Eel skin may sound unusual or even unpleasant to the uninitiated, but for those in the know it’s the most luxurious leather available.  Incredibly soft and yet harder wearing than cow leather, eel skin is on the up having been picked up on by stylish labels such as Bobelle.  As a by-product of the Korean food industry it’s a low impact leather, and the hand-made bags are then fairly-traded with Bobelle who enforce high ethical standards through their production chain.  These are the kinds of people I love to work with, and with such a fantastic product it’s no surprise that Claire Watt-Smith has been receiving press coverage for her fantastic efforts.

Available in decadent Deep Purple as well as classic Light Grey, both are beautifully lined in red faux suede, and are available on EmmieJay now!

Spending a week in ski school is also a good reminder that you can always learn something new, you just need the right guidance and the determination to practice until you get it right – a philosophy to apply to some areas of running a business that I struggle with.  Need to face up to those tricky tasks, dedicate some time to them and things will become easier.  In the long run that will leave more time available for the fun stuff.

5 goals for the Spring:

• Book in some sales events for the rest of the year
• Review product range and engage with new suppliers
• Attend a networking event (sounds terrifying but must give it a go!)
• Blog and Tweet more
• Get that marketing plan done

There, I’ve said them out loud so am committed.  Will report back on progress…

The Loch Ness Marathon isn’t until October, so in theory I have plenty of time to train.  After completing week 1 of my training and feeling a bit achy I am wondering what on earth I’ve let myself in for – wish me luck!

To make it a little easier on your wallet, we’re also giving you 10% off everything ordered until midnight February 14th.  Just enter the code VALENTINE10 at the checkout.  www.emmiejay.co.uk

This week the Prince of Wales has launched The Wool Project, a campaign to promote the wool industry specifically focused on the UK, Australia and New Zealand.  Wool used to be a staple in most people’s wardrobes, but having had its ups and downs over the years it’s now considered either expensive, itchy or difficult to look after by many consumers.  We’re so used to finding man-made alternatives in our shops many of us don’t even own any wool items these days!

It does seem a shame – it can be beautiful, is extremely hard wearing and is a material we can produce in the UK.  It may be a more expensive product, but then it’s also going to last.  You shouldn’t compare buying a quality item that will last years with the throw-away fast fashion found on most high-streets, yet we all do it and often opt for the cheap option that lasts even less time than the bag it came in.

There are some great British designers working with wool, producing really exciting pieces that are fashionable, very wearable and beautifully made, Izzy Lane and Makepiece being the obvious examples.

Let’s hope this campaign helps give wool a higher profile, encouraging more designers, retailers and consumers to get involved.  It would be great to see more material produced, processed and made into the finished article all in the UK.

Best part of the day though was the buying!  Placed a jewellery order and picked up a few gorgeous clutch bags and purses made from vintage silk scarves to try out. Look out for these stunners online soon…

This is apparently due to a property referred to as bamboo kun, which is a naturally occurring anti-microbial.  This is what stops your bamboo socks from getting smelly as the odour-producing bacteria don’t get a look in.  The best thing is this doesn’t get washed straight out, unlike chemically added fresheners, further research has shown that these anti-fungal and anti-bacterial qualities last after many launderings.

All that from a pair of socks – marvellous!

Hoping this will be a useful way to broaden my network, and keep my Tweeting customers up to date with all my news.  Happy Tweeting!

First order has already been received!  I’m just in time for Christmas shopping, so hopefully lots more to come soon.  I feel so excited about sharing my baby with the wider world, and full of ideas for expanding the range and promoting the website next year.  There’s so much to do and never enough hours in the day, but it’s just brilliant to be spending time working on something that I love so much.

I hope you’ll like the site and the products as much as I do.  Whatever you think, I’d love to hear hear it.  Either leave me a comment here, or contact me via www.emmiejay.co.uk .

The tax man has a bad image, but it’s not deserved - he’s a very nice man.