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Welcome

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

January 2009 – a new year, a clean slate. An opportunity to make a difference to the lives of others.  A personal challenge, started in ernest in 2008, to raise £1 million to support the work of Oxfam and other development organisations working in Malawi.  What will I do this year to make me feel proud?

2008 saw the successful launch of a new new contemporary designer jewellery website with a difference. www.bluedogjewellery.com. This website brings together two of my interests and passions, contemporary craft and design and a desire to raise money to improve the lives of women in Africa.

www.bluedogjewellery.com promotes the work of the most outstanding contemporary jewellery designers and is part of my ongoing campaign to raise £1 million for development work in Africa within five years. 

In 2009 I will continue to focus on investing in buy-to-let properties as part of my strategy. Despite the doom and gloom in the media, there has never been a better time to make wise property investments and with interest rates at an historical all time low, the time really is ripe to take action. In 2009 I will continue to search for new ways to raise money for development projects. I am considering a speed walking marathon in Edinburgh or Iceland or a challenge to walk the Great Wall of China with a team of supporters... watch this space! 

My translation business, The Language Factory, www.thelanguagefactory.co.uk will continue to support Oxfam, as it has for the last three years. My wonderful team at The Language Factory have worked exceptionally hard throughout 2008 to take the company from strength to strength. We have launched a new website for our market research clients as part of our ongoing growth strategy and in 20009 will continue to grow the company so that we are able to give something back: www.tlf-researchtranslation.co.uk In 2009 The Language Factory's support will continue to go to the HIV/AIDS projects in Malawi which I had the good fortune to visit just over 12 months ago. The truly inspiring people I met in Malawi last year have constantly been in my thoughts in everything I do. I know that with Oxfam's support they will manage to cope with the immense challenges of their situation.

In 2008 I attended several property investment and wealth creation courses run by Gill Fielding, one of Channel 4's secret millionnaires. Gill is a truly inpirational woman and I'm sure that the many wonderful new friends which I have made during these courses will continue to be a source of inspiration and strength. I am positive that in 2009 we will all continue to support each other in acheiving our dreams. I hope 2009 will bring me in contact with many new inspirational people. This blog will continue to focus on the inspirational stories of the many men and women who acheive great things in their lives. A friend recently reminded me that most people over estimate what they can achieve in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in five years. I had hoped to have raised £100,000 by the end of 2008 to reach a tenth of my £1 million goal but the credit crunch has meant that I am slightly below target at circa £75,000. Am I bothered? No! Does this mean that I won't acheive my goal? Of course not, I'm just getting started! Once the momentum from my current activities gets going I am confident I will reach my goal within 5 years. My ultimate aim would be to create a dream team of people who would like to set their own personal challenge to raise money for Oxfam.   I would love to create a team of 9 other people who would also be willing to raise £1,000,000 so that together we can raise £10 million.  But that is my dream, what is yours?  What will you do this year to make you feel proud?

 

You don’t have to raise £1m, you could do something simple like choosing to buy all your birthday and Christmas presents from www.oxfamunwrapped.com this year.  You would be amazed at what a difference a small action like this can make to other people.  During my trip to see Oxfam’s work in Malawi, I witnessed at first hand how small gifts such as goats or seeds can literally change lives. I hope throughout 2009 that this blog will inspire you to take action – whatever your chosen goals for the year. I hope you will set yourself challenges and reach for your dreams. I hope you will be impervious to the negativity which abounds and focus on what you can acheive rather than what you can't. You can do anything you want to do and be anyone you want to be, just take the first step and please remember to let me know how you get on.... "> Posted by Shona Lockhart, 1st January 2009

Blue Dog Jewellery - Inspirational businesswoman Perween Warsi CBE

 

Truly inspired woman: Perween Warsi

GB Magazine on Feb 2008 by Michelle Rosenberg

 

In the third part of our serialisation of Inspiring Women, a collection of stories of outstanding female entrepreneurs, Michelle Rosenberg focuses on Perween Warsi, the founder of one of the UK’s most successful food companies, who was inspired by the need to get better quality Indian food in stores

S&A Foods was literally inspired by a samosa its founder bought from a supermarket in 1986. Appalled at its quality, Perween Warsi saw her chance to make a difference.

The company (named after her sons Sadiq and Abid) now has 750 staff and a turnover of £65m. It supplies major retailers in the UK and has now expanded into Europe. “When I realised it was difficult to buy good-quality Indian food I thought that maybe I could make a difference,” she says.

Her initial approach was direct. She simply prepared some of her own samosas and convinced a local Indian takeaway to try them. They sold well and Warsi began supplying the outlet regularly. Encouraged, she approached other takeaways and local delicatessens, while expanding her range. However, supplying to the local trade was never going to be enough. Her eye was always on the bigger prize: the big retailers.

She began calling supermarkets, persisting until S&A was asked to take part in blind tasting sessions at Asda and Safeway. Her food triumphed over more established food manufacturers, and she received an order. There was, however, one problem.

“When Asda offered me the contract they assumed S&A Foods was a fully fledged food manufacturing business,” she recalls. “At that time I was still making the dishes in my kitchen, so we had to build up the business quickly!”

So Warsi took a gamble. In 1987, S&A Foods joined the Hughes Food Group with the resulting investment injection allowing them to open their first factory in Derby.

“Although at the time it was good for the business to join with Hughes, as it meant we could afford to build a new factory and create 100 extra jobs, I wasn’t in control of the direction the business was going,” she says.

It would come at a cost later, but for now she could begin to fulfill her ambition of supplying supermarkets with her products, something she still does today.

“You need to have something different, unique and better that they currently don’t have to add value to their shelves,” she says.

However, she warns against focusing too heavily on the client and forgetting the people who really buy the food – the customers. “Obviously, the whole of the supply chain is geared up to manage our customers’ needs and requirements,” she says.

“My belief is my business should be tailored to meet my customers and my consumers, not food production.”

She had hit the big time from nowhere, but her initial strategy was to come back to haunt her. In 1990, the Hughes Food Group went into receivership leaving S&A’s future looking bleak. Warsi had to fight for the survival of the business and in the following year, with the support of venture capitalists 3i, she led a management buy-out (MBO).

However, it was 2004 before Warsi regained 100% of S&A. In spite of this setback, the business performed well during the 1990s and is now expanding across Europe.

Alongside a passion for food, Warsi believes strongly in staff development. S&A has an on-site learning centre, where staff can gain work-related qualifications and languages.

Both are important to the success of S&A (there are 23 languages spoken on S&A’s factory floor), but Warsi says it is about more than just work. “It inspires them to reach their potential,” she says, “both in and out of the workplace.”

Her role has changed considerably since starting up. She used to spend most of her time in the factory or seeing customers. Now she’s more focused and has a “very capable management team” around her. However, she is still involved in S&A’s day-to-day running. Her passion for food has not diminished and she still spends time in India researching new flavours and tastes.

“It’s important when you’re developing new dishes to actually speak to people, see what they are eating, and what new ideas are coming through,” she says.

AND THE WINNER IS…

A host of top food honours mark S&A’s success:

¦ Perween Warsi was awarded an MBE in 1997, followed by a CBE in 2002

¦ She also won Woman Entrepreneur of the World Award in 1996, and was given a seat on the Confederation of British Industry’s National Committee in 2002

¦ S&A has been the UK’s fastest-growing independent food manufacturer for five consecutive years

¦ S&A was a finalist in the 1997 Sunday Times Business Awards

Inspiring Women:How Real Women Succeed In Business is out now (£12.99, ISBN 978-1-85458-410-6) www.crimsonpublishing.co.uk

Article from www.growingbusiness.co.uk

 

Written by Tandoori Magazine

Wednesday, 25 March 2009 10:57

What made you want to start up a food business? I was very weary of the taste and quality of Indian food that was available to the public during the 1970s. I felt that the British public had a wrong perception of Indian food and it needed to be better than it was. So I started cooking from home and supplied local delis and takeaways in my area. S&A Foods have turned out to be a huge success, but how did you overcome the various challenges you must have faced in the course of making the business what it is today? In life and in business there are always obstacles and challenges to overcome. One of the biggest hurdles I had to overcome was when I was starting out. Asda, the supermarket chain gave me my very first big order and yet I was only cooking the food from a domestic kitchen. I thought it was getter to be honest and tell them my situation. They waited patiently and were very supportive until the time I could open my factory. So the business took off from there. How involved are you in the development of the recipes and what is your criteria of a perfect recipe? I am very involved in the development of the recipes and all product lines that S&A create. The criteria of a good recipe is quality ingredients, an authentic way of cooking and consistency. How important is it for you that S&A keeps coming up with new ideas and product lines? It’s at the heart of what we do. Any business has to be creative and we have to keep coming up with new ideas and developments. Besides, we don’t just do Indian food, we also offer Tex Mex, Mediterranean, Chinese, Pan-Asian dishes and our customer base is very loyal. What type of food do you like to eat yourself? Other than Indian, I love Chinese. Had you not gone into the food business, what profession do you think you would have taken up and why? I would have become a psychologist because psychology is about understanding people and as a businesswoman, I love dealing with people. How have you managed to juggle home life with your work commitments? Life is about juggling many balls and trying to catch one. My passion and the support of my husband and my sons, whom I all want to thank, have made me and my business the success it is today. Who would be your ideal dinner guests and why? Barack Obama, to see how he will fulfill all his promises as the new US president. The late Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop. I got to know her briefly and am a great admirer of hers. She had such a strong business ethic. What does it take to run a successful business? Having a vision, passion, sheer determination and a positive attitude. Enthusiasm and choosing the right people to be around you are also important. What advice would you give to any women contemplating starting up a food business, however small or big? Follow your instincts and get the support of your family. Work hard and don’t think that just because you are a woman you are any less effective as a business person.

Watch this video of Perween talking about her business success:

 

http://cmypitch.com/entrepreneur-tv/show/92/perween_warsi_cbe_founded_ready_meals_giant_s_a_foods_in_1986

 

 

 

Posted by Shona Lockhart, 20th June 2009

www.bluedogjewellery.com

Blue Dog Jewellery - Business advice from inspirational entreprenuer Michelle Mone

Michelle Mone is not only famous for inventing the Ultimo bra but also for being a straight talking no-nonsense businesswoman. In these videos and article she talks about the importance of cashflow management of holding on to your dream. 

Michelle Mone: My business advice

 

 

Organisation, the ability to manage cash flow and provide staff with clear messages are essential ingredients that all successful entrepreneurs must possess, says Michelle Mone

Michelle Mone, co-founder of MJM International has seen her business expand since the launch of the Ultimo Bra range in 1999 and its lingerie products can now be found in countries all over the world. The entrepreneur offers her advice on the key skills that business owners need to ensure that their venture succeeds.

Organisation
"If you walked into my office every lever arch file is up the right way, each has a label with the same font and if the stickers are not straight then you restart it and do it again," she says. "What surprised me was walking into a business and it being chaotic, messy and unorganised. I was seeing disgusting cloths lying in a sink where people were making food.

"I basically started off with organisational skills and once those started improving they started thinking about the business more because they weren't working in a mess and a heap of paperwork. I thought that was just what businesspeople did."

The most common mistake from entrepreneurs is people having a good month and then spending the proceeds

Management style
"I'm extremely fair, I'm always very clear in what I want the team to deliver on and if they can't deliver on that then they need to speak up. What I can't stand is if I don't get any questions but then weeks down the line they say ‘I didn't know you wanted that' or ‘I didn't think the deadline was then'. But I always encourage a team spirit as well; you've got to enjoy what you do."

Over the years, Mone has come to realise just how important her own behaviour is to staff morale and business performance in general. "A few years ago I used to come into the office and be quite stressed," she recalls. "The staff would think ‘Oh God, she's stressed' so they used to get stressed. Your team will smile when you smile and be stressed when you're stressed. That's something that I always remember: even if you have to put on a good face and be a good actress, do not let staff get down."

Managing cash
"You have to keep an eye on your cash, not just once a month or once a week but daily," she says. "Look at the costs of the business and review them, right down to your kitchen roll. See if you could get more out of your team, look at your product, look at your competitors and always be better than them. It's not necessarily a case of cutting back or not spending money on research and development, advertising or taking your customers out for dinner but you've got to be smarter with your cash."

The most common mistake she sees from entrepreneurs is people having a good month and then spending the proceeds. "I don't think ‘I've got that amount of money in the bank; let's go and spend it'," she says. "It's just there and if we go through a bad period then there's money in the bank to cope. You never want to ask the banks for money, especially in this current climate. There are some real horror stories and it's not nice so there's no bank that will darken my doorstep. I'm in charge of the business and that's the way it will stay."

Ambition
Despite all she has achieved, however, Mone says she doesn't feel as if she has "made it" yet. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to say I've made it," she says. "Does it mean you've made it if you're in The Sunday Times Rich List worth hundreds of millions? I don't know. There's so much that I want to do in terms of Miss Ultimo, Ultimo Perfume, Ultimo for Men; I suppose that's why I feel I've not made it yet."

 

Article from New Business, 3rd June 2009

www.newbusiness.co.uk

 

 

 

           

Posted by Shona Lockhart, 19th June 2009

www.bluedogjewellery.com

Blue Dog Jewellery - Inspirational businesswoman Karen Darby

It is always fascinating to learn about successful women in business, particularly women who share my belief in making a difference by building strong ethical businesses with a strong social mission.  Today Blue Dog Jewellery investigates Karen Darby, a serial entrepreneuer famous for setting up and selling Simply Switch.

 

Karen Darby's motto is:

"Follow your dreams, and happiness will follow you"

Her biography illustrates how she follwed her dreams to  become one of Britains most successful female entrepreneur:

At the age of just 22, Karen became a young entrepreneur.  She set up one of the country’s first telemarketing companies, the Decisions Group, now part of Sitel. Within seven years the company had more than 200 staff and sales in excess of £4m.

By 1990, she had decided it was time for a new challenge.  She sold her share of the company and set up her second business, a firm providing training for call-centre staff; Karen Darby Direct. With two young sons and working from home, Karen became a "mumtreneur". She personally trained hundreds of people in the call centre industry and for many it was a life changing experience. In fact, many champions were raised in ‘Karen’s Stable’, several of whom have gone on to set up their own highly successful businesses.

In 2003, Karen launched her third and most successful venture, SimplySwitch, a price comparison service. She secured venture capital funding from Bridges Community Ventures, which was subject to the business meeting certain social criteria such as being based in one of the most deprived areas of the UK. Initially launched as Simply Energy Ltd offering consumers a free and impartial switching service for gas and electricity, it quickly extended its portfolio of products to include home phone, mobile, broadband and a range of financial products and was re-branded SimplySwitch. The company created over 100 jobs and helped thousands of consumers save over £20m on their household bills.

In August 2006 Karen sold SimplySwitch to the Daily Mail for £22m.

Karen’s Hot Tips for starting a business:

Take the plunge
Do it - don't just dream about it. Anyone can have a great idea; it's about turning those ideas into reality. There is never a right time, you're never too young or too old. If you're dreaming about it, grab the opportunity now. Sure it takes courage, but sometimes you’ve got to take that leap of faith. Ask yourself – what’s the worst that can happen and can you live with the consequences? Now I’m not asking you to put everything you own on the line – I’m big fan of taking risks with other people’s money. But don't be afraid of failure, you risk more than failure if you don't try to turn your business dreams into reality; you risk not achieving your potential in life.

Do what you love – and the money will follow
Follow your passion. Great entrepreneurs are agents of change. They want to make a difference and they want to do it their way. Often the money is a side benefit – albeit a very attractive one! Also, it makes sense that if you are going to spend most of your life working, you may as well do something you actually enjoy!  

Work with the best
Surround yourself with the best people you possibly can. If that means giving away equity, so be it. No one person is capable of giving a growth business everything it needs and a wise entrepreneur not only knows and plays to their strengths, they know their weaknesses. Communicate your vision with passion to enrol the very best individuals – those with the experience, skills and personal qualities that will compliment the team. Also, if you are looking to secure funding, it’s a fact that you are far more likely to get it if there is more than just one of you.

Information is power
You don’t need to know all the answers – you just need to know the right questions to ask. Getting good advice is easy – virtually everything you need is out there on the web. The links on my site should give you a good starting point. Do you need to patent your idea? What about trademarks? For general information, Business Link is a good place to start. Networking and getting yourself a mentor will help to fill in the gaps. Also, do your research – check out the competition and find a way to make your idea stand out.  

Begin with the end in mind
Is this going to be a life-style business or is it scalable ie can you build it up and sell it? If it’s the latter, make sure you have a well-defined exit strategy, especially if you are going to be looking for funding. Investors will want to know if they are going to put their cash in your business, how they are going to realise a return from that investment.

Be persistent
Many entrepreneurs succeed with very few qualities other than pure bloody-minded persistence and sheer tenacity. There will always be challenges and set backs. You must be positive, because attitude is everything. You will get knock backs, there will be obstacles. It's how you deal with them that counts.  

Be flexible and adaptable
Persistence is all well and good you also need to know when a change of tack is necessary. Even with the best laid plans things rarely turn out the way you expect, the successful business is one that remains responsive to it’s customer’s needs.

and finally....

Commit to your business 110 per cent. Make sure you have a white-hot burning desire to make your business succeed. I firmly believe that anyone can be successful – the question is: how badly do you want it?

Have a look at Karen's website if you want to learn more:

www.karendarbydirect.com

The Guardian interviewed Karen:

 

'There is no point having a load of money unless you enjoy it'

After its sale to the Mail, SimplySwitch's boardroom is no longer big enough for its renegade founder

• David Teather
• The Guardian, Friday 12 October 2007
• Article history

It takes a certain type to walk away from £5m. Karen Darby sold her business SimplySwitch, a service allowing consumers to compare rates for gas and electricity suppliers among other things, to the Daily Mail & General Trust last year for £22m. She banked £5m and was on an earn-out: she would make an additional £5m if she stayed at the company for three years and met certain targets. Shortly after selling the company though, she changed her mind and went down to two days a week.

"I've ditched the earn-out now," she says. "This is still my baby, but I did put it up for adoption and I'm kind of showing a bit of interest obviously, and I want it to do well, but I am looking at other things - like making jam and stuff." She lets out a booming avalanche-inducing laugh. "There is no point in having a shit load of money unless you get to enjoy it, is there?"

It is nice to hear. The question that hangs between the journalist and the average millionaire/billionaire is why don't you just stop and enjoy the cash? But neither is her answer entirely convincing. "You've got to be careful what you print because they are bound to read this," she says. "The thing is, I've not had a boss for 25 years. I don't play the corporate bunny game too well. I don't like being in a boardroom and not being at the top of the table, you know. I like being a bit of a renegade; I like being an entrepreneur. That is the challenge: you become part of a big business and they want to keep the entrepreneurial spirit, but how do you do that?"

I wonder how long it took her to arrive at the conclusion that she didn't much fancy being a cog in the Daily Mail wheel. There is a long intake of breath. "Pretty soon afterwards actually. I think it was after the first board meeting." She lets out another hooting laugh. "Oh my God. They are going to hate this."

Darby, 47, is a big personality. She talks so rapidly that you pity any poor assistant who has ever had to take dictation. She also projects like she is making sure she reaches the cheap seats, even though there are just two of us sitting in a small room at the SimplySwitch offices in Croydon, the legacy of a lifetime spent in sales.

Dragons' Den

In truth she does have other projects, not least an attempt to crack the television market and ride the booming interest in business. She was recently invited to audition as one of the dragons on Dragons' Den, the popular BBC series that has budding entrepreneurs competing for venture capital. She lost out to Deborah Meaden, who is involved in her family's holiday parks firm.

"It is the one programme I record when I go on holiday, so I was quite gutted not to get it," Darby says. "They had shortlisted me and Deborah and they screen tested us, so I had to go up to Manchester where they had would-be entrepreneurs come in and pitch - so it was taken quite seriously - but they gave it to her. I smiled too much and they wanted more of a Simon Cowell with cutting comments and I don't see the point. If you are not going to invest, you don't have to say I'd rather stick pins in my eyeballs than invest in your company - and what I've noticed is that it has got progressively cattier and I think that's crap. You don't have to do that. So maybe it wasn't for me. I couldn't be out of character, I just had to be myself."

Unlike Meaden, Darby doesn't come from a family of entrepreneurs. She was raised on a Mitcham council estate in south London with four brothers and sisters. "My mother was a waitress and my father was a drunk and yeah, it was five kids, free school meals, parents divorced when I was 11, you know [she sinks into a northern accent] 'it was tough in those days' and I had to work as a kid. I understood that if I wanted anything in life I had to work hard." She juggled four jobs while still at school, managing a laundrette, working in Tesco, a fish and chip shop and a florist. "I think I got all the drive in the family. It is just one of those things. But I can't imagine doing a sort of 9-5 job for a pay packet at the end of the week - I can't imagine anything more soul destroying."

Darby left school with one O-level and landed a job in telesales for a local newspaper, making 50p on every £5 advertisement she sold ("enough for a packet of fags"). "I thought, that's great, getting paid for talking to people, that's not really working is it? You need to be a bit like a rhino, you do need to be thick-skinned when you are cold-calling and getting rejected. I think it is a great exercise for toughening up. Getting sales skills is one of the best things anyone can ever learn - you know people like Richard Branson, they are salesmen basically aren't they?"

She set up her first venture at 22, a telemarketing firm called the Decisions Group, and became something of a doyen in the industry, riding the boom in direct marketing. She ran Decisions for seven years before it "got a bit tedious" and sold the company in 1990. She made £500,000 immediately, and another £1.1m was promised when the profits reached a certain level. But the company that bought Decisions went bust shortly after, and the £1.1m disappeared with it. "I was very philosophical about it. I thought 'Oh sod it, it was only money, make it on the next one.' "

She worked as a consultant with clients such as Direct Line and BSkyB, at the same time raising three sons, before deciding to set up another business. "I thought it is all very well pitching up and doing training and then charging up to £2,000 a day, but you are only making money when you are working and I wanted to increase my net worth, so I thought I'll set a business up with the sole purpose of selling it. Apparently that's quite unusual. I would have thought it was pretty obvious."

High energy

The idea for SimplySwitch came in 2002 from the controversy then raging about misselling in the deregulated gas and electricity markets. The day she had the idea she had been "bombarded by sales messages from energy companies".

"I'd had two guys knock on the door, I'd been phoned, I'd even been jumped on by a rep in a shopping centre. I was beating them off with a stick."

The service is free to users but gets a fee from companies that consumers switch to when they use its website or call centre. It claims to offer independent advice - each supplier pays the same rate to avoid any potential for bias. The business has expanded, comparing suppliers to find the best deals in areas such as broadband, credit cards, mortgages, car insurance and phone services.

She realised the time was right to cash in after reading that bigger rival uSwitch had just sold for £210m. The market was strong because of a spike in energy prices, leading a lot of people to look for cheaper deals. "I thought, oh, the market is pretty good at the moment, so literally that day I got on the phone, found out who uSwitch's advisers were - it was a company called Long Acre - rang up and said: 'Well done, you got a good price for those guys, how do you fancy doing the same for us?'"

She now lives in an eight-bedroom Georgian house set in seven acres in Weybridge, Surrey, and is looking to find somewhere for her mum, who is still in a council studio flat. She has been through two marriages and has been with her current partner, a property developer she met at Stringfellows, for the past 10 years.

Darby raised the money for Simply-Switch through Bridges Community Ventures, Sir Ronnie Cohen's enterprise, partly funded by the government, that invests in projects with a social element.She set up in a deprived part of Croydon to qualify. Bridges made £8m on the sale, on an investment of just £345,000. The venture capital firm has ignited Darby's interest in developing a business that helps out in some way. One thing that annoys her is the lack of expectation bred into working-class kids. She has been working with her son's college, talking to students about starting their own business. "Even with this college, they put on the prospectus how to set up a small business. I thought, why have you got the word small in there? Why has it got to be fucking small? Excuse me, but why? I think they inadvertently limit people's potential.

"The thing is, I have done it and there is nothing really special about me. I am not particularly clever, but I am tough. I am driven, and I really do think that if I can inspire people to do something in difficult circumstances, that would be a great thing to do, so that's kind of what I am looking at. But it will have a commercial aspect."

She is talking to production companies about a reality TV show. "I'm not just doing it to be great and good. I'll make money out of it as well." She gives another laugh that shakes the room.

The CV

Born

August 1960, Welwyn Garden City

Education

Rowan Road comprehensive, Mitcham. One O-level

Career

1976-1982 Works in a factory and at various telesales jobs, including at Capital Radio

1983 Sets up the Decisions Group

1990 Sells Decisions Group, which now trades as part of Sitel

1991 Launches a consultancy under the brand Karen Darby Direct

2002 Launches SimplySwitch

2006 Sells SimplySwitch to Daily Mail & General Trust for £22m

Family

Twice divorced. Lives with her partner Elias Zaier and three children: Jack, 17, Joseph, 16, and Abraham, 10

 

Karen tells her own story in this video:

http://cmypitch.com/entrepreneur-tv/show/67/karen_darby_the_simply_switch_founder_who_sold_for_22m_to_daily_mail

Posted by Shona Lockhart, 14th June 2009

www.bluedogjewellery.com

Blue Dog Jewellery - Radical Jewellery

Radical jewellery: The art of having something distinctive to say

By Emma Crichton-Miller

Published: June 12 2009 16:04 | Last updated: June 12 2009 16:04

We are told that diamond sales are plummeting and that even rap stars are pressed to stretch to real bling. With gold at a new peak, both jewellers and buyers of jewellery are squeezed. For one substantial group of jewellers, however, this is not all bad news.

Artist-jewellers are not a new subgroup – pioneer modernists such as Picasso, Max Ernst, Jean Arp, Salvador Dali, Alexander Calder, Giorgio de Chirico and even Alberto Giacometti all made excursions into this miniature realm. Since the 1950s, however, there has been a growing movement of artist-jewellers, from across Europe, into the US, Japan and Australia, whose primary means of creative expression is jewellery, and whose concern is far less the intrinsic value of their materials and far more what they can do and say with them.

These jewellers, all contributors to what has been loosely called “the new jewellery movement”, usually work on their own, making one-off pieces. They may use precious metals and valuable or semi-precious stones, but some eschew gold and gems altogether and create pieces from plastic or paper, glass or metal, silicone or bone, wood or nylon, pebbles, grasses, yarn and even recycled rubbish.

This is not cheap costume jewellery, however. While many are interested in enhancing the beauty of the consumer, others experiment boldly with form and colour, or use jewellery to explore complex ideas and difficult emotions.

Others again – perhaps the Dutch bad boys Gijs Bakker and Ted Noten above all – use jewellery to challenge conventional ideas of beauty and of what jewellery is allowed to be. As Mr Bakker once declared: “I dislike jewellery. I dislike the behaviour of jewellery-buying ladies … If jewellery is only decorative … I lose interest.”

The foundation he established in Italy in 1995, to encourage designers to make conceptual jewellery for industrial production, was frankly named Chi ha paura … ? (Who’s Afraid ... ?) His attitude is matched by Ted Noten’s manifesto, “jewellery must be shamelessly curious”, amply fulfilled by his recent chewing gum necklace and brooches made from a crushed Mercedes.

This alternative tradition of jewellery has passionate and loyal fans. As early as 1962 Gillian Naylor, the design historian, in an article titled Diamonds are for Dowagers, celebrated the rise of the artist jeweller.

There are significant pieces in museums across the world, including the V&A, the Fitzwilliam and MIMA, and many private collectors.

Meanwhile individual teachers have encouraged generations of makers to stretch themselves and their audience.

Until recently, all this by turns interesting, challenging and beautiful work has existed in shadowy parallel to the mainstream, drawing admirers, but still far from attracting the column inches or sales returns of a Theo Fennel or Stephen Webster. Now, however, there is new mood stirring. Big stones and even the glitter of gold are no longer the priority. Seeming to have something distinctive to say matters more than having something substantial to spend.

At the UK Crafts Council-sponsored art fair, Collect, in London last month, the crowds around the jewellery tables were thick as flies. Lesley Craze reports that her non-precious jewellery is selling very well and Contemporary Applied Arts has had its best May in 60 years. With prices from the low hundreds through to £10,000 ($16,405), you can buy an awful lot of thought, technique and imagination for less than the cost of many single stones. More established names – Wendy Ramshaw, Bryan Illsley, Jane Adam, Peter Chang – are also serious investments.

As if sensing an opportunity, there are a number of significant exhibitions this summer where you can sample some of the more adventurous work. Opening at Alternatives in London on Monday is a touring exhibition of contemporary French jewellery, where you can see Amandine Meunier’s necklaces from cut inner tube and rope, Maud Traon’s deviant rings made of plastic and modelling clay and Jana Natier’s necklaces formed from sliced Barbie dolls.

At Contemporary Applied Arts, Dorothy Hogg has gathered together 12 international makers under the rubric “Inner Voice” (June 26 – August 22). Herself the arch-exponent of exquisitely-made, powerfully-symbolic pieces, here Ms Hogg introduces recent RCA graduate Maria Militsi, Irish maker Angela O’Kelly, who is also showing her soft, beautiful paper pieces at flow (July 24 – September 19), Matthew Brady’s intriguing pieces from silver and resin, and many others. Lesley Craze Gallery is showing the 18 artists it took to Collect alongside contemporary jewellers Sonia Cheadle and Jo Hayes-Ward, until June 27.

While not all the work is radical in content, there is in the construction of every piece a defiance of mere finery and a determination to make jewellery speak equally for maker and wearer, to explore ideas whether about geometry or about gender, and to celebrate the value of workmanship and imagination over mere materials.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009

 

Posted by Shona Lockhart, 13th June 2009

 

Have a look at our website today for some radically different jewellery:

 

www.bluedogjewellery.com

Blue Dog Jewellery - Sahar Hashemi, inspirational female entrepreneur

Tip of the day: watch this inspiring interview with Sahar Hashemi, founder of Coffee Republic and Skinny Candy.

In 1995 Sahar Hashemi together with her brother Bobby founded Coffee Republic, and built it into one of the UK’s most recognised high street brands with a turnover of £30m. Giving up highly professional jobs, she a lawyer in London and he an investment banker in New York, they staked everything on a dream - and made Coffee Republic one of the main players in the ‘coffee revolution’ that transformed a nation of tea drinkers into one obsessed with ‘triple decaf half-caf lattes’. Neither had any previous knowledge about retail or indeed coffee. But Sahar had developed a passion for the skinny lattes and fat free muffins she had seen in New York. How they came to build a nationwide coffee chain is a fascinating and inspirational tale of the ups and downs of following your dream. From the first conversation when the seed of the idea was planted, to getting a DTI Small Firms Loan Guarantee, finding a name and opening the first store, it a personal story about two people who stopped ‘thinking about it’ and ‘did it’.

Sahar left the day to day management of Coffee Republic in 2001 and has written a book called ‘Anyone Can Do It - Building Coffee Republic from our Kitchen table’ which tackles some of the fears and answers some of the elusive questions about what it really takes to become an entrepreneur.

Published in January 2003, ‘Anyone Can Do It’ has reached #1 on the Amazon business chart. It is ‘suggested reading’ for the London Business School entrepreneurship course and Chapter 1 has been included as part of the syllabus of the Entrepreneurship summer school. The book has also been endorsed by the DTI, Prince’s Trust and IoD and has received wide press coverage.

• Sahar has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Britain 2003 by the Daily Mail. Sahar has made the cover of Management Today, Director and Business 550 magazines. Her media appearances include CNN Business Breakfast, BBC2, Radio 4, LBC, Radio 5 and BBC London amongst many others.
• She is a speaker ambassador for the Prince’s Trust and has spoken as keynote speaker at various high profile events including the IoD Women’s 2002 Summit, Wall Street Journal Europe Women In Business Summit and Enterprise 100.
• Sahar lectures at the London Business School Entrepreneurship summer school.

Sahar has been named: 100 Most Influential Women in Britain Daily Mail
Top 35 Women in British business under 35 Management Today
20 most powerful women in Britain Independent on Sunday
Shell liveWIRE survey of inspirational role models:
1) Richard Branson 2) Friends/family
3) Anita Roddick 4) James Dyson 5) Sahar Hashemi
Speaker Ambassador for the Prince’s Trust

Learn more about Sahar on her website or read her excellent book:

www.anyonecandoit.co.uk

http://cmypitch.com/entrepreneur-tv/show/93/sahar_hashemi_started_coffee_republic_with_brother_bobby_in_1995

Posted by Shona Lockhart, 13th June 2009

www.bluedogjewellery.com

Blue Dog Jewellery - Mary Queen of Charity Shops

I am looking forward to tonight's instalment of Mary Portas' new retail programme about charity shops.  Simon Chilvers interviews Mary for The Guardian:

 

Not your average charity shop

Retail expert Mary Portas is leading a charity shop revolution: she wants to make them better for shoppers and for the charities that run them. Simon Chilvers meets her - and gets a makeover from designer Fee Doran in an Oxfam shop

• Simon Chilvers
• The Guardian, Friday 5 June 2009
• Article history

Queen Mary ... Portas in her charity shop at Westfield shopping centre, west London. Photograph: Martin Godwin

Step into a typical charity shop, and the first thing you notice is the smell of musty old cupboards. On first encountering Mary Portas, retail expert and the face of a new charity shop revolution, the nose also twitches: she smells divine. Her flirty, feisty warmth commands total attention. Though you probably wouldn't want to get into a slanging match with her: the person you see on TV, tongue as sharp as her shoulders, seems pretty much the real Mary.

In many ways Portas is an unlikely figurehead for charity shops. Formerly creative director at Harvey Nichols, she went on to found Yellowdoor, a retail and communications agency. Her first TV series, Mary Queen of Shops, was such a success that it turned her into a cult fashion figure. When we meet, she looks typically immaculate in a grey, sleeveless, silk, tunic dress, cinched at the waist with a wide belt, skin-tight black leggings and flat sandals. She likes Richard and Judy - she's doing their show later - though it's Sir Alan Sugar's job on The Apprentice she quite fancies. Having spent the morning with her, it is easy to imagine Portas waggling a bejewelled finger at the sorry candidate, announcing, with a flick of her strawberry blonde fringe, "I'm sorry, my darling, you're fired."

In the meantime she is leading a charity shop revival. Her new series, Mary Queen of Charity Shops (the first episode of which was screened on BBC2 this week), sees Portas on a mission to transform the dowdy British charity shop; she sets up camp at a branch of Save the Children in Orpington, Kent. But she faces an uphill struggle due to poor-quality donations: "People think of [charity shops] as a dumping ground."

She says she loathes Primark ("cheap landfill") and thinks fast fashion has taken away the joy of a new season. "I think delayed gratification is one of the most important things we have in life. Now there is this sense of newness, newness, newness, all the time. And cheap-newness. And copy-newness, all being shoved down our throats."

She rails against our current "gain and greed" mentality and the MPs' expenses debacle at Westminster with passion. "This isn't a rant on not wanting people to buy new," she says, "but people are starting to rethink how they live their lives, and I want to create something that feels more relevant today."

The Orpington shop is in dire need of help. Donations are so hideous that they have to be picked out of carrier bags with a litter-pincer. The army of veteran volunteers are set firmly in their ways. Portas admits that she thought the task would be easy; and that she was wrong. Yet she may have laid the groundwork for innovation in the sector as a whole. In a later episode, viewers will see her persuade staff at British Gas to bring in unwanted goods to sell in the Orpington shop, with winning results. Now Save the Children is planning to roll out this initiative of hooking up with big businesses, she says.

More innovations are on the way. Portas's vision for a new generation of charity shops comes to life this month at her Living & Giving shop at Westfield shopping centre in west London. (She persuaded the centre to provide her with retail space this month.) For the opening, she has called in favours from fashion pals and Grazia readers to ensure the store is stocked with high-quality merchandise - Manolo Blahnik heels, Marc Jacobs handbags and high-street gems. The store took £4,000 in the first hour of opening yesterday. "I gave 18-year-old kids a stall," she says, "so instead of selling on eBay, they sold their frocks on a table. They took 50% of the profits, they've mixed in with the old dears, and it's win-win. I just want it to be a different business model - nobody has done that."

Portas's zeal taps into a charity shop renaissance. A few miles east, in Camden High Street, celebrity stylist Fee Doran, aka Mrs Jones - the designer behind Kylie's white hooded dress from the Can't Get You Out Of My Head video - is spearheading Oxfam's new DIY project, which includes customising workshops, a festival circuit tour, and a sewing machine in the Camden store. "If it's got a hole, put a sequin on it!" is Doran's fashion philosophy.

I try on an old navy Austin Reed suit which has been turned into a jumpsuit - the sleeves are cut short while the jacket and trousers are fused together with a ribbed panel. I love it, but it doesn't fit. Mrs Jones reaches for a pair of Ralph Lauren navy cords complete with embroidered red lobsters. I'm excited. She's going to dress me as Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl - brilliant. But these trousers are also massive. Eventually, I find myself in a pair of Hermès electric blue jodphur-leggings, a slogan T-shirt, a silk Ralph Lauren scarf, and a navy blazer with college-style badge and gold buttons.

"This project is really tapping into the energy and creativity that has gone around Oxfam shops for years," explains Sarah Farquhar, head of retail at Oxfam. "Stylists, designers, models and art students have always used our shops." Farquhar also believes there is a backlash within fashion. "The high street is starting to look the same. Charity shopping taps into a growing consumer awareness of where things come from, and it's a green and sustainable way to buy."

Portas wants us to "shop neutral" - so when we buy something, we offset it by donating something we no longer wear. As we sit admiring her new Westfield store, two women stroll pass, asking about the shop. Portas explains, then trills: "Come back on Thursday, but you've got to be shopping-neutral, ladies, so you've got to bring something to donate." She pauses as they consider this. "You don't have to. But I'd like you to," Portas smiles. Totally charmed, one of the women raises an eyebrow and says, simply: "That shouldn't be difficult." Portas's point exactly.

Mary's donation tips

• If you are donating torn or stained clothing, mark it "for rag". The charity will get money for a bin-liner of rags.

• With clothing, think about the quality of what you are donating and ask yourself if you would pay a fiver for it.

• Look round your home. Are there things you no longer love? If so, donate them.

• If you've got the time to tell the charity shop where and how much you paid for an item you are donating, it might help the staff with pricing.

• Using a bin liner will make you associate your donations with rubbish. Put your donations in a decent carrier instead.

• For more information visit: Oxfam.org.uk/diy; Savethechildren.org.uk/maryportas; twitter.com/Queenofshops

Posted by Shona Lockhart, 9th June 2009

www.bluedogjewellery.com

Blue Dog Jewellery - the future is Orange or is it Purple?

Bright colours are filling the high street this summer.  If you are daring enough you can complement these bright items of clothing with our stunning range of acrylic jewellery by Rowena Park or you can choose to wear more muted shades of clothing which you brighten up with our jewellery.  Either way bright colours are a must this season -  it's up to you how far you want to raise the colour thermometer.  If you want to take it further you can even have a matching partner by purchasing the man in your life some orange and purple cufflinks!

Purple and orange spot acrylic cufflinks by jewellery designer Rowena Park

Purple and orange spot acrylic earrings and pendants by Rowena Park, available to purchase on our website:

www.bluedogjewellery.com

       

                                

Orange dress available to purchase from:www.hobbs.co.uk  

All other items available to purchase from www.boden.co.uk

 


Purple and orange spot acrylic cufflinks by jewellery designer Rowena Park

Purple and orange spot acrylic earrings and pendants by Rowena Park, available to purchase on our website:

www.bluedogjewellery.com 

Posted by Shona Lockhart, 27th May 2009

Blue Dog Jewellery - the future is Orange or is it Pink?

Wear this season's bright colours with our fantastic Carnival range of dichroic glass jewellery by Alicia Macinnes.

These beautiful glass pendants are available on our website:

www.bluedogjewellery.com

Hibiscus dress available from:

www.hobbs.co.uk

Watermelon beehive hem skirt                           Orange ruffle vest

Fuschia Martinique Dress

Boden Fuschia Espadrilles

Johnnie, Fashion Geek: Espadrilles

“Before they became a fashion staple, rope-soled espadrilles were relied upon for centuries by the hard working farmers of the Pyrenees.” 

Boden Orange satchel

All other items available from:

www.boden.co.uk

Our fantastic Carnival range of dichroic glass jewellery by Alicia Macinnes would also look beautiful with a black outfit.

These beautiful glass pendants are available on our website:

www.bluedogjewellery.com 

Posted by Shona Lockhart, 27th May 2009

www.bluedogjewellery.com

 

Blue Dog Jewellery - Nautical but nice

     

The nautical look is always in fashion every summer and this year is no exception. Accesorize this year's nautical look with a selection of red and blue jewellery from our Blue Dog Jewellery website.  You can look both nautical and nice and ring the changes to your summer outfits by wearing different jewellery items!

Beautiful pomegranate red glass pendants by Alicia Macinnes available on our website:

  

Blue and red button earrings, necklaces, pendants and bracelets made from anodized aluminium by Burkmar Jewellery available on our website:

www.bluedogjewellery.com

   

 

   Stunning acrylic earrings designed and made by Sarah Packington available from:

www.bluedogjewellery.com  

Ceramic earrings and ceramic pendant by Allison Wiffen available from Blue Dog Jewellery:

www.bluedogjewellery.com

Posted by Shona Lockhart, 27th May 2009

Blue Dog Jewellery - Put a spring in your step with Spring Green jewellery

     

    

Spring has sprung and it's time to inject some spring greens in your wardrobe.  You can either buy something new and green from Boden's latest online catalogue or inject just a touch of green into your current wardrobe by accessorizing with green necklaces, bracelets and earrings from Blue Dog Jewellery:

www.bluedogjewellery.com

For example you could try wearing something green from our beautiful range of anodized aluminium and silver jewellery by Marion Barclay.

 

Rococco Green Heart earrings, pendant and charm bracelet in anodized alumunium, silver and pearls by Marion Barclay available online at:

www.bluedogjewellery.com

   

Green Snowflake earrings, pendant and charm bracelet in anodized alumunium, silver and pearls by Marion Barclay available online at:

www.bluedogjewellery.com

Posted by Shona Lockhart, 19th May 2009