Greetings from sunny Sheffield.

Yes we are in the hometown of AW. Sunshine and blue skies, friendly Yorkshire folk and lashings of the worlds best pale ale.
I'm so happy to be back in my hometown and catching up with family, friends and all the team at the heart of AW. And my wife (and our China agent) Coco is here also.
It was December 2019 the last time she was here, just as rumours about a strange illness were starting to circulate from China. I remember getting in a crowded hotel lift in a city centre hotel and seeing two people wearing masks for the first time, we were all holding our breath until we could get off.  Then KERBANG.. the whole world changed. 
Last week I was telling you about the trip from Xiamen (China) to Sheffield (UK) and realising ten years had past.. if you missed it you can read about it here.

There is (I can see) brilliant blue skies over the UK and a long bank holiday weekend ahead. So I'm wishing you all a very busy trading week ahead. But I hope you can find time to dream a little, let some creative ideas bubble up as you chat to customers or friends.. join a few dots and see what happens.
Last weekend I took Coco to Chatsworth House.. she absolutely loved it. Although she kept asking me how one family could amass so much money to create such a place. I didn't know, it was (I asked ChatGPT) Coal mines, iron works, farming and finance. The Cavendish family was pretty industrious 400 years ago. Even today with farm shops, beautiful gift shops, the brand is awesome.. they connected a lot of dots..


Coco being a typical tourist.

We have been mostly spending time at the AW Aromatics factory where new ideas are bouncing around like excitable spring bunnies, trying to focus all that energy into actual new products is a task in itself. Coco has been connecting the dots, many products just don't make it because of missing components (at the right price) or simply missing altogether.. and China can fix many things.. and PDQ. Whatever you think about China, the fact is we need them to make our UK factory actually work. The world needs to work together, to even (for heaven's sake) actually work. 

Do you have an idea for a product? Are you an Influencer? Do you need us to make your product a reality? We already produce for a number of personalities.. and I can tell you this is where the big money is.
In China, almost everything is sold this way.. their version of Tik Tok is full of specialists, enthusiastic people, passionate people selling directly to their fan bases.. It's the future. And at AW-Aromatics we can help you be part of that future.
We even can connect the dots for you.. AW -Fulfillment  (ask for James) can store your product and then ship it to your customers as and when you need.

Imagine if you will for a minute.. Your journey connecting the dots...
1. A customer asks for a product she has heard about (for example that Grapeseed oil is good for under eye bags), you ask Chat GPT for more info, find out that this is trending on Instagram.
2. You have a brainwave about branding, and added ingredients.. 
3. You log-on to AW-Aromatics buy the raw materials you think you need.. in your kitchen start experimenting..
4. You test and re-test your product in your store.. and in your social media channels.. and...people love it!
5. Back to AW-Aromatics.. can you help me make my product on a big scale?. For sure.. That's what we do. 
6. Onward and upward.. now you just need to get it on the supermarket shelves... 

I believe most ideas, most solutions, most success stories are not difficult, probably in plain view.. you just need to do it. Connect the dots.. damn it!!

Meanwhile at AncientWisdom.biz  we have containers unloading everyday - it's buzzing here.. I just came over to chat with Rodrigo and the team.. we have containers just arrived from Indonesia. Now shipping costs are getting back to normal, Rodrigo is keen to revise prices where we can. So you might have noticed a few chunky (and timely) price drops on some of our best selling lines. Natural Coconut Lamps, last week, this week on Molten Glass on Wood. See below for lots of great deals. And some awesome new products.. I'm so happy to see the Healing Incense Powder. The ritual of making a pyramid of powder on the healing plate is just so zen.. your customers are going to love it, and collecting the full kit to do it. 

Yesterday was National Bath Bomb Day.. can you believe? Haha, whatever we all need a special day.. anyway I do feel that Bath Bombs are trending again - we have some new funky ideas on the bath bomb front and some mega deals on the Fragranced Just Desserts Bath Bombs.

In other news.. the AW Buddha at AW HQ, got a bit of a revamp today. Ula decided to brighten up our icon a little. 


Anyway whatever you are doing... ENJOY the weekend, hope you can connect your dots.. and have fun and a fantastic time.
Take care.. and as always thank you for your support.. 

David
Posted by
0

Add a comment

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

David's AW News: Taking on the Mafia

Image
Greetings from Kathmandu, Nepal, where I am taking on the mafia. Last week was crazy, we kicked off with our 29th Birthday celebrations.. AW is 29 years old. 29 years since I sold my first bottle of Lavender Oil on a Sheffield Street market. Since then it's been beyond busy in all our warehouses, the elfs are struggling to keep up - but we will find a way. Anyway I'm on the way home for Christmas (Erm the long way).. On Wednesday I said goodbye to Ringo and Bondhan as they dropped me off at Denpasar airport, I took a Malaysian airways flight to Kuala Lumpur arriving late evening, slept in the most comfortable bed you can imagine at the Sama-Sama airport hotel (short walk and a buggy ride), and early morning checked in for the flight to Kathmandu. Just about the smoothest, trouble free, friendly people, nice food.. best experience ever. Sometimes I love traveling in Asia.   Even as we approached the airport it seemed like the wings were almost touching the magical mountain...
Read more

David's AW News: A Personal Message for 2025

Image
Greetings and a Very Happy New Year from a bright sunny Spain. All the other wholesalers are sending you bright and breezy new year messages... but at AW Artisan let's just for a second face reality. Well here we are, it's 2025. Is that really already a quarter of the way through this century?  You know it seems the world is full of problems, bad news and depressing things seem to surround us. Who the heck knows what the year ahead will bring? For sure though we are all going to face business challenges especially as the increase in National insurance and ever increasing costs bite.  Pesky companies like Temu and Shein continue to steal trade from under our noses. Compliance and regulations complicate and cause unnecessary drag..  Sometimes in Business it just seems like hard work.  Sorry to depress you.   Friends, one thing is true and remains true. If you don't face the future with Bright Optimism and Positive thinking then you have already failed. ...
Read more

David's AW News: Secrets & Surprises!

Image
Greetings from Sheffield, UK.. :) it's almost Christmas! Yes it's true I am actually back at the mothership.. at AW Aromatics and AW HQ.. Home for Christmas... and found some big surprises. Last week I was making a flying visit to Spain just in time for the AW-Artisan Christmas party, which was lovely and very emotional, if you missed it you can catch up here. On Wednesday evening I returned my hire car to Malagacar.com (best car hire by far) and checked in for my EasyJet flight to Manchester. The flight was almost empty.. and left early arriving 30 minutes ahead of schedule in Manchester. Whilst the staff were friendly and kind, the seats are basic and the experience is third world.. actually any Indian or Asian budget airline is much better. Then I arrive at Manchester airport, it's such a bad impression for first time visitors.. (apart from Kathmandu) any Asian airport is class. Manchester on arrival feels distinctly 3rd world. It makes me feel something is wrong...
Read more