Shoes good enough to eat. Yum!

The wrapping for those decadent chocolates we had for Christmas may still be in the recycle bin, we are already thinking ahead about Valentine’s Day or even Chinese New Year – both important occasions coming up in February.  

And these Edible Chocolate Shoes may just fit the bill if you want to say “I Love You” to the special fashionista in your life.

These shoes are by Azra Chocolates, realistically handcrafted from Belgian chocolate and hand-finished to give them that fashionable touch.

Azra Sadiq is a Harrogate based artisan chocolatier who has combined her two passions chocolate and shoes and turned them into a unique business.  Azra Chocolates uses the Finest Callebaut Belgian chocolate, used by master chocolate makers and pastry chefs the world over.  It is made from sustainably grown cocoa beans.

Azra use Dark, Milk, White and strawberry pink Chocolate.

According to the chocolatier, the edible colours and lustre dusts are used all over the world for food use, safe to eat and especially designed to use with chocolate.  The edible pearls,  also edible and safe to eat, however may contain traces of nuts, wheat, fish and gluten.

These edible chocolate shoes are perfect for any occasion, birthdays, anniversaries, Mother’s day and Easter, or simply to say Thank You and I love you.

Happy new year 2015!

Season's Greetings Everyone!

At the Royal Opera House, London with Padding Bear in Rainbow
designed by Darcey Bussell.

Gift cards and vouchers are among favourite gifts this Christmas

Consumer gift card and voucher sales have soared in the third quarter of 2014, growing by 9.07%, according to statistics from The UK Gift Card & Voucher Association (UKGCVA), the trade body representing the key players in the £5 billion gift voucher, cards and stored value solutions market.

For those of us who have run out of gift ideas for loved ones and friends who have everything, gift cards and vouchers are great ideas.

For Christmas gift ideas, go to Etsy.com

A new report compiled independently by consultants at BDO shows that in the third quarter of 2014, the gift card and voucher industry grew by 9.71%.   Growth among consumers was supported by the exceptional growth of gift card malls, which increased by 72.84%.  Online gift card and multi-choice voucher sales also grew by 13.16% and 48.85% respectively.

Andrew Johnson, director-general of the UKGCVA, comments:

“Growth of over nine per cent is a very positive end to our third quarter, a result we are extremely pleased with. It’s a sure sign that the gift card and voucher industry is continuing its momentum.

“Consumer sentiment towards gift cards and vouchers appears to be building momentum, and it’s great to see this spreading across multiple product types to include multi-choice products as well as category specific gift cards. Time will obviously be the test, but this is a very encouraging position to be in, in the run up to Christmas when we’re expecting bumper sales.”

Sock Club London releases Camo Tuesday collection.

Sock Club London is on a roll and has just released its "Camo Tuesday" sock collection which is available exclusively on their web store Tuesday 9^th December. 

Camo Tuesday socks are lightweight, made in a blend of pure wool and nylon for a snugger fit. The toes are

hand-linked to ensure a premium level of comfort.

‘Camo Tuesday’ is a weekly event promoted and sponsored by Sock Club London for the right to wear camouflage on a Tuesday.  The new line of camouflage socks celebrates a collaboration with Corgi Hosiery and are made in the UK.

Sock Club London has chosen a camouflage style from the Corgi range; and applied their touch through the use of wool (blended with nylon) and also through the choice of colours used.  

These lightweight socks are a blend of pure wool and nylon for a snugger fit. The toes are

hand-linked to ensure a premium level of comfort.

The camouflage socks come in three distinctive colour options, inspired by the British Armed Forces Disruptive Pattern Material, or DPM for short; the term given to denote this specific camouflage pattern, first used exclusively by the British Special Forces.

Sock Club London‘s  Camo Tuesday’collection will be released to the public on Tuesday 9th December. Exclusively available on the Sock Club London web store.

World's most expensive Chrstmas Crackers?

Could these possibly be the world’s most expensive Christmas crackers?  

The crackers contain some of the most luxurious treat ever, including the trip of a lifetime or even a yacht, a Cartier diamond necklace, a stunning Breguet Tradition 18-carat rose gold wristwatch.  How about an Aston Martin Vanquish Coupe.

The crackers themselves are created by Simply Crackers and are available in a range of colours to suit your table décor.

A donation of £1,000 will be made to The Prince’s Trust charity should the crackers be purchased.

See full details at VeryFirstTo  - the web-based shop cum club for a world of luxuries, but you need to sign up first as a member to gain access and be the Very First To know about new luxury goods.

Retailers to get great Christmas boost

All this fuss about Black Friday, an American import dreamed up as a marketing exercise to drum up retail sales after Thanksgiving, and it is taking root in the UK.  Retailers here are all going for it.  

Indeed consumer spending leading up to the forthcoming festive season is driven up a gear by the promotions and retailers should benefit from stronger sales this Christmas, at least that’s what business advisory firm Deloitte is predicting in a recent report.  It states that consumers will spend over 42 billion pounds this Christmas, up 4 percent on last year.  That’s around £1.5 billion more than they did last year. 

The new report released by Deloitte also  states online sales are expected to account for 13 percent of December takings, and the growing importance of click & collect will see 2.5 billion pounds in sales this Christmas ordered online and collected in-store.  At 45 percent of all online transactions, this is almost double the level seen in December 2013.

Deloitte head of retail Ian Geddes said: "Growth in the influence of digital on physical retail has been driven by consumers' desire to access information on products and services, compare prices and increasingly pay and transact via digital devices.

"Those retailers that have invested in developing apps may now find that if these are only optimised for use as a separate channel, rather than an integrated part of the shopping experience, they will not be fit for purpose."

Sales via mobile devices are expected to account for 45 percent of UK online purchases during the festive season, according to online retailers' association IMRG.

By Alan Tyler

Managing Editor, My Fashion Connect