After 10 years of staying at home and looking after the kids, I was finally invited to a Christmas ball (albeit in January) to let my hair down. "James Bond" was a cross between a young Sean Connery and Daniel Craig. I was shaken but my hips would not stir when I met "James Bond" as my favourite is Pierce Brosnan. The event was at Mapledurham house near Caversham where I live. I had a ball but gosh - old age is catching up on me.
What a week it has been. I had to resume work earlier than the 9th of January as the orders were piling up only to end up working in the cold with no electricity at the "cottage". Yep, there was a problem with the electrics on the farm. Imagine working with thick jumpers and coats for 5 days trying to decant oils that had solidified along side cold buckets of butter.
At least, something good happened this week as Sheabutter Cottage took delivery of more micronized rhassoul. Sheabutter Cottage is now a UK distributor of this fine natural clay.
After months of waiting, I was also able to take delivery of authentic African black soap from Ghana. As part of Sheabutter Cottage's ethical policy, I am proud to help 1 woman help others through trade by representing a small team of women in Ghana build their business. The women are paid a fair price and empowered to produce and sell. Made to a traditional recipe, this soap contains 30% unrefined shea butter.
I really need to get someone on board to help me out with the workload. I have been working on my own for the last 5 years but need a little help especially as the kids are growing up. I hope to sort things out including planning application for the retail section of the "cottage" before my next surgery.
Off to bed now to get some beauty sleep :))
Detoxify with rhassoul.
**EDITED: Our simple recipe for hair and face is supplied with our packs of rhassoul clay**.
I recently had my hair braided after more than 2 years and to keep it moist, I came up with this recipe which gives me instant relief from an itchy scalp.
**click image to read/print**
Even after more than 2 years of retailing this oil, I still get very excited when I receive my package. As you can imagine, I was like a kid in a candy shop when I arrived home yesterday after a hectic day at the "cottage" to find a box waiting on my doorstep.
As it was solid due to the cold weather, I could not really indulge. My kids however do when they use the bath oil using monoi with a touch of petitgrain and French lavender as part of the Cioccolatina handmade natural toiletries' range. You can still smell the monoi on your skin even 10 hours later.
You could also indulge in our monoi soap
or just pure MONOÏ de TAHITI in your hair and on your body. It is just heavenlïï
Dear Adam Crozier/David Smith
As a small business, I rely on the services of Royal Mail/ParcelForce in sending packages to my customers all over the world. I do not have much choice in selecting alternative "couriers" as you have a monopoly over the postage of small packages.
It has been a rather stressful year for my business for lack of due diligence on your part.
#1: Package sent to Germany on 14th February 2007 did not arrive at it's destination till 23rd July 2007!!!! A replacement package was sent in the interim
"I opened the parcel and was absolutely shocked because I found a terrible mess! Every single butter-box, even the big ones with Cocoa and Kokum are broken. The butters mixed up all over the place, the floor of the parcel a little wet as well as your voucher. The Sheabutter has got a strange colour (I don't know, maybe it's ok: between grey and green?) and doesn't smell as good as the one you sent me in the second parcel. To make a long story short: Unbelievable!"
#2: Package booked for 24 hour delivery to The Netherlands arrived 48 hours later. Why charge for this amount if you can't fulfil? Documents sent for compensation have gone missing!!!
#3: Package sent to an address in London on 5th November was returned to me without notifying my customer of attempted delivery!!!
#4: Customer was not notified of attempted delivery on package sent to an address in Glasgow!!!
#5: Package sent to Scotland on a first class service was delivered 4 days later. I can't even view the EOD although it has been a week since the package was delivered:
"was delivered from our ****** Delivery Office on 30/11/07. Thank you for using this service. Sorry, an electronic proof of delivery is not available for this item."
#6: Package sent to London on the 8th of November was delivered on 30th November??? using first class service:
"Your item with reference DW*********GB was delivered from our ILFORD Delivery Office on 30/11/07.
Thank you for using this service. Sorry, an electronic proof of delivery is not available for this item"
The replacement package sent on 21st November using the same service was delivered on 27th November
#7: Package sent to Norway on 22nd November can not be tracked???
This is just a selection of case studies.
What is the point in paying that bit extra for your tracking system if most of the packages can not even be tracked??
I have received packages which were supposed to be signed for but have been left on my door step.
I would appreciate that you look into all these flaws and implement a better service including your customer service. Better service does not warrant price increases - you need to re-write your code of ethics.
Your frustrated customer
Akua Wood
Apologies to all of you who have tried unsuccessfully since 29th November 2007 to access our SheabutterCottage websites (Cioccolatina and AkuaWood). It has been a very stressful time to say the least. Due to a security lapse by our web host, these sites have had to be "taken down" till the issue is resolved. I have been pulling the little strands of my hair in frustration as this is a very busy time for Sheabutter Cottage - aarrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhh.
On a different note, I managed to survive a trip to London over the weekend. It was a very hairy trip weaving through all the traffic and getting sandwiched between a bus and a coach - luckily, I was not driving. We finally made it to the British Museum after a 95 minute journey from Reading where we were ushered in onto the disabled parking space which you have to book in advance.
Although we did not see China's terracotta army, we saw an impressive collection of artefacts from all over the world including my beloved country - Ghana. It was great seeing this huge piece of the colourful kente cloth which is very symbolic of the Ashanti tribe to which I proudly belong.
The museum is great for families as there are places to sit and unwind and you do not necessarily have to purchase your sandwich from the cafe.
These are few pictures taken by one of my rascals.
