Michelle Louise: fashion

'Guilt-free glamour, that doesn't cost the Earth.'

Supporting small businesses is something I'm passionate about, so this week I'm happy to introduce a new aspect to my blog!

Each month I'll be featuring an artist, maker or crafter that I love. For my first month this will be the wonderful Bough to Beauty, and it's owners Vix and Lou.

Bough to Beauty create design led, up-cycled wooden jewellery and gifts that are both ethically made and environmentally conscious.

Each piece is inspired by their travels, adventures and passions, with real attention to detail and a strong emphasis on quality and value showing through.

"We wanted to be ethically conscious as customers, questioning where things come from, how they're made, who made them and what they're made of. We were surprised at how hard it can be to answer these questions.

"We wanted to learn more about living sustainably and being kinder to our planet (while having the adventure of a lifetime), so we quit our jobs in London and headed to Portugal to volunteer on organic farms, and it was there that Bough to Beauty was born."

I was so excited to receive my package; the boxes are hand stamped and made from recycled card, and the accessories inside were just gorgeous! Vix and Lou have managed to create some truly special, fun and retro inspired accessories whilst still being environmentally conscious.

With their design and philosophy, it's easy to see why they've been awarded Ethical Trader Status.

There's a great selection of colours and styles, and with earrings, rings, pins and necklaces there's so much to choose from. (I'm still eyeing up the retro Italian scooter badges!)

I'd like to say a huge thank-you to Vix and Lou for letting me share their accessories, it's been so much fun!

If you want to shop Bough to Beauty or find out more about their products and philosophy you can visit their website www.boughtobeauty.co.uk

Or find them on social media here:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Have a wonderful week ahead! x

Featured here are: retro radio pin in black, ice-cream earrings in white, retro camera earrings in black & white and retro cassette badge in blue.

How is it February already? This year seems to be flying by, the mornings are growing lighter and we've actually seen blue skies overhead here.

As we all know, February is the month of love and Valentine's Day is fast approaching. So many people dread this month and just don't buy into the commercialism of it, but treating someone you love will always be ok to me. If not a partner then a friend or a relative; I believe we should always treat the ones we love.

Whether you choose to celebrate Valentine's over a home cooked meal, go out to a restaurant or just meet up with a friend for coffee and a catch-up, time spent with a loved one is never wasted. Throw in the fact that the money spent helps support businesses and jobs and I just don't think you can fault it!

I thought I'd share a couple of my favourite gift ideas...

Handmade Valentine :

I saw the cute idea for '52 Reasons Why I Love You' pop up over Instagram a couple of years ago, and thought I'd give it a go. It's actually easier than it sounds to write the list, my hubby loved them and it was such a lovely gift to give. I wrote each reason onto individual cards and then tied them together with some ribbon, but there's loads of other ways you could choose to present them too. If Valentine's Day is about making your partner feel special then this certainly does that!

Keepsake Valentine:

If you wanted to truly spoil a loved one then beautifully crafted jewellery is always worth investing in. I have a few key pieces that I wear every day and this Daniel Wellington watch had been on my wish list for some time. It's such a classic design, I just love wearing mine. (You can even get 15% off with my discount code '1501michellelouise' until the end of February!)