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Cool fair trade headbands to keep you warm

by Andrew Williams | October 30, 2013 | 0 Comments

We're really pleased to have another great range of winter woollens from Here Today Here Tomorrow. Last year our bestsellers were their knitted headbands with velvet lining and they are back for 2013/14! We have three new styles - a charcoal block print design in a traditional style, and a new knot design available in burgundy or navy. We only have limited stock of each design and once they're gone we're unlikely to get more stock. Don't miss out on these cosy, fair trade favourites. 

 

Knot Headband

Tagged: fair trade, fairtrade, headband, knitwear, nepal

Keeping fair trade local

by Andrew Williams | October 05, 2013 | 0 Comments

One of the down sides to running a shop selling cool fair trade items is that inevitably we meet a few customers who would prefer to buy something made in our local area. We are lucky in Hay on Wye to have a thriving artistic and craft community who produce some stunning pieces - and we have great shops in Hay selling them, such as Brook Street Pottery, the Haymakers, and our neighbour at Hay Castle, The Thoughtful Gardener. Explaining why we don't stock any local items ourselves is always a good opportunity to reinforce some of the benefits of making trade fair. 

That's not to say that we don't care about local businesses, or local shops! We love the retail community in Hay and we try to be a part of supporting our thriving High Street through the Chamber of Commerce. Now we're involved in a new scheme called Totally Locally, which we're hoping to launch in Hay in the next couple of months.

Totally Locally is a clever marketing campaign to get people to think about where they are spending their hard earned cash. It's not anti-supermarket or anti-internet - there's a place for those guys too. But by showing the benefits of diverting just a small amount of money being spent into local shops, we can see a real difference in the economic health of the town.   

We're hoping to launch Totally Locally Hay around the Winter Weekend festival. We believe that fair trade and local shopping make great companions on the road to a more prosperous High Street. 

Tagged: Christmas, eighteen rabbit, fair trade, fairtrade, hay castle, hay festival, hay on wye, local, totally locally

Time of the Season

by Andrew Williams | September 21, 2013 | 0 Comments

It is with a heavy heart that I have to break the bad news to you - we've just had our first delivery of winter woollens. Yes, it is that time of year again. We're really pleased to be stocking the new season's designs from Here Today Here Tomorrow, who proved so popular with the residents of Hay (and online) last year. We love the new slouchy hats, mini mittens and of course their amazing woolly headbands. Look out for them online in the next few days - they're available in store now.

But before we get on to winter, and the dreaded "C" word, let's try to bask in the last few rays of our fair trade summer. We still have the great new range from Rapanui to drool over (and everyone always needs tee shirts, right?) as well as ongoing reductions on some of our most popular ceramic lines - our eye catching Line Vases are now just £22 online.

Other new arrivals include our amazing, colourful bamboo chopping boards, designed by Bambu Home in Portland Oregon and made under fair trade conditions in China. A versatile, sustainable addition to any kitchen. We'll have more of the range coming soon.

Let's not get too down-hearted at the darker nights drawing in, we still have lots of fun to look forward to - Halloween and some cool new lines to tie in with the Mexican "Day of the Dead" celebrations to name just one. Stay warm out there!  

Tagged: 2013, apparel, Christmas, eighteen rabbit, fair trade, fairtrade, headband, knitwear

A ray of fair trade sunshine

by Andrew Williams | September 10, 2013 | 0 Comments

We've been making some changes to the front of the shop this week - getting ready for autumn while doing our best to accentuate the last of the summer sun! What do you think?

We've mixed some of our favourite copper pieces from Nepal with a range of our best-selling yellow ceramics which are designed in Holland and made in Thailand. We love the combination of rich, deep, earthy tones from the copper and the bright sunshine of the pottery. Hope you agree!

As always, provenance is key :)

Tagged: 2013, autumn, ceramics, copper, eighteen rabbit, hay castle, nepal, Thailand

Fair trade gifts from around the world

by Andrew Williams | August 26, 2013 | 0 Comments

We have a big map of the world in our shop in Hay on Wye and one of our favourite jobs is filling in new suppliers from around the world as another interesting delivery of unusual items arrives. So far this year we have added some amazing new lines to the shop, including:

Cana Flecha jewellery and clutches from Colombia;

Pachacuti Panama hats from Ecuador;

Intricate ceramic skulls from Mexico;

Delightful floating candles from Thailand;

Exclusive soft toys from Argentina. 

We are constantly on the look out for new suppliers who have interesting and inspiring stories. If you have a suggestion for a line you'd like to see us stocking, please get in touch - we'd love to hear from you!

Tagged: 2013, Argentina, colombia, Ecuador, eighteen rabbit, fair trade, fairtrade, mexico, Pachacuti, Panama hats, Thailand