fair trade

Who is sewing your sequins?

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At Seba Dizajn we know who sewed on our sequins and knitted our hats, we are proud to be supporting Fair Trade producers in Nepal.  We have had quite a lot of customers commenting on our scarves and bags not being made in Croatia. It is hard to keep everyone happy! We are yet to find Croatian made textiles to stock in our shop, but we only opened our store in June and our search for fabulous Croatian made products continues.

My previous job was based in the highlands of Scotland where I managed a small Fair Trade company that sourced, and continues to source, all of its products in Nepal.  Doka and I had talked about stocking only Croatian made goods alongside of the stunning filigree jewellery that he is producing in the store, it was a joint decision to support Nepal and Fair Trade and stock products from Nepal.

Nanu, Pemela & Mango Shobu, Kathmandu November 2009

We stand by our decision and hope that in time there will be growth in awareness of Fair Trade here in Croatia.  I have seen Fair Trade candles in the Kozmo store here but no other ‘Fair Trade’ recognised products – yet…

 

What is your favourite Fair Trade product?

Fabulous Friends & Filigree

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“A friend is one who walks in when others walk out”

-Walter Winchell

I have been contemplating what to write that might appeal to our readers; jewellery or something else?

To date my ‘something else’ posts have been the most popular so I am going to go with another one of those today and maybe try to alternate jewellery:non jewellery posts after this.  Let’s see what happens!

So, I have decided  to write something to thank all our friends who have been so supportive of our endeavours to date, be it a LIKE on our facebook page and feedback on photos there, a jewellery purchase or a voice on the phone/Skype.  Thanks! It means a lot to both Doka and I to know we have the support of our friends and families.

Having recently moved to Croatia to start a new business with my husband and still knowing very little Croatian, I am finding myself spending more time on-line than ever before. The majority of this time has been focused on this blog or our new facebook page, (SebaDizajn) and learning about how I can use social media to promote our business.  Most recently I have opened a Twitter account to help spread the Seba Dizajn word on a new level – you can click on the links at the side of the blog to join us on Twitter or Facebook if you are interested.

I have found a strong and supportive network of on-line friends, many of whom I have not yet met but their help and encouragement warms my heart.  How nice to find people so willing to help when they don’t even know us.

I grew up in New Zealand and although I left home 12 years ago I still have many good friends there, we may not get to see each other but when we do it’s the best thing.  The internet allows some of us to catch up more often than others, yet there are many who I have no regular contact with and that’s ok too.  We will and do meet again and pick up right where we left off, magic!

This is a group of friends from my University years who gathered together in March this year to help us celebrate our recent wedding in Croatia – this is at the NZ version of the celebrations.

I have lived away from NZ for 12 years, although I am not sure how this happened! I left in 1999 for a year or two, with a visa to work in Canada and an onwards ticket to the UK to and a visa to work there for two years.  Now I’m married and living in Croatia! The latter two pieces were not part of the puzzle when I left home – I am not even sure I would have been able to locate Croatia on the map when I left NZ in 1999.

My two years in the UK somehow turned in 10 part time years, managing a Fair Trade business based in the highlands of Scotland where my passion for Fair Trade grew and flourished with the opportunity to travel regularly to Nepal and meet artisans there.

I feel so blessed to have been able to meet so many wonderful people in my travels and know that I now have friends scattered around the globe who mean so much to me. You are constantly in my thoughts, this short piece is dedicated to all of
you.

Thanks for being a part of my life, can’t wait to meet with you again!

Just write…..

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Can I really write a blog about Filigree? Who will read it? Who wants to know about us and our new business here in Korcula?  And what shall I write about today?  What is SEO – Search Engine Optimisation, got that bit but how to achieve it? Oh dear…

So I went back to one of Nikki Pilkington’s first steps in her great 30 Day Blog Challenge.  ‘Just Write’ it said, and get used to the idea of writing.  So here I am, ‘just writing’ – it’s a humid afternoon in Korcula.  Both Adolf and I have had an afternoon swim and are looking forward to a busy evening here at Seba Dizajn… at least we hope we will have a busy evening. 

It’s been a big challenge getting our business open in time for the tourist season here in Croatia, and now it feels like we are still waiting for the season to start.  Our friends with businesses here say that the season is very quiet and all report their sales as down 30-40% which is not ideal.  As newbies Adolf and I can report that business is up 100% – we only opened our store on 1 June. 

After work last night we took a walk by the sea (with a bottle of red wine) and mused over the future.  How will the rest of the season pan out?  Will we find a new location for next year?  Will we be able to start a business in New Zealand (where I am from) in the future? When will we have a home with a kitchen??

So many things to contemplate.  I have great faith in Seba Dizajn and our concept here, 100% unique and handcrafted silver jewellery, made here in our store, what’s not to like? Alongside of our slowly growing collection of stunning Seba jewels we have a small selection of other goods…. We have selected a few fine Croatian made products and have a small selection of Fair Trade products from Nepal.

And for those of you who are reading and not lucky enough to be in Korcula, YES, we do post worldwide.

Thanks again for your interest and support. 

Ruth

Hello world!

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3, 2, 1 – LAUNCH

Brand new blogger reporting in, brand new business to promote and lots of dreams and goals to share.

Our business SEBA Dizajn is located on the island of Korcula, in the south of Croatia.  We are excited to be sharing traditional filigree jewellery skills with customers here and everywhere.   At the same time we are happy to be showcasing the work of other Croatian Artisans and supporting commmunity development in NEPAL through our small Fair Trade range of products.

I have recently joined Nikki Pilkington’s 30 Day Blog Challenge and hope to that blogging skills will improve with her help.  I look forward to sharing our journey with you and would love to hear any feedback on our story.