Hi ,

Greetings from Delhi, India

I'm in the worlds most polluted city..

I arrived from Kuala Lumpa on an evening flight, arriving around 10pm, as we came into land I could see the city below. Draped in a gossamer blanket of mist, the car headlights piercing it the occasional high building rising out of it. That's pretty I thought, then realised that the mystical mist is just the city fug, the dirty soup that you live with in Delhi. Welcome to India.

Last week I was telling you about Yiwu in China, in the aftermath of Chinese New Year, and why you don't need to panic (too much) over Brexit. You can read it here.

Actually, as I exited the terminal looking for my name on the arrival boards of the line of waiting drivers, I had an unexpected surprise. Mr Chatterjee's bright and smiling face... he had made the hour long journey from Greater Noida personally to meet and pick me up. Mr Chatterjee is our long standing supplier of jute and cotton products, and also our India agent.
India is a country you can love and hate all at the same time. It's all extremes of beauty and ugly, gentle kindness and brutal bullying, ancient mystical wisdom and deluded religious madness.

So I'm here for the Spring Trade Show, now India knows how to organise a trade show. They actually have the best five star hotels in the world in India, period. You cannot beat India for perfect hotels.. and the same people must organise the trade shows these days. Everything is laid on for the buyer, film crews follow you around, welcome entertainment, free lunches and buyers lounges to relax in. Good no?
No.. it's not good. The problem is most of these stands are run by marketing companies, they don't really make the stuff. Sure they add value by innovation and great designs.. but they also get carried into a fantasy world of what price to charge.
So I fire up the VPN on my mobile, this gives me google like I'm in the UK.. open up Amazon UK - search for the product I'm interested in. In some cases, I can buy cheaper in the UK then the trade show here. So it's actually hard work.. so I tend to meet the companies where we already have a good relationship. In any event, I need to know we are dealing with actual producers.. we need to know those companies are treating their workers and contractors well because India is a country still riddled with human exploitation. To do that you have to get beyond the trade show you gotta go to real India.

One useful thing about the trade show is that you can see the trends in action. Round bags.. everywhere round bags.. this follows the rattan round bag craze from Bali.. actually made on the island of Lombok these bags became Instagram-cool and container loads were being shipped to America. Designers started to make round bags in lots of natural materials.. in this trade show everyone is at it. I picked up a bag made from jute and cotton on one stand.. how much? Six dollars..SIX DOLLARS!! I try to be polite.. but we have our own bags on sale this week in the UK from £3.95..
Check out the bags below.

It's the last day of the show.. I need to get along and finalise some deals, I'm getting Whatsapp messages from 6am.. come to my stand, we can get close to your target price..
Tomorrow Mr Chatterjee and I will go and visit some factories in Delhi, later will go down to Kolkatta - I'll give you an update next week.

Take care have a great weekend.

David

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A playful Round Jute Bag from sustainable Indian jute and cotton exclusively designed for Ancient Wisdom, are truly unique, handmade ethical bags.

Cotton bags are fast becoming one of our best sellers, they are ideal to use for campaign, events, farm shops and grocery stores.

Glass Terrarium Bowls. Glass Terrariums make the perfect home for your plants, fairy lights or even candles, also great for wedding decorations or as mother's day gift.

Perfect to house favourite succulents, air plants or even fake plants, they are a great way to show off favourite plants and make a wonderful addition to any home. The stylish geometric design also adds a touch fun to any room.

Wholesale Zip Pouches. They are handmade in India and they will make an excellent travelling companion for your customers, also could be ideal as a gift pouch. Sold in pack of 10, you could retail at £3 each giving you a health margin profit

Cotton bags are fast becoming one of our best sellers, they are ideal to use for campaign, events, farm shops and grocery stores. Also, these bags have a perfect print area for promotional purposes,

Lava Stone Jewellery is the next big thing. The dark, porous beads made from lava stone have become a bit of a fashion trend over the last few years, but the benefits don’t stop at adding a little dimension to your bracelet stack.

Chose from six beautiful unisex designs with many different gemstones. Each pendant is made with 15mm gemstones, large and small metal claw and comes with lovely brown or black waxed cord. Comes packed individually in a nice header-card.

Wholesale flat Pack Gift Boxes do not require glue, making it easier and quicker to fold. They are supplied flat packed and die cut to fold together to form the box.