The Fairtrade Fortnight is all about swapping something you would usually buy for something fairtrade - OR not buying something you would usually buy but buying fairtrade instead!
In doing so you'll be helping farmers in developing countries to trade their way out of poverty.
Boudoir Babe are proud members of Living Ethically and would like to give a big shout out to this years Fairtrade Fortnight. Called the 'Big Swap' it's goal is to create awareness for the Fairtrade movement; encouraging the British and Irish public to put aside their entrenched shopping habits and see how easy it is to buy everyday products that carry the Fairtrade mark i.e chocolate, tea, bananas, sugar,socks and tee-shirts. There are now 4500 products that are licensed to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark.
To find out more about the 'Big Swap' and to register your swap visit http://www.bigswap.org.uk
For More Fab Gift Ideas Follow us on Twitter and Facebook
Follow BoudoirBabe.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook to receive tweets on special offers, up to the minute gift trends and latest links to breaking blog posts
Bebe's email newsletters are packed with exciting new gifts, exclusive special offers, and loads more cool stuff. I promise not to bombard you with emails :-)
Happy New Year to all our customers, future customers and your families!
Thanks for your support wishing you all the best for 2010. See you soon!
Sounds silly I know, but there is so much discounting about these days I'm beginning to wonder what I should be paying, and if this is their way of compensating me for ripping me off for a box of '2-in-1washing powder' for the past 4 years.
The high street is shouting at me 'BUY 1, GET 1 HALF PRICE' or 'BUY 1, GET 1 FREE'.
BOGOF I say! Just gimme one item reasonably priced please and donate the money your wasting on a national ad campaign to a good cause like Demelza House!
The way prices are being slashed these days indicates just how much mark-up high street retailers are making on luxury goods and consumables like my '2-in-1' The credit crunch has left many shoppers like myself seeking about best deals and bargain sites to make my pound stretch that little bit further, so I have to put my hands up to partly fueling this discount frenzy.
But as an independent online gift retailer, I work on very tight margins in a very competitive marketplace, I rely on return customers, so I need to give Boudoir Babe customers the best possible products and service at very competitive prices otherwise I can say goodbye to repeat customers. I also run gift incentive promotions throughout the year as a thankyou for their continued custom, but I draw the line at cheap impulse buying tricks. Perhaps that's because I simply can't compete with major retailers, as I don't have their purchasing power or partly because I only need one box of "2-in-1 washing powder" thank you very much.
Bebe's shout-out for Christina K Couture Bridal Gowns - that's posh wedding dress btw
Going shopping next week for a posh wedding dress for a girlfriend who's getting married next Spring to Mr Right NOW (as they're on/off like a flippin' light switch). To save time, I invited Clarie (thats not her real name btw) round for drinks and a chat about what kind of posh wedding dress she had in mind. We spent a few hours surfing the internet and stumbled upon a UK wedding dress designer called Christina K.
Hmm we thought, the website ticked all the right boxes, so we rang the shop there and then. To my surprise it was Christina herself who answered the phone. She was really nice and gave us loads of free tips and advice on veils, shoes, tiaras and jewellery.
So I'd just like to give her shop a big thumbs up for a good looking website, really beautiful, yet affordable collection of posh wedding dresses and fab customer service.
All I need now is for Claire and Ned (that is his real name btw) to set a flippin' wedding date. Anyone know where I can buy a really BIG hat?
Looking for a gift for someone special? Never fear, Bebe is here to help you find a present for your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife or pet pooch!
Find the perfect gift with Bebe's Gift Finder
Fast & intelligent ecommerce site search allows shoppers to quickly find their perfect gift. E.g. gifts under 10, low cost christmas presents, bargain handmade gift, unusual wedding gift, birthday gift idea...
I wanted to give our customers the best possible online shopping experience, so I've improved our advance gift search; making it easier to find just what you're looking for.
Search for gifts by keyword or item code and match ‘any words’, ‘all words’, and ‘exact phrases’. E.g. round mosaic mirror.
Filter search results by gift category for more efficient and effective searches. E.g. handbag accessories, gifts for babies and children, Fair Trade Gifts, shabby chic gifts & more
Please test drive Bebe's Gift Finder, but be warned, you might find the perfect gift ;-)
Went shopping last weekend with a girlfriend who's expecting her baby in October, and let me tell you, shopping for fashionable maternity clothes can be b***dy murder! So if your having a baby and don't like the frumpy, dowdy, maternity look, shop online at Pregalicious.co.uk
Who says pregnant women can't wear fashionable clothes during their pregnancy?
If your looking for an outfit to wear for a special occasion pop-in to Pregalicious.co.uk for stylish affordable and fashionable maternity wear for daytime, night time or anytime.
For safe online gift shopping, buy with confidence from BoudoirBabe.co.uk Gift Shop
Buy gifts from our selection of unique gifts, birthday gifts, christening gifts, baby shower gifts, shabby chic handmade gifts, gifts for her, gifts for him gifts for special occasions.
Read our post "Buy With Confidence from Good Traders" posted last month. If you’ve used the Internet, you’ve probably had the experience of unwanted emails or intrusive popup adverts. You might have suffered a virus attack or been the victim of online fraud.
This is why HM Government and leading businesses have worked together to create Get Safe Online, www.getsafeonline.org. This website will help individuals and small businesses protect themselves against Internet threats such as viruses, spam, spyware and online fraud.
Ebay attracts 1000's of customers, so it comes as no surprise that 100's of good traders make their living through selling their goods with confidence on Ebay.
People buy with confidence because of the positive feedback from good traders who have proven themselves to be trustworthy and reliable.
Buy With Confidence from Good Traders
Associations such as The Guild of Master Craftsman, FSB and Trading Standards have launched 'good trader schemes' to bring together a list of many types of traders; from gift shops to graphic designers.
But what's more credible, a logo displayed on your web page that says "look at me, I'm a member of a Good Trader Scheme" or a yellow shooting star, which is a clear measure of a traders current track record and credibility. Yellow shooting star = 10,000 to 24,999 positive feedbacks from happy customers by the way!
Visit England's green and pleasant land this summer and come on down to the sixth LINTON GARDEN GALA fundraiser on Sunday 7th June 2009, from 2pm—6pm in Linton Village, The Garden of England
Visitors can view and enjoy twelve gardens during the afternoon for a fiver (less than a Zone#2 travel card) or four quid if you buy in advance! Did I also mention kids go free!!!
Barefoot Books stallholder Catharine Bridle will be offering for sale a wonderful selection of eco-friendly childrens books, puppets and cd's. You can find us at the bottom on Linton Hill, a little further down from the lower car park.
OMG can't wait to see this film! Shopping doesn't get funnier than this. LOL!
Love shopping? Then you'll love "Confessions of a Shopaholic" With a UK release date of Feb 20, this film, based on the books by Sophie Kinsella stars Isla Fisher of "Wedding Crashers". Who plays 25 year old RebbeccaBloomwood who rooms with her best mate in an uber-trendy part of NYC. Hopeless with money, her crappy 9-5 can't possibly sustain her shopping addiction can it?
Follow Becky as she attempts to cut back, raise more cash, snog Hugh Grant lookalike Luke Brandon and pay off her ever-growing debt mountain with hilarious consequences.
So how and when did the idea for an online gift shop all come about?
The business was founded in 2001. At this point I sold children's gifts . The business has naturally evolved.
Where did the name Boudoir Babe originate from?
Boudoir Babe was the name of a feature article in a glossy magazine and the name stuck in my head ever since.
Do you come from retail or gift industry background?
No, but my business partner was originally in retail marketing which isn't far removed from the gift marketplace. While I'm a shopaholic with an eye for a bargain, so we make a good team.
What grabs your attention when looking for new gift ideas? I want to be excited! As a buyer, I'm looking for quirky, fun and unusual gifts that can't be found on the high street. Quality of the gifts I sell on Boudoir Babe is essential as bad quality reflects directly onto us as a business rather than the supplier.
How important is customer service?
I know everybody bangs on about the importance of good customer service, but few seem to follow through on it :-(
I'd rather be told I'm doing something wrong, so I can put things right ;-) Part of me truly believes that most online retailers don't mean to provide poor customer service but are let down by lack of understanding or haven't really given it much thought. As a customer and owner of Boudoir Babe, I feel a responsibility to look inwards at my website from a customers point of view. Is my website well signposted, are my FAQs up to date, any broken links, script problems or 404 pages?
Plans for the future? I'm passionate about gifts so I plan to visit many more gift fairs, craft fairs, gift markets, street fairs, art & craft festivals throughout the year to find innovative, quality gifts.
Bebe says Oiga! A shout-out is my acknowledgment of a person, group or business as a sign of respect.So every now and then I will be giving 'shout-outs' to websites that are worth a click :-) If like me you enjoy the guilt-free feeling of bagging a bargain check out My Voucher Codes community. They publish a daily digest of gift codes, discount codes, voucher codes and promotional codes they come across online, in magazines and newspapers.
If bargain hunting is not your thing, you might enjoy a mini personal shopping trip to London's West End with Red Letter Days for under £200.00.
If your feeling philanthropic, I found a cool site that helps charities running charity shops in the UK to work together. As far I know charityshops.org is the only member organisation dedicated to supporting the largest national charities right down to locally based hospices who run shops as part of their fundraising activities. So click here and find a charity shop near you.
If you want some light comic relief after all that shopping, check out the very funny British comedian, Andy Parsons live at the Apollo. Happy New Year!
Bebe says Oiga! A shout-out is my acknowledgment of a person, group or business as a sign of respect.So every now and then I will be giving 'shout-outs' to websites that are worth a click :-) If like me, you want answers to life's big questions visit Westerham Spiritual Centre - a meeting place for the inquisitive, open minded, freethinkers amongst us.
If you already have the answers and would like to help make the world a better place, follow this link to join the campaign to Make Poverty History and support an end to extreme poverty. Wear the white band to support the campaign
If your feeling charitable, Demelza House is the children's hospice caring for children living in Kent, South East London and East Sussex. Their facilities are lively, colourful and often full of laughter. Click here to find out how you could get involved.
On the other hand, if you want some light comic relief after all your soul searching and giving, you should check out Paul Sinha. A slightly overweight, Asian doctor. So far, so stereotypical except he's also gay...and extremely funny.
Bebe says Oiga! A shout-out is my acknowledgment of a person, group or business as a sign of respect.So every now and then I will be giving 'shout-outs' to websites that are worth a click :-)
I love Barefoot Books, a small publisher of innovative and beautifully crafted artistic children's' story books, many of which have won national awards.
They also offer a wide range of other gifts such as puppets, puzzles and audio CD's. Great gifts for parents and grandparents to buy! You can also, learn how to earn free products, or make extra income by having a Barefoot event or becoming a stallholder. Or you can simply browse for a while and find out more about what living Barefoot is all about.
