First of all, congrats to the US of A for voting for change. I was delighted to finally hear it confirmed last night that Biden/Harris won the election. No gloating and sneering necessary, the last four years have been divisive enough in the US. And yes, I can see that even though I do *not* live in the US. Here’s hoping that the new team will succeed in reuniting their populace to a degree that allows democracy to regenerate, and that gives maximum freedom to *all* people.
Ok, let me lighten up the mood now. The scenario: I am currently doing a lot of shopping online – both for Xmas and my son’s birthday in early December, as well as the home-made advent calendar I create each year for both my kids, *and* the traditional 6th of December “Nikolaus” gifts. I’m trying to find small and inexpensive, yet original gifts, and one thing I came across were these personalised tubs of Haribo sugar gums… They have various templates which you can personalise with a photo and a message from “girlpower”, via “best dad” to “many thanks”. They print the label and stick it onto the lid of the tub. The gums come in all kinds of varieties: gummibears, cola bottles, sweet cherries, what have you. They also do peaches (see picture right). 🍑 *um* And then this happened.
*Mann des Jahres = man of the year
Sorry. I just couldn’t help it… (Just so you know: I didn’t order this tub. I don’t like gummi peaches. I prefer real peaches. *coughs*)
*huh*????
Anyway…
Small Business Shout-out of the Day
I can’t wait to receive my shipment from another Dublin small business that I ordered the other day. In fact, just now, while looking at JamArtFactory‘s site to copy the link, I placed another order for items 😱. Their stuff is just too cool. They mainly sell art prints by local artists, but they also have some other items such as jewelry, laser cuts, ceramics etc.
Sorry, my pictures are Dublin-centric, but JamArtFactory do a lot of artwork that is not particularly Irish but simply cool… Anyway, they represent local artists, so I am happy to have ordered some pieces from them to support the art scene in Ireland. And to give to various family and friends this Christmas…
Happy Sunday all, and do let me know of *your* local shops that *you* are supporting. If I like what I see, I’ll shout them out 📣
Guylty Pleasure 
It’s wonderful news about the US election and I am still walking on sunshine. Although RA’s peaches aren’t my favourite feature, the HRAibo box is hilarious!
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Whot? The peaches are not your favourite feature? But certainly among the top three? Nose? Lashes? Raspberries? Peaches?
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Rasberries? LOL What are raspberries, apart from a fruit?
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Also known as nipples 😉
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Oh yes! No, no fruity bits are in my top 10, none at all 🍌
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LOL – banana… The 🍆 comes to mind… *oops*
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Ha ha YES! Not to mention plums … What a fruit salad we have!
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LOL, better than a fruit cake!
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Sorry posted too soon. My top three favourite RA features are eyes, bone structure and height. I’ve never been mad about men’s bums!
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Well, those will definitely make it into my top 10, too 😉
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as for small business support: there is “Waldviertler” shoes from – who would have guessed – the Waldviertel region in Austria.
https://gea-waldviertler.at/shop/schuhe?season_category=82
the craft of shoe making was almost becoming “extinct” in Austria with factories outsourcing their production to countries with cheap wages etc. and the founder of “Waldviertler” Heini Staudinger – who is a very down to earth, charismatic and humble guy (“ein Richtiges Original und ein guter Kerl” as you say in Austria) started out with an almost hopeless case and managed to revive this shoefactory about 2 decades ago and it has been going quite well since. but they are now struggling a lot because of covid19: their typical buyers are people who prefer not to buy online.
The shoes are super comfortable and durable and good for your feet (wide toe box etc). I have one pair since 12 years which I used for almost everything and one newer pair for the office. the old ones got a “10.000 miles service” last year (new sole, reinforce some of the stitching etc) – and I like it very much that they offer this because most other consumer goods are not meant to be repairable.
with good leather care products you can also make them waterproof for “Ireland weather” – tested it when I was cross country riding in Ireland 😉 including wading through a shallow stream.
the founder of the company repeatedly has stated that economics can’t just be the striving for growth regardless the price a society has to pay. their advertising brochures have a philosophical text or poetry and/or artwork on every second page. they were pioneering the Austrian crowd funding legislation because of their reluctance to use money from the banking System for fitting their factory with solar power. – what’s not to like? 😉😁
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Oh, thanks for the recommendation, Anja. I had a look at the site and I really love the chunky, comfy look of the boots. It sounds as if they are well-worth the price if you have had yours for 12 years. Did you order them online or buy them in a shop? I can see why the company might be struggling now – buying shoes online seems risky because you buy without trying. Unless you have had a pair before. – I very much like the sustainability ethos that they are following, too.
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I bought my first pair in a shop but once I knew which size fits, I bought the second pair via their fleamarket forum from someone who only wore the boots for 3 times – so they still looked brand new but were about half the price – yey! 😁
and yes, that is exactly why they are struggling – online shopping for shoes is just not so easy. and also that the shoes last practically forever – in marketing terms that’s bad for business, but of course that’s Waldviertler’s main ethics.
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Ooh, that Haribo personalized tub looks fun for my kids for Christmas. I will look into it. 🙂
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I would’ve loved to buy one of those for my kids. Alas, neither of them likes these fruit gum sweets 😔
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Mine do, so it seems perfect! 🙂
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