That’s right, beach and pool fashion now includes beautiful jewelry that accessorizes the hottest new swimsuit or cover-up perfectly!

Whether your style is Surfer Girl Casual, Sophisticated Resort wear, Nautical Chic, Nantucket Cottage or Trendy Mom-on-the-Go, Zulugrass has the color combination, versatility and durability that will complete any look. And it is 100% waterproof!

Are you beach ready?

Saturday was a glorious day when we watched in amazement the dust storm that was brewing in the Rift Valley Floor.

World Fair Trade Day 2011 is this weekend and when we think about how far we have come, we know that it just wouldn’t be possible without our partners and everyone who wears and shares our products.  Social conscious people are opening their arms to products that are produced by Fair Trade companies because they know the positive impact it has on giving everyone a chance to provide a better future for their families.

We thought that we would take a moment and share a video we just put together to let you know that the choices you make really can make a positive impact on communities. Happy World Fair Trade Day!

The Leakey Collection’s presents our newest mom…Jennifer Bonynge.  Jen’s third child was born April 15^th and although his real name is Gannon, our nickname for him  is LL or Leafy Leakey since he’s such a special part of our company!

Jennifer was introduced to our company almost a decade ago through an organization called MOPS which stands for Mothers of Pre-Schoolers.  Like me, she was navigating her way thru motherhood for the first time- trying to attain balance in a world dictated by messy diapers and sleep deprivation.  At MOPS, we learned that we weren’t alone in this unchartered territory. With this network of women, we shared fears, secrets of motherhood, and even recipes. At the end of each meeting, we participated in a craft.  Besides endless laundry, it was the only task many of us completed in months!

Jen portrays the lessons learned in MOPS on a daily basis. She can do it all, while maintaining balance and a smile.  She is a “Jill of all trades”- the master crate packer who is as handy with a drill as she is with a hot glue gun. She can handle any project that is thrown at her, and she does it with ease and confidence.  She is dedicated to The Leakey Collection- always willing to find a way to help us.  She even came to work to pack up orders as she was timing her contractions!  It’s no wonder there is a color of Zulugrass named after her!

As for motherhood, she excels in that too!  She recently helped her daughter write a fan letter to Taylor Swift and proudly videotaped her son performing an Elvis tribute dance at his school’s talent show.

Although Jen will take off some time at our warehouse for Baby #3, she will still be handling her sales territory (Arizona, New Mexico, and Alaska) and coordinating our summer trade shows in between changing diapers!

We hope Jen and all the mothers in Kenya and around the world had a wonderful Mothers Day!

Who would have thought that Mother’s Day and the first day of National Women’s Health Week would fall on the same day?  But if you think about it, mothers are the caregivers of the family.   On Saturday, May 7th, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network will celebrate mothers around the world with two documentary specials: Extraordinary Moms directed by Julia Roberts and No Woman, No Cry directed by Christy Turlington Burns.  We encourage you to watch both documentaries and  check out our Collections that celebrate women.

No Woman, No Cry is the gripping directorial documentary debut of Christy Turlington Burns, who shares the powerful stories of at-risk pregnant women in four parts of the world, including a remote Maasai tribe in Tanzania in which a young mother who has gone into labor and must walk five miles to the nearest clinic. These stories were very common in our Maasai communities until just a few years ago. Women were losing their lives during childbirth, many deaths due to complications which could have been avoided with good nutrition, proper mid-wife knowledge and medical help nearby.

Philip and I felt compelled to change these statistics and by partnering with the AMREF African Medical Research Foundation who not only immunized the women, children and infants, but helped us put together our Women’s Health Initiative . Prior to starting the Women’s Health Initiative, we were losing almost one woman a month to child birth related issues. Now three years later, we haven’t lost one woman in 1.5 years.

With proper nutrition available, women are stronger. One of the myths believed by many Maasai women in the bush is that if they eat during the last 6 months of pregnancy, the baby will grow so large that the mothers will have a good chance of dying during delivery from blood loss. This causes the woman to be terribly anemic and the babies to suffer from a wide variety of malnutrition problems throughout their lives. By dispelling this one myth alone, many women have been saved.

By enhancing the local midwife skills with modern medical knowledge, the midwives are better able to manage breach and problematic births. By training the women how to determine if an impending birth may be a problem, they can then get to medical help long before the delivery takes place, thus dramatically increasing their chances for a happy outcome and making every mother count.

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This Mother’s Day, show mom that she is one “Hot Mama”!  From the hands of Maasai mothers directly to someone special in your life, this limited edition multi-strand necklace is specially priced and sure to please! Not only will you make your own mom happy, but you will be making a difference to a Maasai mama too!

Hot Mama consists of 16 strands of glorious grass beads, in vibrant reds and pinks hues, with an adjustable silk cording that can be worn as a choker or a longer necklace, depending on your mood or outfit!