One of the first things I picked up when I arrived in France for my study-abroad year (a veeeery long time ago) was the concept of “La Rentrée” – the name given to this time of year, when summer is drawing to a close, people are coming back from their holidays, and the familiar routine of school, college or work is kicking back in again. And sure, this has its downfalls – who doesn’t want the summer holidays to last forever, or the sunny weather to hang on in there for another week or two?
But at the same time, the idea of “coming back”, and doing this just as the season starts to turn, makes you feel that new possibilities are just around the corner… or that, even at this late stage in the year, you can start afresh and still have time to wrap things up on a high note by December! It’s also a great time to catch a breath, enjoy the cooling weather and get everything in order before we’re hit by the event avalanche of Hallowe’en-Thanksgiving-Christmas! So, with that in mind, today’s post is a quick public service announcement about what’s happening in Beastie Towers these days.
First of all, I’ve reviewed the postage rates for my online store, and included a couple of new (lower!) price bands. Up until now, caution nudged me towards only offering registered postal services, even though the price of these almost made my eyes water as I typed them in! So, you now have the option of receiving orders by standard post instead, and anyone outside Ireland will notice a pleasant bit of extra change in their pockets when they choose standard shipping… As this handy little graphic shows!
You can also see where the difference arises… Although both services are offered by Ireland’s national carrier, An Post, there is no parcel tracking with standard post. This means that, if you choose this option and your Beastie parcel goes missing, there is no way for me to help you track it down.
With that in mind, I’ve chosen to only roll out this option to places where the receiving postal services are, apparently, less likely to lose your precious monster consignment… In a nutshell, that’s Europe (EU, Scandinavia, Switzerland and some others), the US, Canada, Japan, China (including Hong Kong), South Korea, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. If your home country isn’t on the Standard Post list and you feel it should be, drop me a line before ordering and I’ll see what I can do for you! For those of you who choose Standard Post, I’ll do my utmost to reassure you that your order has indeed started its journey, by sending a photo of your stamped, addressed parcel before I hand it over to the nice ladies in my local post office.
And what else is new? Well, it’s time for me to do something that might make me a little unpopular…
Yes folks, Paddy has indeed braved the heat of the September sunshine and dressed up as Santa Paws to deliver this very important message:
If you’d like to find your very own Beastie under the tree this Christmas (or surprise someone you love with one), get your thinking caps on, and order before October 31st!
Last December was pure distilled craziness, and I’m planning to attend far more markets this year. So please, please pleeeeeease book in early to avoid disappointment! Placing your order now will allow me to get your sketches done in good time, and make a start on your project before the days begin to get noticeably shorter. Even if you’re just thinking about it, drop me a line and we’ll throw some ideas around!
Well, that’s it from us… What about you? Has La Rentrée got you making plans for the fall (or spring), or are you just wondering where the summer went? Either way, let us know in the comments!
I’m glad to see that Explorer Beastie is being cautious and using sunscreen on his vulnerable Irish wool-skin.
I’ve always loved this concept too – it’s my favourite time of year. Better get my act together! I wish it was still as simple as buying funky and fresh new school supplies these days….
Ha! I know! The drive to pick out a new pencil case and some matching notebooks SHOULD really diminish after you leave primary school, and yet… 😆 But yes, autumn is definitely the best season… A few more weeks and I’ll be kicking through piles of leaves and eating roasted squash something every day! Lovely! 😀
Nope, I believe that any (most) (some) problems can be solved with a stack of new supplies and a bit of colour coding. I’ve impatiently waited 8 months to be able to decorate the September pages in my bullet journal with autumn leaves. I hope new orders are coming in for you thick and fast 🙂
Be honest now, is your bullet journal going to be 8 pages for the year so far, and the rest September with autumn leaves and pictures of pumpkins? 😂 Orders are ticking along nicely thanks, I’m going to be doing some drawing myself today!
Haha my interest was also piqued in February when I could incorporate hearts and cupids and arrows… the rest of the year, who needs it??? So glad you’re picking up the pencils!
Ha! July and August are especially dead months for doodle inspiration… I used up all my sunshine and seashells beach motifs in June, and then had nothing to see me through the rest of the summer! 😆
Haha totally feel ya there!! 🙂
Perhaps it’s still my back-to-school mindset (does it ever go away?), but I always see this time of year as a time-to-get-things-in-order-and-in-gear period. Oooh, or maybe I have some instinctive French-ness that compels me to start afresh now rather than at New Year’s. And, as you know, I feel your pain on international shipping! Glad you were able to figure a way around it a bit.
Yes, it just seems a better time of year to launch yourself at a new project, or relaunch yourself at something that’s been dragging on for a while! January just doesn’t cut it, motivation-wise. And I agree – no matter how ancient and crumbling I get, it’s still back-to-school time! I suppose the fact that the shops have been full of uniforms and stationery bargains since mid-July probably helps though 😆
As for the shipping, I’m glad you approve! I feel better about it myself… I consulted with some fellow crafters who regularly export, and they had glowing reports about the standard service. One of them (who’s a ceramicist) even said that An Post handled her fragile wares more carefully than most courier companies do!
I am still amazed at how low your international shipping is and it did seem like quick service when Finn booked his ticket over here. I agree that the school supplies sales do add a touch of inspiration. All those blank and super inexpensive notebooks to fill! How can I resist?
An Post’s service is really good… So far I’ve only had one nail-biting incident of a Christmas gift going astray, but even that turned up before the New Year. I couldn’t believe how expensive US mail is in comparison! As for those tempting school supplies… Gaaaaah! I’m going to have to put blinkers on when I go outside later!
The oddest thing about the US Postal Service is that it costs me almost as much to send a book/art print to Europe as it does for me to send one to Canada. Even to Vancouver, BC which is only a few hours away. Ah well, logic has never been this country’s strong suit. I’m going to mail a bunch of stuff home from Ireland just to take advantage of the cheap postage! 😂😂😂
Taking advantage of a nation’s postal service is one of the lesser-explored perks of travel… But of course, that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing! I’ll compile you a list of our best Post Offices to save you time 😉
That’s sounds like the least popular travel guide ever! 😂
Ah, la rentrée! My memories of this time of year are fond and full of school-memories of walking to classes with woolly layers on. You’re very right that it’s start gives a kind of last burst of new energy before the days grow shorter and the event-commitments mount for the holidays. 🙂 Thanks for the heads up on the order-deadline, and glad to hear you’ll be making the market rounds this year. I was curious: are you doing a Beastie 2018 calendar, by any chance?
Oooh yes! Surprise surprise, I’m reeeeeallllly looking forward to the woolly layers bit! It’s still a bit early yet – I optimistically popped on a sweater when I headed out on Sunday, and nearly keeled over – but it won’t be much longer before I crack out my favourite scarves and handwarmers again! As for the calendars… Hmm, I’m not sure. The last couple of years they’ve been a bit of a logistical nightmare – something always goes wrong with the delivery, no matter which print company I choose! Perhaps I’ll put it to a vote next week and see what the internet thinks? If enough people are interested, I’ll do a small run!
La Rentree my bestest favourite time of year, hope your Beasties take the world by storm in the upcoming gift buying season xx
Thanks Mrs P! It’s full steam ahead now on Beastie-making, and I’m so looking forward to getting out there and doing some markets after a quiet start to the year! Hope you’re having a pleasant Rentrée yourself 😀
Looking forward to meeting some new Beasties on the block 🙂
Cheers… Watch this space! 😀