BoBelle London gets ready for Pure

This past week has been incredibly busy with the run-up to Pure. Pure is the biggest fashion tradeshow - it takes place in the stuning Olympia old train station over three days. This year BoBelle London has its own stand, K8, and we can be found upstairs in the Accessories section.

From getting our look books printed, to designing new key pieces, we have certainly been busy preparing! The stand will hopefully look gorgeous; sophisticated, elegant and on-trend. We have a wonderful vintage iron corner unit, beautiful draped deep purple cutains and cute black rose doorknobs to hang our eel skin bags on. A stunning bunch of flowers will be positioned on our matching iron tables next to the opulant sheepskin rug. Our new collection of rich burgundies, deep plums and splashings of teal will blend in perfectly with our decorations.

Over 15,000 buyers are expected to attend Pure; so hopefully lots of new stockists for our growing brand. Please do keep an eye on our Stockists page to locate your nearest store selling BoBelle London.

Photos from the show will be uploaded next week, along with latest news updates!

Enjoy your weekend!

Claire at BoBelle London

BoBelle London - interview with the Evening Standard

It was a very exciting week last week as Rosamund Urwin from the Evening Standard interviewed me for a piece on entrepreneurs. The article was published in yesterday's paper and it was excellent publicity for myself and my growing brand. It was a very honest article which explained how hard it is to grow a business in a recession, let alone a fashion one. It also highlighted the need, in my opinion, for a strong network of family and friends to help you through the bad times. When I first started BoBelle I was doing small markets and fairs to get the brand name out there and to increase exposure. These were not easy and sometimes the weather was so bad it was just impossible! Still, without testing the market and getting feedback, I would not have known what the public thought. It was also a relatively cheap way of growing as the initial costs are not half as much as having a shop....A shop would be lovely in the end, but the costs are astronomical for a small brand, so you have to weigh up the priorities.

As a result, BoBelle London has grown organically and can now be found in over 60 boutiques and stores across the UK and Ireland. Now we also have our first international stockist, Sensuous in Amsterdam. We have a trade show next week, Pure, which is the biggest fashion trade show in the UK. We are really excited about this and we will be exhibiting our new range of fashion accessories, including a new men's line.

Please keep up to date on BoBelle's developments by registering for our newsletter and visiting the BoBelle London online boutique. Please do not hesitate to contact the Sales Team if we can help in any way.

Have a great weekend!

Claire

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20% off to celebrate BoBelle London winning award

The Founder of BoBelle London, Claire Watt-Smith, is celebrating winning the Top 35 Businesswomen Under 35 Award from Management Today. The piece was featured in The Sunday Times and Claire is thrilled at the achievement. Previous winners include Sarah Curran, the founder of My-Wardobe.com - a huge name in the world of business fashion.

To celebrate BoBelle London's success, we are offering 20% off all orders placed at http://www.bobelle.co.uk/ this weekend until Monday. Simply enter 'award' into the promotional box at the checkout and the discount will automantically be deducted. Discounts apply to all purchases made, including the new Melissa Handbag, Chloe Wallet and Theia Clutch Bag.

Please contact the Sales Team at sales@bobelle.co.uk if we can assist in any way.

We look forward to welcoming you back to BoBelle London.

Happy Shopping!

Ps, don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

Amazing 2 weeks - new department stores and award

It has been an extremely busy past couple of weeks. I am not too sure where June has gone really! As well as preparing for my best friend's wedding, I had meetings lined up with The Times, Red Magazine, Ely's department store and Fenwick. All in all though, I could not have asked for better results.

Firstly, the meeting with The Times and then Red magazine was fantastic. They loved the new pieces in particular, the new Melissa Handbag and the Chloe Wallet, so fingers crossed...:

I am so thrilled with the new Melissa. It took me a long time to fully amend the style to make it perfect. As such, it now is designed so that it can be worn on the shoulder, across the body or as a clutch bag. Currently it comes in Light Grey, Mocha and Midnight Blue....perfect for heading into autumn (though light enough for summer). As always, the lining is BoBelle's deep red signature lining and all new styles now boast our 'BoBelle London' tag.

All of our boutiques love the new styles and I am thrilled to announce that BoBelle London can now be found in Ely's of Wimbledon and Selby's of Islington department stores. This is a huge achievement and reflects how the BoBelle London brand has evolved and grown. Please do have a look if you are passing, and of course, let me know your thoughts!

Whilst away in Portugal for my best friend's wedding I won the Top 35 Businesswomen Under 35 Award from Management Today. I was so honoured to have received this award and I am consequently being taken out, courtesy of Kleinwort Benson, next week at Fortnum and Mason. The award was featured in The Sunday Times Business section and the women who won range from entrepreneurs and creative designers through to financial experts and business acquisition specialists. To be on this list is fantastic as this exclusive journal has recognised our hard work, perseverance and ambition. This award is in its 10th year and last year Sarah Curran, the founder of My-Wardrobe.com, won too. I endeavour to make the BoBelle London brand as big as the My-Wardrobe.com boutique - all in good time!

Please do email me if you have any questions, and feel free to comment! :-) Don't forget to also follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

Best wishes

Claire

BoBelle London helps charity auctions

BoBelle London have had a busy few weeks helping colleagues raise money for certain children's charities. One in particular was launched with Karen Magerison from Bloomhost. She is cycling 350km over 5 days in Cuba. A dinner was hosted in May which raised over £3000 for The Children's Trust Charity. BoBelle London sponsored the event and donated a gorgeous Hemera Handbag and matching Gaia Purse in the raffle. Over 80 women attended the dinner and the event was a huge success!

Another event that BoBelle London is sponsoring this July is in aid of the British Association of Adoption and Fostering. We are thrilled to be working with the charity as they have been raising over £25,000 at their annual events over the past few years. Previous supporters have included Anya Hindmarch, Smythson and Lulu Guiness - names BoBelle London is proud to be associated with. Please see our website HERE for more information.

BoBelle London is growing organically and working with charities that are so worthy of support means a great deal to us. Please do contact us if you feel we can help raise your charity's profile.

Best wishes,

Claire Watt-Smith
Founder, BoBelle London

Small Business is Big Business event with Boris Johnson and Tim Campbell

Having found the invitation via Twitter (can you believe that is how we network sometimes now?!) I thought it would be thoroughly enjoyable to attend the Q&A that was being held in St Paul's with the Mayor himself and a selection of panelists to discuss the ramifications of the credit crunch on small businesses.

After a small introduction of each panelist, the questions came flooding in from the audience. Electric vehicles, the banks, scope for growth, social enterprises and more (as well as the CC) were discussed. About 500 people attended the event; I had hoped for a little more banter on small businesses in particular, and even micro businesses. The issue of funding is still major and often a real hindrance for some reaching their goals. I have to say, the room was packed with energy, vibrancy and entrepreneurial flair. I was honoured to be a part of it and as soon as I could, ran down to speak to the panelists myself.

I have actually met Boris Johnson before in Oxford prior to him becoming Mayor. I find him hilarious; incredibly articulate, bright and charasmatic. Tim Campbell was inviting, passionate and energetic. He was really pioneering social enterprise and helps a lot of underprivaliged children focus on their skills and building certain attributes. Sue Terpilowski is from the Federation of Small Businesses, of which I and BoBelle are members. The FSB exists to bridge the gap between businesses and the government. If ever you have an issue with something, you can call the FSB. If ever you need advice on insurance, HR queries or networking, you can call the FSB. They really are fantastic and a great asset to have. Colin Stanbridge, as well as being noted for working at the BBC for as long as I can remember, is part of the Chamber of Commerce. He again was incredibly articulate and found him to be light-hearted and gentle, too.

I wanted to question Boris, Sue et al issues on finance, how London is helping businesses grow, what incentives there might be for micro companies and how they think England will get out of this recession. Of course, not all of my questions were answered! I do however have all contact details so will find out more and let you know.

I am really looking forward to the next event; I hope it is longer next time. It is a great way to boost one's confidence; there is nothing more exhilierationg and exciting than meeting budding business men and women who are all in the same position and who all have one thing on their mind; growth.

Let's see how BoBelle London will carry on growing, shall we?

Pictured above are the programme and the panel of judges, with Boris standing

Busy week - magazine meetings, new styles, Fenwick's and more...

BoBelle is really starting to make its mark in the fashion world and I am absolutely thrilled. I had another meeting with Fenwick's Brent Cross and they have just had their new order sent to them which they love! They have doubled on their initial order which is fantastic. They have purchased the Chloe Wallet, Aphrodite Wallet, Theia Clutch Bag, Hestia Keyring, Calypso Keyring, Gaia Purse and the Athena Purse all in a variety of colours. They adore the Royal Blue in particular, and know that the Mocha will sell instantly. Pop into Fenwick at Brent Cross and see BoBelle London next to Michael Kors, Donna Karen and Mulberry....

In addition to Fenwick's last week, I had a meeting with one of the fabulous editors at Grazia. They love the new Melissa Handbag and took the samples of the new Mocha and Light Grey!! Let's hope they use them in the June issue....what is more, today I have a meeting with Stylist magazine, the free one we all get in the week from the Evening Standard. The number of people I see reading that freebie is phenomenal...if I can get BoBelle in there that would also be fantastic! Taking lots of styles and an array of colours with me, so again, fingers crossed.

This Thursday I am presenting at the Green Collar Woman styling event. If you would like to attend please click here and register your interest. I personally am going to talk about fashion and the ethical fashion world in particular. In a world of ever-increasing disposable fashion, how can professional women wear ethical to work? I am also giving those lucky ladies a special discount on BoBelle London products. It is so difficult to be ethical all of the time, but little steps do help and I am going to prove that British made products and fairly traded attire do exist.

Off now to get ready for Stylist....but again, if you would like to get in touch please do email me. The Green Collar Woman event is being held at: Caponata 3-7, Delancey Street, London NW1 7NL from 6-8.30pm and will be great networking.

I look forward to hearing fromy ou soon!

Best wishes

Claire

Just a few images of some of the styles and colours stocked in Fenwick Brent Cross, London NW4.