Van Asch goes Organic for 2018!! & Competition Winners.

I'm totally beside myself with excitement!!!
Our brand new shiny web site launches on January 1st and it is going to be very special. Not because we are now offering free shipping and returns in Sweden or free shipping and returns for orders over €50 in the EU...No, nothing as boring as that!
We have teamed up with an NGO (non governmental organisation) called CIRHEP based in Tamil Nadu India, that offers women financing, support and education to start their own organic micro farms.

5% of all sales on our new web site goes to this organisation. Yep, that is 5% of absolutely everything that gets sold on our website goes toward changing these women's lives...

As women’s rights have traditionally not been prioritized in Indian society, one of the goals of CIRHEP is to empower women. By empowering women you empower entire communities. CIRHEP helps to organize self help groups (SHGs) and then provides training programs with a focus on creating awareness about women rights, gender equality and conserving the local environment. The aim is to strengthen women’s confidence and self-esteem, and to increase women’s involvement in the decision-making process within their families and outside the household. 

The women are also participating in entrepreneurship development programs with the support of NABARD (National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development). Women get help to start a small business in e.g. mushroom cultivation, honey processing, pigeon rearing, garland making, foot wear making, organic manure preparation, keeping small shops etc.

This is super exciting because we get to make a difference. 
Our contribution will help establish positive positions for women in their local communities. They, also  organise workshops for men in order to educate them about gender equality too. As women increasingly contribute to the household economy they also have a say when it comes to how to spend the money. Consequently, more children, and especially girls, are now sent to schools. This can break the cycle of poverty and set these families up for a much brighter future.





Ok, so what else exciting is happening in 2018!  You've probably picked up that I'm passionate about sustainability, the environment, reducing plastic use and generally being responsible in business, so, we are moving into 100% organic manufacture. All our new cushions, shopper bags and fabrics will be made from organic cotton.
And finally, all our international deliveries and transport in the EU will be using the new DHL GoGreen carbon neutral transport system which offsets all the carbon emissions from transport by planting trees and also subsidises the DHL fleet of electric and bio gas fuelled vehicles... 
Yep, 2018 is looking very GREEN for Van Asch !!!

Ok, enough about all that, you want to know who won our handbag competition right?
Ok, so lucky Pia Lundberg from Sweden is the winner of the Skull 403 handbag

And the runners-up to each win one of our cute Skull 403 mirror compacts are:

Diana VB from California USA
Sara O from Sweden
Vivienne W from UK
Francesca T from Italy
Daniella VH from Holland
Pauline S from Sweden

Congratulations to all of you! And a huge thanks to the multitudes that took the time to answer my nosy questions ;-)

Have a super wonderful Christmas, don't forget to check our 'mellandagsrea' or After Christmas Sale which starts boxing day... there will be masses of awesome bargains to be had...

Motivation & Positivity.

You know that saying 'when God closes the door, he opens a window'? I love that phrase and I'm not even one bit religious. I just really like the idea that there can be seeds of opportunity in adversity, if you are open to the possibility.

So as you might already know, I changed gyms recently. It because I was so devastated when the physiotherapist told me that I had to stop running, that I needed to do something differently and at the new gym, there was a sauna, so I thought that at least if I can't run, I can still have a nice sauna to reward myself after a workout.

I used to love running on the treadmill. It kept me fit, released happy chemicals in the brain box and allowed me time to let my mind wander creatively. So when I was told that that was it for running, if not for ever, then certainly for a very long time, you can imagine I was gutted.

It helped going to the nicer new gym, with the sauna, but what really has made the biggest difference is that the cross trainers at this gym are equipped with youTube. Now I'm so looking forward to going to the gym every morning because today I'm going to learn something new and start the day with a powerful positivity. This situation is an upgrade! So the door might have closed on running but the window is wide open and the possibilities are endless!

This is the video I watched today and it is really great...



Another reason that I'm super excited is that I'm about to relaunch my website. It should be up and running by next week. We have partnered with an NGO in Tamil Nadu India so that 5% of everything we sell on our web shop will go to invest in lifting women out of poverty by setting them up as organic micro farmers and I'll tell you all about that next week... I can't tell you how excited I am about it!

Lastly, if you have missed that I've got myself a youTube channel then please go check it out. The latest video is about transitioning from one diet to another. I don't mean diet as in weight loss, I mean diet as in Vegan or Vegetarian etc... It can be a difficult process and not everyone can just change over night, so if that describes you, or you are thinking more about what you eat, then check it out...

Making it All Count. Happiness, Gifts & Bags

Recently I changed gyms and in my new gym, I discovered, I can watch YouTube whilst I'm on the cross trainer. So I did what any normal person would do and watched funny animal videos to while away the time... (cross trainers are very boring!) But then I realised that instead of wasting my time watching funny kittens, I could actually be learning something. So yesterday I watched videos about recycling and waste management, yeah, I know you think that's weird, but I'm really into environmental stuff and I want to know how everything works. Today I watched an amazing video, a Ted talks about finding yourself, kinda... It's a total recommend so I'm posting it in here, try to watch it if you can, it will make you feel good...



Also, because it is that special time of the year when everyone goes mad and buys stuff like crazy, I thought I'd share with you my top gift ideas, and hope that my kids don't see this coz that will totally ruin their surprises! (I'm not too worried about that because they couldn't be less interested in my blog!)

So first up is cool gifts for girls:

Because my youngest daughter likes doing stuff with her hands all the time, this is perfect for her...Beautiful Fidget Cube
There are loads of these out there to choose from, I would've liked a wooden one really but I really liked the look of this one.

















My eldest daughter and I did a week long all natural cosmetics challenge a month or so ago  (you can read all about it here) and she really got into them, so this Neals Yard book Make Your Own Cosmetics should be right on target for her... Plus it is something she can do, other than be on her phone the whole time.... You mums, you know what I mean!















Cool gifts for boys:

Well I honestly don't know any...boys I mean, we don't have any in our family, but I did think this was kinda cool...Infinity Fidget Cube

I don't really like the whole idea of girls gifts and boys gifts but if you happen to be the wrangler/parent of these types of creatures, you'll know that they really do seem to want different things. So please forgive my gender separation here...





Gifts for Mums, Sisters etc:

I just fell in love with these black Lion candle holders, for the person who has everything and likes nice stuff for the home...
You can get them here

So those are some of my fave little things I found on the internet...













Lastly, if you didn't see last weeks blog, it was all the details to enter into a competition to win one of these bags:



So check last weeks entry for the details... AND because I love giving things away so much, I've decided that I'll give 5 runners up a free mirror compact for their handbag... so that's even more chances to WIN cool stuff !!!!

Van Asch Competition Time!

Hello my lovelies!
I want to get to know my customers a bit more and I thought a quiz could be a fun way to find out more about you... I would love to ask you all a hundred questions but I fear I might tax your patience ;-)

So, just by answering some simple questions you could win a brand new handbag worth €72!

Yes, you can choose which one of these you fancy...and just maybe you might win it!

All you have to do is email me with the answers to these 10 simple questions:

1. What are your 2 favourite online clothing shops? (not including Van Asch)
   
   
2. What are your 2 favourite online stores for interiors accessories?
   
   
3. What are your 2 favourite physical stores for new clothing?
   
   
4. What are you 2 favourite physical stores when buying stuff for the home?
   
   
5. Do you go to the gym or do yoga?
   
   
6. Do you have any tattoos? If yes, do you have just a wee one, several, or heavily tattooed?
   
   
7. Have you seen my blog or watched my videos on YouTube?
   
   
8. Do you follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest?
   
   
9. What main colours do you have in your living room?
   
   
10. If you had to pick 1 word that best describes you, would it be: Lighthearted, sincere, outgoing, quiet, creative, pragmatic.. something else?

Lastly, which bag would you choose if you won?

email me:   rachel@vanasch.se   with your answers and I'll randomly pick a winner on December 22nd

I'll add your email address to my special customer list too so that you will get special offers and updates (nothing spammy I assure you, I'm too lazy to send out newsletters more than a couple of times a year! :-D so don't worry about that, and you can unsubscribe with a click, any time you like)

And, if you do feel like indulging me, I would love to know what country you live in and anything else you think is important to you, like if you are an animal lover, a vegetarian, or whatever it might be, I'm curious...a bit nosey too if I'm honest ;-)  But you don't have to do any of that for the competition...just the 10 main questions will do it :-) And good luck!

I've made a new video too which is up on my YouTube channel now... If you fancy watching me have a bit of a rant about the environment...