Free Post from www.naturallysimple.co.uk

Just to let everyone know that for December we will be posting all items out first class at no extra charge so you will get your items before Christmas. That's right - FREE 1st Class Post on all gifts from www.naturallysimple.co.uk for everyone in Mainland UK

Handmade and Fairtrade Babies First Teddy

We have a great new range of cuddly toys which we are sure will sell quickly. They are from Dowman Imports Ltd and are designed and made with the latest techniques and materials available while offering value for money.

Safety

All Dowman soft toys are handmade using the highest materials and conform to all of the European Safety Standards EN71 BS5665. Our Nursery Toys are safe for babies first teddy and make an excellent addition to any nursery. All our other teddies are suitable for ages 36 months and older.

About Dowman

Dowman do not use agents for their items and communicate directly with the factories in the Far East. Dowman have just built a new manufacturing plant in Shanghai. The factory is purpose built for the manufacture of soft toys. The manufacturing area is divided into sections for the preparation of materials, sewing, eye and accessory fixing, stuffing, spraying, quality control and finally packing for transit.

Ethical and Fair Trade Policy of Dowman Imports Ltd

Dowman believe and operate a strict ethical policy and believe their own built factory surpasses their high standards. Conditions for the staff are excellent with dormitories and shower rooms, well equipped kitchen and eating area with televisions. The employees also have a reading room, game and leisure room and a badminton court.

Please have a look at www.naturallysimple.co.uk and also get free post and packing.

Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas Gifts from Naturally Simple Ltd

It is that time of year again when we all start thinking of Christmas and what presents to buy everyone. We would all like to buy everyone something different but not having to spend a great deal to achieve this. We all like value for money and if you come to our website www.naturallysimple.co.uk you will find great value, great communication and that personal attention you need when you want to ask questions or need something a bit different. We are an online only gift shop and can give you the full attention you need and expect from a good family run business.

You can avoid the stress of catching the bus or parking the car and then the crowds and having to queue in the High Street shops. You certainly will not have to go out shopping on those cold, windy autumn days if you shop on the internet.

We sell gifts for every member of the family. We have handmade soft toys and ragdolls for babies and younger children, handmade and fair-trade board games and puzzles for dad. For mum and the ladies in your life we have handmade soaps to fair-trade and handmade jewellery.

All of our gifts are one or more of the following:

• Fair trade
• Handmade
• Organic
• Recycled

All our gifts are reasonably priced and every item on the website is packaged and posted out at no cost to you if you live in Mainland UK. If you would like you items recorded you can choose the option at checkout and pay extra (72p) for the parcel. We also offer your items posted day after ordering with the following day delivery before 1pm at a cost of £4.60. This just covers the price of next day delivery – we still pay the post and packing.

If you have not been to the website for a while please have another look as we have many new gift ideas and we have a Christmas section to give you some ideas you may not have thought about.

We have:
• Fair trade and handmade jewellery
• Fair trade and handmade Gift sets
• Fair trade and handmade ragdolls
• Fair trade and handmade soft toys
• Fair trade and handmade leather journals
• Fair trade and handmade elephant dung paper gifts
• Fair trade and handmade greeting cards
• Fair trade and handmade Lokta gift paper
• Fair trade and handmade banana leaf paper
• Fair trade and handmade bags / purses / wallets
• Fair trade and handmade wooden games and puzzles
• Fair trade and handmade secret lock boxes / jewellery boxes
• Fair trade and handmade tealight and candle holders
• Recycled gift ideas
• Handmade soaps
• Fair trade and handmade gift tag

Have a great Christmas and we look forward to giving you that pleasant shopping experience at a great price.

Paperhigh Indian Leather Journals

Our Fairtrade Leather Journals are a wonderful gift and do not have any wood in them. A great amount of papers on the market, both commercial and fine art are made from wood pulp. Our Leather Journals are made from ‘Khadda’ paper. ‘Khadda’ is made using unbleached hand spun rags left over from the garment industry. Except for the electric motors used for pulping, calendaring and peripheral activities, all production is manual. No harsh chemicals or dyes are used. No two sheets are ever identical and decorative effects are produced by inclusions such as petals, grass, and silk thread and waste threads.

One ton of Indian handmade paper, produced from cotton rag waste, saves about 270 Eucalyptus or at least 400 bamboo trees that would be required to make the same quantity of machine made paper.

Here is a description of how rags evolve into beautiful and unique papers.

SORTING: The cotton rags are sorted by hand to remove plastics, synthetic materials, buttons and other non textile material to ensure quality pulp without any contamination. It is also given a vigorous shake to remove the dust and dirt.

CUTTING: The collected rags are then cut into small pieces by electrical shredders or choppers. Some manufacturers still use traditional curved knives or sickles.

BEATING: Clean and cut raw material is washed and beaten in a ‘Hollander Beater’. Some light chemicals like rosin soap and alum are added to give papers blot free characteristic and consistency. During this process, desired material like grass, silk, straw etc and colors are also added to the pulp.

DIPPING and LIFTING: For thin or fine papers, the pulp is diluted with water and then put into a masonry trough or vat. The lifting mold (mesh on a wooden frame) is then dipped into the trough, shaken evenly and lifted out with the pulp on it. This method is known as dipping. In lifting method, which is used for thicker or card papers, a fixed amount of pulp is poured evenly onto a mold, which is then compressed between wooden frames in a water tank and dipped. The mold is then raised, using a lever mechanism, to drain the excess water.

PRESSING: Each newly formed wet paper sheet is transferred onto a fine muslin cloth known as felt which acts as an interleaf between paper sheets. Hydraulic press is used to squeeze out excess water from a stack of ‘felted’ wet paper sheets.

DRYING: The sheets are separated and dried naturally in the shade. Solar driers are also used by some manufacturers to speed up this process and to reduce open space requirements. Felt clothes are peeled off from dry sheets.

SIZING: After drying, the sheets go under quality checking and bad sheets are removed. Good sheets are given a coating with starch to improve the physical properties of the paper. It improves erasability and permanence and prevents the paper from blotting and feathering.

CALENDERING: To smoothen the surface and to enhance the gloss, the sheets are placed between metal plates and passed through spring loaded, heavily pressured rollers in a calendaring machines.

CUTTING: Finally the sheets are cut to the required sizes and packaged.

Please have a look at our Journals at www.naturallysimple.co.uk

Imajo - Fairtrade and handmade ragdolls

Naturally Simple has a great new product range for the kids this Christmas – or they could be for the child in you!

Our ragdolls are supplied by Imajo Ltd. Imajo are a UK importer of the handmade soft ragdolls and soft toys made in a factory in Sri Lanka. Each ragdoll has a set of clothes and their own hair colours giving a wide choice for everyone. What is particularly nice is the quality of the hair, which is actually sewn in, as opposed to lots of rag dolls on the market, where the hair is glued.

We have both male and female ragdolls and they are suitable from birth to 102! If you are a child at heart we have a ragdoll for you. Click here to see the full range of our ragdolls.

Imajo fairtrade ragdolls are handmade and this can mean that sometimes the finished items may vary slightly from the photographs on this website. This adds to the charm and unique nature of the products. Each doll is surface washable with removable clothes which can be washed separately. They are handmade entirely from fabric and wool.

All our rag dolls and soft toys are hand made. The factory where the ragdolls are made operates to the principles of fair trade. No children are employed and all the workers are paid fair wages. This supports the local economy is something we strongly believe in. Most of the raw materials including the vibrant handloom fabrics are produced locally. This can mean that sometimes the finished items may vary slightly from the photographs on this website. We think this adds to the charm and unique nature of our ragdolls.

Packaging
Imajo deliberately keep the packaging down to a minimum. Our dolls will arrive in a protective bag, but we do not use any unnecessary additional plastic or cardboard box packaging.

Fairtrade Lokta Handmade Paper

Naturally Simple Ltd is now stocking some wonderful giftwrap which is handmade and also sourced via Fair trade from Nepal. Have a look at our great range at http://www.naturallysimple.co.uk/

Paper making in Nepal dates back to the 11th century and is one of the oldest traditional household industries. Paper making developed in the Orient in about the 6th century and scholars surmise that the technology arrived in Nepal via tradesmen who travelled the trade routes from China to India. Lokta paper has long been renowned for its durability and natural resistance to insects. This paper is renowned for its exceptional durability and for its lively and special texture.

Nepalese handmade paper is made from the bark of the Daphne Cannabina or Papyracea bush and is known locally as Lokta. It is an evergreen shrub that grows in the forests, under the shade of the larger plants, in the foothills of the Himalayas. It grows up to 13 feet (4m) high and has long leathery leaves much like a bay leaf (to which family it belongs), with clusters of fragrant white to pink flowers and small dark rust coloured berries and when harvested will totally regenerate within six to eight years. Many communities in the mountains earn a living from harvesting the bark of the Lokta bush and the fragile forest ecology is preserved. The paper is handmade in the mountains of Nepal from the inner bark of this bush. Popular as the most exquisite and versatile papers on the planet, Lokta handmade paper has four deckled edges and is a very strong fibre.

To begin with, it is necessary to separate the raffia (or rough fibres). For the farmers of the Himalayas, this phase consists of cooking the dry bark in a solution of ash in order to soften it. After the foreign matter is removed The Lokta bark is then cleaned with clear water, chopped finely, and again plunged into the water. The matter obtained from this process is brought to the boil, rinsed again, and then crushed on fist-sized smooth river stones in order to produce a fine white paste. It takes about 4-5 hours to achieve the right consistency. The next step is to take a frame that is made of thin white cotton stretched on a bamboo frame approximately 20" x 30". The frame is placed in a vat of still water and the paste mixture is poured in it carefully in order to spread it evenly. The frame with the paste is then slowly lifted from the water. The paper paste is set in the sun to dry on the frame. Once dry, the paper is peeled off the frame. It is then used as is with a rough texture, or may be polished with a conch shell or a smooth stone which makes a firmer surface for writing. Every sheet of paper is handmade individually on a muslin screen, making each one unique & giving a natural, uncut edge to the paper. After drying in the sunshine the paper is dyed using a variety of vegetable & chemical dyes.

What makes this handmade paper so eco-friendly?

• Lokta paper is handmade and sun dried, so there are no machines putting C02 or other emission into our air.


• It is made from a bush that grows quickly and needs to be pruned to the ground every 3- 4 years to grow stronger. Without this pruned it will wither and die. The root base grown during this period of regeneration keeps the soil more stable and helps protect rural Nepalese villages from mudslides during the monsoon season.


• The bush grows in the shade, so bushes grown for commercial purposes don’t require that the forests are cut down to farm them. It can be grown in tiers so that the plants will be ready to prune in different years.


• It is grown without chemicals and requires no bleaches or other chemical processing.


• While only the skin of the Lokta bush is needed to produce the paper. The artisans dry the remaining stalk of the bush in the sun so that they can use it for fuel to cook with. Therefore the entire plant is used and there is no waste.


• The paper is colored with either azo free dyes or organic dyes such as indigo, tree barks, flower etc.
  
• The strength of the paper makes it easy to reuse and the beauty of it makes you want to.

Using Lokta paper is not only good for the environment, but it helps the rural people of the Nepalese of the Himalayan mountain region. Not only does the root growth help protect their villages, but paper making is their only source of income.

Elephand Dung Greeting Cards

Elephant Dung Greeting Cards by Wompom Cards

Naturally Simple has been looking for some great handmade cards to stock and we think we have found some of excellent quality. They are great fun, they give employment and also help the elephants. When looking for materials to make our hand made cards, we prioritise using recycled / renewable resources.

The card and envelopes are from 100% post consumer waste materials. The buff coloured cards are 75% post consumer waste paper and 25% elephant poo. This supports a project in Sri Lanka where a 'habitat war' between villagers growing crops and elephants looking for food is an ongoing tension. The decoration on the card also uses recycled materials where possible, although this is not necessarily 100% recycled.

The packaging we use is also sourced with recycled materials in mind and we have tried to find envelopes and boxes that protect the cards in transit, but with reasonable renewable credentials.

We hope you enjoy cards and they bring lasting pleasure to those you send them to, whilst minimising the impact on our world. A natural fibre, it is a renewable resource. The inks and decorative papers are acid free.

How Is Elephant Poo Cards Made?

Elephant dung paper is made using a process that has been used for several years. Elephant dung is collected from conservation parks or from other natural areas and the fibres from that dung are cleaned. Once they have been thoroughly cleaned, they are dyed so that producers can make many different colored elephant dung papers. After the dyeing process is complete, the fibers are mixed with natural materials so that the entire mixture gets thicker and makes it easier for the paper to be produced. Once this thickening happens, the mixture is formed into cakes or patties and put into mesh trays so it can dry. While the cakes are drying, the trays are often put up against trees so that the sun can accelerate the drying process and make sure the fibers are as dry as possible. Once the cakes or patties have dried, sheets of elephant dung paper are pulled off the mesh trays. This is how elephant dung paper is made.

Quality of Elephant Dung Paper

Many people think that being made out of elephant dung makes recycled paper low in quality. This is not the truth at all. In fact, elephant dung paper is just as high in quality as paper produced with raw materials. The high levels of quality make it easier for manufacturers to turn elephant dung paper into other products.

Elephant Dung Paper Products

Once the paper has been made, it can be used to make many other elephant dung paper products. Please click here to see our huge range of Elephant Dung Paper. This kind of paper is often used to make journals that come in a wide variety of styles and colors. These journals can feature very plain covers or have more decorative covers so that many people will like what is being offered.

Since millions of greeting cards are sent each year, (see our range of Elephant Dung Greeting Cards) having an environmentally responsible alternative to cards made with raw materials is a great idea. Elephant dung paper can also be used to make stationery sets that include writing paper, note cards, and envelopes. A wide variety of products are made with elephant dung paper.

Where does the Elephant Poo Come From?

The Millennium Elephant Foundation is situated on a 15 acre estate known as Samaragiri, which has been home to the Samarasinghe family for many generations. The family has owned elephants since the 1960's and in 1979 Mr. Samarasinghe (1939 - 1991) opened the estate to the public as the "Elephant Bath". Currently the MEF is home to 5 cow (female) elephants. The youngest, Pooja was the first captive elephant to be bred in Sri Lanka, born in 1984. It is estimated that the MEF grounds have a total holding capacity of 10-15 female elephants; of course consideration can be given to male elephants if necessary. In an effort to increase awareness and generate the funds needed for the maintenance and care of our elephants, the MEF actively welcomes visitors and encourages one to one interaction with them.

At the turn of the 20th Century, there were more than 12,000 elephants in the jungles of Sri Lanka. Now it is estimated that there are only between 2,500 and 2,800 and 192 elephants living in domesticity. The Millennium Elephant Foundation seeks to promote and improve elephant welfare in Sri Lanka by encouraging the conservation of Sri Lanka's threatened elephant population and compassionate elephant ownership. We hope to do this by raising awareness of the elephant's struggle; offering medical help / assistance and promoting education relating to elephant welfare, not only in Sri Lanka but around the world.

The Millennium Elephant Foundation believes good welfare standards are possible for all captive elephants in Sri Lanka. Our project '2000 and Beyond' aims to promote this through good health, compassionate ownership and education.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at Naturally Simple Ltd on help@naturallysimple.co.uk

Fairtrade Lacquer and Mother of Pearl Tea Light Holders from Vietnam

Collecting Vietnamese lacquer ware has become more and more popular in recent years, as more collectors and art lovers discover this unique form of decoration. Today, lacquer ware is available from many Asian countries although pieces from Vietnam are highly sought after both for their beauty and their durability – typically lacquer ware retains its unique appearance for many years if properly cared for.


METHOD OF PRODUCTION

Almost 100% of the whole production process is implemented by hand. Yet, nowadays machinery can be applied for some minor steps of the production process like polishing and the making of base products. However, there must be always people’s hands in all of the steps.

MAJOR STEPS INVOLVED IN PRODUCTION PROCESS

1. The raw/base products are hand-examined. Any cracks, indentations and holes are sealed up with a mixture of natural lacquer resin and sawdust in order to strengthen the products, then dry the products and then sharpen the products surface with sandy paper.

2. The products are covered with fine cotton gauze and one layer of a mixture of natural lacquer resin, sawdust and silty soil in order to prevent the products from being cracked or bent, then dry the products, and then sharpen the product surface with sandy paper.

3. Apply another layer of a mixture of natural lacquer resin, sawdust and silty soil in order to make the product surface smooth, then dry the products, and then sharpen them with sandy paper under water, and then dry the products again.

4. Apply another layer of a mixture of natural lacquer resin or refined cashew nut oil and silty soil onto the product surface, then dry the products, and then sharpen them under water with sandy paper, and then dry them again.

5. Step 4 is repeated.

6. Apply another layer of a mixture of refined cashew nut oil and weakened crude oil onto the product surface, then dry the products and then apply another layer of a mixture of refined cashew nut oil and silty soil onto the product surface, and then dry the products and then sharpen them under water by sandy paper, and dry them up again.

7. Apply another layer of refined cashew nut oil onto the product surface then dry the products and then sharpen them under water by sandy paper and then dry them up again.

8. Seal up all holes on the product surface with a mixture of cashew nut oil and silty soil then dry the products and then sharpen them under water by sandy paper and then dry them up.

9. Step 7 is repeated.

10. Step 7 is repeated.

11. Hand-colour the products, Paint them to required colours and drawings. + Colour the products in plain/solid colour: Hand-colour the products to required colours then dry them and then sharpen them under water by sandy paper and then dry them up. + Paint drawings on products: Hand-draw to require drawings then colour products to required colours and then dry them and then sharpen them under water by sandy paper and then dry them up. + Apply silver onto products: Apply a thin layer of cashew nut oil then apply a layer of white silver leaves onto the product surface and then dry them up and then colour the products to required colours (if required) and then dry them, sharpen them under water by sandy paper and then dry them up.

12. Apply onto the products with a layer of special Japanese lacquer paint then dry them and then sharpen them under water by sandy paper and then dry them up.

13. Step 12 is repeated.

14. Step 12 is repeated.

15. The products are polished by machine and bare hand where applicable with a special local black wax.

16. Apply a layer of wax called Cana onto the product surface then clean the products with cotton gauze in order to make the products shiny and clean.

17. Hinges and hooks are fitted (if required).

18. Company logo is silk screened onto the products where applicable (if required).

19. Wrapping and packing the products for delivery. Steps 1 to 5 are sanded by rough sandy paper, steps 6-10 are sanded by more fine sandy paper and steps 11-14 are sanded by fine sandy paper. Steps 1-14, each step takes one day to get dry up and another one day to be completed.

LACQUER CARE

By following a few simple precautions, you can enjoy the beauty of your lacquer wares for many years. Here are a few general instructions to assist you in maintaining the beauty and quality of lacquer products.

1. Keep out of direct sunlight and away from extreme heat. Ultraviolet light and extreme heat will fade the surface of the lacquer ware and allow fine cracks to form. Once light or heat damage has occurred, other kinds of deterioration can happen as well, and the beauty and life-span of your products will be reduced.

2. Do not stack on top of other lacquer products.

3. Do not soak, use hot water to clean your products or place your lacquer products in wet places for a long time. Otherwise, they may get swollen.

4. Do not use any chemicals to clean your lacquer ware products. Instead, use a dry or damp & soft cloth to gently wipe it down. This should be done routinely as dirt or moisture may build up if your products are used often. When using your lacquer ware with food, you can clean with mild soap and warm water, then rinse and dry them immediately after cleaning.

5. Do not insert into dish washers or microwave ovens.

6. Your Lacquer products are susceptible to damages from very dry conditions or fluctuating humidity. A balanced climate that is between 60% and 70% humidity is recommended to store your lacquer products in order to ensure long life.

Why Recycle?

Why recycle?

Recycling lessens the requirement for raw materials. In turn, the environment and health damaging operations undertaken to obtain these materials are also reduced. Transportation and manufacturing processes of these raw materials uses fossil fuels. Another resource is thus reduced and still further environmental improvement made.
Use of recycling products within manufacture can also use less energy than using raw material, and result in lower emissions.

Most rubbish is either buried (landfill) or burnt (incineration). There is limited space available for landfill and both these forms of disposal effect our environment.

What happened to that old saying 'waste not want not'? The overall amount of waste is increasing as we buy more packaged and disposable products. Domestic UK households produce about 1 tonne of rubbish annually. This amounts to around 27 million tonnes of waste in the UK each year and approximately a quarter of this is packaging waste.

Recycling therefore needs to increase. Recycling services need to get much better and everybody needs to recycle much more.

What is recycling?

Recycling gives no longer wanted or useful items a new lease of life. Occasionally things can be made back into the same, or similar, item whilst others into something completely different. Glass bottles can be recycled and manufactured into new ones. Plastic vending cups can be made into pencils and plastic bottles into clothing.
What can be recycled?

A great many materials could be recycled but what can be recycled in practice is dependent on economics.

Products suitable for recycling are being marked with symbols detailing what they are made of to assist with both collection and reprocessing. In the UK many kerbside collection schemes are now in place to collect items such as tins, cardboard packaging, newspapers, plastic bottles etc and also recycling sites/banks for glass, clothes, shoes and organic garden waste. Once recyclables have been collected, or are taken to a recycling site/bank, they will be sorted into the various materials i.e. paper, plastics and transported to appropriate reprocessors. Then they are broken down e.g. into chipped plastic and used by manufacturers to make a new usable product.

The economics of recycling improves if there is a market for goods made with recycled raw materials. So buying recycled promotes recycling.

New Fair Trade Silver Jewellery

Have a look at all our other new products for sale. Get the perfect gift for that special someone and help others to live a better life.

Naturally Simple Has a New Logo

Naturally Simple Has a New Logo.

What do you think?

Credit Cards

We now have credit card facilities and so you have the choice now of using Paypal or Paynova. Go on have a look and make the choice.

http://www.naturallysimple.co.uk/

Naturally Simple Ltd

Naturally Simple Ltd

Sale Starting at Naturally Simple

www.naturallysimple.co.uk

Grab an offer before we sell out.

Banana Leaf Fibre Paper Gifts

New to http://www.naturallysimple.co.uk/ today Banana Leaf Fibre Paper Gifts.

Are you looking for a new idea for Valentines Day then look no further. http://www.naturallysimple.co.uk/