Cat’s out the bag now

Salutations friends of Flare.

Almost 20 weeks have passed since our - unfortunately - incorrect public service announcement - that's basically 40% of the year, gone, just like that. Wild isn't it? Has the world changed dramatically? Almost. I mean, lots of things are returning to the way they were - while many things aren't. Freedom day is around the corner - that carrot is still dangling. A bag of air which was supposedly lost is also returning home - so people keep telling me in various different memes. Our lounges are going through dramatic changes, honestly, to the point where they might not be completely recognisable - which yes, is as exciting as it sounds.

So much change, so little change - lots of outdoor pubs open, lots of lounges still shut.
So much time, so little time - 20 weeks since the last post, in my mind it's been about 4-5 weeks.
Total paradox isn't it? Well, when the time comes, the ramblings will make sense.
These haphazard messages will one day come together.....right?
Like - if a piece of my written rambling never gets read, did I ever write it at all?

Or, was it all in my head?

Who knows right? This is a second post in as many days - I know no one saw that coming, I certainly didn't. Maybe England didn't see it coming either.

The first lounge

Salutations friends of Flare.

The garage. Some of you have been in the garage. Others have read about it in a previous post. Many don't have a clue regarding its existence - or rather, I should say of its history.

We used to joke about it. Calling it the very first lounge we ever ran, or opened. Friends would come from far and wide, I talking from the east of London, to the tops of Luton and from the far reaches of Reading. Why? What was so special? I'll tell you for free that there wasn't any special seating, no decor, barely any heating, no fancy shisha pipes. It was just a storage garage. Fact. Boxes everywhere. I don't know what else to tell you folks - this is what it was.

So why? Why did friends travel here? Of course the shisha was better than any lounge had to offer, but that wasn't it, or rather, it wasn't the only reason.

"Where the elite, meet and greet."

I didn't even come up with that. That was a friend in this garage - and here's your reason. This - this was the reason friends travelled across the country. To be in the company of amazing conversation and company. The debates, the topics, the discussions - these were absolutely exceptional and not to be found anywhere else. This vibe and understanding was an art and it was beautiful. Nothing compared to that feeling of being in the garage. The first lounge.

We don't want to own a club, or an Insta-lounge, or a place to pretend like you're interesting. We want a place like the garage. Honest, friendly and enjoyable. We've been busy refurbing our lounges to go back to these basics. I'm excited to share more about these changes as they get complete, but friends, let's just say, it's nice to be back.

What we really wanted to know

Salutations friends of Flare.

I'm sure as all of us was watching good old Bojo, we were all thinking the same thing.
1 - His hair is getting wilder and wilder. Good on him.
2 - When is the smoke back on!?
Therefore, as a service of public duty, I've taken this opportunity to answer this question for you all.

I also know what else you're thinking - it takes a public service announcement for Flare to even bother posting an update.
Is it the near promise of freedom that got me off the sofa and back to telling everyone Flare is still here?
Or was it coincidental timing that our current projects have come to a close and updating you all was the next step?
Potentially both?
I don't know how we're almost at the end of February. Nor can I believe that an end is in sight for this bizarre world-changing chapter.

What I’m trying to say is, I don’t really know how we got here. I can’t imagine where the future is headed - it’s too strange an idea to think about.

However, what I do know is that the smoke? Well, that’s always on.

Flare Coal Burner back in stock

Salutations friends of Flare.

Don't you just love a headline that says it all?

That's right friends, our coal burner is finally back in stock!

The demand for home smoking shot through the roof over this summer and with restrictions in place at our ports and ferries, getting stock in was a real challenge. Unfortunately, that was just the first delay. Then we had to face delays of overly busy warehouses preparing for Christmas with less working staff than usual. So many elements came together to brew a perfect storm of total delay. Thankfully, everything is now sorted and the original coal-burning solution that is everyone's favourite is back available online.

Visit our website, eBay or Amazon to get your hands on it before Christmas.

I mean, what could make for a better present this year than the warming feeling of perfectly lit coals for that excellent smoke.

Stiffer and lighter than steel

Salutations friends of Flare.

Another short minute ticks by us before an update falls before our very eyes.

The last few weeks have flown by as we've been preparing for the winter. The arrival of new stock and materials that we've had to test out.

New stock will be announced in grand glory on Friday - however, if you head to our website, Amazon or eBay right now, you can get your hands on your favourite burner before anyone else!

Remember mum's the word.

So what about these new materials we speak of? Well, when we started our journey for the perfect smoke, the first thing we did was remove the old wooden smoking handles that would rot and mould.

We ventured into aluminium, glass, silicon and various other metals. Upgrading the dated materials of the past for more modern and hygienic options.

However, as product technology keeps improving and pushing the boundaries, this lets us jump right on in and use these innovations into our industry.

I think what I'm alluding to might be obvious enough for most of our friends, however, for those who have no clue of what these cryptic words mean, then stay tuned.

This smokescreen will be cleared out soon.

The employee of the month

Salutations friends of Flare.

I'd like to introduce Leo - our employee of the month at Flare.
Leo joined Tunnel Lounge about 3 months ago and has been exceptional!
He got accustomed to the lounge very quickly - I mean, he's an outdoor cat with his own one thousand square foot garden, so yeah, real tough.
Leo is really friendly, he enjoys meeting new people but don't disturb him when he's sleeping, he doesn't like that.
His presence has attracted customers from the opposite side of London just so they could meet him.
He also seems to have a habit of going up to the customers that don't like cats. I personally love this characteristic the most.
This little celebrity is drawing in new business and looking after our regular clientele too. He's made it into the inner circle.
It's no wonder that he wins the employee of the month award - congratulations Leo!
What's his award I hear you ask? Catnip flavoured shisha of course. Yeah, it's wild.

Tricks or treats?

Salutations friends of Flare.
I'm not going to lie, as much as I love Autumn, I don't care for Halloween that much at all. It's a pretty bants occasion and in our lounges, we'll use it as an excuse to try some fun stuff. Different lighting, effects or even flavours.
However, leading into this Halloween, I've noticed many businesses are really trying to maximise the day. When I say this, I mean the amount of decor, advertisements and build up. It surprises me but I guess it's the first nationwide calendar event that has come up since our locked state. Businesses will be hoping to continue to draw customers out and Halloween may just be the ticket.
We'll see what last-minute surprise we can conjure up this year, but in the meantime maybe we can do the same? What better way is there to do Halloween this year other than to have a pumpkin base pipe being smoked by a pumpkin? That's pretty meta. Maybe even cannibalistic. Or maybe that's just Halloween?

The change of times

Salutations friends of Flare.
I think it goes without saying that we love Autumn time at Flare. Well. At least I do.
The temperature is cooler but not too cold. All the hot food and drinks get cinnamon or pumpkin spice flavoured. However, most importantly, the leaves fall off the trees in the wind and the cycle of life repeats as the nutrients of the leaves return back to the ground. During this beautiful change, the leaves are in colours of brown, copper, red, orange and yellow. It's fantastic. I never get bored with posting about Autumn time.
That's a seasonal constant.

The multi-post

Friends of Flare
Salutations friends of Flare. This is a shout out to all the friends of Flare. The only question we've been getting asked of late is how are our lounges doing during lockdown? It's a fair question. We've been closed during our peak trading period and now we're running but being closed during our peak trading times. So without a doubt, it's been really difficult. However, our answer is always the same to how we're doing. We're doing well because we have amazing fans. We have some amazing customers who appreciate our quality of work and show their support to their local Flare lounges.No matter what has been going on, our customers have shown love come rain or shine. As I said before, we've been maximising this time with upgrades that again have been going down a right treat for our fans. So this is a thank you to the friends of Flare. We wouldn't be here without your love and support. As long as we have this, we plan to continue to grow and make your local Flare lounges the place for your perfect smoke.

Rainy days
Salutations friends of Flare. What a terribly grey day! It's raining non-stop, properly miserable, it's typical London weather - blah blah blah. Do you guys get that too? Do you hear from others how nothing can happen today because the weather won't allow for it? Yes, I agree that some days the weather can physically make it impossible to complete the plans for the day. However, constant drizzling shouldn't stop life. If you lived your life dependent on the weather, then you're quite literally only living half a life. Grab a coat, grab an umbrella, get your wellies on. They were made to get wet. This nonstop attitude is what you need in the rain, in your business, in life. If you sit on the sofa because it's a rainy day, you're far too comfortable. Get some discomfort in your life. Trust me. It'll do you wonders. Now if you can excuse me please, I have to go for my midday walk. Where's my umbrella at...

Unexpected responsibility
Salutations friends of Flare. So one of my earliest memories of running the lounge was something I hadn't thought about or planned for when the business kicked off. This was the level of maintenance that goes into just keeping the premises working. So here we are, trying to get our operations into place - making sure the shisha smoking experience is on point. This was obviously paying off as our customer base was rapidly growing with each passing day. However, at the same time, we were working so hard behind the scenes to literally keep the lights on. Whether it's a leak in the roof, the fence falling down, the bathroom flooding, the heating not working, the power tripping or the fridge failing - we'd had to sort these issues while trying to keep the lounge open. Famously, on some nights we'd have a power cut on the entire street but our lounges would still be open. Nothing lighting the scene other than the soft glow from the shisha coals. Granted, we have far fewer fatal issues now as we've managed to fix a large number of the problems we inherited. Nonetheless, there is always a new challenge every day. Something or another will break, or need attending to. So we move. We mend, we fix, we correct - all the while, serving a damn good smoke.

Locking down again?

Locking down again?

Salutations friends of Flare.

Being based in London, we're on the brink of moving into the high alert tier - meaning tighter restrictions on who we can meet, eat and smoke with. With two and a half months until the end of the year, for a lot of people, this cannot come quick enough.

I'm sure you've heard this too, maybe you're one of the people who have been saying that the whole year just needs to be forgotten and written off?
Indisputably this is a strange year. Affecting people in varying ways. I mean, nearly everyone has had to change plans and some have even had to change life plans.

As a business, it has been a mixed bag. At Flare we've had the time to line up our ducks, get our stock in order, design our plans and figure out where we're headed. In our lounges, trying to keep businesses running in the middle of lockdowns, curfews and social distancing has been mighty challenging.

However, with every challenge comes new opportunities. While our doors have been shut, we've been refurbing, upgrading and finding our silver linings. We want our customers to come back knowing we haven't just been hiding away from the storm. On the contrary. We want them to see the beacon of change we are supporting.

If I had to summarise the ramblings from today, it would be to always make the best of any situation.

27 December 2013

Salutations friends of Flare.
Something must be afoot? Another post? Amazing right?
No promises, but being at home does present itself with more time, so let us all enjoy these ramblings while we can.

As with most reflections of mine, I tend to think about the beginning. Flare Shisha was founded at the back end of 2013. About this time 7 years ago now in fact. The shisha scene in such a short space of time has changed and developed so much. It's really great to see the industry grow and overcome the challenges it has had to face. We played our part in shaping the home smoke scene with our signature coal burner. 

At the time we know it would be a product that people wanted - however, to become the UK's best selling and favourite choice for shisha coal was unprecedented. While we've all been locked at home, you can imagine the number of people dusting off their home smoke kits and renewing their home smoke skills! Myself included - it's a rare treat for me to personally enjoy the smokes in the comfort of my home. So I dedicate this post to the burner that started it all.

The home smoke scene has never been more important than now - so thank you NCB, you've been lighting coals faithfully for many long years for us all.

Talking about strange times.

My dear friends of Flare, I hope this message finds you well.
Nobody could have seen this coming. The world stood still and the word was spread - there's a new Flare blog post.

This really is a special update, I mean we find ourselves in completely unprecedented times. Times such that current generations have not had to face before. It's a rare life-changing and defining period of everyone's lives. So we do hope that you are doing well, that you're safe and making the most of what you can.

Over the lockdown, there has been a lot of time to reflect which got me into the mindset of blogging again. I was reading over the Chronicles and truth be told, it actually had me chuckling to myself - yes, yes I was sitting here laughing at my own jokes. Like, who is this blog really for? Is it for you? Is it for me? Is it for my sanity? Who really knows.
Around once a year there is a grand Flare announcement that the Chronicles are back - bar last year. On 27/04/18 I announced that I will start sharing the stories and excitements of running our first lounge. The last update was 04/05/18 which was revealing our latest innovation to the game.

Then the all too familiar radio silence that Friends of Flare are no strangers to.
Anyway, I'm glad I've set time aside to finally get these thoughts down.
With any luck, there will be more thoughts. So this surprising message out of the blue comes with no meaning.

There is no announcement, there is no news. Just an open message to friends and well wishes.

Speak soon, friends!

New beginnings?

New beginnings?

The Flare Catalyst

Here we are, ladies and gentlemen, a true innovation.
Really and truly this is a completely new product that has never hit the market before. Engineered by ourselves to the solve the issues we and undoubtedly every shisha enthusiast faces.

The Flare Catalyst provides so many benefits for such a simple and clean device.

Well, the very first thing you will notice about the Catalyst is that it is a silencer. However, unlike other silencers, the Catalyst doesn't compromise your drag in airflow. No noisy tiny bubbles, you get the same smoking experience with none of the downsides.

Molasses catching. Have you been smoking and the shisha flavour leaks down your pipe and into the water of your vase? Yes, this annoys us too. Your pipe and vase are stained with flavour and your water looks like it's the home of a three-eyed fish. Well, you can say goodbye to your unwanted fish. The unique design of the Catalyst will stop this from happening. The flavour gets collected in the Catalyst and doesn't spread anywhere else.

Reduction in ghosting. All metal pipes will ghost if shisha flavours leak into the pipe and the pipe isn't washed thoroughly. Well, now avoid this whole messy and awkward situation as the Catalyst stops shisha flavour from leaking into your pipe. Moreover, the Catalyst glass will ghost far less by nature and from the fact it is far easier to clean.

Upstream water disseminator. So your shisha feels a little harsh, you blow some air out but your purge valve is blocked and the pressure pushes water up your pipe, into your shisha head, ruining the tobacco for that smoke and completely kills your coals. Guess what buddy? The Catalyst will catch the water and stop it from reaching your shisha head. Now you can simply empty out the Catalyst and continue your smoking session.

Stop blowing out hot air. Heat sinking. With fully lit coals heating up your tobacco, one unwanted side effect is that your pipe starts to warm up that consequently warms up the water in the vase thus causing a warm smoke. With the Catalyst attached, you get a heat dispersing buffer that sinks the heat before it can warm up your pipe and water.

Until you try it, you'll never know how awesome it truly is. The friends of Flare who have tried it in Tunnel Lounge cannot smoke without it now!

Here is a quote that sums it up perfectly - this quote might have been said by me, but it is a quote nonetheless.

“Beautifully designed, completely gorgeous yet unbelievably functional. The Flare Catalyst packs more features than you could ever imagine in a deceptively simple design. This unique must-have all glass accessory is the latest shisha innovation you never knew you needed.”
— Someone (most definitely, well maybe, not me)

It has been a long time.

I shouldn't have left you. Without a good message to nod to. Nod to. Nod to. Nod to. Nod to.
Despite never succeeding to update anyone the first, second, or third....or ever really, I continually dust myself off to try again.
I have to start by saying, we genuinely have some of the best fans. You ladies and gentlemen have been so supportive on our journey in opening our first lounge.
Running Tunnel Lounge has been challenging, exciting and all in all just amazing. We've made lots of new friends and have learnt many new things.
I think I will start to blog how this journey has been, I know a few of you have suggested it would make for good reading, so bear with me and I'll see what I can start sharing.
I mean, Tunnel is slowly developing into the place we want it to be, it still has a lot of growing to do, a lot of character to build, but day by day it's getting there slowly.
However, ultimately, we always love it when we see your friendly faces come into the lounge to say hi, share smokes and just give us a reason to smile.
So firstly, thank you to you all.

Now, there are lots of updates I need to pass onto you ladies and gentlemen.
These will all be released slowly as and when it happens but to give you some highlights and an idea of what's coming up we have:
- The new Nova line being released! That's right, everyone's favourite shisha hose is coming back in stock with an extended range in choice!
- Our latest innovation, the Flare Catalyst, will be available from next week! This gadget you have to try to believe it yourselves.
- Rumours of a Flare travelling pipe? Maybe. Maybe they're more than rumours?
- Rumours of a second lounge? Well, maybe they're more than rumours? 

Keep watching this space ladies and gentlemen. Exciting events are just beyond the horizon.

TUNNEL | LOUNGE

Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you're sitting down because you're about to read a real game changer. 

A little while ago (*cough* 2 months ago *cough*) I spoke about three big pieces of news. The first was the refreshing of our website. The second was the expansion of the colour choice for the new Nova range. So what is the third?
Well, friends of Flare, after 2 months of keeping you waiting, I am very proud to announce that in these last 2 months, the Flare Shisha team has been working incredibly hard and we are now ready to open up our first UK shisha lounge! As you can imagine, it's just a very chilled out space, all open and transparent with our open shisha kitchen, super friendly and just an awesome space to visit and be in.
We've taken leaps and bounds to get it to its current stage, but the journey has just begun and so much more needs to be accomplished!
Nonetheless, we're really excited to have a hub to show everyone first hand how passionate we are about the shisha we smoke. From jet washed pipes, filtered water, high-quality flavours and mixes prepared with absolute precision. You can experience it all at:

The official launch will be 6pm this Sunday 14th May 2017. However, feel absolutely free to pop in any day this week as part of the soft launch to have a smokey filled chat with ourselves. We look forward to seeing each and every one of you, as without you, we wouldn't be here right now. 

Finally, with a physical presence, Flare Shisha is about to make the shisha scene a whole lot:
safer, smoother and smarter.

Let's talk about why.

Ladies and gentlemen, our website has been refreshed (....again....) for 2017!
Now, whenever we announce new items we try to focus on what really matters.

What - refresh new look.
Where - website.
When - right now.
How - many hours of hard work.

Now, notice how none of the above are interesting at all? No one cares about any of the above points. We could be sitting here telling you for pages upon pages about the what, where, when and how. However, the one we're all actually interested in is? Well, that's the why.

Firstly the new look is more efficient. It will now be easier for you to be able to navigate more freely around our site with no interruption, giving you a fluid shopping experience.
Secondly, this is the first part of a three-part update that will have you guys going absolutely mental with excitement.
We've had the coming news in the works for a while now, but finally, we're going to be able to reveal everything very soon! Hold on tight people, Doris isn't the only storm around...

"Yo Flare, you lot are a great disappointment you know that?"

"That's right. We are great."

Ladies and gentlemen, if there's anything we've learned very quickly on our journey to find the perfect smoke, it's that you can't let the situation dictate your thoughts. You have to stay positive, you have to believe in your dream, your vision and continue progressing as you mean to go on.

Becoming the UK's strongest and most favourite shisha brand was no accident. At Flare we don't just run on anecdotes and gut feelings, we are data driven. We listen to all the feedback from all our customers, we research every new market opportunity, we are bringing to the nation what the people want. Any decision we make is backed up with irrefutable proof, logic and strong underlying data. This is one of the many ideas that help make us so different from any of our competitors. You see, we're not just the leading UK shisha brand. We are the leading UK shisha brand that is backed up and driven by data.

Below is a map of every city where you can find customers, fans and friends of Flare. From Aberdeen to Plymouth, our fan base is continually growing as more and more people from the nation join the Flare journey. We can never thank all of you near enough for your support. It is because of every single one of you that we can truly say: "That's right. We are great."

9 out of 10 scientists would recommend Flare Shisha*

*Not all statistics are completely accurate on this blog.

However, you know what is accurate?
The current Naz Coal Burner sale price of £12.99 ladies and gentlemen.

An incredible saving on your favourite product AND a second blog post?
Is it Christmas all over again?
We know, we know! We just completely spoil you sometimes don't we? 

You see ladies and gentlemen when we say incredible things are coming your way, we live up to our word. As the biggest and leading UK shisha brand, we want to help everyone reach the perfect smoke. As we continue to bring innovating firsts to the UK market, we want to continue to be the people's brand of choice for the most excellent value as well as to be the highest quality available. This is simply because we want everyone to smoke safer, smoother and smarter. 

TLDR: Why spend more on dangerous and hazardous counterfeits? 
Instead, buy the original and market leading product that started it all...for even less.

£12.99 £32.99
Buy on Amazon

Season Greetings.

Season greetings ladies and gentlemen!
Hope you all are enjoying beautiful times with loved ones, feasting as much as your tummies will take and watching all the festive movies time will allow.

Now, given that it is almost the end of the calendar year, let's take a moment to reflect.
Usually, these Flare posts follow a certain pattern:

We informed you something amazing is on the way.
The Aura released shortly after.
We informed you something amazing is on the way.
The Naz Coal Burner was released in phantom black.
We informed you something amazing is on the way.
The Nova released shortly after.

You savvy and beautiful people will see a pattern emerging - so you can see where this is going right?
That's right ladies and gentlemen - we're here to inform you that something amazing, is on the way.

We're on the cusp of something so revolutionary, we honestly don't know how to tell you this. Other than, if fate allows the right pieces to fall into the correct places, then everything will be different. We know, we know, you've heard it all before. However, haven't we always backed up our words with evidence? This time is no different.
Below is just a hint towards what will be hitting the UK Shisha scene in early 2017. We have many, amazing plans in place and as they all come alive, you, our fans will hear about them first.

Honestly ladies and gentlemen, in the coming weeks, hold onto your hats as we prepare to blow you away by bringing you closer to the perfect smoke.

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