We'r really pleased to have more stock of our beautiful perching birds. These little creatures will sit happily on most jugs, vases or cups, and brighten up any room. They are hand made in Thailand and are a lovely match for some of our ceramic vases.
We've just had another delivery of amazing mango wood products from Thailand. These look incredible, are light to handle and complement modern or traditional homes. Mango trees are planted as fire-breaks in hardwood plantations in Thailand, allowing the harvest of their delicious fruit and eventually the creation of some beautiful wooden products. We have candle holders, bowls and vases all available now, with more designs to be added to the website soon.
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 :)
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!
It's always great to be able to chat to people who come into the shop about the stories behind the products we sell. Every now and then we meet someone with a special insight into something we sell, and this was the case when Julie visited us over the Hay Festival. She explained that she had visited the Sang Arun factory where some of our ceramics are made on a trip to Thailand. Julie was good enough to send us a couple of photos of their trip.
Julie wrote:
"Hello - you may remember I was in your shop on Bank Holiday Monday and talked to you about the Thai vases you had on display as we had visited the factory where they are made last summer. When I got home I had a look through the pictures from our holiday and thought you might be interested in seeing a couple from the Sang Arun factory - I've even got one of a lady making vases like the ones you had on display! As you will see the factory is light and airy and all workers were wearing masks to protect them from the clay dust."
We're so grateful to Julie for taking the time to send these snaps to us, and it's amazing to see for ourselves that the vision we're working towards seems to be having a practical effect. A lot of people ask us whether we've visited all of the places where we source our products. Sadly that's not practical at the moment, but we hope to notch a few more off the list as we continue to grow. For now we work with groups and co-operatives as close to the ground as possible to ensure that there are as few steps as possible between us and the people producing the items.
If you have any photos of fair trade products being produced around the world, any snaps of items you've bought from Eighteen Rabbit in their new homes or pictures of your visit to Hay on Wye, do send them in - there will be prizes for any we feature!