BoBelle London's trip to Paris

Two weeks ago I had a crazy week what with determining the new logistics company, new deliveries, opening new accounts and getting ready for the trip to Paris, back to London and then off to Madrid. It was lots of fun though!

I absolutely love Paris and adore the heady culture, the spectacular architecture, the delicious cuisine and not to mention the hugely desirable and inspirational fashion. I love it even more when it is sunny, and what a sunny trip we had! It was truly stunning; 25 degrees so perfect for meandering the cobbled historic streets and soaking up the atmosphere. First stop, a good coffee by the Eiffel Tower and then onto some shopping and getting ready for the show we were attending, The Box and Pret a Porter. Pret a Porter is the biggest fashion tradeshow in Paris with huge brands exhibiting and showing off their latest collections. The Box is the designated Accessories section which BoBelle London is planning to exhibit at next season.

Pictured above, the stunning Eiffel Tower always takes my breath away...after a lovely fresh coffee and croissant it was time to get ready to hit the show....










As I mentioned, Pret a Porter and The Box are massive shows and for BoBelle London to exhibit there would be just phenomenal. Growing a brand is certainly not easy and to be at the stage of international growth is fantastic. Indeed, our first international stockist in the Netherlands, Sensuous, have just placed their second order with BoBelle London and we have ben seen in one of their national glossies, Zin magazine. Ooh, and if The Box goes really well in Paris, who knows, it might be New York next...!

BoBelle London will also be showcasing at Pure in February again and we will keep you posted on our developments from Paris! Keep reading though as soon I shall put up the latest news from our trip to Madrid which coincided with Vogue's night out - and what a night it was....

Top designers love eel skin

As you might be aware, eel skin leather is a wonderfully soft, incredibly supple and super strong. The more it is used, the softer it gets. It is such a unique material, despite being used for many years. It is a natural by-product of the food industry in Asia where eels are extensively farmed for their meat and the skin is discarded. We at BoBelle London love using this wonderful leather as it is perfect for accessories. We are not the only brand though; the likes of Alexander McQueen, Rupert Sanderson, Yves Saint Laurent and more have used this opulant by-product:

(This YSL beauty in scarlet is my personal favourite....)

The general public are demanding more longevity from their accessories and wish to incorporate fashion with ethics. That is what we at BoBelle London pride ourselves on. We want to offer our customers luxurious fashion that is a natural by-product and that is lovingly made. We are constantly updating styles and shapes and have some exciting new products in line for Christmas....!

We are now off to Paris for a lovely trade show (photos and blog updated next week); so have a lovely weekend and we hope to welcome you back to BoBelle London soon!

Best wishes,

Claire

Fabulous new stockists for BoBelle London

BoBelle London has had a very busy few weeks after Pure and getting ready for showcasing the autumn/winter collections. Watch this space for gorgeous new pictures of our stunning new season collections....

In the meantime, Bou Chic in Ryde, Isle of Wight, is a lovely new stockist. From the Gaia to the Melissa, if you are lucky enough to be escaping to the IOW this summer, do pop into this wonderful shop. You will find a wide selection of clothes, jewellery, gifts and more.

If you are heading to Scotland don't forget to pop into the lovely boutique, Hibiscus Flower. Sarah, the owner, is friendly, chatty and full of enthusiasm. She only stocks brands that are ethical, sustainable and fair trade; we certainly enjoy finding out all of the new brands she stocks! One of her fasvourite pieces from BoBelle London is the Hestia and Calypso Keyrings - incredibly popular, especially when we decorated ours on our 'tree'!

Eve in Witney, Oxfordshire, owned by the lovely Tamsin, is also a treasure-trove of not-on-the-high-street labels. We found some gorgeous gifts for a friend's wedding, not to mention a beautiful turquoise dress...!

Please do refer to our Stockists page at BoBelle's website to see where your local outlet is. This page is updated regularly and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Next week images from our new collection, plus details of our fashion show and trips to Paris and Madrid will be uploaded - watch this space!

I look forward to welcoming you to BoBelle soon.

Best wishes,

Claire

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