Wholesale David's AW News: I was hooked. - Ancient Wisdom

Greetings from La Cala, Mijas

Today I'm working from home. Our house is on the hills, above the town of La Cala not far from Marbella. I'm writing this newsletter, while Coco is busy connecting with suppliers in China and organising the next container shipment.

Last week I was telling you how busy we were unloading containers, if you missed it you can read about it here.

The clocks go back this weekend - you probably know that, but here in Spain for the last time. They tell me the clocks will go back and then stay that way in Spain. The time for switching times has passed, they say.

It's almost Halloween weekend..the good old Bonfire night (in the UK) and a then the time when everyone suddenly realises - OMG it's almost Christmas - I need to get those presents!

But you probably know that too..

I'm so happy to see the Indian shipment of Gemstone trees finally arriving... regular readers will remember our epic Nepal and India trip early this year. Tomas, Bryant and myself spent more than a month visiting suppliers and sourcing our greatest and best selection of Indian and Nepal products ever. Some are yet to be delivered.. because artisan production is always slower than promised but better late than never..

We have a long standing supplier - actually one of the first Indian gemstone suppliers we had.. I originally worked with Hadil the father, who now has moved to America to be with his family, but makes regular trips back to India.

I remember maybe 15 years ago going to visit Hadil and his family in Khambhat on the Arabian sea. The nearest airport was Ahmedabad, and Hadil picked us up in his rugged bone rattling Bolero jeep. And we drove down Khambhat to visit their factory and workshops. It was pretty basic in those days, Hadil had a big stick behind his seat, which he explained was to beat off any bandits that might try to rob us.

The town was a maze of narrow streets, with artisans working in little workshops each producing a particular speciality. It was one of my first visits to an off the track part of India, and I was hooked. Been travelling as often as possible ever since..

One of Khambhat's most celebrated ancient exports is its agate beads.. It is believed that the art of crafting agate beads in Khambhat dates back to at least the 4th century. Even Marco Polo came here to trade. Khambhat's artisans have perfected the skill of cutting and polishing agate these days especially for esoteric products. Perfect for Ancient Wisdom.

Ancient Cambay now known as Khambhat.

The town centre these days.

Selecting Gemstone trees.

This picture was after an epic six hour meeting with Hadil on the right.. and the son in the middle.

The son in-law now runs the business with renewed passion and lots of ideas. He took the short flight with his suitcase of samples to meet us at our mini base in South Goa.

Tomas and Bryant and I spent a happy couple of days checking out a huge selection of Khambhat wonders, and placing an order big enough to keep a decent number of artisans busy all year.

So check out the new gemstone items below.. especially the mini gemstone tree's.. your customers will be Hooked.. I'm sure they are a winner.

But there are many more esoteric and gemstone items from India - we aim to be your best supplier of this kind of thing.

Tomas is still in Bali - working with the AW-Advantage team and by all accounts making huge progress.. Check it out here if you need marketing superpowers..

Meanwhile.. It's all happening.

Containers of stock arriving, goods being shipped as quickly as we can..

We are working on a big surprise.. because it's AW's birthday coming soon.. stand by for important news.

Have a wonderful Halloween weekend.. more news next week.

David