by Andrew Williams |
October 26, 2020
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It's been a crazy year for everyone, and there's no sense that we're on the way towards a better 2021 just yet - but we are not down-hearted! We wanted to share some of the reasons why we feel hopeful about Wales being in lockdown and the shop being closed in Hay-on-Wye...
1. Hopefully, this short, sharp lockdown will help to suppress the virus and give us a fighting chance of celebrating Christmas with some sense of normality.
2. At least in Wales we are all in it together. It has been a patchwork of approaches up to now, which makes it very confusing for anyone to follow the rules. At least for the next two weeks, we all know what we're supposed to do (in theory!).
3. We are still open online, and continuing to process orders as normal. It may take us slightly longer - hence why we've suspended our first-class shipping option - but we will get your items to you as quickly as we can! We really appreciate the support.
4. We are a lot better off than many other parts of the world. We know from speaking to our partners and artisans across the world that Covid19 has hit everyone extremely hard. Here in the UK we do have basic protections, and we are lucky enough to have socially-conscious people across the country who are looking out for people worse off than themselves (here's to you, Marcus). So let's count our blessings :)
5. Everyone connected to the shop has kept fit and well so far, which we know makes us very lucky. We are thinking of you all, around the country and around the world, and hope that you and your loved ones stay safe.
We are here to help if you have questions about any stock items or things you'd like to see us stocking in the run up to Christmas. We'll be back open in Hay before you know it - take care until then!
by Andrew Williams |
August 07, 2020
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It's been lovely to see so many of you here in Hay on Wye since we have reopened. We continue to act cautiously, and want to assure you that everyone's safety is our primary concern.
If you want to keep up to date with all of our news, why not sign up to our newsletter? We're hoping to send these out every Friday again now that we're up and running. It's quite often silly, but usually with some actual information too :)
Here's this week's to give you an idea of what's in store!
by Andrew Williams |
May 30, 2020
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Hello from Hay!
It's a beautiful day today, and we hope the sun is shining wherever you are. It has been a bittersweet week for us - normally, this would be one of the busiest times of year, with Hay Festival in full swing. Instead, they are sharing some events online, and we are waiting and hoping to be back again soon.
Our online store remains open, though I should apologise that a number of lines are very low on stock. I'm sure you can understand that we are not in a position to order new stock while the physical shop remains closed. Fingers crossed, as we start to see restrictions lifted, we'll be able to add more stock online. To help you navigate the shop, we have now updated the site to only show products which are in stock. We hope this makes it easier to navigate.
In the meantime we are working to make our shop in Hay safe to visit, with what will be the new normal for everyone I imagine - screens, hand sanitiser, and directional arrows around the shop. We will get there!
Our key message to you is to stay safe. We wish you, your friends, and your family all the very best in this challenging time. We look forward to welcoming you back to Hay very soon!
by Andrew Williams |
March 18, 2020
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Welcome, dear Rabbit Fans, to March 2020. It has been a difficult few weeks, and I know you will already be sick of endless emails offering different companies' takes on the virus, opening, closing, takeaways and online-only sales. It is tough out there. I'm sure you're familiar with the five stages of grief, ranging from denial to eventual acceptance. Where would you put us on the scale?
For me, we have reached the "fixed grin" stage of the Coronavirus. Everyone is doing their best to muck in (albeit safely), community spirit is at an all-time high, and neighbours are watching out for each other. How long it lasts will, you suspect, depend on how long people have cash in their bank accounts.
It would be easy to implore you to think of independent businesses, small retailers like Eighteen Rabbit who face big problems in the weeks ahead. Or to consider hospitality businesses, cafes, bars and restaurants, who right now will be trying to work out how to pay this week's wages. I could even take the moral high ground and ask you to consider our suppliers, artisans and entrepreneurs in the developing world who rely on fair trade retailers in the west to give their amazing products a market.
But I think the truth is that no-one knows where we are going, how this will end, or what situation we'll be in once the dust has settled. I am often characterised as a slightly Pollyanna-ish character, and I have to admit there is a part of me which would quite like to see a world where emissions from industry and aviation have fallen, people feel more in touch with their communites, and ideas such as a universal basic income are being seriously considered rather than dismissed out of hand. Equally, I can see storm clouds ahead over drug patents, nations taking an isolationist approach to protecting their citizens, and a spiraling pit of mental health issues.
Fair trade - the concept that people should be treated fairly - ultimately comes from a place of love. It would be nice to think that this current crisis can inspire us to see the world as a place we need to cherish and nurture, to see people around us as fellow human beings rather than foreigners or aliens, and to see wealth and capital as something to be shared as a common treasury rather than hoarded by latter-day dragons. We'll see which way the dice fall.
Stay safe out there! Huge thanks to Rabbit Fan and Boaty Buddy Danette St Onge for the inspired title of this blog.
by Andrew Williams |
July 24, 2019
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It's easy to be down-hearted at the state of the world. No matter what your political views, we live in uncertain times and it can sometimes feel like the evening news is just a round-up of what has gone wrong on any particular day.
Yesterday, the Guardian ran a piece entitles "Is Fair Trade Finished?" and while the findings weren't quite as apocalyptic as the headline might suggest, it's still food for thought (and well worth reading). Too often we think of big corporations as benevolent consumer champions, stocking products based on their ethical credentials, when in fact these organisations are motivated primarily by profit. If we as consumers don't tell them they have got it wrong, they will veer quite quickly to the lowest denominator on price and quality.
Good news is never too far away though. We are big fans of Positive News, the magazine that focusses on the little successes that can often be missed by the 24 hour news cycle. They had celebrity praise from none other than Bill Gates this week, who tweeted his support of the magazine. It's a great read and we have the latest issue available online now!
