12 sites for mindful presents for the holidays

The holiday season is known for spending money. Often on gifts that end up being not wanted.

To make your choice this year a bit easier, I would like to point out a few sites for gifts that are:

• original and creative
• ethnic and ethical
• ecological
• mindful and for a good cause 

Survival International:

The movement for tribal people. Survival is the only organization working for tribal peoples’ rights worldwide.

Their shop offers cards, t-shirts stationary, jewelery, books, etc

Arbre a bulles

The bubble tree offers organic, fair trade, recycled gifts often manufactured by locals. (site in French)

Deco Ethnique

Ethnic and modern African fair trade decoration.

This Fair Earth

This Fair Earth believes that handmade, ethical products can be more desirable, more individual and higher quality than their mass-produced counterparts. This Fair Earth has a fantastic range of ethical home ware and ethical jewelery. The home ware includes striking, fair trade and environmentally-friendly photo albums, photo frames, journals and candles. The beautiful range of jewelery is either fairly traded from small producers in developing nations or hand made closer to home in the UK.

Daisy Daisy

If you are looking for unusual gift ideas then quirky shop Daisy Daisy is just the place. The shop is bursting with fabulous fair trade goodies including handmade jewelery and accessories, hand painted ceramics, wooden toys, fair trade organic cotton kids clothes, handmade homewares and organic skin care. Daisy Daisy is proud to be a member of the British Association for Fair Trade Shops. 

Tree2mydoor

Tree2mydoor is a unique gift company that specialises in sending personalised trees as gifts to people all over the UK and Ireland. They have created special tree gift packs for newborn baby gifts, green wedding gifts and 4th, 5th and 25th wedding anniversary gifts. Tree gifts range from native UK tree species to garden fruit trees and indoor citrus trees. 

Wishcraft

Wishcraft has carefully selected the most unusual and beautifully handcrafted gift ideas from around the world. Every striking piece in Wishcraft’s collection is ethically sourced and individually created by master artisans. They offer a huge range of beautiful handcrafts and fashion accessories created under fair trade conditions. Their collection includes contemporary silk bags, traditional hand embroidered soft furnishings and colourful children’s items. 

Nkuku

Nkuku specialise in eco friendly, fair trade gifts and home accessories. They combine contemporary designs with age old techniques, natural materials and sustainable methods of production. Nkuku is socially responsible and is built on the principles of fair trade and equal opportunity. They are a member of WFTO (World Fair Trade Organisation) and BAFTS.

Fair Trade Store

THE FAIR TRADE STORE  is an Online Shop bringing you unique, handmade Fair Trade products from around the developing world in an easy, convenient and secure way. Select from a wide range of Fair Trade Gifts including Fair Trade Jewellery, Bags and Recycled Fashion Accessories.

Fairwind is about gifts and fair trade. They pride themselves on great customer service and on being kind to the planet. They offer a high quality range of the most desirable fair trade gifts from across the globe, safe in the knowledge that nobody in the third world is being disadvantaged, and the environment is not being harmed.

Pure Design

Visit Pure Design's online gallery and be amazed by their range of beautiful designer eco accessories for you and your home. Made in the UK by award-winning designers, their range of organic, recycled and sustainable accessories are all available to order online. They also offer a consultancy and commissioning service; whether you are decorating a new home or simply looking for a centre piece to refresh a room or outfit, let Pure Design help you find an exclusive design piece just for you. 

The Travelling Souk

The Travelling Souk was set up in 2003 by Georgiana Grimston and Anna Craven. Inspired by a trip to the magical souks & markets of Marrakesh, Georgiana realised there was an opportunity to re-create them in the heart of British homes and raise money for charity. Each Travelling Souk event would become a unique private sale bringing together small businesses selling unique and exotic wares. 

If you have kids, you might want to think about making some gifts yourself. It's guaranteed family fun and an original gift.

If all this is still too much for you, you can always decide to buy nothing this Christmas. 

.

Read more...

How to be unfriendly and have the best relationship with your mother

I live in a country where shop people are not particularly nice.

Let me describe a likely shop visit:

You enter a shop (lets say shoes) saying 'Bonjour' and the sales person either ignores you, looks at you scornfully for having interrupted her/his... reading, chatting with another sales person, phone conversation with her/his mother, nail filing/whatever the male (non gay) equivalent of that is..., or responds with a neutral, not at all engaging 'Bonjour Madame'.

Fine, I say to myself, I didn't come here to discuss the weather or my life, so I'm quite glad to be left alone to browse.

Trouble is, I found a pair of shoes that I would like to try in my size. I look up and the sales person is yet again ignoring me. I demonstratively clear my throat, 'hem hem'. Nothing.

I take the shoe and walk up to the counter. The reading/phone conversation/nail filing blissfully continues. 

I put the shoe on the counter with a slightly annoyed 'clink' (yup, high heels...) and the sales person looks up astonished, like she/he is seeing me for the first time. 

'Oui Madame?' she/he asks.

I'm thinking 'Do I need to draw her/him a picture?' but quietly ask 'Could I try this one in size 41 please?' (yes, I have big feet - unlike Barbie who I've read would topple over if she where a real life babe).

The sales person takes my shoe and vanishes in the back of the store while I sit down on one of those square, fake leather pouf things (not a poof! - a broad, backless, cushionlike seat).

After quite some time she/he comes back with a box and puts it down next to me to return to the counter. I try on the shoe, left, right, walk around a bit, admire my calves in high heels, decide the take the pair, put them nicely back into the box and take them to the counter again.

The sales person scans the barcode, gets my credit card, hands me the ticket and puts the box in a bag which she/he he hands me. Not a single word (unless I forget to enter my pincode in time, in which case she/he says loudly 'votre code s'il vous plaît!').

I leave the shop a happy owner of sexy high heeled shoes but flabbergasted at the treatment received.

Now, I am not a fan of the American opposite either, where they great you with a huge, white smile and yank out the 'Hi, how are you today?' at anyone who even slightly attempts to cross the entrance to their shop, but couldn't care less if you dropped dead right there and then - come to think of it, they possibly do mind because they'd definitely not make employee of the month if that happened on their shift.

But the real, honest and friendly welcome and care in shops does exist elsewhere (like Belgium, our neighboring country, for example - even in Germany, glaube es oder nicht...).

But in wealthy little Luxembourg, sales people probably don't have to sell that hard, or be nice for that matter. 

Because the money is there and whether they are nice or not, a woman needs a shoe when a woman needs a shoe...

Come to think of that then... Luxembourg probably has shop people that are well read (at least in the category of Shopaholic novels) and have the most nicely filed nails and best relationships with their mothers.

Read more...