by Andrew Williams |
October 14, 2015
|
We love being based here in Hay on Wye, internationally famous as the "Town of Books." This year alone we've had two official visits from South Korea to see how the town works, as well as international press coverage in the Chicago Tribune and Conde Nast Traveller. Our literary heritage is a huge inspiration to everyone who lives here, and helps keep the town special for our visitors.
Times are tough in the book trade and it's fair to say the number of bookshops is no longer expanding at the rate it once did. We still have more bookshops per head than anywhere else in the UK though, that much is certain. We also have an opportunity to keep the "Town of Books" ideal alive in shops such as ours. We have a small but growing selection of books which we hope will appeal to locals and tourists alike. Here's a peek at some of our current bestsellers...
Owen Jones - "The Establishment." Darling of the left Jones takes us on a guided tour through the hidden hands which pull the strings behind British life. If nothing else you'll learn about the Overton Window which is an essential concept in understanding UK political life today.
Naomi Klein - "This Changes Everything." Klein's take on the capitalism vs climate change crisis. If we're to face up to climate change it's not enough to change our light bulbs - we have to change our entire economic system. This sounds tricky until you accept that the economy is a subset of the environment - it's no use having stocks and shares if you're ten feet under water.
Julia Cameron - "The Artist's Way." A longtime bestseller, the Artist's Way is a chance to (re)discover the creativity which all of us hold within us. Start each day by writing three sheets of A4. Then see where this simple discipline takes you...
We have loads more books to discover on line and in store. More on the way too!
Tagged:
books,
eighteen rabbit,
fairtrade,
hay on wye,
naomi klein,
owen jones
by Andrew Williams |
October 07, 2015
|
It's been a busy few weeks here at Rabbit HQ. As well as placing orders for exciting new stock to arrive in time for the busy Christmas season, we've also been busy on the home front.
It's Andrew's Dad's 80th birthday this week, so we have been planning a few surprises for him as well as meeting up in Bristol over the past weekend. He is still going strong and both he and wife Diane have been big supporters of the shop during our development over the past three years.
As he is 4/5ths of the way towards triple figures he is adamant that he doesn't need more "stuff" in his life, but we have still been thinking of interesting gifts that work for men of a certain age. Here are a few suggestions...
Do Story - now could be the perfect time for him to start putting his thoughts down on paper. This short guide will help you get started.
Coffee Toffee chocolate - as it takes him a little longer to get going in the morning these days, this caffeine fix could be just the ticket!
Socks - everyone loves socks, and these new black designs are a great option if he feels he's outgrown some of our zanier designs.
Enamel mug - perfect for the shed or to grab a coffee while he's mowing the lawn.
Flip flop elephant - if this year has taught us anything, it's that EVERYONE, no matter what age, loves flip flop animals!
Here he is in all his glory - many happy returns, Paul!
Tagged:
80th birthday,
eighteen rabbit,
fair trade,
hay on wye
by Andrew Williams |
September 16, 2015
|
News today that Facebook is planning to introduce a "dislike" function to go along with its "like" button. It can sometimes seem that Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and the like have been with us forever, but in fact when Louise and I were in Mexico ten years ago none of them existed! Believe me you would have seen a lot more photos of me eating tacos if they had.
Nevertheless, these social media platforms have taken a firm grip on our lives and it would be interesting now to see what would happen if for some reason Facebook ceased to exist. Mass panic? Long, handwritten letters asking our nearest and dearest what they had eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Or a slow return to a less 24/7 way of life? Who knows.
It's easy to pick a few things to "dislike" though. Half of the world's population live on less than $2.50 a day. Yet those 3.5+ billion people are collectively worth the same amount as the 85 richest people in the world, according to Oxfam. If that gives you pause for thought, here's another teaser to consider, from Robert Tressell's classic "The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists:"
"The only reason they have not monopolized the daylight and the air is that it is not possible to do it. If it were possible to construct huge gasometers and to draw together and compress within them the whole of the atmosphere, it would have been done long ago, and we should have been compelled to work for them in order to get money to buy air to breathe. And if that seemingly impossible thing were accomplished tomorrow, you would see thousands of people dying for want of air - or of the money to buy it - even as now thousands are dying for want of the other necessities of life. You would see people going about gasping for breath, and telling each other that the likes of them could not expect to have air to breathe unless the had the money to pay for it. Most of you here, for instance, would think and say so. Even as you think at present that it's right for so few people to own the Earth, the Minerals and the Water, which are all just as necessary as is the air. In exactly the same spirit as you now say: "It's Their Land," "It's Their Water," "It's Their Coal," "It's Their Iron," so you would say "It's Their Air," "These are their gasometers, and what right have the likes of us to expect them to allow us to breathe for nothing?""
Once you stop to think it can seem like there is a lot to "dislike" about the way we do things at the moment.
At Eighteen Rabbit we believe that fair trade is a small, but vital, part of the fight to make the world a better place. We won't change things overnight, but by fostering greater bonds and partnerships between people all over the world we believe that we can make this a better place to live. There's something to "like!"
Tagged:
dislike,
eighteen rabbit,
facebook,
fair trade,
fairtrade,
hay on wye,
poverty
by Andrew Williams |
September 09, 2015
|
We love the new season range from Mata Traders which arrived last week, stunning designs for autumn. However we can't let the guys feel unloved, and this week we have a great new supplier to tell you about who will make sure our dashing fair trade gens look suave and dapper.
Tobias Clothing produce shirts made in India from 100% cotton. As well as using a fair trade supply chain they also donate 10% of their profits to the Ankushka Foundation to support slum children in Munbai.
A first glance the shirts look like elegant, tailored items which you might find in any gentleman's outfitter. Look closer however and you'll spot the surprise - each shirt has a block printed design on the reverse of the sleeve, revealed if you roll the sleeves up in a more casual moment. We love them - the perfect blend of practical style and unusual fashion flair.
Tagged:
eighteen rabbit,
fair trade,
hay on wye,
shirts,
tobias clothing
by Andrew Williams |
September 02, 2015
|
When you think about fair trade, you probably immediately imagine the staples of our movement - bananas, cotton, chocolate, and of course tea and coffee. We've stocked coffee for the past couple of years, usually as a by-product of the cafe we ran for Hay Festival in our old shop up at Hay Castle. We quickly realised that the bags of ground coffee were selling well all year round.
We're now very pleased to be selling a range of Fairtrade coffee from the wonderfully named Grumpy Mule in our new shop on Lion Street. The packaging looks fantastic and the contents match the zingy colours of the bags! We have four blends currently available, from Ethiopia, Sumatra, Bolivia and Colombia. These range from mild and citrusy through to strong and smooth, with each bag graded from 1 to 5 on its "kick."
Sadly we aren't selling these on line yet, but perhaps if there was sufficient demand we could consider it? Let us know what you think!
Tagged:
coffee,
eighteen rabbit,
fairtrade,
grumpy mule
Owen Jones - "The Establishment." Darling of the left Jones takes us on a guided tour through the hidden hands which pull the strings behind British life. If nothing else you'll learn about the Overton Window which is an essential concept in understanding UK political life today. 
Naomi Klein - "This Changes Everything." Klein's take on the capitalism vs climate change crisis. If we're to face up to climate change it's not enough to change our light bulbs - we have to change our entire economic system. This sounds tricky until you accept that the economy is a subset of the environment - it's no use having stocks and shares if you're ten feet under water. 
Julia Cameron - "The Artist's Way." A longtime bestseller, the Artist's Way is a chance to (re)discover the creativity which all of us hold within us. Start each day by writing three sheets of A4. Then see where this simple discipline takes you...
