CyberLyly Script bangles just arrived in stock !

Our latest Monochrome script bangles have just arrived in stock ! In the coolest black or should we say Noir, and the smoothest white, or should we say Cream ?

With slogans such as "Chocolate is my weakness" and " Don't give me that attitude, I've got my own !" they're a sure fire stocking filler winner

There are seven new slogans, each in black and white with script colour reversed and they're live on the cyberlyly site right now...

Check them out at www.cyberlyly.co.uk

Kiki Miao's moment in the spotlight

Wow, its all go for Kiki Miao !

So far this week, we've had our new catalogue delivered, and appeared in the Daily Mail (Saturday magazine for gorgeously desirable things) and Instyle magazine ! Thats quite a week in anyone's book !

We've just despatched the new catalogues to all stockists today, but if you haven't seen Kiki Miao's collection, please give us a call on 08452 600 925 and we can pop one in the post to you today.

We're sure you'll love it !

Sukie Lau jewellery boxes ideal for Xmas gifts

The new season's designs of Sukie Lau jewellery boxes are now in stock.

We have some beautiful designs in purple, silver and black at all price points.

We especially love the purple treasure chest box pictured here as its bang on trend for this purple winter we're hovering on the edge of right now.

In case you haven't seen it the new Sukie catalogue can be downloaded from our website (under catalogue downloads) and features all the new styles, including our new scarf collection - perfect for wrapping up warm and remaining bright this winter !

Don't miss it !

New Catalogue 2009/10

Finally we've got confirmation that our brand new, hot off the press gorgeous catalogue is being delivered tomorrow. We'll be sending the catalogues out on Thursday, Friday and Monday.

We can't wait for you to see the new catalogue, as its rather lovely, if we do say so ourselves. This time we've combined Studio, Gallery, Rocks, Le Journal de Lola, Affirmations and Steam into one big bumper catalogue for ease of use.

In case you're wondering what's happening with the other collections- here's an update :

Kiki Miao: As a boutique collection, Kiki has a separate catalogue, please call if you would like a copy sending. Kiki is a gold and silver collection based on a Moroccan theme, its also available for download from our website.

Sukie Lau’s new collection is available to download from our website – as it changes twice a year this was the most practical way of showing the collection.

CyberLyly has its own website at www.cyberlyly.co.uk featuring everything that’s currently in stock for this collection. Please call if you don’t have log in details.

New collections :

Blowing in the Wind is a fabulous & stylish new collection made from real leaves that have been preserved with different finishes, the fashion world is going crazy for our leaves….! Blowing in the Wind has its own on-line catalogue that will be available shortly as well as a website for re-ordering. As soon as these are up and running we’ll let you know – thanks for your patience !

Tower Rings are different rings that can be worn together for maximum effect! With initial packages at just £250 including POS – it’s a bargain way to buy into the craze for unique and personalised jewellery… The Tower Rings catalogue will be sent out to you shortly (We’re just finishing it off !)

Blowing in the Wind - fabulous new collection to launch at Autumn Fair

Autumn in the air ?

How about real leaves as stunning jewellery pieces.

Our Blowing in the Wind collection features hand picked real leaves which are firstly checked for imperfections, then the surfaces are hand coated with a copper based finish which allows the electroforming to coat the leaves.

We have six beautiful finishes for our real leaves, they are preserved in silver, gold, antique copper, brass, vintage silver or an irridescent coating.

Leaves available include Cottonwood, Aspen, Lacy Oak, birch and the very delicate Sugar Canadian Maple in various sizes.

Each leaf is a handcrafted piece of wearable art, unique and totally individual.

As worn by Hilary Duff, Fergie, Eva Mendes and Jessica Alba among others.

Kiki Miao new catalogue live on site for download

Kiki Miao's first catalogue is now live on the site, under catalogue downloads.

For those of you who haven't viewed this new collection yet, it will be on show at the NEC Autumn Fair - stand G10/H11.

All of the first collection is now in stock, while the second collection (towards the back of the catalogue) will be in stock mid September.

This is a delightful new collection, its already been featured in The Times and the Daily Express and with its silver and gold delicate style its right on trend !

This is a geographically exclusive collection, so don't leave it too long or you may be disappointed...

Dublin Autumn Fair

We're very excited here, as we'll be taking the ferry over to Dublin to show at the Irish Autumn Gift and Home show later this week...!

We've heard great things about Dublin, so we can't wait !

The show is on from Sunday 23rd to Wednesday 26th August at RDS Simmonscourt, so if you're passing by, stop and take a look at our new collections.

We'll have lots of new jewellery to see in Studio, Gallery, Rocks, Le Journal de Lola, Steam, Affirmations, Sukie Lau, CyberLyly and our newest collections : Kiki Miao and Blowing in the wind....

See you there

Kiki Miao second collection launch at NEC Autumn Fair !

Kiki Miao, our new gold and silver range will launch her second collection at the NEC Autumn Fair....

Kiki Miao creates stylish and delicate jewellery combined with a light catching textural finish. Exotic but wearable, in sterling silver washed with gold.


Kiki Miao's first collection is inspired by the Noctiluca, a beautiful organism that eliminates tiny sparks of light,

Drawing on Moroccan nights complete with belly dancers and fireside storytellers to captivate and delight, delicate chains and intricate charms sit alongside chunky discs and pretty florals, it’s an intriguing mix and the attention to design as well as the decorative details are captivating.

Each piece of jewellery comes with beautiful packaging which can also be used to display the jewellery on.

Bon Voyage and best of luck to Supersonic Simon !

Our lovely agent Simon (South East) is leaving us for distant shores.. :-(

Although he's only been with us a year or so, he'll be missed by us at the office and his customers on the road, so we wish Simon all the best in his new post in super hot and sticky (thank goodness for airconditioning) Oman !

Obviously its only 45degrees so we're not jealous as we head into the deep dark winter months !

All the best Simon from all the gang at Balagan !!!

Sukie Lau new collection ready to debut at Pure

Pure womenswear starts this Sunday, 2nd August to 4th August, and we'll be there with our brand new collection of Sukie Lau divine jewellery plus the new jewellery boxes and scarves (fingers crossed they arrive in time)

If you love catwalk shows and high fashion this is the show to be at, its on at Olympia this coming weekend

see you there !

Sunshine, Pimms on the lawn and Harrogate Home and gift !

Hi, we're at Harrogate this week, enjoying the sunshine (so far) with three of our collections, Sukie Lau, Cyber Lyly and Kiki Miao, and to quote huggy bear the word on the street is good !

Only the second day of the show, but as always its a lovely place to be and we're enjoying showcasing the new collections. We have new sections in cyberlyly - graphic traffic, material girl and put the cuffs on officer !

We have new colourways for the winter season in Sukie Lau and a brand new collection from Kiki Miao - which has had some fabulous coverage recently, she's appeared in the Saturday Express magazine and The Times !

So if you're at Harrogate pop over to design point 1 - stand 98 and say hi and take a peek :-)

Otherwise we'll see you at Pure or the Autumn Fair, but for now we're enjoying the sunshine while it lasts !

Selling the Features of a Product vs. the Emotional Connection

Taken from our July newsletter top tips.... hop over to www.balagan.co.uk to sign up

While we all like to think of ourselves as making rational choices based on intellect, but actually our irrational minds are steeped in cultural biases, generated from our upbringing, generation, surroundings and a whole host of other subconscious factors that exert a hidden influence over the choices we make every day.

So what does this mean for the sales process that we go through tons of times a day?
Firstly, You should never focus your sales message to selling a specific product – even if that is the end goal.

This is because you are actually selling a result, a problem solved, a benefit, an experience or in real terms, an emotional connection.

There are millions of products out there, even if your shop sells the fanciest and most luxurious widget on the block.

Its worth knowing that your customer will actually buy based upon a perceived emotion. So, if you fancy yourself as a good salesperson, this is a really effective tool for closing sales.

This is a continuance of the features v’s benefits sales strategy.
For example, if you were selling a supercool luxury car, you could focus on engine power, speed, and all the mechanical items that go into making this a luxury ride, or you could focus on the status, the experience and how your customer would feel sitting in that car and being the owner of that car, and create an emotional response that motivates your customer to buy.

For example, would they feel, cool, sexy, confident, successful? If you connect with your customer and talk about how this purchase will benefit them personally you’re much more likely to make a sale.

This works fabulously in boutiques – Why do we buy clothes? – to feel good, confident, to fit in, and a host of other reasons. If you can tap into the reasons behind the purchase then its much easier to sell the product.

If you’re thinking we’re a gift shop – it doesn’t work for us – then you could be missing a trick. Why do customers come to your shop? To browse, some “me time”, to solve a problem, or to treat themselves or someone close to them, or even for a chat with you ?

If you understand what’s going on behind the conversation then the transaction will flow much more smoothly.

By the way, anyone who hasn’t already we recommend Martin Lindstrom’s book “Buy.ology” How everything we believe about why we buy is wrong….
He basically created a new science – neuromarketing ! Which is a mix or marriage really, of marketing and science. He describes it as the key to unlocking the subconscious thoughts, feelings and desires that drive all our purchasing decisions….

And who among us doesn’t want to know that ?

CyberLyly Plastic fantastic Summer '09 now in stock !

Lets hear it for the long awaited arrival of the Summer '09 collection of Plastic Fantastic jewellery from CyberLyly.

Yes we do know its taken ages, but honestly its not us, we're not quite sure which scenic route the boat took ? But its here now.

We have zingy Summer hues of Turquoise, blues and greens, and a sofer colourway of pinks, lilacs and zingtastic reddy pinks to rock your look right through this lovely Summer.

All the new jewellery is now on our website (well it will be from Friday morning) so perhaps we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, but the news is too good not to share !

Watch out for new releases next week in our graphic traffic collection - tell the world how you really really feel !

So, here's to a colourtastic weekend !

What's new....

Just noticed that we haven't posted for a while, so this is a kind of a catch up !

We're hard at work on our new catalogues for September issue, as you can imagine this is lots of work, so we'll be fairly quiet and heads down for a bit.

Harrogate preparations are underway - we're in DesignPoint 1-98 ! We hope we'll see lots of you there? We're taking a selection of our ranges with lots of new items for the summer... We'll be looking forward to a nice few days - hot but not too hot, if you know what we mean, it can get pretty roasting in those tents...!

New people have joined us, You'll hear Mark on the telephone with Charlie, and David who's come to manage our despatch operation and even up the guy/girl ratio. On our team of the battle of the sexes, we have the lovely Stephanie and Natalie who make sure your orders go out right !

Retailrehab is growing rapidly and we've been asked to speak at both IJL & the Autumn Fair, on how to promote your businesses on a budget, so we're preparing our seminar and looking forward to this opportunity.

Hannah has left to get lots of sleep in before her baby arrives and the rest of us are working hard, avoiding getting distracted by the beautiful sunny weather to concentrate on the orders and the new designs for Autumn / Winter 2009.

Happy sizzling summer, hopefully all those staycations are having a booming effect on your cashregisters !

Hope to see you at Harrogate !

Blogs, blogging and new social media !

Blogs, blogging and new social media !

This is taken from our June top tips, which get sent out by email at the beginning of each month, if you're not on our list, or you haven't received them, give us a call or drop us an email to let us know....

First up, lets start with a definition of what a blog is, so there’s no confusion:

A blog is a derivative of the term web – log. Its normally run by one person but it can be run by several with contributions by interested parties. Its updated regularly and can feature graphics or video, as well as quizzes, questions and comments. It runs in reverse order with the most recent articles or posts as they’re known coming at the top of the blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others are used more as online personal diaries. There’s many different kinds of blogs, personal ones, corporate ones, question answering ones and genre blogs to name a few.

Since blogs are posted online, they’re arguably interconnected and this interconnectivity is called the blogosphere. It now has its own rules, communities and search engines. There are also micro blog sites such as Twitter which only allow users to post messages of 140 characters at a time.

So, what’s all the fuss about, what’s the importance of blogging?

Well, blogging gives people and in our case businesses a voice, they’re invaluable for interacting with customers and engaging with and attracting potential new customers. As you control the information you put out you can promote your business as you wish it to be promoted and gain search engine ranking (as content rich sites rise up through search engine rankings)

So should your Business be Blogging?

The answer is pretty much - YES! Whatever product or services your business provides you should be blogging now. Unless you hate writing or have nothing of interest to say. Blogging is basically free, the only cost is your time, but sadly, most businesses are still not taking advantage of this simple, easy and inexpensive way to promote their business.

These are the top five reasons why you should be blogging:

1. Blogging creates authority: If you put out good content, then you can brand yourself as an expert in your field. Experts are trusted, which can only reflect well in your sales.

2. Interaction with customers: Your customers can read your posts and comment on them, getting into dialogue with your customers builds relationships, and strong relationships are at the base of sound businesses.

3. Keywords: Blogging allows you to add keyword dense content to your site – this will attract customers searching for your keywords online.

4. Branding your business is in your hands: You can present yourself as witty, personable, humble, expert, intelligent, however you see fit – blogs are a great way for your customers and prospects to see the people behind the business who are often hidden behind walls of minders …

5. Content – adding new content to your site regularly will bring in a steady stream of new prospects or customers, its also a reason for existing customers to check back, to see what’s new…. Its one of the mysteries of the human brain – none of us like to miss something we think we should know about.

The most used excuses for not blogging are lack of knowledge or time.

So for a quick knowledge burst head over to blogger to sign up for a free blog site that you can customise with your own template.

As for time, if you’re already issuing press releases, or writing a newsletter then this shouldn’t be a giant leap for you… Just re-write the piece for your blog and post it online.

There’s also a host of free resources on line about almost any kind of industry you can imagine, so if you read things that are interesting to you, and you think they’d be interesting to your readers too, then you can share them…

Don’t be put off, it sounds much more complicated than it actually is – Have a go, in the words of a famous sports brand – just do it !

You’ll be surprised, you might even enjoy it !