Ger’s October 18 Monthly Update

The Vitality Expo in the RDS in early September (you know the one, I harped on incessantly to get you all to go!) was brilliant. For me some of the highlights included the zero waste talks which made me want more than ever to make that ethos central to Only Natural (watch this space, plans are afoot). The sooner the collective penny drops and we all realize that our use and throw away lifestyles just aren’t sustainable, the sooner we stand a chance of keeping our world habitable. Yes by all means get yourself a buy now trendy keep cup (and be proud that you did, the ocean is made up of drops) but see it as a jumping off point and let the consciousness slowly pervade your life, how you dress, what you eat, where you holiday, one facet at a time.

I don’t know if you’ve met Jorika in the Bullring market but her business is based on up cycling, on finding new uses for what would otherwise be discarded. Jorika’s clever hands make beautiful clothes and bags and now we’re selling her reusable sanitary wares, breast pads/make-up remover pads. Thank you Jorika.

The RDS was awash with proper artisan food producers, people who care passionately about the provenance, the quality and the benefits of the foods they produce. I loved meeting (not to mention sampling the wares of) the Calder Potts family who run Highbank Organic Orchard in Kilkenny. Who knew so many good things could be made from pure, organic, Irish apples? We now have the pleasure of stocking Highbank Apple Juice, their award winning Orchard Syrup, their organic cider vinegar, their organic apple balsamic vinegar, their delightful non alcoholic ‘driver’s cider’ and more. Each of these products truly is amazing and born of the care, love and attention put into them.

They’re on our shelves right now but why not come and ‘meet the makers’ when they come to Only Natural to sample their wares and wax lyrical about them on Saturday 13th October.

So impressed were we that we couldn’t wait to try some Highbank recipes. We loved their homemade muesli recipe which uses the sublime Orchard Syrup, so make sure to check out our Recipe of the Month.