This is a more personal post today.  I've not been able to blog or social media much lately so I thought I'd do a little post to let you all know why.  

I have struggled with my health in the 6 months or so, feeling so tired no matter how much sleep I get (falling asleep whilst typing emails!), experiencing a lot of joint and muscle pain, a lot of discomfort in my digestive system and headaches and migraines.  It has meant it has been very difficult keeping up with my little company and I've found it very frustrating that I couldn't get back to all your lovely customer emails as quickly as I'd like or dispatch products throughout the day as before.  

As you may or may not know, I run the company on my own.  It's a little business, with my Mum helping out packaging products and freelancers helping me when I need graphic design work etc.  I love it that way as I have grown the business slowly and have been involved in all aspects of it.  To be unwell is frustrating on so many levels though and working on my own means there isn't anyone to pick up the slack.

I now have a diagnosis however, so hopefully I shall be back on track soon.  I have a rare auto-immune disease called lupus.  It is one of those diseases that affects people differently and is very hard to diagnose, but now I have the diagnosis I can move forward and I am starting on medication to help.  It basically means that the antibodies in my body attack the healthy parts of me, rather than the unhealthy parts like they are supposed to.  This unnecessary war within me causes the symptoms and will flare up throughout my life and it could flare on a day by day basis, or I may have months without symptoms.  It's an odd one to get my head around! 

I want you all to know that I remain full dedicated to my little shop.  I shall work extra hard when feeling well and have to rest when not, but day-to-day wise I shall always aim to get back to your emails in 24 hours and dispatch your lovely purchases every day as before.  Life is for living and this disease will help me to remember that. 

If you have a family member or suffer from lupus yourself please feel free to get in touch as I'd love to learn more about it and how it affects them/you.

Jo xxx

We all do it, I certainly do.  

I sit on a busy train not talking to the person next to me, but why?  Conversation enables us to learn, teaches us empathy, opens us up to the lives of others, makes a tedious train journey fly by, boosts our confidence and self-esteem, acts as vital stress relief and a multitude of other things.

There are reasons against it of course - not wanting to annoy the person next to us, not wanting to come across badly, wanting to catch up with the last episode of Downton, wanting to act like everyone else.  It's good to take time out on our own to reflect and chill, but sometimes we should just start a conversation and see where it takes us.

Peter Sharp makes absolutely inspirational videos about this and other social topics.

Take a few minutes out to watch his amazing train dance party in Perth.  I should imagine this train ride was the best one these people will ever have:

Next time you sit next to someone you think looks interesting and have some spare time, maybe say hello and see where it takes you.

Jo xxx 

Hi everyone 

Not such good news for this post I'm afraid...I can't get hold of the lovely black boxes at the moment.

Those of you who are familiar with my breast forms may be aware that I normally like to give the option of a lovely luxury magnetic closure storage box to keep them in.  Some of you don't like to keep them in a box, but instead in with all your other goodies directly, but I know a lot of you love the boxes and I always have it as an option for you when buying the breast forms.   

I tried many companies and in the end I found a lovely company that makes boxes worthy enough to keep them protected and cosy.  They really are a lovely luxury strong box and they are eco friendly, fitting in with my Jo Thornton business values.  They are however currently out of stock of the size box that most of the false breasts need, and are unsure when they will get them in.  I shall keep checking for you, but for now I've had to remove them as an option at the checkout until I can get hold of them again.  

I do have some large ones still that house the very big forms, and you are welcome to purchase one should you wish (they are big enough usually to hold the breast forms and a few bras or a couple of sizes of breast forms in together.   If you'd like one just send me an email before purchasing and I can sort that out with you.  You can also buy the forms now and purchase the smaller box from me later should you wish.  

In the meantime I am very sorry and I shall get them back on the site as soon as the nice box people can supply them.  

Jo xxx

Breast enhancers/chicken fillets can be daunting.

I've been working with them for 7 years now, and after having a chat with a friend I've realised just how daunting they can be.  I forget sometimes how overwheming it can be as I know what styles work best for each woman, what size would be best, what result you might get, what the positives and negatives of a style might be by just looking at it for a second.  I forget that it is hard for you the buyer to be able to work out if it will be right for you and it can be hard for you to see how my styles compare to those available in stores.

So, I thought I would do a little blog focusing on a style that one of the High Street stores sell. Every store I visited always offered two styles, and they were always the same shape - a small one and a medium one, but there were small differences and I will look at those.  Hopefully that will help you see the differences between their products and mine.

This week I shall look at the two styles that Ann Summers sell - The Cleavage Creators and Glitter Push Up Pads.  

The Cleavage Boosters

Simply packaged in a plastic zipper, I found these in the middle of the store.  They are quite wide and would not suit AA or A, and some with B cups and those with small band sizes of around 30-34" and just came in a translucent colour. 

They are most like my style 6 mixed with my older style 5.  I'd say they are a good push up cleavage boosting shape, but only work for those with larger cup sizes and a wide enough body frame to be able to take them. 

• Price £20 plus delivery in 5 days,total £22.50, 1st Class total £23.50. Free delivery to store in 3 working days.
• Weight 210g approx
• Similar to my Jo Thornton Style 6 and 5 priced at £12.50 and £13.50 with Second Class delivery included. First Class £0.50 extra.
• Not suitable for narrow body frames or small cup sizes as they are very wide.

Glitter Push Up Pads

These are a new addition since I last popped into Ann Summers.  They are a small style and felt like a very tough outer cover with a more liquid feel gel.  They did not feel like a traditional silicone which stays together just as breast tissue does.  This has its pros and cons as a more liquid gel does flow nicely and can mould well to the breast, but as it is so soft it does not give so much push or enhancement.  The gel just moulds against you and the bra, rather than giving something a little firmer for the breast to push against which is what it needs if you want it to be lifted.  The cover was also quite thick giving a thick edge seam, which may aggravate the skin if worn for a long time.  They are a lovely colour - I like a breast enhancer that looks a little different and these certainly were like no other I saw in the shops.  They are of course like my style 6 glitter style.

Style-wise, they are most like my style 1 and probably around the same size of about 100g.

• Price £10 plus delivery in 5 days,total £12.50, 1st Class total £13.50. Free delivery to store in 3 working days.
• Weight around 100g
• Similar to my style 1 priced at £10.50 including 2nd class 3-5 day delivery. Including First Class Delivery £11.
• Slightly different to my silicone ones - more of a runny gel inside.  
• Suitable for the smaller cup sizes that their Cleavage Boosters don't cater for, so a good second pair for them.
• A lovely glitter colour like my style 6.

So there you go!  I hope that helps.

I would of course like you to buy from me, your little specialist, rather than the commercialised store, but that's not to say that shouldn't.  Their products suit some buyers and are handy if you need some to wear in 2 hours time, but if you are reading this you are well aware that it isn't your only choice.  There is a lot more out there than the two styles the High Street sell, there is choice, personal service and knowledge (and my great wit!).  Ann Summers stocks two good main styles there, but they will only give around a cup size boost for those sizes that they suit.  If you need more of a boost or would rather boost yourself out rather than just lift your breasts up with a greater cleavage look, then see my range to see what else is out there.   

Hi everyone!  It's a lovely sunny morning here in Sussex and I am sitting here with Fleetwood Mac on and a cup of coffee :) 

I just want to take a few minutes to pass on this lovely article that I came across on Twitter.  I have talked to a lot of breast cancer survivors through the years and it's certainly true that everyone moves forward with their life after a mastectomy or lumpectomy in a different way.  

In this article on a breast cancer site, a lady called Molly Ortwein has chosen to move on by tatooing over her scars.  You can watch her lovely inspirational story on the page here.

She is in the US and the tattoo studio that helped her has now started a lovely new project across the US. One day every year, the 10th of October, they encourage mastectomy ladies to come in and get a tattoo of their choice, across their scars or somewhere else, in a supportive environment.  It's a wonderful idea and a wonderful story.  The P.ink project as it's called is in it's second year this year and going from strength to strength.  Their lovely video is also simply wonderful and well worth a watch.

It seems such a wonderful idea and would be an excellent event to have here in the UK don't you think?

Jo xxx

Hi everyone!

From today I shall be trialing the Collect+ UK delivery service on my website.  I've used it a few times now for customers and it adds a valuable option for delivery, so I've decided to add it as standard to see how we all get on.

It's a simple idea...I drop your parcel off at my local store and they deliver it in 2 working days to your local store (sorry only available in the UK).  You then pop in to collect it at a time suitable to you, easy!

I've added it to the site mainly for customers with larger parcels such as the larger breast enhancers/chicken fillets and all the breast forms/false breasts as they will benefit the most, but it is available to all at the checkout.  When getting a larger parcel delivered it can be a nightmare if you are out at the time as you will get the dreaded "We Tried To Deliver" red card; that is of course if you get to see it as so many are scooped up with all the junk mail also left these days.  I know going to collect parcels can be very difficult for many of you, especially with my sorting offices being out-of-town or requiring parking charges.  With this option you won't need to deal with Royal Mail, but instead just pop along to your local store which may be walkable and usually has easy free parking to collect it.  What's more they are usually open from very early to very late. 

It seems a very useful service and addition to my postage options, so it's on now for you all to use.  You can check your local stores before ordering, or I've provided the link in the order email if you'd like to choose one and then let me know.  If doing this, just do this as soon as you can as I can be too efficient with my dispatching some days.  If I don't hear from you I shall select your nearest store and let you know that it's on the way there

Read all about this great new service here. (opens in new window)

Find your local store by popping your postcode in at the top here. (also opens in a new window).

.  

Good morning! 

Just to let you know that I have a couple of new pinterest boards and I've added them to the site so you can browse them easily here.  Pinterest is a great way of bookmarking things you love, wandering around a topic, finding new delights, remembering old ones and collecting things visually.  Inspired by Brighton's Pride festival at the weekend and the new descriptions I'm doing for my larger breast forms, I've made a new transsexual and transvestite board for those who are interested.  

You can also see the new pins for the old favourites, wedding ideas, quotes and other on and off topic boards.  Take a look and repin any of my pins to get you started, if you decide to give it a whirl.

Jo xxxx

Is it really 2014 already?!

I just thought I'd do a little post on the things I have planned for this lovely new year, but first of all a bit of info on 2013.  

It was a busy year, with rebranding the company with the help of a marketing chap called David, which I'm very pleased with.  The website now has a more neutral theme and you can see that it is a specialist store, not a big impersonal one, and that you will be dealing only with me.  I will answer all your questions, maintain the site, maintain the stock, pick your item for you, wrap it, post it and answer any post purchase questions you have.  It was hard work and took most of the year due to all the behind the scenes things that need doing if you rebrand, but I hope you all love the new feel to the shop.  

I did however have some great plans for 2013 that unfortunately did not move as quickly as I'd like, as I found myself very unwell at points.  I won't relay all the glorious details, but being the sole owner of the company was difficult at times and even more frustrating as I could not bring in the things I wanted to.  My health appears to be getting sorted at last so these are my plans for 2014, that I shall come at with renewed health and energy! 

• I shall be adding some You Tube videos to the site to help you comprehend the products better, especially the breast enhancers/chicken fillets and the breast form prostheses.
• I shall be adding more pictures of the breast enhancers styles next to each other so that you can see the differences between them easily.
• The sister website for transvestites will be launched.
• I will keep an eye out for new product ideas and add them if they pass my tough tests!

I will also make the usual little changes here and there, but if you have a thought/opinion and would like to, just get in touch.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Here's to a healthy, happy and prosperous 2014!

Jo xxx

interest really is a wonderful site.  Whatever your interests, you can create boards to collate a wealth of images, information and links.  

My Jo Thornton Pinterest boards are a mixture of breast enhancer, breast form and health related pins, as well as off topic fun.  If you have any pins or ideas for boards that you would like to share, do get in touch or share them on Pinterest with me.  

So far my boards consist of My Products, My Help Guides, Health, Self Esteem, Gift Ideas for women, Mastectomy and Lumpectomy Pins, Wedding Ideas For You, Home Ideas and Amazing Pictures.

Stop by, say hello and let's get pinning together :)