AW Artisan Wholesale Giftware

Greetings from West Java… Hope you guys are doing well!  Last week I was writing from Bali about how the artisans there are feeling the heat —rising costs, shortages and the constant need to reinvent how things are made. In case you missed it, you can catch up here . This week… we have moved islands.  Bondhan and I took a flight from Bali to HLP Halim—an airport just south of Jakarta that rather wonderfully describes itself as “Legendary” … and that pretty much set the tone for our trip.   We had only just landed when Bondhan suddenly spotted one of his absolute heroes standing beside the luggage belt—a rock star from Jamrud , one of Indonesia’s most famous rock bands. Bondhan was completely star-struck! A short taxi ride took us to the Whoosh train terminal, where, for a little extra money, we upgraded ourselves to First Class. Just twelve seats in the cabin… very civilised.  I had to visit the Whoosh gift shop of course..  Whoosh is Indonesia’s first high...

Greetings from Bali… Hope you guys are doing well! Last week I was telling you about my Communist Lunch in Slovakia and my long-way-round-trip from there to here. If you missed it you can catch up here . With the World Cup now behind us, the family holiday season well underway and our Happy Holi-Daze promotion (see below) in full swing, there is a slightly different feeling in the air.  Here in Bali, I have been feeling rather stretched in two directions. On one side, I have been working with Bondhan on several new product ranges—fresh ideas for our molten glass-on-wood collection, some interesting new art products and plenty of other things bubbling away in the pipeline. Despite distractions, I'm determined to land some beautiful new products. Regular readers will know this is the part of the job I absolutely love!  Looking at materials, visiting workshops and asking: *What else could we make? What could we re-invent? What might our customers love? Then Raul arrived from Kual...

 Greetings from Bali… Yes, I have just arrived back on this magical island… although my body still seems to be somewhere between Helsinki, Shanghai and Bratislava . Last week I was writing from Slovakia, where I told you about that ill-advised boat trip in Spain—I was sick as a parrot. If you missed it you can catch up here . After recovering, I managed to spend some time with our Slovakia team, although—as always—it was much too short. Lunch Behind the Iron Curtain . One lunchtime, Tomas took me to what I can only describe as a proper old-fashioned communist workers’ café. These places still exist in Slovakia. Although I guess slightly nicer decor than the old days. You queue with a tray, just like school dinners, and choose from wonderfully traditional Slovak food: cabbage, dumplings, soups, stews and large portions of meat. Nothing fancy, just good, honest food. I had more than I could possibly eat for around €8—and it was both healthy and very tasty. Then, when you have f...

Greetings from Slovakia My final few days in Spain came with a soundtrack. Close to the beach, the trees seemed alive with huge flocks of small green parrots—Rose-ringed Parakeets. There appeared to be more of them than ever this year. They originally came from South America sold as pets, some escaped and gradually established thriving populations along the warmer Mediterranean coast. They particularly enjoy golf courses and the leafy residential areas around Málaga and Marbella. A little like the tourists now arriving en masse, they are colourful, noisy and happiest when flocking together to sing. Actually, “sing” may be rather generous. They screech, squawk, argue and gossip from tree to tree — rather like a particularly lively Spanish family lunch. ENGLAND 3, MEXICO 2… AND THE WHOLE VALLEY KNEW I’m not really a football guy, as you know, but it was impossible to miss England’s dramatic 3–2 victory over Mexico on Sunday night. In the hot night air, we could hear celebrations ...

Greetings once again from Spain... Hope you are well and enjoying the Summer.. Well, this  is not something you see every day... One of our customers has installed one of our Giant Garden Buddhas on a mountain top in Slovakia. We are told all planning and permissions were correctly obtained, which is always nice to hear. More on that later, but I thought it made a pretty wonderful picture to start this week’s newsletter. ...but not for much longer. Next week I will be packing my bags and heading off again. It is back on the road, back to visiting suppliers, back to hunting down new ideas and hopefully bringing you the next wave of interesting products. One thing I have learned over the years is that new products do not find themselves. You have to go looking. Last week I was telling you about flirting with danger in Mijas, the almost-lost Spanish ID card, and my close encounter with the famous mustard scam. If you missed it, you can catch up here .  This week has been less d...

Hello again from a very, very hot week... Hope you are enjoying the weather wherever you are! It is hotter than ever across the UK and Europe, and here at AW our Midsummer Madness Season is going out with a bang—quite literally, like the San Juan fireworks lighting up Andalucía this week. Meanwhile, Coco and I have been flirting with danger in peaceful quaint Mijas. We still have a swathe of 30% off deals, but they are disappearing quickly now, so please do have a look before the madness finally melts away. Last week I was telling you about the good news on my Spanish TIE card, and how I was finally close to being properly documented again. If you missed it, you can catch up here . Well, this week the card arrived — and nearly disappeared again on the very same day. More on that little drama below... Meanwhile, a container from Bali arrived at our Malaga warehouse, and I was there to see it being unloaded. Always a satisfying moment, but also a slightly worrying one. As an...