Christmas sale and at last new stock

The four weeks leading up to Christmas is every retail business' most crucial time of year. Sales soar as people spend their hard earned money on gifts. As we have experienced people desperately refrain from buying for themselves in the preceeding months in order to afford that meaningful present; something they know will be appreciated and remembered. This goodwill I think is commendable, it shows that love does still triumph over materialism.

The Teapot Tree's crucial time of year became The Teapot Tree's most frustrating time of year. We had been invited to the party, due to our hard work in the preceeding months but at the last minute could not attend because the customs officers in Bolivia unintentionally stripped us naked, paralising us from the kneck down. Our orders, due to arrive within three weeks, did not. Three weeks became five, five became nine and we arrived with our bottle of wine as everyone else at the party was sneaking off home with the receptionist.

Our inbox is full of disapointed emails from would-be customers, our storage full of beautiful but forgotten and unloved bags. I have consoled them with cheerful stories of potential future owners. I have tried to instill the virtues of patience but I know deep down they have missed out on that smile; that Christmas grin, as the present is revealed from crisp wrapping paper; that unforgettable surprise smile; that 'thank you for loving me' smile.

This is the story behind 'The Teapot Tree's' first ever sale. It is not a desperate attempt to rid ourselves of unwanted stock; but an attempt to brighten the lives of the unpopular kids who never got invited to the party until it was too late. So don't be fooled by that mind numbing hangover, the most interesting people were never the most popular in school!  

A busy week - new markets, new contacts, new opportunities

Once again we feel lucky to have one big problem. Keeping up with demand.

Our new large briefcases are all gone along with 8 other styles of bag. The waiting list for the satchels and briefcases are growing by the day and Christmas shopping has most definately begun.

Our first day in Brixton yesterday at the Brixton Experience was a great day. Lots of music, Samba dancers and drummers, lovely food and a showcase of Brixtons businesses amid a typical buzzing Brixton atmosphere. The last of our Sisal bags were snapped up and a lot of shoppers were out getting their Christmas presents early. We plan to go back on December the 10th when we hopefully have new stock in.

Where the Bags Come From

  


Our six months in Latin America saw us meet some incredible people. These people are where our motivation comes from.

We found hand-crafted items; extremely well made with quality materials. The only thing these people were lacking was a knowledge of style. I'm wrong in saying style because obviously they had their own style but the products, mostly I'm talking about leather bags, were made for tourists. They adapted traditional designs to suit the foreign traveller. The problem was though that our friends had very little knowledge of what the foreigner liked or disliked and had sadly invested deeply into the tackiest of tack. They were feeling their way around in the dark, making hundreds of bags, hoping that some at least would be liked.

So 'The Teapot Tree' was founded on the craftmanship and skill of a handful of astisans. How it was developed into a business was based on the realisation of the difficult lives these new friends of ours found themselves in. To us they deserved something more in life. To be rewarded for the skill and hard work and dedication. So we were in a position to share our knowledge and ideas and open up a much larger market. Several months of cutting shapes out of sheets of skins, saw us return to the UK with a collection of 11 never seen before bags.

Several months on and we now have a range of 17 bags and a problem of trying to keep up with demand. Every one of our bags is a unique piece (no two bags are the same). The excellent quality and the originality of the designs seems to stand out to shoppers who look for unique items that are also affordable. People are genuinely surprised at the affordability of our somewhat exclusive bags which, price wise, are in line with the mass produced factory bags on the high street.

We are determined to keep our business low scale production. Although, our biggest problem of keeping up with demand, is good for our suppliers. The more work they receive the more people they can afford to employ. The lack of employment in Bolivia is a huge problem and any little difference we can make backs up the reasons for starting the business in the first place. It improves our friends standards of living and gives employment to a handful of otherwise destitute people.

Although the majority of our customers are delighted by the value for money of our products, we do sympathise with those who cannot afford our more expensive bags. We regret that we cannot drop the prices as if we were to charge the consumer less then we would have to pay our suppliers less, which would then create a situation which the business was setup to prevent - slave labour. We pay our suppliers well and although we are not fair trade registered we adhere to our own morals and philosophies about good work practices, comfortable in the fact that by buying one of our products, you are certainly improving another human beings quality of life.

We do not hail from the glamorous world of design studios and fashion shows but from the warmth of ordinary people's living rooms and work shops. We are delighted we can compete with the in-trends and must-haves. It just shows that not all people are void of independant thought and taste, and most importantly do still have a conscience.

At last new leather bags in stock

It was like Christmas came early, as the order we started to design and plan approximately 3 months ago arrived yesterday. The frustration of not having a large selection of bags to sell is finally over. I have taken a few quick photos for everyone to see, what I think, are some really beautiful bags. I will be selling them tomorrow, Sunday the 30th, in Spitalfields and we will have them up on the site to buy from next week.

The large briefcases are stunning and from the amount of orders we received before it had even arrived, we expect it to sell out fast.

It's a beautiful Autumn day and I'm off out to play with the leaves. 

Market day in SOAS

The Teapot Tree was invited to attend a craft market at the School of Oriental and African Studies so we gladly accepted and spent the day amongst the international students, making new friends, contacts and quite a few new happy customers. Even though our stock was very low we received a wonderful reception. Three delighted customers took away our last three large briefcases and many others fought over the sisal bags. We are delighted with the feedback on the quality and style of the african bags so we will endeavour to design and get more made.

We do have a handful left on the website http://www.theteapottree.co.uk/ but when these are gone it will be another 6 weeks before they are available again. We look forward to being back at SOAS next Wednesday the 2nd November with a range of brand new stock.

Sisal Bags

The Kenyan bags went down very well in the market this week. Some people had never seen them before and others were delighted to see the Kiondo in London and enjoyed telling me about their homeland. As the stock of the leather bags is so low this week, the sisal bags are doing great filling the gap but now I will have the difficult decision of which to sell when stock from Bolivia arrives. Its a nice choice to have though. Here are a few photos of the new bags and you can see the rest on the website http://www.theteapottree.co.uk/. If you are interested in buying one please get in touch as soon as possible while I still have them in stock

Basket Bags

Over the past two months we have been working on getting a range of baskets designed and made. We have been lucky enough to have had the help of our good friend Steve who visits east Africa several times a year and a colleague of his who has contacts in the basket making world in Zanzibar. We have begun working with three basket making communities, taking already existing designs and adjusting them to suit our taste and style.

The first to arrive are the Sisal Baskets, also commonly known as Kiondo in Kenya. The Kiondo is a hand-woven handbag/basket made from sisal (a natural fibre grown in Kenya) with a leather trimming around the top and handle. It is indigenous to the Kikuyu and Kamba tribes of Kenya. Sometimes it’s finished with small beads and shells but we have opted for simpler styles without.

Traditionally, they were used to hold staple foods like beans and maize; and in more recent times, the bags have evolved into a trendy fashion accessory. Unfortunately, the influx of cheap goods from China (most notably the environmentally unfriendly plastic bag), has meant that their use is now in dramatic decline.

Weaving begins by stripping the Sisal plant's outer layers, leaving the plant still able to grow. The weaver dries the threads from the pale colored layers for a day and then boils them with water and dye to set the bag's colours. It takes between two to three weeks to complete a bag, and so most weave when they have time in between looking after their households. I cannot claim to wear one no matter how modern of a man I am; but I do think that the subtle colours provide a lovely natural feel.

We plan to keep working on the styles of these basket bags along with the help of our friends from Kikuyu and Kamba. We have chosen not to sell several of the styles from the first order as there are a few small adjustments to make but the rest of the batch are brilliant and full of beautifully made pieces. The only problem being that we didn't order enough.

I promise to have them up on the website within a few days. http://www.theteapottree.co.uk/