how to manipulate feathers, attach ribbons and trimmings and pick up tips and tricks for creating glamorous and individual headwear.

At both workshops you'll have access to the WKD fabrics in case you'd like to make a pair to match a corset, and also a receive a 10% What Katie Did discount voucher to spend in the boutique on the day of the class. Tea and cakes will be served.

Location : What Katie Did Boutique, 26 Portobello Green, 281 Portobello Road, London W10 5TZ.
All materials inclusive.

To book, please email sugar@sugarlesque.com

We're currently looking for a picker/packer in our Pangbourne warehouse.

The job is entry level and involves picking mail orders, wrapping them and sending them to customers. You will be working directly with our mail order manager and will be working within a small team of 6.

What Katie Did is a growing company so although the job is entry level, we are looking for someone who wants to grow with us and continually learn new skills.
Hours are 9am to 5.15pm Monday to Friday.

We think we're a friendly bunch and easy to get on with!

We do need someone who is based in the Reading area. Commuting from London is not viable timewise or financially I'm afraid (although trains only take half an hour from Paddington to Reading, it's an hour from Paddington to Pangbourne).

CVs should be emailed to richard@whatkatiedid.com or you can call us for more info on 0845 430 8743.

Thanks,

Katie

On Wednesday this week Richard and myself had a day out at Juarez Traditional Fabrication (no website yet but checkout their page on the Flathead Meltdown site). Marco has only just moved into his new workshop and Richard and photographer Tony couldn't wait to head there for a pin up and hot rod shoot. Of course, they're not the ones who had to strip off on a very blustery and cold March day, in hindsight a sunny July morning might have been a wiser choice. The shoot was for Tony's new top secret project and Richard was in charge of getting some pictures of 'us at work'.

Unfortunately Richard has now been working at What Katie Did for so long a scantily clad Miss Polly Rae and Miss Miranda weren't enough to grab his attention and we only came away with a few pictures, most of which included Tony perched precariously up a ladder (not ones to skimp on research we'd read a 'how to photograph cars' article the day before which insisted that you had to shoot from low down to make your car look 'phat', in true What Katie Did fashion we quickly decided to do the exact opposite - hence the ladder!)

You'll have to wait a while to find out what all of this is in aid of (we're aiming for September!) but no doubt a few pictures will find themselves online before then.

Our January Sale starts instore on Friday 2nd January at 10am, and online on Monday 5th January at 2pm. All items have now been removed from the website so you don't have to worry about ordering something now, only to find it half price in a few days.

Our boutique will have a range of samples and seconds in addition to discountinued items. Discontinued items include our Cabaret Underwired Bra, below, which has been reduced from £32.50 to just £10 (sizes 32B to 38DD).

Our Pigalle Sophia Corset is in this week's Now magazine (dated 5th January),
along with our black frilly knickers.

October's Scarlet magazine features lots of What Katie Did goodies. First pic,
Kitten knickers in pink and
powermesh corselette, second picture,
Harlow lingerie. Scarlet is now available in available in most good newsagents, WHSmith and Tesco.

For those of you who couldn't make it to the launch of our AW08 collections last Friday, all is not lost. Tony Nylons limited himself to only two glasses of wine to stay relatively sober enough to film the event! Miss Polly Rae and her Hurly Burly Girlys supplied cabaret and burlesque entertainment between sets and, as always, were absolutely spectacular. Hair and make up was by Nina's Vintage Hair Parlour: Nina kept pre-show nerves at bay with her gossip about all the top models she's worked with (not to be repeated!) The models were faces you'll recognise from our catalogues: Fifi La Bomb, Miranda, Mam'zelle Maz, Slinky Sparkles and Trixie Malicious.