Happy New Year!

The shop has re-opened after the festive break and we look forward to welcoming new and returning customers through our doors at 9A Orchard Crescent.

Unfortunately, volunteer illness has left us extremely short-staffed. 

Can you spare two hours?

Volunteers are required to:

• serve in the shop (paper based, so no complicated till to learn!)
• make up customer orders
• check off returning stock

The opening hours are: Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 10-12 and 2-4 and Saturday 10-12.

We urgently need staff for Saturdays.

If you can help, either occasionally or on a regular basis, please call into the shop.

Spring into the Small World

The daffodils are blooming and the weather has been so glorious, we have even taken our stock outside!

Easter opening

Mmm....chocolate.  If there's one thing we know about in the Small World, it's chocolate.  We have Belgian chocolates, family-sized bags of chocolate, individual chocolate bars in coffee, orange and vanilla flavours, to name but a few.

If you are looking for a non-chocolate Easter gift then we have little chick purses containing jelly sweets, chick tape measures and of course our beautiful handcrafted cards.

Please bear in mind that we will be closed on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd April, re-opening for business as usual at 10.00 a.m. on Tuesday 26th April.

Prestonpans Fairtrade Town

We will be having our first Fairtrade Town steering group meeting on Tuesday, 19 April at 12pm in the Small World Shop, 9A Orchard Crescent, Prestonpans, EH32 9JJ.

This meeting is open to anyone who is interested in Fair Trade, and would like to work with others to enable Prestonpans to become a Fair Trade Town.

Drivers needed!

We need drivers to transport volunteers and a couple of boxes of stock to craft and summer fairs in Prestonpans, Cockenzie and Port Seton areas.  The fairs usually take place on weekends.  Are you able to help?

Of course, if you would like to run a stall for us, or work in the shop, or behind the scenes in any capacity we would love to hear from you.

Volunteers' Week

Volunteers' Week (1-7 June) is the UK's annual celebration of the work volunteers do. It plays a huge part in raising the the profile of volunteers across the UK and, just happens to coincide with our busiest time of year.

Many schools and churches are now holding their summer fayres and take our stock on a sale-or-return basis, so we need volunteers to pack orders, price goods and serve customers.

People are surprised to learn that these type of events account for the majority of our sales, rather than in the shop itself. We use paper-based record keeping (so there is no complicated till or computer to learn!).

The current pool of around a dozen volunteers, come, not just from Prestonpans, but Port Seton, Longniddry, Gullane, Musselburgh and Joppa and are a mixed bunch including retired professionals, career breakers and part-time workers.

We are lucky to have such great volunteers - some of whom turn their hand to other tasks such as painting or minor DIY when necessary. Others use the skills gained in their professional lives and give talks on Fair trade to community organisations.

However, we are currently stretched to the limit and desperately need more volunteers in the shop to ensure we can continue with our current opening hours (Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 10-12 & 2-4 and Saturday 10-12).

If you could give just two hours please call into the shop.