The Balagan Group

Catwalk Images

2011-10-28T04:31:00.000-07:00

We were thrilled that three of our jewellery collections were chosen for the catwalk show at the Autumn Fair.

Sukie Lau, Blowing in the Wind and Kiki Miao looked great on the catwalk models and here's a few pictures in case you missed the show.

Our Blowing in the Wind collection is of course, especially topical at this time of the year and our new Rose Gold finish was very popular.

We have new designs of chains with a delicate dot feature which looks great with the new leaves and we've also just received our new longer length chains - 40" so the leaves can be worn at 16", 18", 24" 36" and 40" whichever you prefer !

270 page catalogue now out !

2011-10-20T06:48:00.001-07:00

Yes, we did run a bit behind on our self-imposed schedule, but we figured it would be worth it to produce a catalogue that we're really proud of and Boy did we deliver !

Our new catalogue is now ready - it will run from September 2011 to September 2012, with an update in February 2012.

Even if we say it ourselves, its a gorgeous catalogue, the photography is great, the layout is improved and of course the jewellery is divine !

All of our current collections are in this catalogue (except for Sukie Lau) because we know how much it bugged you in previous years when you had to search between different places for different ranges. So, you gave us feedback, we listened - and now they're all together.

The prices list is now separate from the body of the catalogue due to the volatility of the world silver price....

You should have already received yours, so if you have not, please let us know on 08452 600925 or if you need extra copies, ie one to keep at home or for multiple shops to order individually then please just let us know....

We hope that you love the results of all our hard work, if you have any feedback, good or (gulp) bad, then please do let us know so that we can keep on improving !

Any Which Way debuts at Autumn Fair

2011-09-12T01:21:00.000-07:00

Any Which Way, our Acrylic designer jewellery collection made its debut at the Autumn Fair and we were delighted to win an award with it...!

Yes, thats right, the BTAA ran an award for best new collection and we were first runner up ! (The Winner was Owen Barry Bags in case you're wondering) and a very well done to them !

We were thrilled to be selected and shortlisted, and (after a few glasses of Champagne) we were delighted to be called up to receive our award - It was really exciting as we went through each stage of the judging process through to the final selections... So we'd like to say a big thank you to the BTAA for running the competition !

Any Which Way is bold, acrylic jewellery design, the collection is colourful and fun (just what we all need in the present weather) and the packaging is circular plastic dishes, (oh, alright, they're petri dishes - there we said it) and they look fabulous !

Our catalogue will be out shortly, its just gone to print, so you'll get the full wow factor when that drops through your door, but for now, here's some sneak peaks of the delicious loveliness that is Any Which Way !

Button it - A tribute to the humble button ...

2011-08-30T01:48:00.000-07:00

Forget chocolate buttons, or that delete button you’re eyeing up on your keyboard …. These sterling silver buttons are a tribute to the history of the button !

Our new collection is a tribute to the humble button, used every day, but hardly noticed (until one falls off that is) we thought we'd compile our own small tribute to our new sterling silver button collection. Read on for the history of the button
But if its just the facts you're after - our new collection is Sterling Silver, will launch at the Autumn Fair, and is part of our new Studio Autumn Winter 2011 collection.

Back to the facts....Yes, the humble button has been around for simply ages. The first buttons made their debut during the Bronze age (that’s over 3,000 years ago to you and me) To be fair, the Bronze age man didn’t actually close anything with them, they were more for decoration – since clothes hadn’t been invented…

Over time as clothes became more fitted the button with its associated loop fastening became more popular, not least because it didn’t potentially cause injury to its wearer in the same way as a pin might.

Buttons arrived in the Uk around 1200 liberated by the Crusaders. Around this time they also got their name, Button seems to stem from the french word bouton – or bud or bouter which means to push. France established the button makers guild in 1250 and set about producing beautiful buttons in a shameless manner, although they did take the time to limit the useage of buttons to the aristocracy – peasants were only allowed cloth or thread covered buttons. So the humble button became a status symbol.

Button mania persisted throughout the middle ages, spawning clothes so beset with buttons and button holes that professional dressers were needed to complete the task of dressing. The church even denounced buttons as "the devil’s snare" as Europe became button obsessed.

But button mania wasn’t destined to last forever – the Puritans condemned it as sinful in the 16^th century and as the numbers of buttons on clothes subsided to a more manageable level the level of ornateness of the buttons increased. That is to say, people wore less buttons but the ones they did wear were beautiful and unusual and elaborate.

From the 19th Century buttons were mass-produced, but there was still a wide variety available, from wood, bone and metal, brass, ceramic – the list is endless. Most homes still kept a button box with reclaimed buttons from old garments, along with odd buttons used for repairs.

Obviously we’ve got to mention the Pearly kings and queens of london – this tradition came about when a shipment from Japan flooded the local market in the 1860’s, the average Pearl king or queen wears a costume with over 30,000 buttons (and yes, thats really quite heavy) !

Today buttons come in all shapes and sizes and despite the fastenings that fashion dreams up each season, the allure of the button continutes. The future of the button seems secure because its an ergonomic treat, not superfluous in any way – its neat, tidy and above all, the humble button gets the job done !

Support Independent's Day July 4th 2011 !

2011-06-23T05:08:00.000-07:00

What is Independents’ Day?

Well, Skillsmart Retail and the National Skills Academy for Retail are teaming up with local retailers across the country on 4th July to celebrate Independents’ Day, championed by the formidable Mary Portas. Shoppers are going to be encouraged to buy at least one item from their local independent reatailers and celebrate diversity on the high street.

They are championing the skills great independent retailers have and they want to show the public that their local shopkeeper is not only a vital service, but someone who wears many hats; they are the accountant, sales assistant, buyer and often everything in-between. Well, amen to that ! From all of us who are getting dizzy with the multiple chameleonic roles we play in a single day this will be welcome news. This is all part of the campaign to back the high street and maintain diversity, while getting rid of the ugly eyesore empty shops.

Firstly the government appointed a retail adviser to bring back the bustle to our high streets, which was contraversial enough. It proved that there was a problem with our city centres and high streets (which we’ve all known for ages), finally, it seems that even the government noticed that.

Then they came up with this campaign.....

YOu can download more information at www.skillsmartretail.com/independentsday

YOu can get involved by printing posters, liking the campaign on facebook and generally using it to promote your business to your local media and all and sundry...

This is a rare chance to get retail in the mainstream media, so jump over now to download your posters....

Spread the word !

What's your royal wedding name ?

2011-04-28T04:33:00.001-07:00

Work out your 'royal' name in preperation for fridays wedding.

To work it out, you take the name of your first pet, followed by your maternal grandparents surname, and finally the name of the first street you lived in.

Prefix this with either Lord or Lady depending on your sex... !

The Early Bird has landed...

2011-04-07T06:20:00.000-07:00

The Early Bird is our new hand made silver jewellery collection. In this uncertain world, we've noticed a return to traditional values, recognising the value and beauty of handmade pieces. This collection takes its inspiration rom nature, but also recognises the modern world, celebrating the juxtaposition of nature and fluid form. The Early Bird collection is hand crafted from Sterling Silver with Gold accents and a variety of modern finishes to convey the message of the pieces and the timeless themes it explores. With floral pieces such as Cascade, Hawthorn and Ring of Roses vying for position with ephemeral designs of love, hearts oxidised on only one side to represent the dark and light aspects of love highlighted with the purity of a freshwater pearl, complemented by the fluid simplicity of the jingle trio and the elongated aspects of the Promise earrings. This is an exciting and captivating collection which attracted a lot of attention at its NEC Spring Fair launch. Our evolving collection is supported by its own uniqe envelope packaging and showcards. Stylish, modern and unique - The Early Bird really does catch the worm !

Silver Price rises...

2011-03-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

Many of you will have been hearing about the rise in silver recently. It was a topic of hot debate at the Spring Fair and continues to be among the jewellery industry.

When we produced our catalogues last year in August 2010 silver was around $18 oz. Today silver is almost $35 and we’re sorry to report that only the natural disasters around the world such as the Tsunami in Japan are keeping it at this price. It is generally expected to increase further.

We had hoped to be able to maintain our prices until the Spring, mindful of the current economic situation, but unfortunately we are no longer able to absorb this doubling of our raw materials cost. With regret we have to raise our prices.

This will be effective from Monday 21st March.

While this price rise isn’t a blanket increase across the collections, it affects some collections more than others. Obviously the more silver is in a collection, or the heavier the jewellery item, the more it will be affected.

Material components, such as stones have also risen in cost dramatically, even since the beginning of this year, so stone item prices have also regrettably had to be raised.

For an updated price list for our catalogues please call us on 08452 600 925

As you can see from the silver charts below, from last year and this year, silver has been steadily increasing. You can follow the world silver prices at www.kitco.com if you’re interested in the situation

In case you’re curious about the silver situation, we’ve put together some information on the background to the price increase. If you have any questions regarding the situation please do call us on 08452 600 925

Silver price rises : Background information

Precious metals, and particularly silver, are the most undervalued of all the commodities. Silver is currently trading at around $34-$36 per oz.

Basic reasons for this are continuing and increasing global macroeconomic and geopolitical risks, silver’s historic role as money and an storable commodity of value, the declining and very small supply of silver, significant industrial demand and most importantly significant and increasing investment demand.

Historically silver and gold were used in making currency, and were considered a safe investment. This is because they are not simply commodities but also currencies which cannot be debased like our modern paper and electronic currencies. Most countries in the world used silver for smaller denomination coins in the 19th Century and through the 20th Century up until the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s when currencies were gradually debased.

Silver supply is shrinking. The supply of silver is inelastic. Silver production will not increase significantly if the silver price goes up. This is because silver is often mined as a by product of other minerals with only a handful of pure silver mines remaining.

Silver is in such an accelerated demand cycle because it has a number of unique properties including its strength, malleability and ductility. It has unparalleled electrical and thermal conductivity, sensitivity to and a high reflectance of light and the ability to endure extreme temperature ranges.

Industrial applications for silver are widespread. Silver is used in film, mirrors, batteries, medical devices, electrical appliances such as fridges, toasters, washing machines and uses have now expanded to include cell phones, flat-screen televisions and many other modern high tech devices.

Silver has many medical applications. Increasingly, wound dressings and other products incorporate a layer of fabric containing silver for prevention of secondary infections. Surgical gowns and draperies also include silver to prevent microbial transmission. Other medical products containing silver are catheters and stethoscope diaphragms.

Silver has many unique properties which make it essential in global industry – especially in the global photography, technology, medical, defence and electronic industries.

Investment demand for silver has also been rising rapidly the past few years with investors guarding themselves against rising inflation, possible currency devaluations and geopolitical and macroeconomic risk. But, silver is a finite resource, it is not recycled in the way that gold for example is, and the supply of silver is only increasing incrementally

Silver is unique in terms of being both a monetary and an industrial metal and having the highest optical reflectivity and the highest thermal and electrical conductivity amongst all metals. Silver industrial and investment demand is increasing very significantly and meanwhile supply is falling.

Sorry there's no good news to end on....

Friendship bracelets spring trend

2011-03-11T06:34:00.000-08:00

Once the preserve of teenagers and a hippie or two, friendship bracelets are having their fashion moment in time for Summer. Forget everything you thought you knew about them, they're now uber cool, and come in the form of colourful threads and delicate silver strings.

Traditionally the native american bracelets were given as a sign of friendship and respect. The recipient makes a wish as the giver puts the bracelet on their arm. If the bracelet falls off naturally, then the wish will come true, so don't ask what happens if you take the bracelet off prematurely.....!

Our beautiful One Wish collection debuted at the Spring Fair and is a modern take on the age old friendship bracelet. These modern day sparkly treasures are a beautiful and sentimental gift for a friend to show them how special they are, or to treat yourself.

These particular bracelets are made from sterling silver, and are elasticated for comfort. We also have a letters collection, so any word or name can be spelt out, and a collection of colourful woven styles too.

Jump over to the catalogue downloads page to see the new One Wish catalogue.

Get Alex's style !

2011-03-04T06:40:00.000-08:00

We just noticed that Alex jones the lovely welsh presenter from the One Show was wearing one of our equally lovely Sukie Lau black onyx cocktail rings. SUR 60C if you're curious !

Anyway, Alex looked super cute in a cerise dress with black accessories !

Spring Fair Review - NEC

2011-02-21T02:54:00.000-08:00

Now that we're back and unpacked and sorted out from the NEC Spring Fair, we can report that it was a great show ! Attendance was up, orders were up and all in all its a positive sign for the coming year.

We launched two new collections at the show, The Early Bird and One Wish which were well received as well as our Spring/Summer 2011 update catalogue featuring new collections in Studio, Rocks, Vintage, The Charm Bar and Tower Rings.

All of our new collections are available on our site as downloadable PDF's for your convenience. Please call us if you've forgotten your login.

Watch this space for more information on our new collections....

Wicked Wire

2011-01-18T02:47:00.000-08:00

Our Wicked Wire pendants will debut at the Spring Fair.

Wicked Wire is a fun flower collection, that’s bold and eyecatching, but still light enough to wear comfortably. These delightful pieces can be worn on a silver chain but we prefer them on our lovely colourful super slim ribbons, which reflect the delicate silver.

So why not ease yourself away from the dull Winter and slide gently into Spring with these gorgeous flower styles from Wicked Wire.

All flower designs are Sterling Silver and part of our Studio collection.

See the new collection at the Spring Fair, Hall 18. Stand G28/H29

Silver price continues to rise...

2010-12-07T02:28:00.000-08:00

Historically, silver has been used in industry, medicine, photography, jewellery and coin manufacture and even in sweet production (In India)

While traditional photography has moved to digital (which doesn’t demand silver) demand from new industries is increasing. New applications, such as laptops and mobile phones also require silver – and once you know that you can start to see why its rising so rapidly.

There are only a few pure silver mines left, with most silver (around 80%) being minded as a byproduct of other base metals, and their reserves are depleting. Since gold has a much higher value, it is often recycled, but silver’s inherent value is much lower so this doesn’t usually happen, which means that in market terms, when its gone, its gone !

At the beginning of this year analysts were estimating silver price to be in the range of $25 to $27.50, but we’ve already seen it rise above that on occasion, so it looks as though it will end up higher than this original estimate.

Sukie Lau catalogue review...

2010-10-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

From talking to some of our customers its become clear that some of you would prefer the old fashioned method of receiving your catalogue, ie on paper or even as a disc.

If this is a better method for you could you please give us a call on 08452 600 925 and we'll get a disc or a catalogue in the post to you...!

In the meantime, here's a sneak peak of Sukie Lau's Autumn Winter 2010 collection. This juicy bracelet stack is bang on trend

The idea is that you select a few different designs, then wear them together to create one dazzling piece. Most people wear between 2 and 5 stacking bracelets but you can wear them however you want.

The key is to team 2 or more bracelets of different gems, beads, colours, textures, shapes and stones, breaking all the rules for a high fashion look. This eclectic but offbeat styling idea sits well with any outfit adding a touch of personal style.

Sukie Lau's Autumn Winter collection is bright, colourful and hand made from semi precious stones, so if you like the colourful fashion look, but want to wear real stones, then this fun take on the current fashion staple is right on trend.

Dip your arms into this juicy bracelet stack - fruity oranges, tropic pinks and luscious greens sparkle…

Brand new catalogue !

2010-10-05T03:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, its finally ready, our brand new 302 page catalogue full of gorgeous new jewellery across ten of our ranges. We've just mailed it out, so if you don't have your copy yet, please let us know.

All your favourite collections are featured : Studio, Gallery, Rocks, Steam, Kiki Mioa & Affirmations, as well as our new customisable collections - The Charm Bar and Tower Rings, and of course our brand new collections Vintage and Amarna.

If you're wondering where Sukie Lau and Blowing in the Wind are, since they are more seasonal collections they're featured on our website and are downloadable from there www.balagan.co.uk If you need a reminder of your password, please let us know.

We've decided to keep our collections together in one catalogue this year following the positive reaction from our customers when we did this for the first time last year.

So, if you are an existing customer our new catalogue is winging its way to you right now, please tell us what you think of it....

Enjoy it and thanks for supporting us !

Sukie Lau Autumn/Winter 2010 catalogue now live !

2010-10-04T04:30:00.000-07:00

We've been waiting a while, but our luscious new stock for the Autumn Winter 2010 Sukie Lau catalogue has just arrived.

There's a riot of colours in our new stacking bracelets that are bang on trend.

We've got cool graphite greys to complement the military and urban futuristic look thats going to be huge this winter, and some lovely warm mookite pieces to ease you into the Autumn vibe as well as some magnificent stand alone pieces all packaged in our signature clutch purse packaging.

Don't miss the new catalogue - out now !

Fearne Cotton wears Blowing in the Wind... !

2010-09-28T06:06:00.001-07:00

In this week's Look magazine we spotted this pic of Fearne wearing one of our lucky clover necklaces in the gold finish. It looks cute we're sure you'll agree !

Lucky charms are bang on trend at the moment, since fashion is having a charm moment-keys, wishbones, love hearts and lockets as well as of course, our clovers are all in the spotlight.

Wear them layered for an eclectic look (this works well if they are smaller in size) or if they are larger, like our clovers, then they work best as a stand alone piece.

From little acorns mighty oak trees grow

2010-09-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

Most of us know that the meaning of this quotation is that great things come from small beginnings. This proverb has been in general use since the 14th Century !

But you might not know that the word acorn doesn't come from 'oak' and 'corn', as is popularly supposed, but from the Old English 'aecern', meaning berry or fruit. Acorns are the nut of the mighty oak tree. They usually contain just one seed and are a symbol of greatness.

The Lacey Oak is a beautiful small to medium sized deciduous shade tree mostly grown in central and south Texas, its leaves are leathery and range from dusky blue to blue-gray to grayish green. Their fall color ranges from pink or peach to gold. Their leaves are quite small in comparison to other oaks This particular oak is grown primarily to protect this unique species.

Our stylish Blowing in the Wind collection features hand picked real leaves, preserved with different finishes. Each leaf is a handcrafted piece of wearable art, unique and totally individual.

If you haven’t seen the leaves, they’re stunningly delicate, but surprisingly robust, and with finishes as varied as Gold, Silver, Brass, Copper, Iridescent and Vintage Silver they can we worn with almost any outfit, both as a dramatic choker, or at a fashionable long necklace length.
They fit in with the current flora and fauna fashion themes popular this Autumn and make a stunning Autumnal window display with plenty of kerb appeal. Our natural wood Point of Sale and branded cotton pouches display the collection beautifully.

Leaves available include Cottonwood, Aspen, Lacey Oak, Birch and the Sugar Canadian Maple in various sizes.

Autumn Fair update...

2010-09-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

It was fabulous to see so many of you at the Autumn Fair !

We had a great show and had some lovely feedback about our new collections, which is always nice as we work so hard to keep them interesting for you !

It was also a good sign that the show was busy - hopefully this bodes well for a busy Christmas season in the shops !

in case you didn't get to the show, here's a picture of our stand so you can check us out next time

thank you so much to everyone who made the effort and came over to see us, say hi, check out the new collections and give us valuable feedback !

Secret Sample sale !

2010-09-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

As many of you have never visited our showroom, we’ve decided to bring a mini
version of it to the NEC for you !

Our sample sale is a rockbottom price sale of studio, showroom and project
samples (absolutely no clearance stock or discontinued items) there are
maximum two pieces of any one style !

What this isn’t : Clearance lines of old stock

What this is : One or possibly two pieces of each style available in many designs
that you will never have seen before. They are not in any of our collections and
can only be seen at the NEC or by visiting our showroom.

Don't miss out on these bargains ...

Win a Champney's Spa day for two !!!

2010-08-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

Because you're worth it, we thought it would be nice to enter all orders taken on the stand into our Spa day prize draw.

What could be nicer than a Spa day at a "haven from the stresses of everyday life, where everything is designed for your relaxation and comfort" ?

Champney's are a well respected name in the Spa world, so this is a fabulous prize, details are available on the stand

NEC Autumn Fair is from 5th to 8th September. Hall 4 Stand G10/H11

See you there !

Amarna : a botanical fashion story !

2010-08-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

Our new Amarna collection will debut at the Autumn Fair. Hall 4: stand G10/H11

The Amarna collection is a Botanical fashion story, with three themes: From the earth, from the sea & from the heart !

This collection comprises classic stylish pieces combined with playful, fashion led styles. These will become fashion staples in your jewellery wardrobe ! They are comfortable, easy to personalise and the perfect accompaniment to an outfit

From the earth features everlasting flowers, fabulous blooms that never go out of style.

From the sea features stylish shells, worn long as a dramatic drop necklace, or short as a bold choker these pieces are conversation starters.

From the heart is a selection of jewellery with hearts as its theme, love and hearts are an enduring motif, and a fashion staple.

Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. Henry David Thoreau

Vintage collection to launch at the NEC...!

2010-08-19T05:54:00.000-07:00

Our new vintage collection will debut at the NEC Autumn Fair !

The attraction of vintage jewellery is that it imparts and air of romance and intrigue, so our Vintage collection while unmistakeably feminine, has pieces based on a bold and romantic theme that add a touch of glamour. Full of adorable treasures this diverse collection features necklaces, rings and earrings in a contemporary vintage style.

Our collection starts with simple yet elegant pieces and rises to the occasion with bold, extravagant statement pieces . The perfect embellishment to anything elegant. be it candlelight or velvet ! There’s sparkly marcasite for elegant evenings, and charm collections for everyday wear, as well as some more dramatic pieces.

Each design is inspired by an occasion, and the collection ranges from romantic pieces, to eclectic frippery that’s sure to be noticed. If you’re already a vintage devotee, then you’ll love this dip into the past, from the distant 1920’s flapper style, the 1940’s glamorous leading ladies direct from Hollywood, or even, more recent eras that you can still remember.

Each vintage item is packaged in its own “powder puff” jewellery box, based on original designs from the 1950’s – these boxes are a fabulous talking point.

See you at the NEC.

We're in Hall 4, Stand G10/H11

Pure exhibition

2010-08-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

Pure is over now for another year, and the good news is that it wasn't meltingly hot this year.

We took Sukie Lau, Blowing in the Wind & Kiki Miao and they looked pretty good we think.

We had a great response to the new collections, so don't forget to check out the stand at the Autumn Fair to see the new selections across all our collections

See you soon !

2010-06-02T02:08:00.000-07:00

The long awaited movie sequel Sex and the City 2 is now in theaters in the US and in many countries around world.

Why are we telling you this we can hear you chorus.... Well its because the leading lady in the new movie will be sporting a stylish clover pendant... we don’t know much more than that right now but we’ll let you know more as we do.

Yes SJP herself will be wearing the stylish clover, and we all know that what SJP wears sends fashionistas into a frenzy ! So don’t miss out, the new lucky four leafed clovers have just arrived to take their place in our Blowing in the Wind collection, and yes, they are real clovers, and yes, someone does have to go out at dawn to pick them and prepare them, so you can see that these little clovers are more than lucky, they’re extra special. Now obviously we can’t guarantee that they’ll make you Ms lucky, but they certainly will tick all the right boxes for style !

As a girls-night-out “event film, with huge advance ticket sales.” SATC2 is shaping up like the first installment which earned more than $415 million worldwide.

Four Champagne cocktails by Möet & Chandon have also been newly created for the girls, there’s Carrie’s (‘Fashionista’), Miranda’s (‘Player’), Charlotte’s (‘Socialite’), and tart cherry with mandarin flavors for Samantha’s (‘Bombshell’).

Melinda Messenger wears Sukie Lau

2009-11-27T04:19:00.001-08:00

We just spotted Melinda Messenger from Five Live, wearing one of our Sukie Lau rings last week ( the big black onyx heart ring with white lines shot through it, in case you're interested !) and we think it looks great !

Blowing in the Wind Catalogue now live on our site !

2009-11-27T02:48:00.000-08:00

In case you didn’t get to see our new collection at the Autumn Fair or Top Drawer, the catalogue is now live on our website at www.balagan.co.uk

If you don’t know much about the collection, here’s some background information for you, its really a unique look, perfect for a stunning window display with real curb appeal !

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 solution which allows the 24k gold (nickel free) electroforming to coat the leaves, preserving them stylishly…

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, with supporting Showcards, care cards and branded packaging.

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

If you have any questions regarding the new collection, please give us a call on 08452 600 925 or email us at sales@balagan.co.uk

Tower Rings now in stock and catalogue live

2009-11-24T09:28:00.000-08:00

The Tower Rings concept builds upon the success of the popular bead trend thats sweeping the world, and the quest to create unique and individual jewellery thats meaningful to the wearer.

The initial Tower Rings collection features over 60 styles of ring that can be worn either individually or as a set (or tower) to combine with your mood, your outfit or your personal style.

There are Tower Rings in birthstones and many popular designs including flowers, hearts and butterflies to name just a few.

Interchangeable, collectable and stylish they make a fashion statement. Consumers can purchase Tower Rings either individually, building their collection slowly, or as a tower for maximum effect.

Tower Rings can be a self purchase, or if consumers log their collection and size with retailers, can also be a gift purchase.

We're very excited about this new concept collection, its complete with dedicated point of sale and packaging to support it, and our stock is finally here, so you can see the new catalogue live on our site now under catalogue downloads....

CyberLyly Script bangles just arrived in stock !

2009-11-06T02:55:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-26T04:37:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-30T04:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-26T06:22:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-18T06:51:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

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 !

2009-08-13T04:17:00.000-07:00

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 !

2009-08-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-27T06:16:00.000-07:00

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 !

2009-07-20T04:09:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

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 !

2009-06-25T10:44:00.001-07:00

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....

2009-06-14T03:01:00.000-07:00

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 !

2009-06-02T06:31:00.000-07:00

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 !

Scam baiters - oh the fun we can have !

2009-05-17T09:51:00.001-07:00

Apropos of absolutely nothing once again, we've just come across this website called www.419eater.com and since the world is full of annoying scam artists we thought we should share this and pass it on.

419eater is a website dedicated to people (with quite a bit of spare time on their hands apparently) who hunt and bait scammers, in their case Nigerian 419 scammers are their speciality.

419 scams are so called because of article 419 of the nigerian criminal code- dealing with fraud. What the "scambaiters" (there's a new word for my vocabulary today) do is fool the nigerian scammers into posing for hilarious photographs which are posted in their trophy room!

They explain in detail how the whole system works and there's a whole section teaching you how to scam them back - oh what happy days...!

The best ever complaints letter (or close anyway)...!

2009-05-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

i don't know if any of you have seen this..... its the best complaint letter i've seen - and it made me laugh out loud !

Not only is it funny, its personable and not vicious or nasty - but gets the point across - so well in fact that Richard Branson called the chap in question himself to talk about the complaint !

I find myself asking everyone at work to write a little less corporately and a little more humanly. Less of the "it has come to my attention" and more of the "I noticed" less of the " should you need further information etc," more of the " I'll call you, or you can call me" that kinda stuff......

so i felt vindicated when i saw this - humour works - way better than sarcasm or just being right !

enjoy

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/4344890/Virgin-the-worlds-best-passenger-complaint-letter.html

What's your story in 6 words...?

2009-05-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

Apropos of absolutely nothing... just because we've been having so much fun with this on linkedin and triiibes, here's a kinda off beat blog post for you....

Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Starting in 2006, SMITH Magazine re-ignited the recountre by asking readers for their own six-word memoirs. They sent in short life stories in droves, from the bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”) and poignant (“I still make coffee for two”) to the inspirational (“Business school? Bah! Pop music? Hurrah”) and hilarious (“I like big butts, can’t lie”).

My question is : What would yours be...?

Mine is : still curious about people and stuff.

http://vimeo.com/335019

Balagan starts twittering.....!

2009-04-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, after our post a week or so, we've done it, joined the networking phenomenon of the year (apparently)

We just joined and we're still working it out - the Tweet grid's got us confused.com but we'll hang in there, because it looks like a lot of fun, and cute too !

If you want to follow us, this is our url: http://twitter.com/balaganlive, just when we thought we couldn't get more up to date than a blog along comes Twitter !

So we're off to learn about tweeting or twittering or whatever it is... see you on the tweet grid - we think?

Have a great week - sunshine on sunday, followed by rain on Monday - least it was the right way round this week !

Congratulations Anna !

2009-04-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

Anna our favourite Swedish accountant has passed her accounts exams. Which were, by all accounts a lot of hard work and numbers ! She quite likes numbers and keeps all of ours in order !

So we'd like to say a big well done to Anna on her achievement and that cookie has delicious icing in case you're wondering.

A nice weekend to everyone !

Happy Earth Day !

2009-04-22T04:10:00.000-07:00

Earth Day which is celebrated on April 22, is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment.

It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year. This date is Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Its goal is a healthy sustainable environment.

Since the millennium its goal has differed slightly and is now focused on global warming and a push for clean energy.

Through Earth Day Network, activists connect change in local, national, and global policies with 17,000 organizations in 174 countries.

Earth Day is the only event celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities which has got to be a good thing...

So, what can you do to celebrate Earth Day ?

Sukie Lau Spring / Summer '09 catalogue now live !

2009-04-21T01:08:00.000-07:00

Finally, after what we freely admit has been more than a slight delay !

The new Spring / Summer catalogue is finished. Ta Da !

Its posted online today under out catalogue downloads section on our website - www.balagan.co.uk. If you are a Sukie stockist, please call or drop us an email to download it today. If you're interested in stocking Sukie Lau, please give us a call.

Its password protected, but its the same password that we use for the other catalogues....

If you get stuck - please give Kim or Charlie, our lovely girls on the phone a bell and they'll talk you through it.

In the meantime, we're soooooo pleased its finally finished, hope you like it....

Are you tweeting?

2009-04-16T04:54:00.000-07:00

What’s all the fuss about Twitter?

If you haven’t heard all the media hype about Twitter recently then you must have been somewhere very remote… Its in the news, big retailers are talking about it and Stephen Fry loves it!

Twitter is a micro blogging website, and its this years internet phenomenon, but can it work for retailers? Well, ASOS think so, so do Carphone Warehouse and the guys behind the new Woollies online business and hundreds of others.

But for now, if you hate it, or refuse to do it - thats fair enough, but just think about this one thing…. Remember way back when websites just came out… and lots of big companies got bitten on the bum because someone saw the value in their brand name before they did?

Well, ahem, it could happen again here !

It takes no more than a minute to sign up and even if you never use it, it could save you lots of aggravation later. At least if you do decide to do it later you’ll have the name.

So, its good advice to pop over to twitter right now and register your username – that way no-one else can get it. There’s three compelling reasons why this is a good idea:

1. Even if you never tweet – this will stop someone else from stealing your brand. If someone buys your brand and has a rubbish avatar and does inane tweets – its not going to look good !

2. It prevents people from claiming your name – you can register as a business or an alias, or yourself.

3. Ikea and Sony apparently failed to register their own twitter names, and the people who do have them haven’t activated their accounts……? Hmmmm do you see big money in the horizon for the savvy tweeters there – I do !

and so far, its FREE !

Retailrehab....

2009-04-15T04:48:00.000-07:00

Retailrehab has been getting more press mentions this week, in the April issue of Fashion Extras !

A new section went live yesterday on websites and tomorrows release is on SMART goals, setting them, measuring them and achieving them !

we're also working on a section on SEO - thats search engine optimisation to you and me ! How to get the most out of your website :-)

So to jump over and have a look, just click on the apple....

Or maybe join the retailrehab blog?

an apple a day keeps the recession at bay !

Happy Easter !

2009-04-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

Well ok, we don't have the sunshine, but do we ever on a bank holiday, but we do have chocolate - every womans friend, so in honour of the occasion, here's some chocolate quotes to nibble on....

“Chocolate is cheaper than therapy, and you don’t need an appointment.”

"Hell hath no fury like a woman who has sworn off fudge and chocolate."

and our office favourite...... because its soooooo true !

"a man found a bottle on the ocean, and he opened it and out popped a genie, who gave him three wishes. The guy wished for a million dollars, and poof! there was a million dollars. Then he wished for a convertible, and poof! there was a convertible. And then, he wished he could be irresistible to all women... poof!
He turned into a box of chocolates."

If you don't celebrate Easter, then don't feel left out, join us in a celebration of Spring and chocolate...

Happy Easter everyone !

Indies group added today on linkedin

2009-04-08T03:36:00.000-07:00

Morning everyone,

we've just added a retailrehab group on linkedin for topical discussion about the pressures that independent retailers are facing at the moment - if you're a member then pop over, join up and get talking ! we're looking for feedback and discussion - be gentle !

If you're not a member then you'll have to join first - sorry :-( But don't worry our own forum should be up and running soon on retailrehab so you can join us there -watch out for updates !

have a great day and enjoy the sunshine !

An Inconvenient truth !

2009-04-05T03:13:00.000-07:00

OMG i'm probably the last person in the western world to have seen this movie!

It was on last night, and I was in the mood for it, I mean I've heard about it, but i was never in the right place or it wasn't the right time. Anyway last night was the right place and right time, and i was shocked !

What a giant of a man ! I was blown away by him and his humility in the face of a crushing defeat because now i understand what winning the Presidency meant to him - more than just becoming President, it meant that he could have tackled this head on and made a difference - and we all know that he pretty much won - to have been so close and not make it, must have been - ah i can't imagine it !

Anyway, he obviously took a step back and thought, right then, how am i going to spread the word now in the face of this setback? So he made a movie, and he travels the world showing it to everyone and explaining it (here comes the science) and i was blown away by him, his movie and the facts it portrays, as every normal thinking human being would have to be....

So, i'm off today to see what we can do in our own small way and to spread the word about this incredible movie and this incredible man...!
Have a brilliant day x

Crash course in PR

2009-04-01T02:09:00.000-07:00

Good morning, we hope you're all enjoying the sunshine !

New on our retailrehab website this morning is our 14 page e-book on PR. Its basically a crash course in writing press releases and getting coverage for your shop. Click on the picture to jump over and subscribe today...

Retailrehab has been featured in Drapers this week and on the Pure website, as well as on the Springfair.com site, so if you're wondering what all the fuss is about, this is as good a time as any to check it out....

have a lovely sunny day !

New Balagan Stars arrive !

2009-03-25T03:30:00.000-07:00

We've been so busy with our orders recently we totally forgot to announce the arrival of some new people on our team ! Doh ! So, we're going to correct that right here, right now !

First up, there's Kim, our new Sales Manager, Kim is from sunny South Africa, just don't get her started on the British weather, apparently in Durban it never goes below about 25 degrees, shame huh ! Kim is upbeat and positive so she fits in brilliantly with our team + we're really pleased that she's joined us !

Team Ireland have just come on board with us, thats Paul, Jackie, Sandra and Michael, they live in four different corners of Ireland so there'll always be one of them in easy reach of you if you live in Ireland or Eire ! We're really happy to have them on board :-)

Team Wales, are Jemma, Steve and Tanya, some of you may already know them, or have met them at the Spring Fair, they just pointed out that we didn't send out a letter of introduction for them, so we're putting that right today.....

We want to say hi to them and welcome them on board too.... So now we've got complete coverage, except for a sliver down the middle of the country, but we're working on that too...

Have a fabulous day !

Colour blocking spring trend

2009-03-22T06:03:00.000-07:00

Fashion designers have been injecting colour into Spring 2009 clothes, and not in a shy and subtle way - more in a yeehawww its Spring kind of a way !

Check out the pink outfits, in wickedly bright colour blocks. There's two distinct looks going on here - Mixing fondant tones and vibrant brights in large colour blocks. Colour blocking with strong brights of hot pinks, orange, mango, tangerine and lime are popular. You will also see other brights such as lapis, blue, lemon yellow, lime, orange and aqua jade tones.

In conclusion, expect bright colours that pop, shock and electrify to cheer in the Spring - think daffodils, greens and yellows primarily. So, there's lots of new colours and shapes to get excited about for the Spring Season.

New colours and shapes are going to need some new jewellery to accessorise - Trends so far indicated are big, bold and contrasting, big textural rings, stacked bangles -thin or thick. Huge rings and necklaces, the statement jewellery trend continues unabated !

Cyber Lyly site goes live !

2009-03-18T01:23:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone ! Cyber Lyly now has her own site, yes we know its taken ages - who knew it could take this long, but the good news is that we've learn't lots along the way, so next time it will be easier !

Anyway, the site is now up, you'll need the password to log in, which went out on an email mailer last night, but if you don't have one, please call us and we'll let you know them : tel 08452 600 925.

The site is designed to be an updated catalogue, so only the items we physically have in stock will appear on the site, everything thats on its way, won't appear until its here with us in our office.

Please browse the site and let us have your feedback :-) Be gentle with us !

Have a great day !

Displaying jewellery : 5 common mistakes !

2009-03-17T01:14:00.000-07:00

our new e-book on jewellery display is now live on our sister site www.retailrehab.co.uk Its all about how to make a wicked jewellery display that gets your product noticed !

Better still its got the five most common mistakes we make when displaying jewellery, so you can know what they are and avoid them !

Just click on the picture to go straight there, you'll have to log in, but its free and once you're subscribed you get access to a brilliant resource of ideas and best practice for independent retailers....

so hop over today ...

Don't be a fluster bunny this Mother's day -Follow our cheeky checklist for a fuss free day !

2009-03-15T15:47:00.000-07:00

Don’t get into a panic this mother’s day, follow our 8 simple steps to have a relaxed day with your mum:

1. Buy your card in advance, or if you’re making one, start it early enough for the glue to be dry ! Make sure everyone’s signed it.

2. Flowers sell out really fast around Mother’s day, so buy them a day or two in advance, or pre-order them, so you don’t end up at the garage…. Mum’s notice these things !

3. If you’re buying a present online, do it soon, and allow for delivery times. Wrap your present in advance so you’re not rushing around trying to do it as your mum walks in…

4. If you’re going out for dinner, make sure you have a reservation. Restaurants are really really full on Mother’s day. Make your reservation at least a week in advance (more would be better)

5. If you’re going out for the day, buy tickets in advance if possible

6. If staying at home and you’re cooking, make sure you’ve got everything you’ll need !

7. Make sure everyone knows what’s happening, so no-one gets left out and gets upset

8. Check your camera – make sure your batteries are charged

Relax and have some fun !

Red nose day

2009-03-12T08:20:00.001-07:00

It's extraordinary to think that Comic relief was launched in 1985 !

The idea was so simple - Comic Relief would make the public laugh while they raised money to help people in desperate need. So far there's been eleven Red Nose Days that've raised more than £420m.

Now thats more than funny - that's astounding !

Do something funny for money this comic relief day

Go on, have a laugh !

The Lipstick effect

2009-03-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

The Lipstick effect + how you can add value in a recession...?

Hmmm, what's that all about then? For those of you who haven't yet checked our sister site that's making lots of waves in the retail world, jump over now to read our breaking news blog about all thats fine and wicked in the wonderful world of retail.

Looking for some answers, or just got some questions - this is the place to post them...! and best of all its FREE ! But don't let that fool you into thinking there's no value - you couldn't be more wrong !

We're doing our bit to support independent retailers in the current economic challenges. See we think if we all work together, it'll be better for all of us.

It seems to be a novel concept, but we like it, so pop on over, and subscribe today to get the latest news, profit generating strategies and downloads... www.retailrehab.co.uk or click on the lipstick picture.

Have a great day !

Slumdog millionaire - Don't miss it !

2009-03-08T03:31:00.000-07:00

As someone who goes to India pretty often, I was really curious to see if they'd be able to get across the assault on your senses that is India.

From the territorial dogs in the street, the chai wallah's, the amazing rail system that works beyond all reason and logic, because it really shouldn't. The beggars and the slum shanty towns, the rickshaws (Indian helicopter !) and the love affair with the man that is Amitabh Bachan ! Didn't see any roaming cows though, and not so many of my favourites, the ambassador taxis, but i think Danny did a great job !

Slumdog millionarire's got the lot, punch and pizzazz: a strong, clear, instantly graspable storyline and fabulous cinematography. It's definitely got that quirky-underdog twinkle and the awards are well deserved. How he managed to film a movie in the slums and in the street without a million onlookers is quite simply a feat in itself, and the other thing you don't get to see from the movie, is how flippin hot it is, noisy, or crowded...

The movie, differs from the book, which i really enjoyed, but i guess that at 2hrs, they just couldn't fit any more in. Its a brilliant feelgood movie, of indomitable spirit overcoming and of course - getting the beautiful girl !

Give yourself a treat and suspend your cares for a couple of hours - You'll be glad you did ..!

Balagan jewellery in Showgirls fashion photoshoot

2009-03-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

The lingerie buyer magazine recently used a selection of our jewellery for their
"Showgirls" photoshoot.

We think the results are pretty amazing, so here's one of them for you to see here !

We've put them up on our website under the press page, along with the coverage from Cosmo bride which is also really really pretty ! So a good week on the press front all in all

Here's to March sunshine and happier times...

Le Journal de Lola Spring 2009 catalogue now live

2009-03-02T05:08:00.000-08:00

The Miss Hattie B catalogue and the Spring update catalogue for Le Journal de Lola are now live on the site under the downloads button.

They are downloadable pdf's so you can save them to your desktop or print them out as you prefer.

The log in details were sent out as part of the March newsletter, but if you haven't received yours, please let us know and we'll get it to you immediately.

All the updated Spring catalogues are now live on the site. That's Gallery, Studio, Steam, Le Journal de Lola, Rocks and Miss Hattie B. Sukie Lau will follow shortly.

If you have any questions about this new way of receiving the updated catalogues then please do let us know....

In the meantime, welcome to March, here's to Spring time, lambs, daffodils and sunshine...!

The world definately looks a much brigher place for some sunshine and going home in daylight :-)

Have a great week !

Backwards in high heels, the impossible art of being female !

2009-03-01T04:16:00.000-08:00

I don't want to alienate our male readers, but bearing in mind we're a jewellery company, and many readers of this blog will be women, I've just got to tell you about this new book I just got " Backwards in High Heels" I love this book! It's one of those rare books that you want to earmark, scribble in and rush out and buy for all your girlfriends, its absolutely fabulous !

Its title comes from the old saying, that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in high heels ! Its a book for everywoman struggling to make sense of the contradictory demands of living in the 21st century, and it tells it exactly how it is.

Within its pages is everything an intelligent woman might want to know about the nuances of every conceivable topic: big subjects, such as love, motherhood, feminism, politics, grief, ageing, as well as the “shallower” stuff. Except, in this book, as in most women's heads, and their lives, the demarcation between the deep and the shallow is so slight that its barely noticeable.

There isn't a patronising sentence in the book. It assumes that its readers will be adult women who are au fait with life's complexities, know how to live and how to think, but would like a little reinforcement every now and then. Or a little shaking out of worn mental grooves.

This is not an advert, its more of an extollation, buy this for your mum, your wife, your sister, your best friend or your cousin - It's a rare book that delivers what it promises on the cover and she will thank you for it !

Spring Summer catalogue updates now on our site !

2009-02-26T01:36:00.000-08:00

We've just posted some of our Spring / Summer catalogue updates on our balagan site under the catalogue download banner.

So far, Gallery, Rocks, Steam and Studio are up there. Today we'll be finalising Le Journal de Lola and Miss Hattie B, so they should be up there by tonight.

Obviously they're password protected, so please email or call us for the password, which you can then use indefinately.

We've been trying to save paper and help the environment, which is why we're trialing this new method - Please give us any feedback you have...

If you're not a lover of the technology, please give us a call on 08452 600 925 and we can send you out a disc with them on, or a paper copy if you'd prefer? Just let us know.

Our monthly newsletter will be out Friday night with all the passcodes, top tips, and a host of new features to tickle your little grey cells...

Happy a great day !

Refreshed and ready for Monday !

2009-02-23T03:26:00.000-08:00

The good news is that we're all ready for Monday, we have so much going on here, it's never boring, the week goes faster than Micheal J Fox in his time travelling Delorian ! (for those of you too young to remember that, trust me, its really fast!)

Ok, we haven't done one for a while, so here's our business tip of the week spot:

Business tip of the week

Hard work maketh the man, (or wo-man)

I think we’re all clear that there are lots of challenges in retail sales, notably long hours, the need for daily self-motivation, seasonal shifts in customers, trends and the need to make every customer experience a great one. No pressure there then !

Do you have a selection of opening gambits to initiate conversation with your customers, or do you rely on the old favourite “can I help you?” to which the answer is, as we all know, “Hmm no thanks, I’m just looking” and you retreat to your counter wounded and feeling a bit useless.

So today, why not try a new selection of opening lines, how about any of the following:

Did you find everything you were looking for today in our shop?

What do you think of our new xxxxxxxx range? (fill in the blank) We’re so excited about it because xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (fill in the blank)

What brought you in here today?

Or Hi, can I just take two seconds of your time to tell you about xxxxxxxxxx

At the very least you’ll have had a conversation, introduced some products and lifted the ambience of the shop, at the best, you’ll have created sales !

If you have some time this week, make a cup of tea/coffee and download our new e-book from our sister site www.retailrehab.co.uk its free and it should give you some food for thought !

Have fun with selling !

Check our our other 28 sales tips on our website - they're FREE !

Let's hear it for Friday !

2009-02-20T00:56:00.000-08:00

Finally, Friday has swung around.

Its been a manic week here at Balagan HQ, with orders from the show flying out, as well as lots of interest in our new retailrehab campaign!

Our first forray into publishing, our e-book on USP's is now LIVE and on the retailrehab site available as a FREE download. Don't miss it, its filled with valuable information to help you make your busines stand out in these challenging times.

Pop over to our sistersite on www.retailrehab.co.uk to check it out !

We're just finishing off our Spring Catalogues which we'll post (password protected of course) on our site as downloadable pdf's - We're working on being kind to the environment. Of course, for those of you who are still resisting the computer age, we can send you an original out in the post - just call and let us know :-)

Have a fabulous weekend, with wicked sales !

xx

2009-02-12T02:47:00.001-08:00

Snow business !

2009-02-12T02:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, so we're finally back from the NEC and Pure, and yes it was very snowy at the Spring Fair....! Thanks to all of you who braved the wicked weather to come and see us, it was surprisingly busy which we're taking as a very good sign !

We have lots of new things in the pipeline, Quite a lot of our projects just couldn't be ready in time for the shows, so we'll be sending you updates on our new products in a couple of weeks, once we get it all photographed and catalogued.

Retailrehab caused quite a stir, so you'll be reading about this in most of the post show publications. For those of you who haven't logged on, please do so as we'll be updating it weekly with ideas to generate publicity for your shops and businesses...

So now we're off to clear the snow from the car park... Ooooh the glamorous life we lead !

The Debut of Miss Hattie B...!

2009-01-27T15:15:00.000-08:00

The new collection from Balagan, Miss Hattie B, will be unveiled at the Spring Fair. Miss Hattie B loves hand-made jewellery, frippery with pearls, pretty semi-precious stones and, to be honest anything soft and pretty.

Miss Hattie doesn't aim for perfection in her jewellery, preferring to see a trace of its hand made qualities, the tiny imperfections that create the unique beauty of the pieces.

So, for pretty, feminine and fun jewellery, visit us at Hall 18 on Stand B30 / C29 to experience some serious Hattitude !

The rubber band challenge - Just for fun !

2009-01-21T03:43:00.000-08:00

Just for fun, and to lighten the mood,here's our accounts' rubber band ball, they've been collecting them for about a year !

Its massive - a bit pointless, but fun !

Does anyone out there have a rubber band ball to beat it ! A paperclip trail to lead to America? Barak Obama's portrait made out of post it notes???

So, you want to know does it bounce???

How big is it??

Why do we have sooooo many rubber bands??

How many bands are in there anyway?

All these questions and more answered in the next post !

See you at the NEC !

Campaign to Support Independent Retailers !

2009-01-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know, we have a couple of shops too, and so we've had the opportunity to see business from both sides - Retail and Wholesale.

With this in mind, we're starting a "Thanks for supporting an Independent Retailer!" Campaign....

Its still a work in progress at the moment, so we can't tell you too much, but the idea is that it'll be a resource for small retailers to download information, share success stories and generally be a voice for indpendent retailers on our High Streets.

The Spring Fair exhibition site publicised us, you can see the link below and we're hoping for lots more great publicity.... so watch this space.

http://www.springfair.com/Balagan/RetailRehab

More information to follow very very soon !

Parking Charges Withdrawn at the NEC Spring Fair !

2009-01-12T11:11:00.000-08:00

EMAP have just emailed us to tell us that the vastly unpopular proposed parking charges at the NEC Spring Fair have been withdrawn.

This is great news and in their words stops the issue from becoming a "disproportionate distraction", when we should all be concentrating on the upcoming show.

Good news for all of us who are off to Sunny Birmingham in the near future.

Balagan business tip of the week, Yes we know we missed the first two weeks, but hey, better late than never. So here it is:

Choose a regular customer to spotlight as a Customer of the Month.

Create a brief write up to submit to your local newspaper about the customer, and your shop, and why they're customer of the month, and be sure to give them a copy of the article as well as have one framed to hang in the store. Over time you could build up a wall of great customers !

The ice blocks in our heating have melted.(Still no sign of the engineer) But everyone's much happier, and its a new week ! So have a good one ! x

Positive Mental Attitude

2009-01-09T02:58:00.000-08:00

Well, since there's quite enough doom and gloom pervading the media to anaethatise anyone, we've decided that what's called for here is a positive mental attitude (PMA)

Don't get sucked in by all the bad news in the media, while we admit that its not all good news, wallowing in a sea of despair never helped anyone. So have a look at our link to see 28 tips that cost hardly anything to increase sales http://www.balagan.co.uk/increaseyoursales.php

We're also featured in lots of press this week. Love must be in the air, as its all wedding magazines: Rocks was in Wedding Venues, Le Journal de Lola featured in Perfect Wedding and Studio was in Wedding Ideas. These are all the January issues, and they're all available to download as printable PDF's from our website http://www.balagan.co.uk/press.php

So now its back to work on the new collections for the Spring Fair launch.....

Have a great weekend - fingers crossed for some good sales

PMA all the way...

BRRRRR

2009-01-07T11:46:00.001-08:00

Well, we've had a chilly start to our New Year as our heating has completely frozen in the office Mr Engineer, if you're reading this, get a wiggle on please

The annual, all singing, all dancing Stock check is finished, which everyone is pleased about because we've got a flippin lot of small things to count...

Anyway, orders are going out again as from today ! So thanks for your patience :-)

We've added a link on our website loaded with 28 ways to increase your sales (that won't cost you a fortune ) to keep your grey cells whirring away during this cold spell.

We're also hard at work on the Balagan Business Audit, which is now a bit of an epic, so it'll probably come out to you in stages. More updates to follow shortly

Fingers crossed for the engineer tomorrow...

Brrrr

2009-01-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

Firstly, a very Happy New Year !

While its still close enough to New Year to be topical, here's some of our new years resolutions....!

Laugh more and worry less. Drink less and exercise more. Definately give up smoking ! Eat more fruit and veg and fewer take outs ! Make the time for more bubble baths. Make fewer to-do lists. Cook more meals ! Dance more, sit less. Help our customers more. Spend less money. Get a funky hat. Make more money! Give up smoking..! Go to the gym, and enjoy it ! Be nicer to our partners. Bake some cookies and cakes. Make funky jewelry. Make our business more successful. Make our business less stressful. Give up on the remote control. Play with our pets. Learn to play an instrument. Wear more colour.Wear more jewellery and fewer frowns. Discover new places. Travel the world. Complain less, praise more, and the best till last: Smile, have fun and don't get stressed out about life - enjoy it !

2008-12-15T05:28:00.000-08:00

Ain't no mountain high enough !

While, we'd love you to sing this song to your DHL delivery driver, just in case you're wondering when you can still get stock until. Here's the important dates:
Our last posting dates for this coming weekend, are Thursday 18th December.
Last day of despatch will be Monday 22nd December (parcels and courier items)

Business Health Audit

As some of you may know we have shops too, and we've learned a lot along the way. So we've put together this business health audit for the New Year for you. Your success is our success, so its filled with handy tips and ideas for increasing footfall, sales, turnover and profit ! We'll be mailing them out in January, just before you have time to slip into bad habits with those New Year's resolutions....

Why no Christmas cards?

We have a Christmas tradtion to remember those less fortunate than ourselves, so we like to donate the money we would have spent on sending out Christmas cards to the local Sue Ryder Cancer Hospice. Its just up the road from our offices and they do a fantastic job,,, so thats why...!

Happy Christmas to all our customers, stockists and friends

Thank you sooooo much for all your support over the past year. We don't take it for granted and we'll be working really hard in 2009 to exceed your expectations !

The Balagan Group

2008-12-12T01:37:00.000-08:00

Hello and Welcome...

Hi & thanks for stopping by ! This spot is intended primarily for our current customers, as an update on what's going on here at Balagan HQ. Special offers, New collections and show previews.... watch this space !

Showroom

Our Showroom is open for anyone needing last minute stock next week.... But please do phone for an appintment as we get pretty busy. Thanks

PR & Media

So far this month we've appeared in Heat magazine, Wedding Ideas, It's fate, Perfect Wedding & Today's Business Woman. These articles are all available to download on our website to support our collections. http://www.balagan.co.uk/press

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