David's AW News: The BBC called me in Bali

Greetings from Bali, Indonesia

August Bank holiday is behind us.. and it's September..

Soon I will be moving on.. but it's been nice to be back in Bali even if just for a short time.

Last week I was telling you about Indonesia's 80th Independence Day.. and the very special way they celebrate this here. If you missed it, you can catch up here.

Quite big news.. I took a phone call from an unidentified UK number last week, around midnight Bali time. I thought it was the usual scam call... But it was a journalist from the BBC. They had seen our endless rant about Temu and Shein undermining British Retailers. Finally getting attention.. I chatted with the friendly guy and gave our point of view. Later, he contacted Katka in the UK, and a week later, this article came out...You can read it here.. I'm really hoping that Keith Starmer will finally take action and take this massive loophole down.

A Cool Wave.

This week it has been strangely cool in Bali.. while UK, Spain and even China bask in heatwaves.. here has been a relatively cool wave. Well, cool as in 24c - but that's enough for the locals to be donning jackets and scarves. I was amused to see people wrapping up this morning on my way to the office.

It reminds me summer is soon over.. and the next big thing is Halloween.. It's coming guys.. time to get spooky - time to get prepared..

Holly and Alex have been preparing the showroom in Sheffield.. and having fun doing it, I think..You can watch the video here.

Lots happening this week..

We have some new stock arriving Gemstone Trees with Orgonite Bases are soon arriving at our warehouse, ready to shine in your shop displays!

Each tree is handmade with natural stones and an orgonite pyramid base, bringing positive energy and a unique decorative touch to any space. Perfect for gift shops, lifestyle boutiques, wellness areas, or meditation spaces. See all the products coming soon here.

Orgonite is traditionally used as a tool for spiritual healing, protecting against electromagnetic pollution and balancing the energy of the environment. The greater the number of gemstones, the stronger its positive energetic influence.

We've also been talking with our man Bondhan.

Bondhan is an accomplished musician - he plays in a next-level Heavy Rock band called – Kanibal

a little bit loud for my liking.. haha but that hard rock trash style is big in Indonesia.

He can also play a mean Ukulele - and is the designer behind our range of artisan Ukuleles made in a music mad village in central Java.

The other day in our small office/showroom at our Bali warehouse.. I was telling him that we had some feedback from a customer who said it was hard to tune.. and I agree I was struggling to tune myself.. Bondhan explained that because they are artisan-made by hand, as you tune each string the tensions change inside the instrument.. you need to tune each string, then start again and re-tune.. when it comes good, you are rewarded with a lovely sounding.. and really easy to play instrument.

We made a YouTube video to celebrate... where I interview Bondhan and explain the interesting details and exactly how to tune.

We also ask: Can you sell this?.. Find it in our Can You Sell This? Playlist

Check the Can You Sell This Playlist if you are looking for ideas of new products to sell.. here you can scroll through a selection of popular products and get all the info you need to market to your customers effectively.. also get to know the people of Ancient Wisdom.

New stock arriving soon. 

Lots of lovely new stock!!  - keep an eye no our coming soon page for updates.

Spain has a space crisis..

Regular readers will know we have been struggling for space in our Spain warehouse for a while, we even have second-hand containers in the car park.. that helped a bit.. then we found a local fulfilment warehouse where we could store a few hundred pallets.. but not ideal because every day you are shipping stuff there and bringing stuff back, you need. Very inefficient.

It all came to a crisis the other week, when the fulfilment company told us they were closing down and gave us a month's notice to take back our 500 pallets.. (and we cannot find a replacement) on top of that, we have like 6 container loads of stock arriving.  Toni (our man in Spain) is in a flat panic.. Tomas went there to find a solution. 

Well, it seems we have to bite the bullet and move to the next level..

But there are not many large clean warehouses in Malaga.. We found this warehouse this week, close by.. and got excited.

Big & Beautiful..

Other warehouses are big and crumbling.. or damp and poky. Modern builds are a rare beast. So we expressed an interest in this, only to find another tenant had just signed on the dotted line the day before. All week, Tomas and Toni have been visiting various options.. none very good.. my WhatsApp is full of video guided tours. But we have to do something quickly!

I'll update you next week.

Meanwhile, Halloween is creeping up behind you...

Time to get stocked up!!

Next week in a new location..

Take care

David