Fair Trade

When Magda came over last Saturday, she told me about her dad's newest accomplishment - keeping bees and harvesting honey. She also said that she had planned to bring some honey, but forgot it on the table. Ah, she knows me well though! I adore honey. I was excited about local honey from her dad, but sometimes it doesn't work out and that was ok. It was really sweet of Magda to think of me though and to remember that honey is something that would make me happy. 

The next day, I received a text from Magda: 

"But my dad offers you a deal :) he will deliver you the honey himself next week if you would like to draw him the label for his honey jars. With mom they love the wedding invitations [Note: I illustrated Magda's wedding invitations last year]. Would you be interested?"

I got the biggest grin on my face when I read that. Of course, that sounds perfect!! I loved that it was a this-for-that type of trade, like how things used to be done. I'm just honored to have a service that can be traded for liquid gold (that would be honey). 

Mom needed to run some errands in Ostrava, so I sat in Laura Coffee and worked on the labels for "The Ligotka Bee Farm". It was stifling hot inside the cafe with no air conditioning, but somehow it made it all the more fun. By the time Mom picked me up, I had three options for honey labels ready to go for her parents to choose from!

Here were the finished products! 

And today, the treasure finally arrived!! I met up with Magda's parents near my house (the GPS never can find our house - sorry visitors!), and we made the trade. 

Fair trade? I think so! Honey labels for a jar of honey. Illustration and honey are two of my favorite things, so this whole "trade" was a dream.

Oh, and the honey is absolutely delicious!