Spirit of Christmas Fair at Olympia, London from 2 Nov-6th November 2011

Boutique de Noel at Kensington Town Hall, 9th and 10th November 2011

Well Being of Women Christmas Fair at Drapers Hall, City of London, 5th December 2011

Please come and see us at these events for great shopping and exclusive offers.  If you would like to know more please email me at service@bowndesigns.com

If you’re in London on Wednesday 1st December, we’d love you to join us for a mini shopping event at 45 Clarges Street, Mayfair, from noon ’til 9pm.

As well as a selection of gift ideas from the Bown collection, there will also be 3 other designers selling top-quality cashmere, exquisite jewellery and rather fetching undies…

I hope to see you there!

The Junior League provides volunteers and resources to support projects eliminating poverty and its effects in London.

This quality event takes place at Kensington Town Hall over two days, 10th and 11th November, and promises to be great fun!

We hope to see you there! Click here for more information on the event…

We have new styles and colours and I’ll be on the stand to tell you more about the collection (unless I’m up in the Food Hall sampling their wares!)

The fair runs from the 3rd to the 7th November, at Olympia, London, and you can find out more by visiting www.spiritofchristmasfair.co.uk

Lizzy is a new take on our larger Margot bag, with the added option of an extra long strap to wear it across the body. It also has a zip fastening, which on a small bag is a must for any thinking-girl-about-town.

By the way, not named after any celebrity,  but after my old neighbour/friend in Bath, the very smart Lizzy Morgan.

Not least, the lovely Nathan Brown, founder of one-year-old Lodger bespoke mens shoes… a new company which recently won Brand of Tomorrow from the Walpole committee (well done!). Nathan is a breath of fresh, honest, down-to-earth air when it comes to entrepreneurs. He is charming, but not smarmy, and tells it how it is. You must go to his smart but unpretentious shop, just off Bond St, and stroke his beautiful shoes (I am sure he will show you how to order some too, with their up-to-the minute fitting technology).

Personally, I can’t wait to have saved enough to get a pair of Lodger lace-ups fitted.  As they are essentially mens shoes, I will have to focus on replacing my rather over-worn and threadbare “Katherine Hepburn-stroke-artist in a recession” outfits at the same time. I’m told, ‘Invest in the shoes first and the rest will follow’…

Lodger shoes to lust after

Sometimes a new customer will contact me with concern over how to look after vegetable tanned leather. The most common question is: I’ve got a scratch on the leather.. what should do?!

Well, surface scratches are very easy to rub away on vegetable tanned leather. Technically, all it takes is gently massaging the displaced oil back into the scratched area with your thumb. A quick rub with a soft cloth (a hand in a thick wool sock will do) for larger areas or, if the leather has got a little dry, a good polish with a water-based cleanser …

but the thing about vegetable tanned leather is largely to use it and let it develop it’s own character. This takes a little hurdle of faith, the time between a bag being “box fresh” and becoming part of who you are. Give it that time and, before you know it,  the bag will start to get a very personal patina.  After a couple of months, and some of those loving polishes, and it will start to have its very own ‘glow’.

(You know sometimes you see someone with an old leather item that you can tell they have used for years, maybe decades -it may even once have been their dad’s –  and yet it looks fantastic. You know you can’t buy that personality… that’s vegetable tanned leather.)

The owner of this Overnight Cabin Bag is one such customer, asking within a week how to keep his bag mark-free. As you can see, a couple of months later and he, or rather his beautiful daughter, is really taking the leap of faith and “loving and living” this bag!

(thank you, Simon, for the very special photo… but keep an eye open… I can see that bag disappearing into her wardrobe before you know it!)

The FT chose our Amelia (packed with pockets and lots of room while remaining elegant and sleek) and our Clem Clutch, for carrying your essentials on hand in the office, out at lunch, or at the check in desk.

As you can see from my well-used bags below, the Clutch is designed to fit perfectly in the Amelia’s central pocket, while leaving loads of space for a laptop, a pair of heels, and your other daily essentials. (I find it a particularly useful combination when traveling).

For a limited period, we’re offering £100 off when you buy the two together…. select 2 bags in the colours you want, then the £100 will be deducted on the checkout page.

Wow, what a year it’s been (and what a year to come, for sure). Definitely a time of change, and a chance to revisit what’s important.

We started that early last year, with the biggest change being a move out of Bath down the road to Glastonbury.  Only an hour away, but a huge difference to our lives, in a very positive way. More space, less traffic, and the return of an inner peace that had been slipping away.

Of course, selling and buying a house and moving business premises at the same time is pretty stressful in a ‘normal’ year. Last summer it was a miracle anything happened with the economic climate as it is. Anyway, someone, somewhere, smiled on us and here we are.

We had a good Christmas, with a great time at the Spirit of Christmas Fair at Olympia.

Thank you to all the returning and new customers who we met there… as a primarily internet-based business, it was fantastic to have that face-to-face feedback and a reminder that it is all worthwhile.

So now we’re into 2009 and working on finalising new designs for the year ahead… please feel free to join our mailing list if you’d like me to let you know when those come in.

Best wishes,

Judy

I think something about a way a clutch is used, tucked under the arm or held in the hand, immediately lends a certain air of elegant nonchalance.

We’ve got 3 new styles that fit the bill from day to evening, smart to casual, home or away…

Use one on its own instead of a handbag (for the minimalists among you), or as a useful extra tucked in a tote bag; ideal for popping out for lunch, after-work drinks, or as a travel wallet.