In honour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Belvoir are offering the chance to win one of five stunning 18ct Gold Elderflower Necklaces each studded with 18 Diamonds and worth £2,000.

Alex Monroe Belvoir Elderflower Necklaces.

But if you’re not quite lucky enough to win one of the solid Gold Necklaces, there are also 50 Silver Elderflower Necklaces to be won, each highlighted with Gold-Plated details and a single diamond, and worth £165.

Taking inspiration from the delicate elderflower, Alex has hand crafted these beautiful pieces, ready to be won by 55 lucky winners!

No purchase necessary – click here for your chance to win.

Emma x

PS: Has anyone been watching ‘Episodes’ on the BBC??

We spotted leading lady Tamsin Greig wearing our Silver Swallow & Sapphire Necklace throughout the show……

Tamsin in this weeks 'Episodes'.

Yep - that's definitely it!!

We had our press launch a couple of weeks ago, which was great fun, and it finally made us feel ready to shout about our little shop!

We’ve had some great on-line press and blog posts since the event, with some of our favourites being Adorn, Velo-City Girl and You & Your Wedding.

Suzy.A and myself on the day - image courtesy of Adorn London.

We made up some amazing goodie bags, which we couldn’t have done without the help of Penhaligon’s, Clipper Teas, Cazenove & Loyd and Burt’s Bees…..plus we snuck in one of our Jubilee inspired “All the Best” necklaces…… We will be offering three chances to win one of these goodie bags, in-store, on Facebook, and on Twitter, so keep your eyes peeled for more details.

"All the Best" Necklace, £165

This Necklace is from Our ‘Best of British’ collection, which will be going out to stores across the UK in May.

We will be launching the range at 37 Snowsfields on the 31st May, all day until 8pm…..so come along and join us for some Jubilee style celebrations!

Another event we have coming up is with Astley Clarke – to celebrate the expansion of their range of Alex Monroe. It is next Thursday the 17th of May, from 6.30 – 8.30pm. RSVP via email: events@astleyclarke.com

I visited New York back in February, which seems so long ago now! We are hoping to expand Stateside soon, so I was visiting possible trade shows for us to exhibit at……

Out and about in NYC on a sunny Sunday...

Then off to my favourite diner for some brunch, B Bar & Grill….I discovered it on my first trip to New York, and now always have to pay it a visit!

40 East 4th Street At Bowery.

Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon.

The trip was also a great opportunity to check out potential stores to sell in, with my favourites being Love, Adorned on 269 Elizabeth Street and Catbird in Brooklyn. Do get in touch if you have a favourite U.S store that you think Alex Monroe would be a perfect fit with!

219 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn.

Inside the shop.....

Not on the jewellery line, but another great shop is Fishs Eddy….kind of like a quirky Habitat…..and when I got back to London I discovered that Liberty had just started stocking a selection from them!

Fishs Eddy.

Italian Floral Wine Glasses.

I also met some lovely people…..Charlotte and Ben Taylor from UK fashion label Charlotte Taylor….check out their amazing prints…..and Caitlin from Cosmo and Harper’s Bazaar kindly showed me around their jaw-dropping offices…..

WOW!

Caitlin at her desk.

Next stop for us will be Milan for a showcase of British designers at department store, La Rinascente. This starts on 31st May, and runs until the 24th June, so Italian fans of Alex Monroe will have the opportunity to buy pieces in this exclusive Milan store.

Event at La Rinascente in celebration on the Diamond Jubilee.

Finally, for anyone who has watched the ITV series ‘Scott & Bailey’ and wondered about the necklace Lesley Sharp’s character wears….we can confirm that it is our lovely little Baby Bee!

Lesley in "Scott & Bailey".

And we also loved this Vogue shoot with Florence Welch wearing our White Topaz Bud Earrings…..

Vogue, January 2012.

White Topaz Bud Hook Earrings.

PHEW! Ok, I’m done. Bye for now!

Emma x

The Goring Shrimp!

The Goring, the only 5 star hotel in London that is still owned and run by the family that built it, and celebrated British jewellery designer Alex Monroe – whose famous Bumble Bee pendent has hung on the necks of the most discerning fashionistas, have collaborated to create an exclusive necklace. The Goring Shrimp, accompanies a special Alex Monroe inspired, afternoon tea at The Goring.

Making and sketching the original

The Goring Shrimp pays homage to Alex’s whimsical childhood memories of the perfect afternoon tea,
“As a little boy I would run wild in the Suffolk countryside accompanied by my brothers and a dog called Sheba and buy huge bags of shrimp from the fishermen and sail them home for tea which consisted of a huge pot of tea and crusty white bread smothered with cool butter. These teas would last all afternoon until the sun sank below the high walls. So The Goring Shrimp will always remind me of Spring afternoons lazing in the walled garden at the Old Parsonage. And of drinking tea of course.
The Goring shrimp is a very likeable little chap; there is a great sense of fun about him and a tiny touch of nostalgia. I almost feel guilty that my mouth waters when I see him!”

Close-up

Exclusive to The Goring, the quirky yet charming shrimp with its own chain (together priced at £165) is hand made by Alex in Silver and plated with Rose Gold – and even has irresistible little eyes made from two black pearls. The Goring Shrimp is set to be one of the most coveted pieces for jewellery lovers this Spring. It will be available to purchase exclusively at The Goring alongside the Alex Monroe Afternoon Tea, for the month of May 2012.

“The Shrimp necklace will be delivered to the tea table in a special box by your waiter a quintessentially English surprise. How could anyone fail to be charmed and delighted by that?” says David Morgan Hewitt, Managing Director of The Goring.

Alex Monroe Afternoon Tea, including The Goring Shrimp necklace, is priced at £195pp and afternoon tea without The Goring Shrimp is £35pp.

Alex Monroe Afternoon Tea will be available from 1st May 2012.

Afternoon Tea at the Goring is served daily from 3.30pm – 4.30pm in the sunny Terrace overlooking the gardens, or in the warm and inviting Lounge.

To book please call +44 (0) 20 7396 9000

Here's me and the girls in Barbados at St Nicholas Abbey

(St Nicholas Abbey is my fave place on the island)
While I was sunning myself in the Caribbean my Mum went to visit my brother in Costa Rica. That’s where I’m going next year. It sounds fab. Younger bro. Tom runs a bar called Chillerz in Tamarindo. Beautiful.

Mum and brother in Costa Rica

Then it was time for the Paris shows. We did a great display at the show…

Paris exhibition

Lots of customers!

… which was as busy as ever.

Great grub at Kigawa

And of course, great grub, here’s a dish at Kigawa. Perfect French food cooked by a Japanese chef! Well worth a visit if you’re in town, but it’s small so be sure to book.
and I found this brilliant hat on the Stephen Jones stand. Perfect!

Nice hat!

Having worked with the Goring on our fab Shrimp Tea (served during May) I stayed for a night, and it really is the most wonderful hotel. I must admit, I’m not usually a hotel sort of a person, but the Goring is a whole nother cup of tea. Champagne waiting in the suite, supper in the restaurant… and a tv in the bath! Perfect.

... our sitting room.

Just a little detail but it sums them up, the light switch has these great settings… I loved the ‘Oooh’ setting best!

The best light switch in the world!

We’ve been working on our bespoke and precious jewellery. Look at this gorgeous Amethyst ring we made.

A new Amethyst ring

And these pretty champagne-brown diamonds we found in Antwerp. Can’t wait to set them set!

Champagne/browny diamonds

Easter in Suffolk as usual (wonderful weather and lots of it!) I’ve been training for our big run in July. Seven of us are doing the London 10k to raise money for Fight for sight. More about that later though…

The view on my run in Suffolk

My youngest Libby’s new fave thing to do is climbing trees! I used to love that.

Libby climbing a chestnut tree

And back at the ranch I was busy delivering boxes of boxes for Amina in dispatch. I knew my French postman’s bike would come in handy!

They're working me too hard! Those boxes are heavy!

Back sooner I promise!
A

Susie and Aprils trip to Inhorgenta.  A trade show for jewellery and watches in Munich, Germany.  The journey started with a Sunday afternoon coach trip from the airport to the centre of Munich.

The coach took us through a sunny winter wonderland – a white landscape of fur trees dusted with powdery snow.

On arrival at Hauptbahnhof Central Station in Munich, we eventually found our way onto the U2 to Hohnzollerplatz, where we caught a train to our hostel – Haus International.

Sunday eveing was spent at a lovely bar/restaurant, where we were joined by our college’s from Central Saint Martins – Sian Evans, Pip Jolly and Frieda Munro (who also works with us here at Alex Monroe!)

the warm, welcoming glow of food and beer!

Sian, Pip and Frieda

A traditional German meal of meat and potatoes, perfect for keeping us warm!

what looks like a snowball, is in fact, a potato dumpling or GIANT gnocchi!

no trip to Bavaria would be complete without sampling the local beer!

We decided to be brave and walk back to our hostel, but soon jumped onto a tram when the -10 temperature got the better of us!

and of course, the all important midnight snacks

On Monday, we took the U2 to Messastcht West for our first trip to Inhorgenta.  This massive trade show has 6 huge halls filled with jewels, tools and designers.  We concentrated on stones, beads, tools and machinery for the new purpose built workshop at Snowsfield.

Susie was looking for coloured diamond dealers to supply our new Bespoke range.  One dealer from Antwerp caught our eye with his stunning gems, and we have already started a bespoke commission using them!

chocolate and champagne diamonds - yum!

Beautiful beads in every colour and shape!

Amazing ‘one-off’ cut stones – wouldn’t these make the most fantastic piece of jewellery?!

After our eyes had been dazzled by all the beautiful gems, we visited the tool hall and found new suppliers to kit out our new workshop.

On returning to our hostel, we took a short (freezing!) walk through the old town.

St. Peters Church

On Tuesday we flew home to a much, much warmer London.  With our bags stuffed full of gems, tools and most importantly, sweets for the AM gang!

Susie & April x x

Alex has created not one, but two beautiful collections for the next season and we are taking appointments for existing stockists or new potential clients to view and place orders for Autumn delivery.

Appointments can be made between 17th February and 24th February by contacting Suzy Alexander on+44 (0)20 7378 6061 or emailing suzya@alexmonroe.com

Our showroom and offices are a short walk from London Bridge Tube or Mainline Rail Station at 37 Snowsfields, London SE1 3SU or we can arrange a car service for you if you are coming over from LFW at Somerset House.

Entitled ‘Dream Of Me’ and ‘Best Of British’ the new collections feature Alex’s classic design talent with quirky, romantic keepsakes and quintessentially English trinkets.

We would be delighted to welcome any of our current stockists to visit us during LFW as well as potential new national and international buyers from small boutiques, jewellery retailers or larger department stores.

London Fashion Weekend:

For any bargain hunters who are used to us participating in London Fashion Weekend we would like to apologise for our absence this year as we are now going to holding our own sample sales and details will be made public as and when available. Stay tuned on our facebook, twitter and of course this blog.

Emma.

For several years, we have been successful in keeping our prices unchanged. Now, with the recent steady rise in the cost of precious metals, especially gold, we are having to implement a price increase across our collection.

We were thrilled that we were able to absorb the VAT increase last year so that it wasn’t passed on to our customers. In fact our prices have remained mostly unchanged for a long while now. This forthcoming price increase will allow us to keep doing what we love, which is making beautiful jewellery by hand, in the UK.

The world’s best Hotel (where else would you spend your last night as a single girl before marrying a Prince?! The Goring of course!) asked Alex to come up with a quirky idea for their afternoon teas, of which they change the theme throughout the year.

The Goring.

Well, as usual Alex managed to come up with some wonderful childhood tales…..memories of ‘Shrimp Teas’ he enjoyed as a youngster came to mind, with fresh shrimp bought straight from East Anglian fishermen, and enjoyed in the sunshine with a huge pot of tea and an endless supply of  bread and butter. Mmm, sounds delicious!

And so here we introduce the Goring Shrimp.  A lovely little fellow made in silver with a rose gold plate, and two black pearls for eyes.

The Goring Shrimp

He hangs on a 24 inch chain and would make the perfect addition to anybody’s jewellery collection – distinctive and quirky, yet somehow still incredibly pretty!

Alex actually worked alongside The Goring’s chefs to create the perfect ‘Alex Monroe Afternoon Tea‘, delicate finger sandwiches, and mini loaves of wholemeal bread filled with potted shrimp…..plus the essential scones, jam and clotted cream, and some stunning floral, honey and mint cakes!

The ‘Alex Monroe Afternoon Tea‘ will be available at the Goring Hotel from May the 1st, coming complete with the exclusive Shrimp Necklace for £195.  Call 020 7396 9000 to book.

The tea in all of it's glory!

The Goring Shrimp can also be purchased separately for £165 and traditional afternoon tea at The Goring is £35 per person.

From June, The Goring Shrimp will also be available directly from us! Drop us a line if you would like to go on our waiting list to purchase one: shop@alexmonroe.com

Afternoon Tea and a beautiful piece of jewellery……wouldn’t that make just about the perfect treat?!

It’s all terribly civilized!

Emma x

If you are a husband/boyfriend who is still desperately looking for a piece of beautiful jewellery for your sweetheart this Christmas then give me a ring on 020 3117 0640 for further info, stock availability or just directions to the shop.

We’ll be open 10am – 6pm till Friday 23rd December and then again of course in the New Year.

Our classic pieces are available in the shop as well as some very unique 18ct solid gold jewellery such as our very adorable Eyebright rings.

And because our 12 Days of Christmas Calendar was so successful Alex, Mayo & team have re-created a real working calendar and all the special jewellery for the shop too. So if you missed out online on any of the 12 Days jewellery come on down to Snowsfields or call Jutta on 020 3117 0640 for a telephone order.

The official launch for the boutique will not be until Spring 2012 now when the cladding is finally installed on the building, but we’ll be keeping you informed in the usual way with our newsletter, blog and facebook updates.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

with love from all of us at Alex Monroe

x

December is upon us, Christmas is nearly here. So it’s time for our 12 Days of Christmas!

Visit the homepage at www.alexmonroe.com and click the banner to be whisked away to our winter woodland, where you’ll get a chance to meet our cute new friends.

12 completely unique new pieces, in very limited numbers.

With 1 available on the first, 2 on the second, and so on, ending with 12 pieces available on the twelfth.

Each new piece will be available from 9am, so you’ll need to be quick!