For years, we have had fun naming the strands.  Sometimes we name them in Kenya with everyone there participating, and sometimes we name them with our counterparts in the California office.  Some years ago, we came out with a large group of new colors at once and sat outside the warehouse in California looking at the array of new colors, having fun for hours, tossing out inspirations, good heartedly arguing over pet names and laughing.  When we hit it “right” with a name, everyone cheered, and we moved on to the next.  It was great fun.  With this wonderful world of social media, we have enjoyed including everyone into the process and will do it again.  I love the thought and research that all of you put into each suggestion.
 
I have narrowed the list to two names for each strand and will leave it up to you to decide the winners. 

CHOOSE ONE: Nature’s Path or Choco-espresso

CHOOSE ONE: Leafy-Leakey or Savanna

My personal vote for each is:  Choco-espresso for the brown and Savanna for the Olive.  I included the Leafy-Leakey in this selection because for years, people have been asking us to name one after Philip.  Besides, this is one of his favorite colors.

Have fun, and I can’t wait to see which one wins. 

With the rains have come hundreds of butterflies, and Philip has embarked on a mission to identify as many species as possible.  We were in fits of laughter watching each other run and jump around like children trying to catch the fast little things.

Some Maasai boys came along and thought we were crazy.  Then I handed them a net and they soon stopped laughing at us when they realized how difficult it was.

Can anyone identify this lovely Azure Butterfly?   

Fellow Zulugirls….we need your help! We will be introducing some new Zulugrass colors this autumn. The two below still need names! Send us YOUR ideas for names, and if we select yours, we’ll send you 5 strands of that color.

Sample one - brown Zulugrass with lime green glass beads

Sample two - olive green Zulugrass with lime green glass beads

We can’t wait to hear from you!  Check your local store for availability starting in July.

The view of our lush meadow, springing to life after all the rain I talked about in my last blog, was the inspiration for one of our Zulugrass Single Strand designs - 160A After The Rain.

Green grass beads, combined with shimmering glass beads in shades of light green to yellow with tiny blue beads, perfectly reflect the dancing meadow grass with a hint of blue sky.

Contact your LOCAL STORE for your very own 160A After The Rain.

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Tomorrow, May 8th is one of our favorite days of the year.  It is World Fair Trade Day- a day established to raise awareness of the importance of fair trade labor practices.  Fair Trade ensures that impoverished producers get paid fair prices under safe conditions and brings sustainable development and more promising futures to farmer and artisan communities around the world.  It also helps fight climate change, improves the status of women, and empowers the poor.  We have witnessed these very real changes around us here in the bush.  But it doesn’t take a rural enterprise like The Leakey Collection to facilitate change.  Every individual can make a real difference by telling friends and family about the impact of fair trade and by changing their buying patterns.

To help increase awareness, check out the World Fair Trade Event on Facebook.

It lists 9 easy things you can do this Saturday to educate people about fair trade.

While out shopping, keep in mind that every day items like coffee, soap, and chocolate are offered with the Fair Trade Federation  seal of approval and can be found in most grocery stores.  Read your labels to find out where a product is made, what it is made from, and under what conditions it is manufactured.

Treat every day like it is World Fair Trade Day!  Together, we can make a better world!

 Engaged couples want their wedding day to reflect who they are and what they care about. And there is a growing trend these days for couples to show their passion for a sustainable lifestyle and concern about Fair Trade issues around the world. From choosing wedding dresses that have been “worn and loved once before by another bride,” locally sourced catered food, favors and decorations that support healthy and safe working conditions through fair trading or eco-chic jewelry for the bride and the bridesmaids, green weddings can fulfill a bride’s lifelong dream while creating a truly personal, sustainable celebration. 

With summer quickly approaching, there are many young couples out there making wedding plans.  One of our own at The Leakey Collection is, in fact, preparing for a very special day herself.  Jan Syvertsen, mother of four wonderful boys, will finally be blessed with a daughter-in- law!  This Saturday in a picturesque setting in New Hampshire, Kellie will officially join the Syvertsen family as she marries Dan.  We wish the entire clan not only a perfect day, but a lifetime of love, happiness, and laughter!

If you’re planning a green wedding, make sure you check out our site and local stores in your area. As a bridesmaid gift, for “something blue”, or even a napkin ring holder, Zulugrass is the perfect wedding accessory.  Look for a store near you for the perfect colors.
 

For Earth Day, The Leakey Collection is giving away 10 FREE strands of Zulugrass! Become a fan of The Leakey Collection on Facebook and then post your comments about what you’re doing to celebrate our planet today! At the end of the day 4/22, we will randomly select 5 winners from the comments. Each winner will get 2 strands! Pass this contest onto your friends!

To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the first Earth Day, we have designed a beautiful collection of Zulugrass jewelry, Celebrate The Earth set. Each strand represents an integral part of our Earth as follows:

• Big Surf for the water that quenches our thirst
• Kenyan Stars for the air we breathe
• Tropical Leaf for life-sustaining plants and vegetation
• Caracal for our beloved animal population
• Rocky Road for the lovely mountains that grace our landscape
• Dream for our hope of a beautiful world full of respect, care and love

Each strand can be worn alone but our favorite is to wear them all together - to symbolize how every facet of Earth is connected!

 READ BELOW FOR A  SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM THE LEAKEYS

 As a child who was encouraged and free to explore Oldupai Gorge in Tanzania and the breathtaking, diverse bush of Kenya, Philip came to appreciate and cherish nature at a very young age.  By the time he was twelve, his parents were confident enough in his knowledge and skills to let him roam the bush for days at a time.   As he and his passion for nature matured, Philip became painfully aware of the losses to these beautiful habitats due to over population and poor land husbandry.  As a result, he dedicated much of his life’s work, while serving in Parliament and after, to creating ways that involve local populations in the ecological and sustainable care and development of Kenya’s natural resources.  He continues to conceive innovative uses of raw materials so people have a financial incentive, therefore a sustainable interest, to look after and preserve nature’s gifts.  In this way, the work that he has instituted and implemented throughout Kenya has helped to restore wetlands, grass lands and forests in which the wildlife and people now flourish.

Serengeti

It is our combined work and hope that people around the world will find that sustainably working within Earth’s bounty and not beyond it that we will all prosper.

With basketball becoming Kenya’s fastest growing sport, it makes us wonder if March Madness will spread across the ocean?  Just in case you can’t get enough of it in the US, we’d like to offer our own version of March Madness!  Get 20% off your entire order through this website!  Just type in the promo code MM at checkout!  Good through 3/31/10. Swish!

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