Wholesale Explaining what it means.. - Ancient Wisdom - Giftware and Aromatherapy Supplier

Greetings from Sheffield!

Yes it's true I'm here at the beating heart of AW.. in Affinity Park the HQ of AW.

I flew here with Toni (our man in Spain), Malaga to Manchester on Ryanair. I was expecting a lot of stress but it seems no-one wants to go to the UK and therefore there were no queques anywhere.

Even the covid tests in both Spain and Manchester were stress-free, quick and easy.

Last week I was telling you about the epic journey I had from Bali, Indonesia to Malaga, Spain. And Tomas' even more epic journey from Sheffield to Malaga. If you missed it you can read about it here.

o sadly not much time in Spain, but we did have our AW-Artisan Christmas Party.. sorry I mean gathering. Which was actually pretty epic, it was one of the reasons that Tomas was also in Spain. It's actually only our third Christmas of AW-Artisan - the first in the innocent days of December 2019, just before the pandemic. The Spanish company had just been re-born as our previous distributor relationship had broken down. So we started fresh, and despite AW-Artisan immediately having to face the pandemic, and then deal with fire at AW in July later that year, by the Christmas of 2020 it had grown considerably.. by the Christmas of 2021.. we had leapt forward and really made things happen.

I'm really proud of the team and what they have achieved in just three Christmases. A good team with a good heart, hard work and a good leader can make magic happen. And they have achieved much more in a little over two years than the old team did in ten years. I'm really proud of them and jokingly like to call them "My favourite team" - it's a bit of an in-joke at AW..

At the Christmas party, there were lots of heartfelt speeches and toasts.. And so after my speech I asked them to raise a glass and to huge cheers I said.. "To my favourite team!" Everyone was very happy.

But.. yes.. erm of course I can't say that. It's going to upset the other favourite teams.. So just to clarify what I mean.. compared to the old Spanish team.. Toni and his team are definitely my favourites.

MFT!!!

Of course last year, Christmas parties anywhere at AW were off the menu as we dutifully followed the rules (unlike our friends in no.10). This Christmas we are determined to make up for that where possible.

Hence a lovely party in Spain and tomorrow at AW UK is our Christmas gathering.. a 1920's themed happening in a nice hotel.

Sadly in Slovakia our team is suffering from the worst wave of covid yet so things are not happening.. Hopefully we can make it happen in January. Despite the restrictions they are making it happen - our thoughts are with them.

So I had been looking forward to seeing the AW HQ.. the offices have been completed after my last visit.. and I was dying to see the work space we have created for the team (MFT) at Affinity. And I'm not disappointed it's lovely.. a creative zone for marketing and nurturing and a very green zone for customer service.. a chill out room and a collaborative space for meetings. Even more impressive is the now pretty full and buzzing warehouse, the projects at our production unit all coming to fruition soon.. the dropshipping products and team in action.. And despite a difficult year, with a pandemic, supply chain issues and not least the crazy madness of the destructive effects of that thing called Brexit.. Through it all we came through and found a way and made it happen.

And as promised I have to explain the thinking behind our logo revamp and the new look AW that is slowly emerging.. I hope you like it and come to love it..

First of all notice how the Triangle, Circle and Bar are intertwined, linked and dependent on each other.
Then understand that the combined symbol is made up of two ancient alchemy symbols, first the earth symbol ..

Not just the planet earth but the actual earth beneath our feet. The earth that gives forth life as plants grow. It symbolises prosperity, fertility, groundedness & creativity.

Earth that supports and sustains us but must be nurtured and cared for hence.

The circle is symbolic of care and harmony ..
From the earliest of times, the circle has been a symbol of care, harmony and completeness. An unbroken and never ending circle symbolises a commitment of love that is also never ending.

So at Ancient Wisdom we always instinctively felt that our mission is to complete the circle whilst caring for the earth. Hence combining these most ancient elemental symbols.The triangle in the symbol also means the three way link between Artisans - Retailers - Customers - with that circle making it happen. The family businesses in India or Indonesia that make beautiful things, the family businesses that do the important task of retailing and connecting with the actual family that is giving a gift as an act of love (symbolised by the circle). The bar across represents the supply line from the hands of artisan to the homes and hearts of your customers. We are intertwined, linked and dependent on each other.

So you my friends are part of, actually at the heart of, the mission of Ancient Wisdom. Welcome to our world.

Well it's all happening at AW and we want you to be part of this..

Today as I arrived it was Xmas Jumper Day ..

So Seasons Greetings

More news next week from the worlds of AW..

Take care.

David