susquehannaStyle magazine featured one of our  wonderful partners, Kimmans Gifts  and their products for the holidays. Featured in the section of eco-friendly finds is our beautiful Zulugrass.

You can always find a beautiful array of Zulugrass in their store complimented by their wonderful  personalized service.

It is amazing how diverse and wonderful our customer base is. One would expect to find Zulugrass at eco-friendly stores, those that advocate fair trade, and at select gift stores across the U.S., but you might be surprised about this month’s featured shop. Outdoor Experience , in Sandpoint Idaho, is an extraordinary place to find everything you need for an active, outdoor lifestyle. In addition to kayaks and hiking gear, Zulugrass single strands have been one of their staples for the past 5 years. Last month, thanks to the efforts of Outdoor Experience, The Leakey Collection sponsored the Scenic Half Marathon. This opportunity gave me the chance to catch up with Kevin Nye, one of the store’s owners.

Zulukris: Tell me about your store.

Kevin:  We are celebrating our 25th anniversary this year. Our product mix is diverse with approximately 50% of our inventory in sportswear/outerwear and the other 50% in hard goods like cycling, kayaking, backpacking and cross country skis.

Zulukris: Congratulations on your 25 years!! You obviously have found the secret for success and we’re glad it includes The Leakey Collection.  You have been carrying Zulugrass for over five years now.  What was it initially that attracted you to the product?

Kevin: The colors!  We were looking for  simple new accessory items to add to our product mix that generally fit in with the active lifestyle pieces we sell.  Zulugrass has proven to be a consistently good seller for us.

Zulukris: What do you attribute to its success?

Kevin: A consistent inventory and a well stocked display of 200-300 pieces.  It sells well to all age groups, it’s reasonably priced, and our customers always come back for more.

Zulukris:    You were very involved in the Scenic Half Marathon    which used Zulugrass for the winners.  Tell us a little more about the race  and the response to the prizes.

Kevin: What made Zulugrass so perfect for the race is that over 75% of the participants are women. It seemed, and proved to be, a great fit for the event.

Scenic Half Marthon winner & coach

We want to thank Kevin and Marc  for making a difference in their  community by supporting healthy events.  Even though they didn’t know that October is Fair Trade Month, they are endorsing the guidelines of fair trade every day through their support of The Leakey Collection. Thank you Outdoor Experience!

One of our partners is promoting Fair Trade and will be holding a spectacular event Saturday, October 15th, and we love to spread the good work that our partners do.

Compleat Gourmet & Gifts has been around for 27 years.  Joan and Barb most recently passed the ownership and baton to Connie Stevenson, who introduced  Rwanda baskets to sell in their stores.  Connie believes that we can all “Shop To Make A Difference” by supporting USA made and global fair trade products. We agree!

October is Fair Trade Month, and the store will hold  their Fair Trade Event Saturday, October 15th.  Connie will be introducing a wide array of products from around the world including our beautiful Zulugrass.

Compleat Gourmet & Gifts Location

7592 S. University Blvd.

Centennial, CO • 303-290-9222

If you haven’t checked them out, Style Substance and Soul wrote a fabulous story on The Leakey Collection and the Amazing Women of Kenya back in August. We loved the way they told the stories  of  two Maasai women whose lives have been changed because of the work opportunities Katy & Philip have created.

Once again, these three best friends who have created an online gathering of women who strive to look good, feel good and do good have wrote a guest post on The Budget Fashionista on accessories that are good for your soul. Check it out!!

We are so excited that our  Kuponya bracelet was featured in People StyleWatch as the hand-selected piece by Holly Robinson Peete to benefit breast cancer awareness for OpenSky.com.

OpenSky is a place where you can connect with the brightest stars in food, healthy living, style and design. First, select your own team of celebrity curators and experts. They’ll be your personal shoppers and hand-pick the best products in food, design, health and style—just for you.

You can read the entire article here

Katy & Philip Leakey were keynote speakers at the  ITC’s World Export Development Forum in Montreux, Switzerland a few years ago.  WEDF  is one of the most influential global forums on trade and export issues for developing countries and  is organized every year by the Geneva-based International Trade Centre (ITC).

Here is a clip of an interview with Katy that took place at that event, talking about Fair Trade.

To find out more on Fair Trade practices visit the Fair Trade Federation.

Don’t Miss This 24 Hour Sale!

In honor of Fair Trade Month, each week in October, we will offer very special pricing & *free shipping * on one product.  This discount will last for 24 hours or until it’s sold out.  We’ll send you an e-mail each week with a link to that item.

We’re kicking off the promotion the first week with the Autumn Yellow Maasai Inspired Long Twist Necklaces for only $9.95 – that’s 67% off the retail price!  This week’s sale will begin 11:00 a.m. Thursday October 6 and end Friday, October 7 at 11:00 a.m.

So show your support for Fair Trade and take advantage of this deal. Keep your eyes open  for next week’s discount!

*Free shipping applies only to featured product.

Today is World Teachers’ Day,  created by UNESCO in 1994 and held annually on October 5th , to celebrate teachers worldwide.  The Leakey Collection knows that the needs of  future generations will be continually met by teachers.

To address the need for more teachers in rural parts of Africa, we  introduced Beads for Learning Bracelets less than a year ago.  At that time, there were a total of 4 teachers in the remote bush where we reside.  The ratio of students to teachers was 80:1 with a wide range of ages in each classroom.  Today, we are thrilled to announce that your purchases of the Beads for Learning Bracelets have enabled us to employ an additional 5 teachers!  This brings the total to 9, and classroom sizes have been cut in half. THANK YOU!

We want to pay special tribute to our Retail Partners who decided to take action and sell Beads For Learning in their own stores this Fall. The following stores ordered in September to make sure they had plenty of Beads for Learning for you. If you live by them, please check them out! And tell us on Facebook if you have a favorite teacher you would like to pay tribute to.

16 Hands ~ Ann Arbor, MI

3 Sisters ~ Kingston, PA

 Bella Boutique ~ Springfield, IL

Casa Das Portas ~ Laugharne, Carmathen

Chickadees ~ Calumet, MI

Clearwaters ~ Cornwall, NY

Compleat Gourmet and Gift ~ Centennial, CO

Dragonfly Greetings & Gifts ~Linn, OR

Eco Chic Earth Friendly Boutique ~ Milford, DE

Eco Goods ~ Santa Cruz, CA

Embellishments ~ Steamboat Springs, CO

Fair Trade Winds ~ Fairfax, VA and Seattle, WA

Global Girlfriends ~ online

Grand Rapids Art Museum ~ Grand Rapids, MI

Healthy Beauty Wellness Spa ~ Lewiston, ME

Inspired Christian Gifts ~ Tampa, FL

Island Style ~ Key West, FL

It’s In The Bag 4 U ~ online

Izba Gift Stores At The Museum of Russian Art ~ Minneapolis, MN

J. Parkes Originals, Ltd. ~ Springfield, IL

J.M Princewell ~ Milford, NH

Jatori Gems ~ Ocean City, NJ

Jewels to Go ~ online

Kingfisher Road Boutique ~ Woodland Hills, CA

Los Gatos Birdwatcher ~ Los Gatos, CA

Lucky Monkey Trading Inc. ~ Coeur d’ Alene, ID

Made To Order ~ Clinton, NJ

Maggie & Stella’s Cards & Gifts ~ Pittsburgh, PA

Mohonk Mountain House – The Spa ~ New Paltz, NY

Montery Bay Aquarium – Monterey, CA

National Museum American Jewish History ~ Philadelphia, PA

Northwestern Michigan College Bookstore ~ Traverse, MI

Oceanology ~ Altamonte Springs, FL

Oregon House ~ Seal Rock, OR

Pocketful of Rye ~ Keene, NH

Sea of Cotton ~ Bar Harbor, ME

Serendipty ~ Exeter, NH

Silver Feather ~ St. Augustine, FL

Simple to Sublime ~ Summerville, SC

Skagit Valley Co-op ~ Mount Vernon, WA

Sunriver Resort ~ Sunriver, OR

Tea an’Tiques ~ Murphys, CA

Tea Leaves & Thyme ~ Woodstock, GA

Ten Thousand Villages ~ Austin, TX

The Arrangement ~ Portland, OR

The Bibelot Shops ~ St. Paul, MN

The Cottage ~ Lewes, DE

The Episcopal Church of the Advent ~ Spartanburg, SC

The Green Merchant ~ Evergreen, CO

The Mustard Seed ~ Lake Forest, IL

The Nature Gallery ~ Dothan, AL

The Open Door ~ Boone, NC

The Vintage Lady ~ Harpers Ferry, WV

Two Old Hippies ~ Aspen, CO and Nashville, TN

World Village Fair Trade Market ~ Hampton Bays, NY

Zinnia Jewelry ~ Burlington, VT