AW Artisan Wholesale Giftware

Greetings from Goa, India We just arrived in (or I should say escaped to) Goa. Catching up with old friends and checking on the renovation of the apartment we have here.. it's almost completed! Last week I was telling you about our last days in Kathmandu and how we got invited to a wedding..and found ourselves in the year 2082 (yes really!) if you missed it you can catch up here . After arriving in Delhi - we spent a few days at the Spring Fair, the huge trade show where Indian exporters exhibit. Usually packed, but this time horribly empty... and very very hot! Here's Toni from Spain and our man in India - Mr Chatterjee behind. It was not just the heat that was hard core in Delhi.. let me explain.. In the Trade Show There is a hotel adjacent to the halls, mostly booked in advance by the traders, and Mr Chatterjee managed to get us rooms in there, which is super convenient; other people have to take shuttle buses sometimes to distant hotels.. Not that there were many buses runn...

Greetings from Delhi, India I hope you had a lovely Happy Easter! I hope lots of cute ethings and chocolate made their way to you! Meanwhile, it's been Happy New Year in Nepal .. we were fortunate enough to be here on the Nepalese New Year.  It's the year 2082, which seems a bit surreal . All the restaurants and bars in Kathmandu were throwing new year parties, it was very jolly - Toni (our man in Spanish), who is always up for a party, had the full experience.. I was in bed by 10, because well, just too busy.. too much to do. The tradition is to decorate everywhere with balloons.. It does seem rather strange to see Happy New Year 2082 everywhere.  Toni and I took an Indigo flight from Kathmandu to Delhi on Tuesday morning. We got through Kathmandu airport (the world's most bureaucratic airport) in good humour. All the ridiculous security checks, and stamps you need to get, my half bottle of Whiskey was taken off me by the pre-security check before the check-in desks...

Greetings from Kathmandu. I can't believe I have been here a full week, so much has happened it feels like a month. Easter is almost upon us, just time to get fully stocked and ready for trading action. Here, yesterday it rained, which, believe me.. was a major relief because Kathmandu valley has been experiencing some of the worst pollution levels in its history. Actually, they tell me it is worse than Delhi (and that's where we are off to next), and this week, Kathmandu actually claimed the dubious crown of the world's most polluted city .  But after the rain, the gloom lifted, and views to the mountains appeared.  Kathmandu is a basin city; head out and up, and you can quickly leave the smog behind, so naturally, we took every opportunity to get out to see our suppliers' workshops and factories outside. Escaping Kathmandu smog. Last week, I was telling you about the journey here and the secret mysterious ceremonies of Bali. If you missed it, you can catch up here . ...

Greetings from Kathmandu Hope you are well and didn't get fooled on April Fools Day.. I did! Yesterday morning, I took a Batik Airways flight from Denpasar to Kuala Lumpur, changed there for Malaysia Air to Kathmandu. Arrived about 10pm local time. Toni from Spain arrived just before me and was waiting in the lobby of our hotel in downtown Kathmandu. We went for a late night beer to catch up. Last week, I was telling you about the Melasti Ceremony, which was taking place right by our beach office. No tourists were allowed, but we got a pass. If you missed it, you can catch up here . Or check the YouTube video here . Back in Kathmandu! This morning, we went to see our delightful shipping agent, Mr Padam. He told us our orders from the last visit are being shipped right now.. and as we progressed to visit one of our other suppliers, we saw our products being loaded onto a truck.. Toni, who has lots of energy, got stuck in to help load. I'm a bit tired from the travellin...

Greetings from the AW Advantage marketing office, Bali.. Yes, I'm at our beach office, and it very much has an end of year feel. Tomorrow is Nyepi Bali's New Year's Day, , and this year it almost coincides with Eid al-Fitr celebrating the end of Ramadan. So many of our staff are already heading to their hometown, and the rest will break today for a national holiday until Wednesday next week. Last week, I was telling you about our visit to the Bali Baby Home we support close to here, helping runaway single mothers and their children put their lives back together. If you missed it you can catch up right here , or see the Youtube video we made about it here . Update: they have already spent the donation we made and made a classroom area double quick; they sent pictures today. The Melasti Ceremony. It's all happening near our office. Since this time last year, the local village has made a beautiful ceremonial area and built a car park for one special occasion it...

Greetings from the AW warehouse in Bali Extreme weather everywhere, Spain has massive rain, China unseasonably hot, here we have hurricanes and downpours causing flash flooding - but at least in the UK the sun is shining and Spring is in the air..At least one place in the AW world has some good weather. Last week I was telling you about the lady boss who makes some of the shop fittings we stock. And news from India.. if you missed it you can catch up here . Today we went in the rain to the Bali Baby Home, the charity we support here. It's not far from the warehouse, but roads were closed or flooded and we struggled to even get there. So Spring is in the air.. Mother's Day very soon.. Then Easter , it's Spring! And if you are looking for quality artisan Dream Catchers, always good at this time of year.. then now is the time to stock up.. (see below). Trip to the (Dream Catcher) component village.. So we heard about this Kampung, a village area not far from the a...