Seal Of Approval

When I was a teenager in America, Good Housekeeping Magazine was the bible for women who took pride in being mothers and housewives.

The Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval was bestowed on products that were deemed to be reliable, well made, value for money, functional, practical, and easy to use. Perfect in just about every sense. And their seal of approval carried so much weight, its stamp on a product made the difference between buying it. Or not buying it.

Products were submitted for testing and deemed worthy – or not – of earning the seal.

It was a decree that, to my mom, was equivalent to god speaking in her ear and guiding her choice of products.

Observing the trust my mom gave products that came with her reverential seal of approval, I learned to judge products and services with an eye to forming my own personal seal of approval.

Does it meet my standards of workmanship and integrity? Can I trust it? Can I confidently recommend it to others without it coming back and biting me on my derriere? Does it deserve my approval? Or my disdain?

This all matters because I love visiting other websites. I love seeing how others present themselves and the varied products and services that are on offer.

Sometimes I see a site and say to myself, if I like it and trust it, I bet you will too.

So I’m sharing.

How does a site meet with my seal of approval?

Some of these websites are owned by people I know, trust and respect.

Some sites, like blogs, have mentioned my products and when I’ve paid them a visit, I’ve loved what I see.

Some blogs have nothing to do with me, but I think what they have to say is of immense value to me and you.

Others are sites I’ve stumbled across, like The Butler’s Guild, and I’ve gone, WOW! Everyone should see this.

As with everything I do, there’s a story behind every visit.

Good Housekeeping Seal Of Approval
My Google visit to Good Housekeeping Magazine shows they’ve kept up with the times and are online.

Click here to view their current requirements for earning their Seal Of Approval.

They also have a Green Good Housekeeping Seal to help us all sift through the clutter of green claims on packaging. Clutter indeed!!

This is a postscript. For six months I’ve been slowly updating my antiquated cookware.

Everything I’ve used since leaving university was given to me or inherited decades ago. All exceptionally good quality. But nothing I use is my choice.

Last evening I ordered a set of saucepans online. My last purchase to update my kitchen culinary accessories. Not using saucepans as much as I use fry pans, I know I’ll never purchase another set in my lifetime.

In the tradition of ‘Buyers Remorse’, I had second thoughts this morning. Did I make the best choice? Did I pay too much?

So I did a Google search for the Made in America brand that I purchased online in Australia.

And to my delight, discovered many sites with the range of my choice proudly displaying the ‘Good Housekeeping Seal Of Approval’.

Just like my mom, I’m chuffed that I made such a responsible choice!

BiteSizeCooking
Victoria Hansen and I have been friends since 1988. I was on the Board Of Directors for The American Chamber of Commerce in Sydney and she was a new member I met at a welcoming cocktail party. And we’ve been in touch ever since.

She’s always been a foodie and her BiteSizeCooking website is the fount of all information to do with cooking.

I use it regularly, not only to look up recipes, but because she knows everything.

Her section on how to evaluate saucepans is a knockout. She covers every aspect of saucepan construction and materials used, to guide you to making an informed decision.

I used it recently when researching what type of saucepans I should buy to replace the saucepans I inherited when I left university and set up my first apartment.

I feel I’ve now earned the right to own the best.

And now I have them, with help from Victoria’s bottomless fountain of information.

You can visit Victoria here. But make sure you leave plenty of time to browse.

Hunt Leather
Sophie Hunt of Hunt Leather and I go back to 1995.

Once a month, from 1995 to 1998, Victor and I exhibited our products surrounded by the mahogany staircase at Greenwood Plaza in North Sydney. Sophie’s family had one of their elegant leather stores upstairs. Sophie took a shine to our Mr Chin’s Laundry Bag and before we knew it, they were in her shop. Along with all their to-die-for leather luggage, suit bags, handbags, et al.

Then we stopped making Mr Chin’s Laundry Bag for commercial reasons.

But in 2002, Sophie emailed me wanting to replace her worn one. And wanted three for her new apartment in Sydney. We emailed back we no longer make them. Sophie nagged us for 3 years. Finally we succumbed and brought Mr Chin’s back into the stable.

Thank you, Sophie.

Click here to be tempted by the best leather goods available in Australia.

Johnston and Bell
In 1996, Victor and I exhibited at The Australian Bridal Fair held in the salubrious surroundings of the exquisite Town Hall in Sydney. A very glamorous event and one we remember to this day.

Every trip to Sydney, for any reason, was also a detour into Balmain, where we lived for 22 years.

We spotted a new store, just a few buildings away from the terrace house on Darling Street that I owned until 1984.

Inside was an emporium of delectable items, manned by an equally delectable Jenny Bell.

We found an item we couldn’t resist. A domed treasure box of beautiful design, with a lock and key, that Victor would transform internally to become our money box at shows and exhibitions.

We have a classy display and the last item to dress up our site was this money box. And is a perennial reminder of Jenny and our delightful visit to Johnston and Bell.

Jenny, in turn, asked what we do. And immediately purchased several Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Covers for herself and friends.

And has been a regular customer ever since.

When she placed her recent order, she asked me to visit her revamped website.

This is a WOW! experience. The ambience she’s created is sublime. You’ll find it hard to leave. So go visit it right now and make sure you’ve got your speakers turned on.

Art Unlimited
Superb publicist, Penny Stevens, and her journalist husband, Rob Ingram, the beloved Country Squire for Australian Country Style Magazine, have been a part of our lives since the late 1980′s.

Victor and I had the head lease for the top floor of the old boat shed in Balmain where Ben Lexcen designed the sails that won the America’s Cup for Alan Bond in 1983.

The space was far too big for us, so we sublet part of it to Penny and Rob’s Awarehouse Communications.

The seed for an enduring personal friendship was planted.

Our choice of destination for the exchange of city lights for the rural life was influenced by Penny and Rob. They waxed lyrical about the beauty of the Central Tablelands.

We came. We saw. We fell in love. It’s home.

Penny is the most down to earth publicist in the entire world. She glosses over nothing but knows how to present a topic in its best light. She was the publicist behind the very successful ABC Schools Spectacular from 1983 to 2008.

She and Rob now live permanently in Cobbora NSW, not far from Dunedoo, in a converted 1800’s courthouse.

I call it The Stockade, because it’s complete with holding cells and an enclosed exercise yard which is now their elegant courtyard.

Penny has turned her well polished publicist hands to the local Dunedoo community and has given a huge shot in the arm to the local art show.

Renamed Art Unlimited, she’s revitalised it with her energy and a snappy logo. Her first year as publicist, 2008, she attracted artists from overseas as well as local talent.

The next show is May 2010. You have to be good to get in, but have a look now and make your plans.

Lucy Watts Artwork
Lucy Watts is a bright, bubbly, effervescent woman. She exudes so much love and warmth, listening to her is like being bathed in sunlight.

Penny Stevens introduced me to Lucy as someone I have to meet. Penny and Lucy work together on Art Unlimited and have developed a close friendship.

And as friends do, we compulsively share good people and good experiences.

Lucy is also a very, very talented artist.

Not only does she have sell out art shows and a swag of private commissions on her list of To Do’s, but she now produces a range of cards that will blow the socks off the recipient of any one of them.

She’s a Bronte beach girl who’s now a sheep farmer’s wife in Dunedoo NSW. And has collected a few degrees in marketing and public relations along the way. As well as honed some very good and useful skills in conference and event organisation as well as art gallery management.

But it’s her range of cards that has won my heart.

And the stories she tells about each card.

You’ll come away loving Magpies as much as she does.

And she’s a do-gooder as well.

She’s formed a partnership with the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal and donates a portion of her sales to their worthy cause.

Many of her Lucy Watts Artwork products are packaged at Westhaven in Dubbo NSW. Westhaven is an organisation that employs men and women who have a disability and Lucy has a deep commitment to maintaining their working partnership.

Whether you need cards for personal use or corporate use, you need to include some of her range in your range. Go look now.

Winston Marsh’s Business Marketing
Serendipity plays a part in everyone’s life. Even if we do ignore it at times.

I was looking for a particular business book by Joe Sugarman that I could only get on Amazon. It was out of print and one copy was available for US$200. At the time, the Australian dollar was $0.72 to the US dollar. Much too expensive for me to contemplate.

Back to Google Australia.

A site comes up. The Business Growth Centre in Victoria. It’s 6:30pm. I’m amazed that the phone is answered. By Winston himself.

He not only has my book at a reasonable price, but a few more that I include in my order. He is the world’s greatest salesman, you know!

He asks me what I do.

I tell him the story of my accidental business.

He listens to it from beginning to end.

Then says he’ll ring me back in a few days to record it for his Winston Marsh’s Business Marketing CD’s that are sent to all his subscribers.

Which he does.

There are nine segments. The links will be posted to the sidebar as they become available.

I love his email newsletter and his CD’s. If you’re in business and need a good shot in the arm to get you out of the doldrums, he’s the one to do it.

I highly recommend visiting his website and signing up. You’ll learn so much that’s new. And relearn so much you’ve forgotten about how to please your customers, as well as how to run your business so that you love it too. Do it now!

There’s More.

In The Kitchen With Victoria:- Victoria Hansen
Baraque School Of Sewing and Style:- Barbara Aquilina
Where 2 Now?:- Jill Weeks
Autumn Threads:- Evelyn Cummings
The Butlers Guild:- A Life of Elegance

And Then Some More On Page 3.

Chris Rewell, Image Consultant and Author
Grafton ArtsFest:- Faye Boyd

Take care,

Carol

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