Mr and Mrs Smith: April 2014

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

MOTHERS DAY GIVE AWAY

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Introducing Wonki ware to Mr & Mrs Smith

Wonki Ware is Fair trade and all hand made ceramics from South Africa

Di Marshall lives in a small town called George along the Garden Route in South Africa where she started a small studio in the town centre about 10 years ago. Purely to keep herself occupied while her children where at school. The family lived on a farm at the time and had to travel quite a distance everyday so Di thought it would be good idea to work in her pottery studio in the morning, collect her children and go back to the farm in the afternoon.

She happily started working and slowly attracted the attention of the local community. Shortly her little studio became a meeting place for other potters and people that enjoyed being creative. About the same time a young Xhosa man named Artwel started arriving every morning looking for work. Di didn't have much money at this stage to pay him, but he was willing to do anything, so she started teaching him about clay. Di devised a method of making pottery that Artwel could duplicate from her shapes that she had originally created. To their delight he started producing very sensitively worked platters and bowls. They began developing patterns that were relatively easy and simple to reproduce but at the same capturing a sensitivity in pattern and design.

Another person that became invaluable to the team walked into the studio one day and painted a plate and Di knew she had to have her join their team. Les, Artwel and Di became a formidable pottery team. Their energy and enthusiasm had people from all over the country popping into buy their pottery.

The word had spread from Cape Town to Johannesburg and before long they had orders that they could not keep up with. At about this time Janice joined their team and became their first agent and before long they had their pottery showcased in some on the most prestigious stores in South Africa.

Di and her team have now been in operation for about 10 years and are presently employing 40 people from disadvantaged backgrounds. They are all now skilled employers and are valuable, contributing members in their communities. Their skilled potters are now training new comers in the art of making Wonki Ware and Di feel confident that this is being achieved successfully. It is with pleasure and pride Di can hand over this side of the business to her employees.

Wonki Ware is a product that got developed purely by chance. It was born from a collective energy of 3 people whose excitement and enthusiasm were boundless. It still amazes Di today what they unintentionally created.

The vibrant, warm spirit of Africa is clearly visible in the Wonki Ware pottery and Di thank their potters and South Africans for their enthusiasm and love for what they do.

Irish Green story || Available in store

Wonki Dinner Plate

XL Oval Serving plate

Large Salad Bowl

XL Deep serving plate

Black ink || Available in store

Organic pasta bowl

Organic Dinner plate

XL cake plate

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Introducing L'ascari hand crafted candles

Every time you buy a 1CANDLE.1CAN. marked candle, L’ASCARI will buy a can of food to help feed pensioners, students, low-income earners, people with mental illnesses and the homeless. Simple.

Lighting up your life with one or more of the L’ASCARI luxury candle range also adds a little light to the life of someone less fortunate.

(Currently available on the large candle range).

Handmade in Australia.

L’ASCARI is Australia’s premiere luxury candle brand.

L’ASCARI (lah-skah-ree) -An ancient word dating back to the Eleventh Century symbolising courage, honour, and nobility.

Its aim is to create products with a mix of a fresh look and an old past steeped in tradition- to create an item which will not get lost among the thousands of designer products already on the market.

L’ASCARI founder Luca Chiaravalle’s inspiration comes from architecture, vintage items, creative people, quirky objects and the every day.

L’ASCARI candles are made using traditional artisan methods by hand pouring the wax and hand blending the perfumes.

The consistency of the fragrance and soy wax used in L’ASCARI candles allows for a stronger and purer scent throw. This creates exceptional candles with the desired scent for any environment with a safe and clean burn.

All wicks used in L’ASCARI candles are twisted cotton, made from all natural fibers and contain no lead or other harmful metals. Only environmentally friendly earth grown soybeans are used in every candle.

The soy wax used in L’ASCARI candles is:

-biodegradable and free from toxic materials, pesticides and herbicides.

-contains no genetically modified materials and not tested on animals.

-manufactured using pure soy beans and contains no petroleum (paraffin waxes).

L’ASCARI candles are non toxic and non carcinogenic. No fillers have been used in any part of the candle to save on cost.

MANCANDLE is for every man. MANCANDLES allow any man to be able to enhance his space be it at work or at home by being able to customize the scent of his environment with one or a combination of 6 sophisticated fragrances. Putting the finishing touch to a room is no longer left to just the female. MANCANDLE fragrances smell amazing with a 27-30 hour burn time and truly exceptional scent throw. Beautifully presented in a glass amber jar (height 6.5cm) with screw top lid and packaged in a rigid sliding box. All L’ASCARI candles use pure soy wax and

L'ASCARI Bath Salts are the perfect aromatic soak and are a wonderful means of relaxation whilst conditioning and purifying the skin. They are ideal for body soak, feet, bath and spa treatments. Made in Australia using organic ingredients and essential oils. Paraben free. Preservative free. Sulphate free. Petroleum free. Not tested on animals. Nil fragrance or color additives.

1CANDLE.1CAN. Each candle is 220g (7.76oz) with a 50 hour burn time. Recognized internationally as some of the world’s best packaging the inspiration for creating this artisan range comes from the photograph depicted on the glass of the candle. It is the home of our ancestors located in Fontecchio, a tiny village in central Italy where all things were made by hand. The range emphasizes a fresh look with an old past.

MEDITERRANEAN FIG

tuscan figs and the freshness of fig leaves create an earthy base with sweet top notes.

FRANGIPANI

gentle frangipani blended with a hint of rose.

GARDENIA

the softness of tropical gardenia creates the natural aroma found in the sweet and green flower.

VANILLA

traditional soft vanilla with a subtle touch of cream.

The L'ASCARI MMX range is named to commemorate the year L’ASCARI was founded in 2010 (MMX in Roman numerals). The finest carefully selected botanical oils and fragrance oils are combined to create this beautiful selection of fruit and floral aromas. Packaged in a craft paper sliding box with the signature L’ASCARI wrap around text. Each candle has a forty hour burn time and as with all L’ASCARI candles uses twisted cotton wicks and environmentally friendly earth grown soybeans. 150g (5.29oz)