After discovering Rajiv Surendra’s Youtube channel a few months ago I’ve been thinking a lot about how the quality and beauty of the simple items we use every day can enhance our lives.
Rajiv seems to have built a wonderful life and career out of teaching others how to elevate their lives in a myriad of ways. I’m not just talking about surrounding yourself with things of beauty and quality but truly loving, valuing, taking care of, and being grateful for the things you own.
His channel always leaves me calmer, knowing things I didn’t before, and contemplating life differently—in much the same way Mr. Rodgers’ show did when I was a boy.
After seeing their ads stalking me across my socials I decided to reach out to leather company Satchel & Page to ask if they’d be interested in me reviewing one of their products. One bag of theirs in particular caught my eye, the Slim Mailbag.
A few days later I was contacted by a marketing team member asking for my mailing address, which I think might be a very good sign.
I'm planning on doing a little traveling over the next few months and I thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to do a long(ish)-term review of the bag. I imagine this will be a decent bag to carry my laptop and a few essentials through the airports and on road trips. I've always used a backpack in the past but the more room I have, the more I tend to try to cram into the bag.
After a bit of research I discovered that it’s regular practice for companies to lend and sometimes give products to bloggers and influencers in exchange for an honest review or mention.
Although I’ll never make a career out of this like Rajiv I think it might be a decent little hobby or side-gig to review products that genuinely capture my interest. It's funny how one thing can lead to another.
I guess you never know unless you ask.
Speaking of travel...Have you heard that HiveFest XI is going to be taking place in Barcelona this fall? After a eight year absence from these celebrations and meet-ups it would be wonderful to make it to this one. Time will tell. You never know. : )
All for now. Thanks so much for reading.
What a beautiful bag. Can you imagine them starting to send you products to review? That would be fabulous. Ah, I didn't know that this year Hivefest will be held in Spain. An excellent opportunity for you to resume your trips abroad, I think the last time was to Ireland. Olé. A hug for you.
It really is a nice one. It would be great to start getting products to review regularly! I just found out about HiveFest yesterday. Roeland said he was going on to start scouting locations in Barcelona for dinners and such soon. It would be great if I could make it out there this year! Odds are probably low because I might visit my friend Juan in Washington D.C. in September but it's not totally out of the question. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Very nice bag, you definitely have a good sense of style. And good luck with your product reviewer side gig 😀
It seems really well made! Thank you! It would be a pretty cool gig if I could establish myself.
I hope your social media profile will entice them to do a collab with you. When I was still running my YT channel I was lucky enough to be offered a couple of products to review, including a carpet cleaner that was worth around £300!! 😄
Thank you! That's awesome! What was your YT channel? I got the notification that the bag was shipped just this morning. I don't know if they'll want the bag back or not though. They didn't specify.
That's awesome!!! Your "You never know unless you ask" worked!!! I'm sure they won't want the bag back, they never do. I hope the bag lives up to your expectations
My YT channel is the same as my account here. I started a some years ago and monetised about £200 over a couple of years, not a lot compared to Hive earnings, and a lot of work editing videos. Then the lovely centralised platform stopped my monetisation and refused to tell me what the issue was. In the end I decided to just concentrate my efforts Hive
Thank you! I had a hunch when they asked for my address it was going to happen but wasn't sure.
I'll look the channel up! That's the scary thing about YT for me is the fact they can demonetize you for no reason. I had aspirations of starting a travel channel after the pandemic but it never materialized. I think the golden age of YT is pretty much over anyway. I'm glad you found this place! Our blockchain has been good for so many content creators.
When we were full on travelling and building Land Rovers we ran an insta account that had 20 K followers. It's at 18.5 K still and we still occasionally get offers and freebies. The power of marketing via the little guy is a thing.
20k is pretty good! At my peak (pre-Steemit) I had quite a number of followers on Facebook but my account was strictly for my writing so I wouldn't have been a candidate for any product reviews. The bag shipped this morning! It should be a fun little experiment. We're taking a road trip down to Sedona and then have another trip to Ohio that I'll be taking it on. With any luck I'll be schlepping it to Barcelona in September, that is if they haven't asked for it back. : )
Oh they'll never ask for it back. That's fantastic. Where will you review it? It's good marketing. We have a company here that sells laundry sheets (you know, detergent in sheet form) and even they sent us to our insta - no obligation, they just want people to talk about them word of mouth and/or become loyal customers. That's happened to us heaps - we got a rear wheel carrier bag worth a few hundred bucks just to drive around in as they knew people would see it. We didn't have to create content or anything. Still, others have been more difficult - a dash cam for example, freebie, wanted all this content and we were like, no, the deal was we create one reel, we did that, job done. They were really persistant and I had to block them. The bigger companies know better and their rules are SUPER clear and demanding EVEN if they listen to your pitch at all. We got good at picking companies that were young in the wheel rather than the big ones. ENjoy your bab - that's awesome.
I'm not sure if they'll ask for it back to resell in their outlet or something, they didn't specify. This is a pretty high-priced item ($396). Your dash cam incident makes me a little nervous about what this company might expect from me. : ) I'll review it across all my socials and here on Hive. Honestly, I suspect my following here probably sealed the deal—even though a lot of the accounts following me are inactive now. That's incredible that you got so much merch to try out. I'm sure it's fun to get free stuff and test it out. Thanks! Hopefully this will lead to other opportunities.
If they haven't put in writing you'll be find.
Nothing so far! : )
This is our insta btw
https://www.instagram.com/roving_tracks?igsh=MWp4M3Nnd3pyY3RjbA==
Thank you! I've followed you. That tiny home conversion is one of the best I've ever seen. I want one!
Ah, no kidding. Barcelona would be awesome. I was just thinking the other day how cool it would be to visit Spain. I doubt I will be able to make it, but who knows. Might have been a cool 50th birthday present if I had planned better. I'm still thinking we might head out west. Good luck with the bag if they move forward with that!
One of my good friends went to Barcelona a few years ago and said it's definitely worth a visit. I can tell you from experience, these 'Fests are so worth the price and the travel. The two I've attended, Amsterdam and Lisbon, are among some of my favorite travel memories. Everything you get for the price is astonishing. I hope you can make it happen! Thank you! I imagine the first reviewing-gig is probably the toughest to get but if I'm lucky enough for this to work out maybe future ones will be easier.
Hey, that bag's screaming for the Spanish shores. ;) be cool to meet you!
It would be perfect for Barcelona. I imagine I could fit lots of empanadas in there! : ) It'd be great to meet you too after all these years!
Right? Aaand it would make for an unusual, yet oddly compelling tidbit for your review. :D
Yes! The Slim Mailbag is infinitely more versatile that it appears to be at first glance. The folds in the leather expand to allow it to fit a, surprising, one hundred empanadas. Lol.
Be honest...wouldn't that get you to buy it?
Sí!
True that appreciating the beauty in everyday items can transform our lives 😉
Yes!
It is absolutely true that life sometimes becomes so difficult that we ourselves get worried about how to live it well. Then there are such wise people who have worked hard to improve their lives and have lived better lives. So we just follow their lives and then our lives start becoming happy again.
#hive #posh
Looks like that Slim Mailbag’s about to get a proper road test, good call with the long-term review idea.