Lola Rose Spring Summer 2011 Collection - a little preview!

I don't know about you but this dull, grey weather is getting to me already and there are still months of it ahead of us.  British winters are long and cold but there's always light at the end of the tunnel.  Lola Rose's spring summer 2011 collection will arrive with us early next year and there will be plenty of new, stunning colours to cheer us all up.

When I visited the showroom in London a couple of weeks ago, I fell instantly in love with the new collection - I have to admit, I think this is the prettiest season I've seen! 

2011 marks the 10th anniversary of the Lola Rose brand and its founder, Nikki Gewirtz, celebrates this by revisiting her favourite, best-selling pieces and re-invents then with new colours and sones.  The overall feeling of the collection is that of curves and femininity - lovely, tactile shapes in vibrant hues including our new favourite Coral Quartzite.

By popular demand, Zentosa will bring you lots of new bracelets including the ever-popular Sydney in three new colour schemes.  We are also excited about the new range of elasticated cocktail rings - pocket friendly and suitable for all sizes! 

To commemorate 10 years of creating fabulous jewellery designs, Lola Rose will also be bringing out a limited edition anniversary "High Rose" ring featuring a carved flower centrepiece.  

With so many lovely styles arriving soon to banish the winter blues, roll on the new decade!

Mrs Obama wears her St-Erasmus Necklace again!

Here at Zentosa HQ, we love Michelle Obama - not just for her superb taste in jewellery (she first wore the Begum2 St-Erasmus necklace back in 2009) but because she wore it again last month whilst on the campaign trail!  With tough economic climes ahead, it makes sense to recycle accessories, especially ones as gorgeous as the handmade piece designed by jewellery genius, Pieter Erasmus.  Prudent and fashionable - we can't imagine a better style icon to follow!

For those of you unfamiliar with this opulent necklace, it is the creation of South African Born Pieter Erasmus, the brainchild of the St Erasmus Brand.  It draws its influence from 18th Century India. Skilfully handcrafted by artisans in India, this opulent necklace features Swarovski crystal detailing, fresh-water pearls, faceted acrylic stones and gold Zari thread. The centrepiece is a pink crocheted crystal flower.  Intricate, yet wearable, it's one of our favourite pieces.

I recently wore the necklace at a black tie event and it drew loads of admiring glances and compliments.  If you like to be centre of attention (and who doesn't every now and then!), this amazing necklace will make you feel really special.

Announcing our prize winner...

Thank you to everyone who entered our competition.  Now that it has closed, we can announced the answers!

 

Bestselling Butler & Wilson - small silver crystal skull adjustable ring

Bestselling Disney Couture - Kidada silver Cinderella dream is a wish bracelet

Best seller overall - gold tone "Love" key ring by Zentosa Jewellery

 

Quite a few of you got these correct so there must have been either some trawling through our website or some lucky guesses!

So it all boiled down to the tiebreaker, the answer to which was the Oreo Cookie (as you can get them in bulk from Costco... nom nom)

 

One lucky person got it correct, L. Johnson from Rugby.

 

Because we were so impressed by the number of you who got the first three answers correct (a very determined lot, clearly!), we've decided to draw at random three runners-up who will each receive a Disney Couture Cinderella Heart Charm.  They are:

 

L. Hadland

C. Remeika

N. Stanley 

 

They will be contacted by email to claim their prize.

If you weren't lucky enough to win this time, we will be running more competitions in the future.  Why not follow us on Twitter or "like" us on Facebook to find out about the next giveaway.... x

Disney Classic Beauty and the Beast is re-released on DVD!

Even though we sell a huge range of Disney-themed jewellery, I must confess that I've only seen a handful of Disney movies.  The one that I love the most is without doubt, Beauty and the Beast - so much so that we've amassed a capsule collection of Beauty & the Beast themed jewellery.

Originally released in 1991 (wow, nearly 20 years ago!),  this Oscar-winning, cinematic masterpiece is Disney's most acclaimed film.   Now restored and remastered, Beauty and the Beast is due for release in November as a Special Edition DVD.  And we can't wait to watch it all over again.

Disney Couture Enchanted Rose Necklace

The story is a classic fairy tale - an enchantress disguised as an old beggar woman offers a young prince a rose in exchange for a night's shelter. He turns her away so she transforms him into an ugly Beast and turns his servants into furniture and other household items. He is given a magic mirror and an enchanted rose which will bloom until his 21st birthday. If he does not learn to love and be loved in return before all the petals have dropped, he will remain a Beast forever.  Fortunately for the Beast, he meets feisty and beautiful Belle who falls in love with him just before the last petal falls...

Disney Couture Crystal Mrs Potts Necklace

So why the popularity?  Admittedly, the colours are amazing and vibrant, the songs catchy (everyone must surely know the words to at least one song in this film!) and the characters are loveable - Mrs Potts, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Chip et al.  But most importantly, I think the enduring appeal of Beauty & the Beast is down to the story -  that love conquers all and that beauty is what lies beneath.  It is a true fairytale in every sense, one with a happy ending and which keeps each new generation that watches the movie as enthralled as the last. 

Win £100 to spend at Zentosa!

£100 to spend at Zentosa!

To celebrate the launch of the our spanking new website, we're holding a competition with our biggest prize ever - £100 to spend on jewellery at Zentosa.  To win, answer the following three questions:

• What is our bestselling Butler & Wilson product?
• What is our bestselling Disney Couture product?
• What is our bestselling product overall on the Zentosa.com website?

Then answer the tiebreaker question "Which biscuit (commonly available in UK supermarkets) is the snack of choice in the Zentosa office?"

Email your 4 answers to competitions@zentosa.com with "Zentosa Competition" in the subject line.  Please also state your full name, town and country of residence and if you have one, your Facebook or Twitter ID.

Simple huh?  To make it easier, you will find the answers to the three questions on the new website so happy browsing and keep your eyes peeled!  For the tiebreaker, you'll just have to guess!

The competition will close on Monday 4th October at 10pm and the lucky winner will be contacted by email to claim their sparkly prize.

Terms & Conditions:

• No purchase necessary
• Competition closes Monday 4th October 2010 at 10pm
• The winner will be the entrant with all the correct answers to the first three questions, plus the correct/closest (independently judged) tiebreaker answer
• Winner will be notified by email within 7 days of closing date to claim the prize.  Prize must be claimed within 14 days
• Prize is £100 to spend on www.zentosa.com in the form of an e-voucher - there is no cash alternative
• Promoter: Zentosa Ltd, Harriet House, 118A High Street, Birmingham, B23 6BG

Good luck! xxx

Zentosa launches new website!

As you may have noticed, it's been a bit quiet on the blogging front at Zentosa!  This is due to summer holidays (now a distant memory) and the fact that we've been working hard to bring you our completely re-designed website.  After three months of development, designing and uploading, plus about 5000 cups of tea, the new website has launched!  We hope you like it as much as we do!

 

Although our last website served us well, as a rapidly growing business, we recognised the need for a site with more features to make shopping at Zentosa much easier.  As well as changing the overall look of the site, we have introduced lots of browsing options - by theme, by colour and by designer.  You can now also see if an item has a low stock status so you know to snap it up before it sells out!

Existing customers of Zentosa will have to open a new account with us - the new customer accounts will allow you to track your order and create wishlists, very important with Christmas coming up - if you want to make sure you get something other than Boots toiletries....

Our international shipping options have also been simplified with one rate for all outside of the UK.  We now also offer an international courier option using UPS for virtually every country in the world.

To coincide with the launch of our spanking new website, we have a huge selection of newly arrived jewellery by Kenneth Jay Lane, Zentosa Jewellery, Butler & Wilson and Disney Couture plus new up-and-coming brand, Love Hearts & Crosses!  LHC is a hot new British brand, specialising in the cute, kitsch and unusual at pocket friendly prices - we adore the gorgeous designs including their je t'aime love letter necklaces - adorable!

So we bid you happy browsing!  If you have any comments or suggestions regarding the new website, why not post us a message on Facebook or send us a tweet on Twitter - we'd love to hear from you.

Cheryl Cole wears Kenneth Jay Lane

Celebrity Spot..... Cheryl Cole wears Kenneth Jay Lane's fabulous coral cabochon bauble earrings when she met with our then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown a couple of months ago.

The gorgeous statement earrings by the legendary NYC designer Kenneth Jay Lane can be spotted a mile off! These magnificent earrings are available from our store while stocks last.