Friday 25 March 2011

Revenge of the taxonomy fascist!

Picture the scene... you'd really like a packet of Skittles, it's understandable enough; Skittles taste great, worth every dental problem they cause. So great is your desire for a packet of Skittles that you go to a shop and ask for them, after some deliberation the shopkeeper comes back with a packet that is 50% Skittles and 50% M&Ms and asks if this is O.K.

Clearly it is not O.K - it is only 50% O.K in that the packet contains 50% Skittles.

I'll now ask you to imagine that rather than Skittles, you have asked a supplier for 60 litres of Pomace Olive oil, you have specified the word Pomace and have been told to pick it up before 5pm that same day. You arrive there to be offered 60 litres of Pomace Olive oil that is blended with 50% sunflower. Now, Accuse me of taxonomy fascism if you will but surely Pomace olive that has been mixed with 50% Sunflower oil ceases to be Pomace olive oil - it becomes something else. Specifically, it is something entirely worthless to me.

The only reason this has garnered such a diatribe is that, basically, Kate and I had to drive across Manchester (a city whose road layout resembles a drunken toddlers' first attempt on a Spirograph, a superficially damaged spirograph at that) when I was feeling the acute affects of Red Stripe Lager from the previous evening. The drive to the supplier was fraught and basically fraught, coupled with the full spectrum of frumpy Manchester drivers, was the last thing I needed.

Punishment for an unnamed Manchester Supplier...

I suppose the lesson for all you crafters out there is that a reliable supplier is like your best friend who, unlike your actual best friend, won't ever want to borrow your money or C.Ds. Treasure them; a delay in supplies causes a delay in production which causes a delay in me earning money (I'll spare you a more detailed financial breakdown - I'm not great at capitalism)

Daniel...
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3 comments:

  1. Is it wrong of me to have spent the last few minutes reminiscing about my spirograph and ignoring your pain?

    I totally agree with your words about treasuring trusted suppliers. The totally amazing Overspill once went to her wholesaler clutching a dismembered meerkat arm on my behalf to find a substitute for my ribbon! http://niftyknits-somuchyarnsolittletime.blogspot.com/2009/09/red-alert.html

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  2. My suppliers are great and will go to a lot of trouble to get me something "obscure" if I ask. In return, it is important to be loyal, plus I always recommend them to others. I do limit seriously where I buy stuff for my work though, only where I can see and feel the quality. No use me selling stuff saying it's "quality" unless I am sure it is.
    I get infuriated with all the "mixing" that goes on - they are conning people, and have little doubt it is to cut costs on part of manufacturers. But then, I am in serious training to be a "grumpy old woman"
    How is the soap coming on?

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  3. Yes, I'm stil trying to get a reliable network as we've not been at this too long... found a suitable replacement and now have 60 litres of extra virgin olive otherwise the soap would have ended up with 40% sunflower oil and me 40% enraged.

    @Niftykits - I was unaware of the prevalence of knitted animals until I started the craft circles; now I know about them, I like it.

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