Greetings from AW HQ Sheffield.
Hope you guys are doing well and getting busy in the run up to Father's Day.
It's another Bank Holiday weekend - hopefully with just enough sunshine to bring out the crowds.
Last week I was telling you about our beautiful showroom (this week open week) full of AW products and my stories.. Almost every product has a personal story behind it. I shared one or two, if you missed it you can catch up here.
This week has been super busy as usual with multiple projects coming to fruition.. but I still managed to get to the showroom to meet some of our lovely customers. It's really nice to chat and hear everyones stories.
Almost everyone I talked to likes to read this newsletter so it felt like meeting old friends. And when you chat you learn.. and I'm all ears.. thankyou guys for the pointers and ideas.
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A big shout-out to Rodrigo, Martina and Sandra who have put so much work into the showroom. And welcomed our friends and customers with open arms.and cups of tea.
We have to make a special mention for Sandra who is the designer behind many of our products, but more particularly the mastermind behind the Hop Hare concept product range. We have a Hop Hare corner of the warehouse, and once folks understand that this is actually special.. and then begin to understand the magic, manifestations and cast of characters woven into the products... you can't get them away. This month Sandra's Hop Hare brand was chosen for the cover of Gift Focus Magazine.. that''s next level! .png) In Other News.. I'd like to welcome local boy James to the AW board of directors. The first such appointment in over 5 years.. (we take these things very slowly). James has worked for AW for just over ten years starting as an order picker / packer and moving to warehouse manager, and then operations manager. He successfully took our AW-Fulfillment business from zero to a million pound business in short order. He has helped to organise the AW warehouses in Spain, Slovakia and even Indonesia.. and so much more. .png) Katka, Tomas and myself welcome today James to join the AW board of directors. It's the next level!
Fun facts about James.. he flies helicopters (up to very high levels) when he has the chance, loves travelling to the USA, hails from Barnsley, can fix anything mechanical with just a glance, a proud Yorkshireman (like me) and last time I checked (ladies) he is still single - and so young - not yet 30. I'm sure you will wish him continued and growing success as he joins the team effort to deliver the best in giftware and services to our customers. For sure he will play a part in taking AW to the next level.
Meanwhile... Lots and lots are back in stock this week.. including (back in fashion) Crystal Balls and Money Cats.. just the tools we need at Ancient Wisdom to take us to the next level!!
The other thing we need is a next level artisan herbal tea.. and you will be happy to know that's also back in stock. Next Level - Helping YOU Think Big! New this week.. organised by Tomas and Raul.. we have the PastPay credit system installed to help you think big and expand this summer. If you are a registered company (sorry sole traders, later we will help you) and thinking-next-level-big yo
A little sad & annoying news.. I mentioned before that Coco (my wife and your agent in China) would be coming to Europe on an epic six week trip, with all her family. Her Mother and Father (first time out of China), Coco's son and wife and George & Elly the two grandchildren. Coco has a Spain ID card but the rest of the family needed passports and visas. So we paid the best visa agent we could find to make sure all our paperwork was correct and in place, lots of work, expense and a group trip to the Spanish consulate in Shanghai. Yesterday the passports came back and all of them had been rejected. No visas. No reason given. It seems so brutal. I can tell you we are one depressed family. Oh well, usually when something bad happens, something good comes..
Next week I will be somewhere different.. see you there.. But some good news.. Ula, who you will remember badly strained her leg on a bouncy castle at our AW garden party two weeks ago.. is back hobbling a little, but bravely back to work. .png) Have a lovely (Next Level) Bank Holiday weekend - hopefully the free shipping will makes it even better!
All the best David |