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!

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.

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!

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 .

I still didn’t have time to meet everybody, but having splashed out a fiver on the show directory I have all the contact details to follow those I missed up over the coming weeks.

For those I did get to meet it was a lovely opportunity to discuss my fledgeling outfit with people in the business.  Looking at items up close is essential in order to assess quality, and I found I was instantly drawn to some brands as being a perfect fit for EmmieJay.  Unfortunately, cash-flow doesn’t allow me to run wild and buy everything I liked, but I will certainly be placing a few orders, and feel I have made contacts that I’ll be able to pick up with in the future as my business grows.

Anyone starting out in an industry new to them should definitely get themselves along to a relevant trade fair.  It may seem a bit intimidanting from the outside but it’s a brilliant source of information and contacts.  I found everybody friendly even though I wasn’t in a position to place orders that day, and it’s incredibly motivating to be submerged in the world you want to be in.

Pure seemed to cover a broad range of brands and is certainly worth going to pick up on emerging trends and see what everybody is doing.  It’s run twice a year to tie in to the coming forward order seasons and I’m already looking forward to seeing more ethical brands at the next show.

It’s also a great excuse for a weekend away in London, which is always good fun even when it’s raining.