Greetings from Ubud, Bali
But by the time you read this we will be on a different Indonesian island..one I have never been to.. I'll tell you what happens next week.
It's hot there right? Very hot.. hope you are managing to enjoy the heat responsibly. Here in Indonesia close to the equator it is very pleasant weather not too hot never too cold. For sure it's hotter there.
Last week I was telling you about our trip to East Java to an artisan village where almost everyone is involved in making beautiful marble and stone items. If you missed it you can catch up here.
From the stone craft village in East Java we drove west to the city of Solo. Solo has it's own distinct culture and style it's famous for textiles. Bondan told us that a massive factory here produces army clothes and supplies to the Americans, the Russians and the Ukraine Armies. It's famous for being the home town of the much loved Indonesian president Jokowi and the most hated Bali bomber: Known as the smiling terrorist.
Actually Jokowi and Solo are nick names, they like nick names in Indonesia.. Jokowi real name is Joko Widodo and Solo's is Surakarta City.
The Solo people are the happiest and friendliest people in the world, we went to the wholesale textile market in the town centre just to see what happens. We arrived a little too early before everywhere had opened up and witnessed the staff arriving, laughing and joking - it was like a party. Batik fabrics are famous here and you can buy batik shirts in the wholesale market for £2 or £3 for decent quantities. We had an idea we might be able to source Spa Robes here.. but most of the designs were for the Indonesia market. Bondhan had a friend from university that had started a textile business - we went to see.
Solo wholesale market.
Interestingly they use different grades of material and different types, the boss showed us a viscus (or rayon) material.. made from bamboo he told us. Soft and silky to touch.
Bondan's idea is that we can make our own pattern design unique to AW and then send it to the stitching factory to produce our own Spa robes and matching products.
From Solo we travelled into the countryside and deep into the teak forest to visit a village producing teak handicrafts and furniture.. I have been here before and we already had some products in development we wanted to order.
After a day with the teak folk we headed back to Solo and from the airport there Ringo, Coco and me came back to Bali. We left Bondan there to continue with the projects, plus he will visit his home town which is close.
So you can see we have been quite busy.
Next week we are officially on holiday (kind of).. but I will update you.
Meanwhile back in the UK - despite the heat - we have been very busy also.. lots of great stock arriving all the fast selling stuff you want right now.
Things that seem to be on fire right now.. Incense items including back-flow burners.. Aromatherapy - Essential Oils are flying. Gemstone Bangles.. we can't ship enough..
Also, AW-Aromatics - our soap and aromatics factory has opened up to supply you White Label (your own brand) - and is all a buzz with activity. We are in the midst of expanding production capacity moving to a new bigger place. So it's all go.. Have you thought about designing your own brand? A product of your own.. have you got a new take on a product? A creative idea.. Like that girl in the news who thought that a CBD vodka might be a good idea.. she made it with an online company (just like AW-Aromatics) and sold the brand for several million pounds within a year.
So register with AW-Aromatics.com - let your creative ideas flow.. You can start small with white label items - you add your own labels - when you are ready to go big.. we can contract pack for you.
Who knows where your adventure might take you... it's a better bet than a lottery ticket.. and much more fun.
Take care.. stay cool if you can..