Ollie & Nic

SALE! FINAL REDUCTIONS!

2011-08-24T11:34:00.000+01:00

Hurry and check out our FINAL reductions! SALE must end soon so bag a bargain before stocks run out!

Me Old Bamboo is now only £27.50 reduced from £55! Available in Tan and White, stand out with this unusual box bag with a feature bamboo grab handle and retro lock fastening...

Lot of Love

The Ollie & Nic Team

xXx

FREE delivery on ALL orders over £50!

2011-08-18T12:37:00.000+01:00

Treat yourself and get FREE delivery on all orders over £50! Just enter the code FREE50 at the checkout...

Love

The Ollie & Nic Team

xXx

NEW A/W Shoulder Bags...

2011-08-12T17:10:00.000+01:00

Our first selection of new Autumn/Winter shoulder bags have just arrived and are now available on-line and in store!

Our Bonnie bag is a roomy bright red shoulder bag with Ollie & Nic large button detail. Includes vintage floral lining, zip opening and inner pockets. Perfect for everyday use and available in two different colours, Red and Tan.

Our Eddie bag is a classic dark red shoulder bag with vintage floral lining. Includes a zip opening and inner pockets. Make sure you check them out...

Love

The Ollie & Nic Team

xXx

Gorgeous Leather Cross Body bag now only £40!

2011-08-02T14:44:00.000+01:00

We love our Hazelnut Cross-Body Leather bag and it has now been reduced to only £40! It is an amazing bargain! It is a smart cross-body bag with pretty embossing detail, large main section and handy front pocket. Made with real leather and a printed cotton lining. Available in Teal, Tan, Berry and Brown...

We hope you love them as much as we do!

Love

The Ollie & Nic Team

xXx

Bags from only £10!

2011-07-27T14:22:00.000+01:00

Our SALE is running out fast so get your bargains quick! Just added are the Starbright Shoppers now only £10! Available in summery yellow and bright fushia. Use it everyday for books, magazines and anything that won't fit in your handbag!

Love The Ollie & Nic Team

xXx

SALE! Further styles added!

2011-07-22T09:29:00.000+01:00

Our gorgeous Jack holdall and cross body range has now been reduced!

The practical Jack Canvas Cross-Body bag is perfect for everyday use throughout Spring & Summer with enough storage space for all the essentials and a handy cross-body strap to keep your hands free. It comes in blue and stone canvas with exclusive Ollie & Nic printed cotton lining.

The perfect getaway bag is our Jack Holdall. A large, casual holdall perfect for overnight stays, weekends away or hand luggage for your next holiday! Comes complete with plenty of storage compartments and a removable cross-body strap. It comes in blue and stone canvas with exclusive Ollie & Nic printed daisy cotton lining.

Enjoy!

Love The Ollie & Nic Team

xXx

Our NEW Gretal Purse! Available online today!

2011-07-14T13:38:00.000+01:00

Check out our new Gretal House Purse available online today for only £12 with our free p&p offer, just enter the code: FREE10 at the checkout! It is so cute that you’ll want to carry it with you everywhere!

Let us know if you love it as much as we do?

Love The Ollie & Nic Team xXx

Hurry! FREE delivery on all orders over £10!

2011-07-13T09:24:00.000+01:00

Only 5 days left until our amazing new offer expires! Get free delivery on all orders over £10 by entering this code: FREE10 at the checkout

Our new 'Me Old Bamboo' bag is now available in-store and online! You can stand out with this unusual box bag with a feature bamboo grab handle and retro lock fastening. Available in tan and white for only £50! Get it today with our free delivery offer!

Love The Ollie & Nic Team xXx

SALE! Further Reductions!

2011-07-11T10:04:00.000+01:00

Our amazing Summer SALE has just got even better with further reductions on handbags, purses, jewellery and scarves! Now with up to 50% off! Quick, check it out today there is only limited stock available!

Our new jewellery collection is now available in stores and online! There are some gorgeous classic pieces that everyone will love as well as the quirky items like the incredibly cute owl pendant...

Let us know what you think of the new designs, which one is your favourite? Click here.

Love The Ollie & Nic Team xXx

Sneak Peak! NEW jewellery collection!

2011-07-05T14:49:00.000+01:00

Get a sneak peak at our new jewellery range to be launched on the 8 July!! See below a couple of pieces that we think are going to be top sellers!!

The new range includes necklaces, earring, bracelets and rings. There will be something for everyone with most designs available in both gold and silver! The pieces range from your classic hoop earrings to quirky floral bracelets. Make sure you come and take a look and treat yourself to these must have accessories!

Lots of Love

The Ollie & Nic Team

xXx

Design a handbag WINNER!!

2011-07-04T14:46:00.000+01:00

Hayley, the winnner of our Design a Handbag competition collected her well deserved prize this week, the Hayley bag!

A big thank you to everyone that entered! There were some amazing ideas and designs!

Lots of Love

The Ollie & Nic Team

xxx

SUMMER SALE! - Bag yourself a bargain!

2011-07-01T11:58:00.000+01:00

Check out our new Summer sale! We have some amazing reductions on our handbags, jewellery, scarves and purses. What more could you ask for to brighten up your summer! Get to one of our stores today to take full advantage of these great offers or check out our online store http://www.ollieandnic.com/browse/sale/all/

We have also just launched our matching floral Felicity shopper bag and Maisy leather purse...

You will feel like you’re living the good life with our floral Felicity shopper! A great size for all your essentials and those little extras You need to carry around from time to time. It features a magnetic fastening with an inner mobile pocket. Only £22.00!

This small clip-frame purse is great for slipping in your handbag when you're short on space. Designed to carry a small amount of money and some credit cards. It is made using real leather with a detailed leather and beaded flower motif. Only £20.00!

Let us know what you think of these new additions!

Love the Ollie & Nic Team xxx

Royal Wedding giveaway WINNERS!

2011-04-22T09:22:00.000+01:00

Thanks to all of you who entered and commented on our 4 days of giveaways. It was great to see so many lovely comments and we hope that you're all feeling extra excited about the wedding now!
Entries are now closed and we've set the random number generator on picking the winners so here they are:

Monday's Winners
Mairi Brew wins a Daisy Holdall in Blue (and it rhymes!)
Simon (@cobbiecollinge) wins a Florence Mini Satchel in Cream

Tuesday's Winners:
Catherine wins a Provence Scarf in White
Clare Tea wins a Queensbury Bag in Cream

Wednesday's Winners:
Tash wins a Ceylon Teacup Necklace
Irene RJ (@poodle666) wins a Highgate Bag in Tan

Thursday's Winners:
Bev Metallica wins a Lille Scarf
Ms Molly Louise (@msmollylouise) wins a Stanmore Box Bag in Cream

If you see your name here and you are one of our winners, please email lucy@ollieandnic.co.uk to claim your prize (please bear in mind that we're closed over the long weekend and there may be a small delay in getting back to you).
We hope you've enjoyed this fab competition! Don't forget to take advantage of our Easter Event this weekend; 10% off everything online with just £2 delivery charge. And, If you are near to a store, take a chance in our dippy egg basket and you could win up to 50% off your purchase.

Have a great Easter.

Royal Wedding giveaway final day

2011-04-21T10:57:00.000+01:00

Sadly, we've reached the last day of our Royal giveaway. But, fear not! We still have 2 great prizes to give away chosen by our Liverpool & Canterbury stores.

"We've chosen the Lille scarf as it's an understated piece of elegance and would add a classic and feminine touch to Kates wardrobe"

"At Canterbury, we've picked the Stanmore Box Bag in Cream because it's a classic and smart looking bag that's great for a princess to keep up with the latest trend - even when she's busy attending to all her Royal duties!"

To win one of these fab prizes, just comment below! Don't forget, you can enter each of our day's giveaways once and you have until midnight tonight to get your comments in! Winners will be announced tomorrow.

Royal Wedding giveaway day 3

2011-04-20T10:11:00.000+01:00

On the penultimate day of our big giveaway it's the turn of Bristol and Cardiff to pick their prizes...

"We've decided that the Ceylon Teacup Necklace is the perfect necklace for a future queen of England as we're so famous for being a nation of tea drinkers!"

"The Cardiff store would like to give Kate Middleton the gift of a Highgate Bag because... This panelled shoulder bag is a great way to accessorise any royal outfit with a classically vintage feel. A medium sized main section with a zipped fastening will help Kate keep her belongings safe and secure for any royal engagement. Although Kate is so regal already, she's a gorgeous girl and deserves a gorgeous bag to add to her wardrobe! Stylish, understated and quintessentially British, this bag in the perfect addition to any Princess’ collection."

What great choices! If you'd like to win either of these brilliant accessories, just comment below. Entry closes midnight on Thursday, with the same rules applying today as the past two days. Good luck!

Royal Wedding giveaway day 2

2011-04-19T09:51:00.000+01:00

It's day 2 of our Royal Wedding 'gift for Kate' giveaway! Today it's the turn of Carnaby and Brighton to choose their gifts...

"We have chosen the Provence Scarf for Kate because it's a lovely floral print for the summer months and would go great with our Queensbury handbag. On her days off from being a princess she can feel more casual in this summery boho scarf!"

"The girls at Brighton have decided on the Queensbury bag in cream. This is our favourite bag from the new collection and we think it would be appropriate for Kate as it is demure enough for meetings with the Queen as well as being fit for a princess with just enough room for all of her essentials. It would also look great with Kate's signature Burberry trench coat she is fond of wearing."

If you would like to win either of these fab prizes, just comment below before midnight on Thursday. If you entered yesterday's prize draw you can also enter today!

Ollie & Nic love Wills & Kate!

2011-04-18T11:29:00.000+01:00

Did we mention that we're super excited about the Royal Wedding?! Every girl, including future Royalty, needs a good selection of accessories, so this week we'll be touring our stores and asking the girls that work there for their suggestions for wedding gifts for Kate. Then, at the end of each day, we'll be giving two lucky winners the chance to win the gifts for themselves! Here's how it works:
Each day until Thursday two stores will pick a gift each. To have a chance to win, simply comment on the post and we'll pick two comments at random to win the prizes. All winners will be announced on Friday so that means you have until midnight on Thursday to post your comment to be in with a chance. For fairness we can only allow one entry per person per giveaway post and prizes can only be delivered to UK addresses.
So, that's the boring stuff over - let's start the giveaway with our first two stores!

"We thought of the Daisy Holdall in Blue for our gift to Kate. We chose this because of the pretty floral print and blue is a royal colour! She will be travelling a lot too now she is part of the royal family and would need definitely an over night bag."

"The Girls at Glasgow think Kate would love the Mini Florence Satchel in cream as it is simple but classic - the smart casual bag for a princess!"

If you would like to win either of these two royal gifts, perfect for a princess in the making, then simply comment below (making sure to include your name) before midnight on Thursday 21st April.

Win a prize fit for a Princess!

2011-04-12T10:00:00.003+01:00

The Royal Wedding is nearly here so there's no better time to celebrate Wills & Kate than with a right Royal giveaway. We've teamed up with biscuit-makers extraordinare, Biscuiteers, to offer you a prize fit for a Princess...

We're giving away one of our fab Delicious Apple Bags - the must-have accessory this summer - and a limited edition tin of Biscuiteers Royal Wedding biscuits. Yum! To have a chance to win this special prize, simply fill out your details here. We'll notify the lucky winner shortly after the closing date (30th April 2011).
Meanwhile, get yourself ready for the big event with our special edition Royal Wedding personas for Firefo x. A very British way to jazz up your browser!

Mum's the word!

2011-03-24T12:10:00.000Z

In case you hadn't heard, next Sunday is Mother's Day and what better excuse to treat your mum to a day of pampering and relaxation.
If your looking for a gift or token of appreciation for 'mummy dearest' then look no further! We have plenty to suit every time of mum - just take a look...

Amelia Lady Bag £48

Our Amelia bag is back in a cute new colour! This popular favourite is such a versatile style - practical everyday use and smart enough to take you from day to evening wear in a flash. It's also very ladylike with a pretty clasp fastening and cheerful floral print lining. You can even treat your mum to the full set with a matching Amelia purse.

Finchley Buckle Purse £25

If your mum is guilty of stuffing her purse with receipts, notes, lists and all sorts of other things then it's time to lighten her load! Get her a pretty new purse with lots of space for organising all those bits and pieces, such as our Finchley Buckle Purse.

Provence Scarf £24

If your tired of buying flowers every year, try a different type! This feminine floral print scarf is perfect for accessorising with a floaty dress or spring coat.

Browse our online store for more gift ideas and receive free delivery when you spend over £50 - just enter code FREE50 at the checkout.

Bee kind to bees!

2011-03-17T10:57:00.000Z

To coincide with the arrival of our new BusyBee range, we've teamed up with The Bumblebee Conservation Trust to promote the excellent work they do to save our bumblebee population. Send us in your favourite honey recipe in our honey bee competition and have the chance to win a set from our new range (see above) and a years membership to the BBCT! Find out more and enter the competition here.

As well as this fab prize giveaway, we're supporting the BBCT by selling some of their cute bee brooch and seed sets in our stores and online. For just £1 you can help the charity fund research and conservation to protect our bees & the important part they have in our environment. As an extra bonus, you can grow some pretty flowers from the seeds and accessorise your lapels with the brooch! All proceeds go directly to the BBCT.

An important announcement

2011-02-18T15:24:00.000Z

If you have been wondering why we've been a bit quiet here at Ollie & Nic it's because we've been spending the past few months planning an exciting new future for the brand...

After starting in 2002 with just one store in Brighton, we've grown to a chain of 11 nationwide stores to become one of Britain's most-loved accessories brands - quite an achievement from very humble beginnings! As we've grown so rapidly and successfully, the time has now come to take our brand forward to a bright new future. We've appointed an exciting new management team who know a thing or two about handbags! With their help, we hope to open up new opportunities for Ollie & Nic, making us even better at bringing you beautiful bags & accessories to cherish & covert.
Unfortunately, with all good news there has to be some bad news. With us, this has meant the closing of 3 of our London stores - we are sad to say goodbye to St Christopher's Place, King's Road and Whiteleys. However, we have eight other stores still open & going strong and we hope that any of our London customers will find all they need and more at our Carnaby street store. Our girls there are fab and they are looking forward to welcoming all our customers, new and old!

Our online store is currently undergoing some maintenance but we hope to have it up and running again as soon as possible. If you have ordered with us in the past few days and have any questions, please call us on 0208 544 6930 or email info@ollieandnic.co.uk.

It's onwards and upwards for Ollie & Nic and our amazing new Spring collection is now arriving - it's full of all those quirky accessories and vintage-inspired bags that you've come to expect from us and we hope that you will love it as much as we do!

It's love!

2011-02-01T10:00:00.002Z

It's love at Ollie & Nic! Treat the one you love to something special this Valentines Day with 20% off selected jewellery - perfect for letting someone know how much you care.

Juliette Love Letter Necklace £16 (usually £20)

Pass a love note in this envelope necklace that holds a secret love letter inside.

Romeo Bird & Crystal Necklace £17.60 each (usually £22)

These cute bird & crystal necklaces are a great friendship gift - keep one and give the other to a best friend.

Amour Key Necklace £19.20 (usually £24)

Unlock the key to someone's heart with this vintage key necklace.

Ollie & Nic Gift Wrap Sets from £1.25

And don't forget the gift box! We have 3 sizes available to add that finishing touch to your gift.

To claim your 20% discount on selected jewellery (not including sale items), simply enter the code 'LOVE' at the checkout or visit one of our stores before February 14th. Happy Valentines Day!

Happy new year

2011-01-07T10:46:00.000Z

We hope that all you handbag lovers are enjoying 2011 so far? We're certainly looking forward to the year ahead, especially the exciting launch of the new Spring collection - it's all looking very pretty here in our office and we can't wait to show everyone in the very near future. Until then, however, there's plenty going on...

Our sale continues with lots of bags, purses and accessories half price! We've been busy adding new styles and there are definitely some big bargains to be had. Head on over to our website to browse and buy online or visit any of our stores. We must warn you though, stock is selling fast so don't miss out on that must-have item!

More money-saving news: We're pleased to tell you that our prices won't be increasing with the new V.A.T rates, so you can shop totally guilt-free!

Finally, remember back in November we ran a handbag lover give-away for you to win a Gemma leather shoulder back or one of two Gemma leather purses? We had a great response and thanks to you lots of new accessory addicts have now discovered Ollie & Nic. The winners have been notified by email and their prizes are on their way - what a great way to kick off a brand new year!

New Canterbury Store

2010-12-08T11:05:00.001Z

Our newest store in Canterbury has just opened its doors for the first time! If you live in the area, get down there today for some special opening offers, including free leather purses for the first 50 customers. We're located on the popular Marlowe Arcade, near to Hobbs & Miss Selfridge. See you there!

Our new manager Claire opening the doors, come in and say hi to her!

The front of the store complete with festive decoration

Inside is a sanctuary for all your accessory needs!

On the third day of Christmas...

2010-12-03T14:58:00.001Z

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me... A Brunswick bag!
Yes, that's right! Our most popular style is now back in stock in 2 fab new colourways. There's also a bunch of new purses to match, including a larger sized style. Why not put them all on your Christmas list?!

On the second day of Christmas...

2010-12-02T12:35:00.000Z

On the second day of the Ollie & Nic Christmas list my true love gave to me... A hove satchel!

If you've been eyeing up our Hove satchel for a while now, it's time to spread the word to make sure you get one this Christmas...

Design a bag competition WINNERS!

2010-12-01T13:23:00.000Z

You may remember a few months ago we launched our most exciting competition yet - to design a bag for Ollie & Nic! We received loads of entries and it just goes to show how many talented designers there are out there. We've had a massive age range enter too - from 10 year olds right up to 85! The competition closed at the end of October, and we spent lots of time going through all the designs to pick our winner and 10 runners up - now we can finally announce the winning design...

This will be our Hayley bag designed by Hayley King! We think this fab 50's tropical design will look great for a summer beach bag and we can't wait to see what it looks like in our shops. Hayley also wins a £150 gift voucher for her efforts.
We also chose 10 runners up from the entries as you can see below. A very big well done for all of them as they will each win a £30 gift voucher too.

From L-R: Katherine Holdstock, Charlotte O'Dea, Rachel O'Keefe, Kate Henegan, Amelia McCreith, Jess Price, Polly Bishop, Sarah Palmer, Carry Anne Cruickshank & Amanda Montague.

Thanks to everyone who got designing and entered the competition, we hope you had fun taking part! Watch out for the winning bag landing in our stores in the summer.

The Ollie & Nic Christmas list

2010-12-01T12:17:00.000Z

It's every girl's worst nightmare: you've been dropping hints all year and then, feeling relaxed, you await the arrival of Christmas day excitedly imagining what it will be like to finally own that perfect gift. The day arrives, the presents are there but somehow your hints have fallen on deaf ears and yet again you receive some boring socks, dodgy bath salts and a kitchen/cleaning appliance. How can this happen?! How did you not make it clear enough!
The Ollie & Nic Christmas list is a great way to let your nearest and dearest know exactly what you want and where to get it so there can be absolutely no confusion - leaving smiles all round! Each day we'll post a different product from the most wanted styles from our collection. All you need to do is choose the applicable statements and send it off to Santa!

Introducing the new Ollie & Nic gift card

2010-11-25T10:19:00.000Z

We are very pleased and excited to announce that we have brand new Ollie & Nic gift cards! Now you can share the love and let the lucky recipient choose exactly what they would like from our entire collection. The cards can be purchased and topped up in stores with any amount from £5, and they are also available online in 7 denominations from £10 to £100. You can then spend the credit on anything you like in store or, if you can't get to one, take a look on our website and then give us a call to place your order over the telephone. A gift card really does make the perfect gift for any accessories fan, and our one even comes tucked in an Ollie & Nic greetings card with space to write a personal message.

Shop for a gift card now, and remember - there's free delivery when you spend over £30 too!

Gorgeously Gifted

2010-11-24T11:12:00.000Z

Our Christmas motto this year is 'Gorgeously Gifted' and we've got lots of offers going to on to help you be just that...
Star Buys are back this week with up to £20 off selected leather bags and purses! Take a look at our top picks from this very special offer below:

Stevie Laptop Bag (available in Black & Red) £20 off - now £130

If that special person in your life is a bit of work-a-holic then they are guaranteed to love our luxury laptop bag. Made from soft, but durable leather, this bag is all about the attention to detail - including a removable and adjustable cross-body strap, spacious front pocket and generous storage space for a laptop or documents.

Brighton Satchel (available in Tan, Black & Teal) £20 off - now £105

For the girl who always needs to be up to date with the latest trend, how about our Brighton Satchel? This stylish handbag is large enough for everyday use and will look fab on the arm of any fashionista.

Roedean Slouchy Hobo (available in Dark Grey & Tan) £20 off - now £105

If you know someone who literally crams their life in to their handbag (or at least has a good go at it!) then help them out with a Roedean shoulder bag. Inside there is bags of space for everything you could possibly want to carry with you, plus an extra outer pocket for any overspill!

In case you needed any more excuses to treat yourself or a loved one to a new accessory, we're giving everyone who spends over £30 free delivery at our online shop. So, put the kettle on and feel slightly smug whilst you do you Christmas shopping in the comfort of your own home!

Christmas shopping event

2010-11-18T10:00:00.000Z

The big day is drawing nearer and nearer and at Ollie & Nic we'd like to give you a helping hand in finding those perfect gifts to make Christmas extra special this year. It always pays off to start your shopping early (who wants to be rushing around the high street on Christmas eve when you could be at home with your feet up sipping some egg nog!), especially when you could get a 20% discount off everything in our shops and online! This treat lasts for just 4 days, so if you've been eyeing up something for yourself, get this blog post quickly circulated round your nearest and dearest! And, if you've earmarked something for a loved one - take the plunge and make them smile whilst you count the change. The event starts today in all our shops and online when you use the code XMASEVENT. It finishes on Sunday, so shop now!

This year our Christmas shopping event also coincides with the bi-annual Grazia Shopping Party in Carnaby Street. Our store will be taking part in the festivities alongside our 20% discount. If you live in the area, the event is a great opportunity to get some shopping done and take advantage of free drinks, live music and an all-round good vibe! Download your ticket and get more information here.

Calling all handbag lovers!

2010-11-11T11:45:00.000Z

We're always happy to find fellow handbag lovers. So if you can think of some friends who might love handbags as much as you do, we’d like to know!

Just click the button below to pass on your handbag-loving friends’ details and to say thank you we’ll enter you into a special prize draw to win an Ollie & Nic 'Gemma' leather bag and two runners-up will also win a 'Gemma' leather purse. Your friends will then receive a welcome email & special offer to get them started!

STAR BUYS!

2010-11-09T14:39:00.000Z

Have a look at our new range of star buys! Every week we'll be choosing something new and then taking £5, £10 or even £20 off the marked price for a limited period only. So, when you see the star buy tags in store, or browse the star buy section online, make sure you make the most of the offers as you may not see them again!
Here's a selection of some of the Star Buys that are available online right now:

Marisa Tote -
£10 off, now £40 for a limited period

Petunia Bowling Bag -

£10 off, now £38 for a limited period

Georgia satchel -

£10 off, now £38 for a limited period

To see more of our star buys click here. These special offers are always changing so check back regularly or sign up to our newsletter to find out when new ones are added.

20% off jewellery offer

2010-11-02T13:02:00.000Z

If you've already started thinking about your Christmas shopping list with dread, fear not! To reward you for being so organised and on the ball this year, we're giving you 20% off all our jewellery for the next 2 weeks. That means you can buy those early gifts and still have some pennies in your purse to treat yourself to something! To obtain the discount, simply use the code 'GIFTED' at the checkout before 14th November or visit one of our stores.

Eva Tassel Necklace £24 with discount

Sylvie Charm Necklace £22.40 with discount

Petal Bracelet £19.20 with discount

Give-away winners announced

2010-11-01T12:22:00.000Z

We had a great time last week giving you all a glimpse into life in the Ollie & Nic team and now it's time to announce the winners of the 5 bags we're giving away. All our winners we picked at random from the comments received each day using a random number generator (and lots of counting to find the winners!).

Winner Day 1: Congratulations to Daisybeebee who wins a Foster Tapestry Doctors Bag

Winner Day 2: Congratulations to Twydalldee (Jan B) who wins a Florence Mini Satchel

Winner Day 3: Congratulations to Vicki Brown who wins a Nicole Shopper in black

Winner Day 4: Congratulations to Jo who wins a Marisa Tote

Winner Day 5: And finally, our last winner is Allison Parkyn who wins a Wanda Shopper in Tan

We'll be in contact with all of our winners who have given contact details in their comments. If you think you are one of them and we haven't been in contact please email info@ollieandnic.co.uk to claim your prize.
Thank you to everyone who entered and we hope you enjoyed reading all of our interviews. We are always running new competitions and special offers so make sure you follow our blog, twitter or become a fan on Facebook for updates on the latest goings on.

Day 5 of our prize give-away!

2010-10-29T09:57:00.001+01:00

Well, we have reached the final day of our week of giveaways. All good things must come to an end, and we've lined up an exclusive interview with Ollie & Nic's founder and creative Director Jane to finish. So, if you want to find out about how your favourite handbag brand was born, read on!

Q - What is Ollie & Nic about and why did you start the brand?
J: I started the brand in 2002 as I felt there was an opportunity for a handbag brand that was a cut above the mass offer on the High Street in terms of design and quality, but still at prices that wouldn't break the bank. Every woman I know loves handbags and wants to buy more than one a season but also wants them to last for more than just one season, which is really what Ollie & Nic is all about. Great bags, great design and affordable prices.

Q - What did you do previous to O&N?
J: Oh, so many things it would take too long to tell all! Briefly I was (in no particular order):
A sales assistant (on a handbag department of course)
A buyer (handbags, what else?)
A director of major fashion retailer (responsible for many, many things, not just handbags)
Ran a small business with 7 shops (selling, guess what, handbags and accessories!)
I then decided to go it alone with my husband Nick and Ollie & Nic was born!

Q - How did you feel when the first shop in Brighton opened?
J: So proud and excited! It was the first time we had been able to put the entire Ollie & Nic range together under one roof. We spent a small fortune on an enormous chandelier as a centrepiece for the store. There are 10 Ollie & Nic stores open now (and some more in the pipeline) but Brighton will always have a special place in my heart. We've refurbished the store recently and have changed just about everything about it except the chandelier which is as beautiful as ever and was, of course, worth every penny!

Q - What job did you want to do when you were growing up?
J: It was a long time ago so I really can't remember! We used to be given these really cheesy 'career books' to read from the age of about 12 I think. They had titles like 'Air Hostess Ann' or 'Vera becomes a Vet'. I'm pretty sure that I wanted to be whoever I was reading about at the time. I don't recall there being one called 'Brenda the Bag Lady' though.

Q - What is your food fuel that keeps you going during your day at work?
J: Anything that's on offer. I'm not very good at feeding myself and like a camel can go for long periods of time without food or water! Very bad for me I know. Fortunately Nick takes food very seriously and ensures that I eat often and healthily. Left to my own devices I will just buy a packet of yum yums when I'm filling up with petrol on the way to work and scoff them while I'm driving in. It's that Ollie & Nic cake thing!

Q - Where do you go to for the best inspiration?
J: Vintage markets. I love them! My favourites are at Kempton race course and at Ardingly. There are so many fab stalls with vintage clothes, jewellery and bags and it's also where I find all the amazing mid- century furniture, pictures and other bits that we use as display props in the stores.

Q - What is your favourite fashion trend of the season?
J: Like everyone else at O&N HQ I love fashion but I don't think I can say I have a favourite trend this season. Shearling is a great look and cosy too so I guess I'll go for that. I think our shearling Marissa bag is fab. Not only can you carry all your clobber in it you can cuddle it on the way home from work on cold winter evenings!

Q - What is your most prized possession that you couldn't live without?
J: Well, they're not possessions but I wouldn't want to live without them. It has to be my 2 sons closely followed by Waldo our dog. Oh and Nick as well of course!

Q - What is the iconic Ollie & Nic bag and what inspired this particular style?
J: I'm not sure we've established our iconic bag yet. We have so many new ideas every season that we have to remind ourselves that our stores are really quite small! If we kept all our favourites in the range and put in all of our exciting new season's ideas we'd never fit everything out on the shop floor! If we do have a stand out best seller we look at how we can reinvent it for the next season so that Ollie & Nic fans can come back again for a new version of an old favourite.
If I had to pick out one bag from our current collection it would be the Wanda shopper in tan. I personally use this bag for work every day at the moment as I can shove my laptop and other 'stuff' in the main compartment and keep keys and bits in the outside back zip pocket. My glasses can go in the clip pocket on one side and mobile in the clip pocket on the other. Perfect!

As our final prize, we're giving away Jane's personal favourite bag - a Wanda shopper in tan. THE COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED!
We do hope that you've enjoyed reading our interviews as much as we've enjoyed doing them! It's always nice to hear comments from our fans & customers, and we've had some really lovely ones that have really brightened up our week. A winner from each day will be chosen by us at random and a list of all the winners and their prizes will be posted on Monday. Good luck!

Day 4 of our prize give-away!

2010-10-28T10:22:00.001+01:00

We've reached day 4 of our giveaway and today we're going through the shop keyhole to meet Clare, our visual merchandiser.

Q - What is your role at Ollie & Nic?
C: I am the Visual Merchandiser. I work alongside our Creative Director to come up with the Ollie & Nic store ‘look’, basically I make the stores pretty! I create our windows displays, plan store layouts and make sure that every piece from our collection is shown off to its full potential.

Q - What is the best bit of the job?
C: I love going to antique fairs, junk shops and scouring ebay for unique props for our displays. It totally indulges my love of mid-century furniture and all things quirky and old!

Q - And the worst?
C: The early starts can be a killer as some flea markets start at 6.00am... New store openings can also be very hard work. Trying to ensure that the shopfitters are actually doing what they are supposed to be doing and bringing the whole project in on time can be extremely stressful but ultimately very rewarding.

Q - What job did you want to do when you were little?
C: A vampire! My big sister quickly explained this was not an option and so I decided being an architect looked pretty cool. This was my only career plan until at 16 I realised how long I would have to spend studying and that quickly went out the window!

Q - What is your poison (breakfast snack/drink) that gets you kick started before your day at work?
C: I am very partial to a pack of M&S yums yums! I am fairly fickle though and these can easily be replaced by a bag of cookies, maple pecan Danish, chocolate muffins, almond croissants, Prets ‘choc bar’.... yes, for breakfast! If my boyfriend is around and he makes me eat Weetabix. Urgh.

Q - Where do you find the best inspiration for the shops?
C: Mainly in junk shops, but I also buy endless magazines about interior design and fashion. My favourite magazine is ‘FRAME’. It is only out 6 times a year and is ridiculously expensive but even the smell of the paper it’s printed on gets me excited! I also regularly check out website ‘its nice that’ too.

Q - What is your favourite fashion trend of the season?
C: Definitely loving the long socks look and all the beautiful coloured and patterened tights around.

Q - At O&N we like to listen to lots of cheesy music, what is your power track?
C: It has to be Glen Medeiros ‘Nothings Going To Change My Love For You’. I’ve just bought an old juke box which came with all the original 7 inch singles still in there. This was one of them along with many other ‘classics’!

Q - What is your favourite item from our current collection and what would you wear it with?
C: The Marisa tote. I’ll be wearing it with my Khaki Parka, knitted mini dress, long sock and boots. Oh and my snood!

Q - Finally, what is your favourite way to spend an evening after a hard day at the stores?
C: I really enjoy my cycle home along the river. It clears my head and helps me unwind. My ideal evening is cooking something nice for tea, followed by a hot bath and settling on the sofa with a new magazine.

If you'd like to win Clare's favourite bag, the Marisa tote, then today is your lucky day! What better way to work this season's hottest trend than for free?! THE COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED!
Tomorrow is the last day of our giveaway and we're rounding off with a fab bag to win and an insightful interview with creative director and Ollie & Nic founder, Jane. Don't miss it!

Day 3 of our prize give-away!

2010-10-27T10:37:00.002+01:00

If you've ever wondered how our bags make it from design to finished product, meet Zara and Alex - they are the ladies who make it happen! On the third day of our prize give-away, they lets us know what it's like to keep everyone and everything organised and in check.

Q - What is your role at Ollie & Nic?
Z: I'm Zara and I'm the merchandiser for Ollie & Nic. I'm in charge of making sure that all the right stock is in right place at the right time!
A: I'm Alex and as well as assisting with merchandising and allocation, I'm also in charge of customer services.

Q - What is the best bit of the job?
Z: It's great to see all the designs start off as a list on a piece of paper and then turn into a finished product arriving by the box load in our warehouse
A: I thrive on the challenges that arise every day, and there's certainly never a dull moment! I also enjoy planning all the allocations to the stores and reacting to the latest performances. It's a fast-paced environment and there's always something new so it’s essential to be flexible and ready to react.

Q - And the worst?
Z: I hate being cold so the worst part for me always comes around January when I have to spend lots of time in the freezing cold warehouse unpacking boxes and sending out orders. It's all worthwhile though when we get lovely comments from customers who are very happy with their new bags.
A: Monday mornings! Especially when there has been a busy weekend on the website and in the stores.

Q - What job did you want to do when you were little?
Z: I wanted to be a wedding dress designer, but I threw the idea out of the window when I realised that I can't draw! Merchandising for me is the best mix between fashion and figures.
A: This depended on my mood. One day I wanted to be a dancer and another day I wanted to work at the post office!

Q - What is your poison (breakfast snack/drink) that gets you kick started before your day at work?
Z: It has to be a big cup of coffee and a bowl of porridge.
A: I like to start off with a strong cup of tea and some good music

Q - What is the secret behind your (Alex & Zara's) seamless teamwork?!
Z: It's a bit of a mystery as we're both Leos who are prone to being headstrong. It always comes together in the end though, and getting on as friends really helps too.

Q - What is your fashion trend faux-pas of the season?
Z: Hiking boots! I spent 3 years studying for a Geology degree and they remind me of cold, wet and very unfashionable fieldtrips!

Q - What is your fashion trend must-have?
A: Satchels, Satchels and Satchels! Both functional and sophisticated; whether they're worn across the body or on one shoulder and you can wear them with almost anything you like!

Q - We listen to lots of cheesy radio in the office, what is your power track?
Z: The classic tune from Flashdance; What a feelin' by Irene Cara
A: Alors on danse by Stromae

Q - What is your favourite item from our current collection and what would you wear it with?
Z: The Nicole Tote in Black with skinny jeans and converse - it's the perfect mummy's uniform. A big bag to stuff in both mine and my child's stuff in!

Q - Finally, what is you favourite way to spend an evening after a hard day at O&N HQ?
Z: I don't get to see my friends very often so I like to catch up with them over dinner and a bottle of red wine
A: Watching good movies with big mug of coffee.

Today, we're giving away Zara's favourite bag - a Nicole Tote in black. THE COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED!
Tomorrow, in our penultimate interview, we'll be talking to Clare about how she keeps our shops looking like little handbag heavens!

Day 2 of our prize give-away!

2010-10-26T09:36:00.005+01:00

On the second day of our 'week with Ollie & Nic' we're moving on to the other side of the design team! Meet Olivia, our print designer, and Lucy, our graphic designer...

Q - Explain your roles at Ollie & Nic
O: I'm Olivia and I'm a designer, specialising in print design. I also work on Ollie & Nic exclusives or ‘special projects’. For example, designing our exclusive collection for John Lewis or the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity bag - which was a fantastic project to be involved with.
L: I'm Lucy and my official title is Graphic Designer, but I do like to dabble in a bit of PR & marketing, photography and social networking too. I am also the unofficial office IT person, I think I've fooled everyone into thinking I know a lot about computers…

Q - What is the best bit of the job?
O: Being in a creative environment designing for a brand that I genuinely love. It is very rewarding designing a print or a bag and seeing it through all the stages to the finished product on-line or in-store and especially seeing someone walking down the street with it! The team here are great people to work with and we have a lot of laughs (as well as working very hard of course!). Having an endless supply of really nice handbags is kind of nice too…
L: Yes, having lots of bags is a definite perk! I love the photography side of my job the most - taking lots of photos of all the beautiful bags and making them look irresistible on the O&N website. I still get all excited when I see one of my photographs in a magazine, I sometimes cut it out and put it on the fridge - very sad!

Q - And the worst?
O: When a new design that I’m really excited about comes back sampled-up and it doesn’t look as good as I’d hoped. You live & learn.
L: I don't like sitting in the corner of the office and, as I'm not very tidy, my workspace resembles that of a teenagers bedroom. I think I get away with it most of the time but other people do seem to find mouldy teacups repulsive for some reason…

Q - What job did you want to do when you were little?
O: When I was 11 I knew I definitely wanted to be a fashion designer. I remember at 16 getting a year’s subscription to ‘Vogue’ for my birthday and thinking I had entered into the most amazing world and I knew I had to be part of it. (I did have a very brief notion at 13 of wanting to be a Hotel Manager but I prefer staying in them now rather than running one!)
L: I had very big ambitions to be a full-time cross-stitcher. I thought it was a very profitable career path at the age of 6.

Q - What is your poison (breakfast snack/drink) that gets you kick started before your day at work?
O: A strong cuppa at my desk when I get in the morning whilst checking my emails. We are all cake mad here and quite often Lucy brings in her latest creations for us to sample. It’s Ollie & Nic meets Nigella meets the Women’s Institute. I love it!
L: Before I leave the house I usually share a slice of toast with my spoiled pet rats. I've also just got very into tea but I do have to make it myself because no one else makes it right. I'm thinking of implementing a Pantone colour reference for my perfect cup.

Q - Where do you find the best inspiration for your design work?
O: I adore prints from the 1950’s, particularly from interiors around that era. Some of the best print ideas have come from a pair of curtains found at a vintage market or a gorgeous plate found in a cupboard on a visit to my mum-in-law!
L: I spend a lot of time on Tumblr looking at beautiful photographs and designs, I sometimes get side tracked by pictures of cute bunnies however.

Q - What is your favourite fashion trend of the season?
O: I LOVE the seventies trend! Being a seventies child myself it seems only right to embrace this trend again. I adore wide leg trousers, Camel, etc. I even got a blunt fringe cut (the first time since I was 4) because I loved the Chloe ad campaign featured in the glossies so much.

Q - We listen to lots of cheesy radio in the office, what is your power track?
L: I Feel For You by Chaka Khan makes me type to the beat! Someone once told me I can only dance well to music from the 1980's - I took it as a compliment, of course.

Q - What is your favourite item from our current collection and what would you wear it with?
L: The florence satchel in black is on my hitlist, perfect to wear under this season's cape coat.

Q - Finally, what is you favourite way to spend an evening after a hard day at O&N HQ?
O: Hanging out with my 3 men folk and the occasional G&T.
L: I like to bake once a week at least, so I usual cook in the kitchen and watch something trashy like 'cops and cameras' at the same time.

Today we're giving away Lucy's favourite bag, a Florence satchel in black. THE COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED!
Tomorrow we'll be talking to Zara and Alex - the dynamic duo who get us all organised here at Ollie & Nic!

Day 1 of our prize give-away!

2010-10-25T12:42:00.004+01:00

As you may have seen, we currently have lots of new lovely bags at new lovelier & lower prices! We think this is something to shout about so this week on our blog we will be celebrating 'Great bags at great prices'.
At Ollie & Nic we like to think that we do something more than just 'handbags'. Every single one of our bags are designed exclusively by our team in London and we pride ourselves in offering beautiful products with a difference. Both design & top notch service are things we're all passionate about here. That is why, this week, we want to give all of our fans, customers & blog readers an insight in to the brand and all those people turning the cogs to make it work! We'll be bringing you interviews with the members of the Ollie & Nic team (so you can get to know us) and then a chance to win the chosen 'favourite' bag each day - that's five bags in total, what a give-away!
To kick everything off, we're taking a peek in to the minds of our product designers. What better way to start off than with the two ladies that create all our fab bags, purses and accessories - not only making sure they look good, but function well too. Over to them...

Q - What are your names and what are your roles at Ollie & Nic?
B: I'm Becky and I design all the leather bags & purses
N: I'm Nicola and I design both bags & accessories, including non-leather and fabric

Q - What is the best bit of your job?
B: Working all day with product I love! In particular, vintage bag shopping at Portobello Market and the thrill of discovering a beautiful detail or shape.
N: There’s quite a few ‘best bits’, I find inspiration shopping in vintage markets and shops exciting, as well as traveling to Hong Kong and India. It's great to experience the culture and the great shopping! Most of all though I love designing handbags - seeing them through right from development ideas to spotting people using them in real life.

Q - And the worst?
N: Lot's of emailing!

Q - What job did you want to do when you were little?
B: Well, apart from becoming an international pop superstar, I always wanted to do something in fashion design. I remember being very young and cutting up one of my Mum’s 1970’s ball gowns to make a Bolero style jacket so I could look like Madonna! She wasn’t very pleased with me.
N: There was never any question; I've always wanted to be a Fashion designer.

Q - What is your poison (breakfast snack/drink) that gets you kick started before your day at work?
B: Marmite on toast and a big mug of tea. Classic combo.
N: I’m not a morning person, so at least 2 cups of strong tea in a row to wake me up!

Q - Where do you find the best inspirations for your design work?
B: As well as Portobello, we visit Hong Kong every season and it's a great source of inspiration; rummaging through swatches at the Sham Shui Po fabric market and the endless shops get the ideas flowing.
N: I get my inspiration from all around, but I especially love ‘people watching’ for style ideas.

Q - What is your favourite fashion trend of the season?
B: Layering. As it gets colder I like to hibernate underneath multiple layers.
N: Jumpsuits are so simple and they give you a great excuse to wear fun accessories

Q - We listen to lots of cheesy radio in the office, what is your power track?
B: Anything by Fleetwood Mac that I can sing along to and irritate my work colleagues in the process.
N: Barbara Streisand by Duck Sauce for the ultimate Cheesy tune!

Q - What is your favourite item from our current collection and what would you wear it with?
N: I particularly love the Foster tapestry Doctor's bag. I’d wear it with my fav trend, a black jumpsuit and heels.

Q - Finally, what is your favourite way to spend an evening after a hard day at O&N HQ?
B: Taking my dog Frankie (pictured above) for a walk in the park. Unfortunately my boyfriend won’t allow me to take him out in his Superman outfit!
N: Going out for dinner or drinks with friends.

Our first give-away will be Nicola's favourite bag, the Foster Bag. THE COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED!

Good luck and don't forget to check back tomorrow to see the next interview and prize.

back to our roots

2010-10-15T11:48:00.000+01:00

As you may or may not know, the first ever Ollie & Nic shop opened many moons ago in the seaside town of Brighton and, last season, we named our much-loved Hove Leather satchel in homage to our humble beginnings. Now it's back in a brand new colour along with a bigger brother - which, of course, we've named Brighton. Genius.

Brighton Large Satchel £125 (due next week), Hove Satchel £75

Made from buttery-soft leather, the brand new Hove satchel comes in a gorgeous shade of deep purple - the perfect antidote to colder Autumn days! If you love this style but find the Hove bag a bit on the small side, then we've now got a larger version aptly named Brighton. It's available in 3 colour choices - teal (shown above), black and tan - and is the perfect bag for those who adore the retro satchel trend but need the practicality of a larger vessel! The Hove style is available to buy now both online and in stores, and the Brighton style is due in next week (you can follow us on Twitter to be alerted of its arrival). Matching purses are also available here.
The Ollie & Nic fans amongst you may have also noticed that this new colourway is priced slightly lower than our previous range of Hove satchels at £75 instead of £90. This is all part of our new initiative to bring you beautiful bags at great prices, and we'll be letting you know more about this in the coming weeks.

Lay your eyes on these!

2010-10-08T14:20:00.000+01:00

While our totally bargainous sale continues, we've got some fresh new products for you to feast your eyes upon today!

Foster Tapestry Doctor's Bag £60

Lady-like style was all over the catwalks for this season and the trend looks to continue right through to next Spring. Get on the bandwagon with our vintage-inspired doctor's bag - the pretty tapestry detailing and hard frame will make you feel oh-so proper and help you embrace your inner 'lady'!

Zinnia Cosmetic Case £16

The feminine feel continues in our new Zinnia range of cosmetic cases. They are the perfect size for storing a few of your essential pieces of make-up and the handy inner mirror is a great bonus when you need to touch-up on the go.

Agnes Faux-Fur Purse £20

Inject a bit of fun into your wardrobe with our colourful Agnes purse, guranteed to brighten up a winter's day! They make a great gift and can be used as either a purse or cosmetic bag.
We've got lots more new arrivals in the coming few weeks, so make sure you stay tuned to be the first to find out about them.

Frugal Fashion

2010-10-06T11:28:00.000+01:00

Our Autumn sale has just got bigger with further reductions of up to 60%, which means that you can now get an Ollie & Nic accessory or two to treasure at a bargain price! We've paired up some beautiful combos for you to take a look at and see just how far a few of your pennies can go...

Luxe leather + Bessie leather Hobo £50 + Bessie leather purse £15 = a recession-friendly £65!

Mini prices + Callie leather Mini Duffle Bag £25 + Callie leather Purse £12.50 = a snip at just £37.50

Bargain best-seller + Hove leather satchel £50 + Hove leather purse £22.50 = Frugal fashion for £72.50

To see more of our massive reductions, including new jewellery styles just added, click here.

Ladies that lunch

2010-09-23T11:29:00.000+01:00

Indulge in a spot of afternoon tea with some new arrivals from our jewellery collection:

Asaam Teapot Necklace £22, Ceylon Teacup Necklace £20

These doll-sized china teapot and teacup necklaces are a quirky way to accessorise your outfit with some vintage charm.

Delia Necklace £25

And this cute necklace features teapot, cupcake and spoon charms - all the ingredients you might need for the perfect teaparty, enjoy!

Win, win win!

2010-09-23T10:50:00.000+01:00

Feeling lucky? We've got two very exciting competitions to announce today where you can win a bunch of O&N goodies...

If you haven't got yours already, rush out and buy a copy of this week's Look magazine, then turn straight to page 49 to see our massive competition; a chance to win £500 worth of Ollie & Nic vouchers to spend at your leisure - that's more than an armful of accessories! Plus, all readers can receive a 20% discount both online and in our stores. What are you waiting for?!

Have the chance to escape for a while by entering our competition with Visit Scotland. You'll be whisked away to Glasgow for a 2 night stay at the Hotel Du Vin and be treated to an evening at The Cookery School, a Spa experience and afternoon tea at The Willow Rooms. You can also look effortlessly stylish on your mini-break too, with one of our Madison Holdalls and Cosmetic cases thrown in to complete this ultra indulgent prize. Read more about it and enter here.

Fashion's Night Out Pictures

2010-09-14T14:26:00.000+01:00

We had a great night last week at our Carnaby store as part of Vogue Fashion's Night Out so we thought we would share some pictures of the activities in case you missed out!

Luckily the rain died down just before the event kicked off, leaving behind a beautiful rainbow over the proceedings.

Come on in and design a bag for Ollie & Nic!

Our new jewellery in all its splendour went down a storm with shoppers on the night.

Some lovely ladies hard at work designing bags at our special designing table at the back of the store. To enter our competition yourself, please click on the banner at the top of the page to download an entry pack.
As you can see, a great night was had by all, but not just in the Ollie & Nic shop... on the way home we spotted the crazy people at Tezenis on Oxford Street having a good old dance, nice!

Exclusive new jewellery collection

2010-09-09T15:19:00.000+01:00

If you've been in our shops recently and noticed that the jewellery cabinets were a bit bare, the reason is that we were working hard to design an exclusive collection of Ollie & Nic jewellery ready for Autumn. Well, Autumn is here (sort of) and so is our new jewellery! There is a huge collection of vintage inspired pieces, from delicate dangly earrings and quirky pendants to chunky resin bangles and sparkle brooches - we're pleased as punch with it and we hope that you'll find something you love. You can see the full collection in all of our stores and online, but here's a look at some of our favourite pieces:

Honey Bird Earrings (due in soon) £12

Every item in the new collection has been created from one inspiration - the vintage dressing table. The idea is that every piece is as unique and special as those treasured pieces of costume jewellery found on the dressing tables of glamourous ladies from a bygone era. These beautiful hummingbird earrings are a quirky way to add glamour to a special outfit or evening dress.

Margot Necklace £26

Our pretty ballerina charm features on various items in the collection, including this long necklace with a pearl bow and etched heart pendant.

Margot Earrings £14, Sylvie Earrings £14

Match the necklace to either of these gorgeous earrings - dainty ballerinas or beaded love hearts.

Bumble Necklace £24

Diamond-studded creepy crawly charms are all over the catwalks this season - our sparkly bumble bee is the perfect way to work this trend, and affordable too!

Gallica Cross Necklace £24

Add some gothic drama to your wardrobe with our Rosemary & Gallica range of cross necklaces, earrings and bracelets.
If you like what you see, take a look at the full collection online. You may also notice that we are currently offering 30% off the entire collection as a extra special launch treat... take advantage of it now as the discount is only available for a limited period!

Fresh beginnings

2010-09-08T12:06:00.000+01:00

Well, it's officially the end of the summer with nearly everyone back at school and a new year of university just around the corner - sob! However, new starts can be a very exciting time, especially if you're starting a-fresh and moving away from Mum & Dad to a strange new city. Luckily, we've just been unloading a massive delivery of new stuff to our warehouse this morning and we've picked a selection of lovely bags that are perfect for making a great first impression on your first day, whether it be at Uni, school, or even a new job. Take a look whilst we finish unpacking!

Petunia Bowling Bag £55

The Petunia Shoulder bag is a girly update of a classic Ollie & Nic bowling bag, featuring a mix of sparkle tweed and wool bouclé. It has two huge main sections that can be zipped up for security, two handy side pockets (useful for travel and oyster cards) and a large button-up front pocket for bits & pieces. We're still waiting for stock of the blue colourway but you can get your hands on the pink version along with the matching purse here.

Wanda Purse Bag £65

Our Wanda large shopper-style bag includes a cute mini purse which you can clip either on the outside (as shown) or inside the bag to keep your change at hand at all times. This bag can fit an a4 folder (or small laptop) and is smart and practical without being boring!

Annie Turnlock Tote £65

With our Annie Tote bag, you can easily combine a smart style with a pretty colourway for when you need to look the part but want to inject some fun into your outfit too.

Freesia Large Cosmetic Case £16

Fresher's week is an ideal time to get out and about and meet loads of new people - but partying every night mixed with early morning lectures is a recipe for disaster! A good supply of concealer and mascara is essential so you'll need a trusty cosmetic case to keep them together in your handbag. Our Freesia range is compact, has a handy inner mirror for make-up touch-ups and is pretty enough to use both during the day and to take out with you at night. You can see the rest of our cosmetic bag collection here.

If you are starting a new university or school, good luck & enjoy from all of us at Ollie & Nic!

Exciting news & Vogue FNO

2010-09-07T14:11:00.001+01:00

Not only are we getting very excited in anticipation for Vogue's Fashion's night out tomorrow, it's also the launch day of our biggest competition yet! You may have read a little bit about it on the Vogue and Time Out website but here's the official word:

We're calling all budding designers to create a handbag for Ollie & Nic. The winner will have the chance to work with our designers to have their design put into production as part of our Summer 2011 collection with the bag being named after them too. Just imagine seeing your bag in pride of place in all 10 of our stores, on our website and on the arms of hundreds of ladies across the UK! Sound good? You can get started on your design by downloading a design pack & entry form (click here or at the top of the page) which contains a template and all the information you will need. The packs will also be available to pick up in all of our stores from Thursday 9th September (Our Carnaby store will have them a day earlier, see below for more info).

The competition will be launched in spectacular style tomorrow in our Carnaby Street store as part of Vogue's Fashion Night Out. This global event is hosted yearly with many high street and fashion stores taking part in London's West End. Each participant will provide entertainment late into the night for shoppers, all in aid of raising money for charity Kids Company. We will offering 15% off (not available in any of our other stores) and there will be a special 'design station' at the back of the store where you can get to work on your bag design. Ollie & Nic founder and creative director Jane will be there too, giving tips and inspiration to help get the creative sparks flying! We hope to see you there and all the night's action will be posted right here after the event.

If you have any questions about the competition, feel free to comment below and we'll try and answer them! Term & Conditions can be found here

Treats in store...

2010-09-02T12:52:00.000+01:00

We like to think that visiting one of our stores is a treat in itself, but two special offers may make your experience even more worth while this week...

Buy any bag from our Morgan range and you can have the matching purse for half price! This offer is available for a limited amount of time (that's two weeks only folks!) and you can choose between red, teal or black for a perfect pairing. Click here to view the Morgan range online - but remember, you can only take advantage of this treat when you buy in one of our stores.

Our Ollie Clip-On purses are a classic Ollie & Nic style that have so many uses and we constantly update the range of colours so there's always something new. They also make perfect gifts so you can now buy any two Ollie or Tollie purses for £20 - one for you and one for a friend! Choose any colour combination and get clipping.

Bank Holiday time means discount time!

2010-08-26T11:44:00.000+01:00

We truly love those 'Banks' that gave us a three day weekend! We believe that each one of those days should be made the most of and that's why we're giving you 15% off everything this Bank Holiday weekend. If you're lucky enough to have the time free of work, than why not head down to one of our shops to pick up a coverted accessory or, if you're not so lucky, you can still use your discount online and have it delivered direct to your door. We're also going one extra than the Banks and making our treat last 4 whole days! You'll be able to shop til you drop from Friday 27th August (that's tomorrow) right until Monday 30th August. Click here to find your nearest store or use the code BIGBH at the checkout online.

Here's our 'How to spend it' guide to give you some ideas of what you could buy with your discount...

If you're in the market for a new handbag, how about one of these beauties? Brand new in are the Morgan Piped Day Bag which is a snip at just £45 with discount, and the cute Alice Duffel Bag which is a great partner for shopping trips at just £34. Our Hove satchel will be a tiny £76.50, so if you've had your eye on it for a while, now's the time to snap one up!

Prehaps you're looking for a purse? We have loads of different designs, with a style to suit everyone. If you like large wallets then maybe you could go for a Morgan Piped Purse for just £27.20, or a classic Hove leather purse for a bargain £38.25.

We also have a big choice of accessories - new scarves arrived earlier this week so get yours now and you might even get some use out of it straight away judging by the abysmal weather! Prices range from £23.80 - £20.40 (with your Bank Holiday discount). Don't forget our jewellery range too, there are some brand new corsages and cute enamel flower rings in a spectrum of gorgeous colours.

Stylish Shindigs!

2010-08-20T14:18:00.000+01:00

Last night was party time in our shops! We launched our new collection in style with 10 mini shindigs around the country, complete with free keyrings, treats from Fru and a generous 15% discount off everything.

Our Carnaby Street store was looking especially beautiful with a vintage room set-up window display. Brand new scarves were on show alongside the printed Madison travel range to tempt in all those accessory addicts!

The Fru was flowing with a choice of Mango & Passion Fruit Cheesecake or Raspberry & Blackcurrant Mousse (it was very hard to keep all the Ollie & Nic girls from scoffing the lot!).

Everyone with an exclusive invite on the night was treated to a free keyring with their purchase.

The new range looked amazing in our Whiteley's store...

... As did the all the girls. If you came along to one of our stores last night, let us know what you bought!

Customer Shopping Event

2010-08-18T13:36:00.001+01:00

If you live near one of our stores then you're in for a treat this Thursday evening - We're giving all our lovely customers an exclusive first-look at our new collection set against the beautiful backdrop of our stores with 15% off all of it! And, if that wasn't enough to tempt you, there will be fruity puds to sample from Frü in our London stores and delicious refreshments for the rest. What better way to spend an evening than in a true handbag heaven being indulged with fabulous discounts and yummy treats?!
The event takes place Thursday 19th August from 5pm - 8pm. To find your nearest store please click here.

Here's a quick look of some of the new arrivals you can expect to see at the event so you can start your shopping list in advance...

Madison Cowslip Holdall £60, Madison Cross-body Satchel £45, Madison Cosmetic Case £25

This vintage inspired print is one of our favourites this season so we've created a complete collection of beautiful holdalls, cosmetic cases and wallets to pick and mix. How about matching the holdall and cosmetic case for a travel set that stands out from the crowd? Or perhaps the cross body satchel and wallet for everyday use? Let us know your chosen combo!

Paige Holdall £50

If girly florals are more your thing, then how about our pretty Paige Holdall in patchworked jersey fabric? There's loads of space to hold clothes etc for overnight stays and the handy cross-body strap helps ease the load on long journeys. Match it to our Priscilla Floral Purse for a perfect partnership!

Priscilla Floral Purse £22

Free delivery on our new collection

2010-08-04T12:46:00.000+01:00

To celebrate the launch of our new Autumn collection, we're giving everyone who spends £20 or more online free delivery - so you can treat yourself to this season's must have totally guilt free! Take a look at our new additions here and start your list...

If you live near one of our stores, you're in for a treat there too! Spend £30 on our new collection and you'll receive a £5 gift voucher to use on your next (full price) purchase over £30. The vouchers are valid until the end of September, so you can either use it straight away, tuck it in your purse for a nice surprise later on or, if you're feeling extra nice, hand it to a friend. To check you nearest store click here.

We're also very proud to announce that Ollie & Nic have been shortlisted for the Company Magazine fashion awards 2010. So, if you love what we do, vote for us! We are in both 'best bags' and 'best retailer' categories this year, plus all voters can have the chance to enter a prize draw too. It's a win/win situation! Submit your votes here and we'll let you know the results later on.

Bobbie Dazzler!

2010-08-03T16:00:00.000+01:00

As seen in Grazia magazine last week - our brand new Bobbie Satchel is definately a head turner!

Bobbie Tooled Satchel £70

It's so versatile that you can wear it out shopping with friends in the day, then dress it up in the evening for a night out - and the cross-body strap keeps your hands free for dancing! The perfect way to wear this season's satchel trend with plenty of space for all your essential items too.

Bobbie Tooled Purse £38

Choose from bright and bold teal or vintage honey, and why not go for the matching purse to complete the set?! Snap up both from our website now or head over to your local store for a closer look.

Bobbie Satchel by ollie&nic featuring Ollie & Nic Satchel

Colour me pretty!

2010-07-29T10:11:00.000+01:00

We're feeling very colourful today with the arrival of some fab new accessories from the new collection!

Nic Button Keyring £6

How about a bright leather keyring to cheer up your keys? We've added 4 new colours, each complete with a signature Ollie & Nic button. They're an absolute bargain at just £6 and make a perfect gift or little treat for a loved one.

Clare Clip-Frame Inner Purse £15

If you don't already have one, a clip-frame coin purse is a very handy addition to your handbag indeed! They're great for storing your change or little valuables that otherwise might get lost. Our Clare leather coin purses have been a favourite with Ollie & Nic fans over the last few seasons so we've brought in 4 new colours to the collection. As you can see, they all have super-cute printed linings and a little metal clasp to clip inside your bag - now all you have to do is pick your colour!

Ollie Tooled Inner Purse £12

If you need something bigger to store your valuables or money in, then why not take a look at our Ollie Inner Purses? These 2 new colours have just come in and with their beautiful embossed leather they will be a perfect addition to your handbag.

We're nuts about Hazelnut!

2010-07-21T11:24:00.000+01:00

Our new collection is arriving steadily now and we'd like to show you our Hazelnut range as we've well and truly fallen in love with it!

Hazelnut Leather Cross-Body £80

The Hazel folded shopper is one of our all-time best sellers so this season we wanted to create a smaller version using the same gorgeous embossed leather. The Hazelnut cross-body bag has been designed as a must have for every girl's wardrobe. You can wear it for almost any occasion (that includes work, play and everyday!), there's a choice of 3 classic colours (smart black, seasonal tan and colourful teal) and it has plenty of space for all your essential items without being too bulky. What more could you ask for?! Actually, perhaps a matching purse...?

Hazelnut Leather Purse £40

Well, we've got that covered too! The Hazelnut purse is the ideal shape and size to match the Hazelnut bag (it also matches the classic Hazel shopper) as well as being cleverly designed to pack in loads of credit card slots, cash pockets and a zipped coin section.

And if you were admiring our beautiful photographs (it's ok, you can admit it!) they are the result of our Autumn photoshoot which took place in the lovely Surrey countryside last week. More to be revealed later...

Competition Winners

2010-07-12T12:29:00.000+01:00

It's a little later than we had hoped but we are pleased to announce the winners of our festival kit competition. The competition ran in all of our stores and on Facebook last month and we had a phenomenal response with nearly 2000 entries! We picked our winners at random out of the 'hat' and the prizes have been packed up and are on the way today.

The winners were:

Stasca Strazisar from London (Carnaby Store)
Celine Perez from London (St Christopher's Place Store)
Doris Thomson from London (Whiteleys Store)
Kate Roy from London (Kings Road Store)
Tracey Porter from Manchester (Brighton Store)
Barbara Shields from Liverpool (Liverpool Store)
Kate Cadbury from Dorset (Cardiff Store)
Nicola Brown from Glasgow (Aberdeen Store)
Mhairi Shields from Glasgow (Glasgow Store)

Congratulations to you all and we hope you enjoy your Ollie & Nic festival kit!

New collection preview

2010-07-07T10:38:00.001+01:00

After months and months of preparation, the first few items from our brand new collection have finally arrived! Here's a little preview of some of the beautiful new bags which are available to order online now (they haven't even arrived in our stores yet, so you won't be able to buy them anywhere else until later this week!).

Bessie Pleated Hobo Bag £150

This big, soft and luxurious leather hobo bag has had us all cooing over it's supersized versatile shape and butter-soft leather. It really is a bag to take everywhere and match with anything!

Melinda Messenger Bag £145

Our popular messenger bag has been given a colour injection this season and is available in Cobalt, Grey and Aubergine to add a splash of vivid hue to your wardrobe. This large bag is designed to be worn across the body and features loads of pockets to stash your belongings in.

Callie Mini Duffle Bag £75

If you've ever had that tricky handbag size dilemma where your little cross-body is just too little and your over-sized tote is too large and awkward, then this cute mini duffle bag is the answer. Not only is it bang on trend with its plait detailing, but it is large enough to contain a purse, make-up bag, mobile and all those other every-day essentials without feeling like you're carrying your life around with you!

Of course, this is just a small taster of what's to come for our new Autumn collection. We'll be updating you every week on our blog and both our Twitter and Facebook pages when new styles arrive, so make sure you add us to be the first to know! You can also look out for our Polyvore sets for inspiration and ideas on how to accessorise with Ollie & Nic products.

Callie Mini Duffle Bag by ollie&nic featuring Ollie & Nic Callie Mini Duffle Bag

Calling all Beach Bums!

2010-06-25T14:49:00.000+01:00

The weather is hotting up (finally!) and the Ollie & Nic office sounds like it's been over-taken by humming birds due to all the fans on full blast! However, besides bellowing at each other over the buzzing, we're very excited to welcome in a delivery of our new summer range...

Palermo Canvas Bag £38

If you're sun-seeking this weekend, our Palermo Canvas bag is your new best friend. With its nautical stripes it's the perfect accompaniment to a summer dress, whether you're sunning yourself on an exotic island or dipping your toes in the local lido pool. Wear it folded over for a casual stroll in the sunshine or unfold for maximum beach towel capacity!

Palermo Cosmetic Bag £20

The hot weather is guaranteed to spoil your make-up - it's a fact. So when you're out and about keep our stripy cosmetic bag inside your handbag stocked up with products for quick make-up touch-ups on the go. It has all the space you'll need for a few lotions and potions and handy inner pocket to store brushes, eye pencils etc.

If you want some inspiration on how to wear our Palermo range, check out our Polyvore set below!

Sun, Sea & Stripes by ollie&nic featuring Ollie and Nic Palermo Bag

How to wear Florence

2010-06-18T12:15:00.000+01:00

Florence by ollie&nic featuring Ollie & Nic Florence Mini Satchel

Grab a bargain!

2010-06-11T14:16:00.000+01:00

The moment you've been waiting for... the big Ollie & Nic summer sale has arrived! With up to 50% off selected lines, it's your chance to pick up a bargain or two - what better way to look good for less?!

We've hand-picked a selection of our best buys below:

Brooke Cross-Body Bag

Was £48.00 Now £24.00!

Syon Floral Print Shopper

Was £25.00 Now £12.50!

Ginger Clipframe Purse

Was £25.00 Now £12.50!

Ollie Clip-On Purse

Was £10.00 Now £5.00!

Heaton Basket Weave Shopper

Was £32.00 Now £22.40!

All of the above and more can be seen here at our website and in our stores. Make sure you don't leave your sale shopping too late though, our reduced items don't tend to stay around for long so don't miss out on getting your hands on a fab accessory for half the price!

Florence Mini Satchel

2010-06-10T14:16:00.000+01:00

We've just received a much-anticipated delivery of our Florence mini satchel - new in for Summer. This little beauty has the perfect balance of practicality and gorgeous styling details, so you can work the vintage-chic look and be able to carry around all your essentials items securely at the same time!

Florence Mini Satchel £40

When the etched lock is opened, the bag folds open to reveal three inner sections and a contrast polka dot printed lining. There's also a handy little zipped pocket and a pouch to store your mobile phone (we've now made these slightly bigger so that they can accommodate bigger phones such as Iphones and Blackberrys). This bag definitely proves that good things come in small packages and it's a snip at just £40! We heart it. A lot.

Competitions and catch-ups

2010-06-09T16:13:00.000+01:00

If you haven't heard already, our latest competition is up and running over on Facebook. We're giving you the chance to win one of 11 Ollie & Nic festival kits to get you ready for the summer! This exciting prize contains a Sicily Leather bag, Grace sunglasses, Brittany Scarf and a straw trilby, worth a total amount of just over £150. This is one desirable bag of goodies, so don't miss out! You can enter the competition by heading over to our Facebook fan page and clicking 'like' (if you already have done this then you are already entered) or by taking a trip to one of our shops and filling in an entry form in store. We will announce the winners on 30th June both here and on Facebook.

Hove Satchel £85

In other news, we can also exclusively reveal that the popular Hove bag will be back next season in a bigger size and with a fresh new lining print - perfect if you're prone to carrying your life around in your handbag! Keep a look out for it arriving in the Autumn... In the mean time a fresh delivery of the original Hove satchel is due in next week, so if you're desperate to get your hands on one in Tan you can add your name to the waiting list here.

Key Necklace £22

Champagne Crystal Pendant Necklace £20

Lastly, we've also have a fresh new batch of jewellery now available online - including more of our ampersand necklaces, teacup and teapot necklaces and these two lovely new styles above!

P.S. Don't forget to come back on Friday (11th) for a very big announcement... You won't be disappointed!

Winners announced....

2010-06-07T12:29:00.003+01:00

As promised, it's time to announce the winner of our Benefit Cosmetic Kit competition. We're absolutely made-up (get it?!) with the amount of entries we've received and it was incredibly hard to pick one winner from the thousands of answers, so we've cheated a little... As well as our main winner we've also chosen 8 runners-up who will get a little token of gratitude for their efforts too! Here's the run down:

It seems like Mascara is the biggest must-have for your make-up bags as it had the most amount of mentions. Our favourite nomination for the eye-enhancer came courtesy of Jocelyn from Stockport...

Sticking with eye make-up, Lauren from Jersey's alternative use for eyeliner made us giggle!

We agree with both Alison from Co. Anteim and Debra Evans from Stoke-On-Trent that concealer and foundation are the building blocks of any fresh faced look.

There was also plenty of praise for Benefit products, especially Benetint! We're all for anything that can cause such a transformation with very little effort, as Gabrielle from London puts so well:

The votes for the 'beauty basics' deserve a mention too; Vaseline came top of the wish list with it's versatility - Mary from Worthing has to have the award for the most innovative use!

We even had some Gentlemen enter the competition, Anthony from Essex gets a gold star for making time to take care of his skin.

Finally, we had to add this one in purely for the Ollie & Nic plug (thanks Lynette from Huddersfield)!

A big well done to all the above, your gifts will be sent off in the post this week!
Now for the winner... We've chosen Andrea from Ampthill to win the Cosmetic Kit as we thought her answer was sweet, simple and something we can all empathise with:

Congratulations to Andrea, we hope you enjoy your prize!
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Happy Birthday to Glasgow!

2010-05-26T15:08:00.000+01:00

It's our Glasgow store's 1st Birthday this week so we sharing a bit of Birthday love with all of our Scottish customers! Come along to the store in Princes Square on Thursday 27th May to receive 15% off everything and, if you spend over £20, we're also giving away free flower corsages. What better way to celebrate a year of beautiful bags and must-have accessories?

Buchanan Street, Glasgow

The Ollie & Nic store is located in the historic Princes Square - the perfect surroundings to complement our vintage styled interior. Amongst the array of bags, purses and accessories, you will find our team of 5 lovely sales associates (Cassandra, Stacey, Hailey, Ailile and Lucy) and, in honour of this special occasion, we have asked them a bit more about their store.

Lucy and Ailile

What has been the highlight of your year in Glasgow?

Our highlight this year was Christmas. The centre looked lovely and festive and the atmosphere was buzzing. There were local choirs to sing Christmas carols every day and that really put all the staff and customers in a great mood. We were so busy and every customer was so pleased to have found the perfect gift at Ollie and Nic!

Merchant City at Christmas

The 'summer in the square' event is coming up in Princes Square - how would you spend a long, sunny day in the city?

The perfect summers day in Glasgow would be: Brunch in one of the lovely cafe/restaurants in Merchant City where you can sit outside and watch the world go by (weather permitting!). Then, a wander round the shops in Princes Square (making sure to pop in to Ollie and Nic, of course) and then out on to Buchanan street to see if any street performers are putting on a good show. Round off the day by jumping on the subway to the West End and enjoy dinner and drinks in Ashton Lane. You could also pop in to the cinema to catch a late film with a glass of wine on one of The Grosvenor's comfortable sofas.

You're giving away free flower corsages on your Birthday, how would you wear yours?

It could be used in so many ways! You could simply clip it into your hair, attach it to one of our lovely trilby hats or your hand bag. it would also look great on the lapel of a summer jacket. The possibilities are endless!

Inside our Glasgow store

If you can't make it to our Glasgow store, or if you live elsewhere, we will be offering 15% off online and in our other stores all bank holiday weekend, starting Friday. Check back tomorrow for more details or join our mailing list here.

Win yourself a lovely leather bag

2010-05-20T15:58:00.000+01:00

If you're looking for that perfect leather bag this summer then look no further! We have two styles that are ideal for those long sunny days, taking on holiday or glamming up for a festival:

Sicily Leather Bag £85

The Sicily Leather bag is our pick for practicality and style - great for festivals and summer outings. The large main section will fit all your essential items (don't forget the umbrella!) and the handy front pockets are a must for keeping your mobile and mp3 player close to hand. The long cross-body strap keeps your hands free and saves your shoulders from carrying heavy loads too!

Rose Embossed Shopper £140

If you're after something a little larger, then our Rose Shopper could be your new best friend! This summer update of our popular Hazel Shopper features a pretty rose embossed design and comes in a luxurious, soft cream leather. This bag would be a fab summer update for your wardrobe and as it's such a neutral colour you can use it year after year - a perfect investment piece!

So, what's better than a brand new Ollie & Nic leather bag on your arm this summer? Getting it for free or course! We've joined forces with Company and Instyle magazines to give you the chance to win either a Sicily or Rose leather bag. To enter the competition to win a Sicily Leather Bag click here, and to win one of four Rose Leather Shoppers click here.

Carnaby

2010-05-11T15:05:00.000+01:00

This week we're getting all excited about the bi-annual Carnaby Shopping evening. This very special event sees all the shops in the area give 20% off for shoppers with the added incentive (if you needed it) of loads of other goings on, such as live performances and goody bags. Of course, our Carnaby shop will be taking part by giving away not only a generous 20% discount, but also free flower corsages to everyone spending £20 or more.

As this is the perfect excuse for you to pop along and pick up a brand new bag or accessory, we thought that we would let you know a bit more about Carnaby street and our beautiful shop (with a little help from the girls there) so you can make the most of your evening!

Ollie & Nic has been part of the Carnaby area since 2006, with our second shop in London on Fouberts Place. With plenty of space to create a handbag heaven in the busy streets of Soho, we filled the shop with vintage furniture - including a retro sofa at the back which has provided many a weary shopping partner (mostly men!) with a place to relax whilst their other half browses our latest collection.

The shop shortly after it opened on Fouberts Place

As well as shopping for the perfect accessories, there are plenty of reasons why Carnaby Street has been the destination for stylish shoppers for many decades. We asked Heather, an Ollie & Nic Carnaby veteran, on her advice on where to go when visiting the local area.

What's the best part of working in Carnaby Street?

The best part of working on Carnaby street is probably all the the weird and wonderful events that happen on the street on a regular basis. For example live bands, free goodie bags from different shops and the discount we get in most of the stores around here (especially discount on Starbucks coffee that keeps me alive!).

Which shop do you visit the most in the Carnaby area?

The store I visit the most is probably Black Pearl in kingly court. It's always good for gifts and has some really unique pieces.

Where is your recommended place to lunch locally?

The Diner, although I know I shouldn't eat burgers and chips all the time! Cha Cha Moon is pretty amazing too...

Where will you be using your 20% discount on the Grazia evening?

Three words: Beyond The Valley! (A concept store that showcases fashion and accessories from independent designers and graduates.)

Mangrove Shoulder Bag £105

What is your all-time favourite Ollie & Nic product?

My all time favorite is the Pedro Bag (now known as Mangrove). I wore that bag to death and I'll be buying a replacement this season too.

If you want to come and join us for the Carnaby Shopping evening you will need to register for a ticket here to receive your discount on the night. Events kick off from 5pm on Thursday 13th May - see you there!

Competition Time!

2010-05-04T11:19:00.000+01:00

We would all love to be able to find the time to pamper ourselves daily with a long makeup sessions at our dressing table, dressed in a silk gown and supping a glass of pink champagne - but for most of us the reality is more along the lines of quickly slapping on a bit of mascara in front of the bathroom mirror wearing pyjamas with holes in and gulping down a cup of tea.

Well, we can change it for you! We've teamed up with the lovely Benefit Cosmetics to give you the chance to win a cosmetic kit worth £170, so you can say goodbye to your old ways and treat yourself to a well-earned mini makeover.

Here's what we're giving away:

Win everything in this picture!

Hydra Martini Print Cosmetic Case

Hydra Martini Print Flat Pouch

Patcham Leather Purse in Coral

Pair of Ella Sunglasses

Strawberry Crush Lipbalm

Benefit BADgal Eye Liner

Benefit High Beam complexion enhancer

Benefit Lip Gloss

Laugh With Me Lee Lee fragrance

Wow! If you want to be in with the chance to win you can ENTER HERE >>. To see a full range of Benefit Cosmetics you can visit their website here. Winner will be announced on the blog on 1st June, Good Luck!

Three day weekend!

2010-04-30T10:32:00.000+01:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that we are offering 15% off both online and in our store this Bank Holiday weekend. What better way to enjoy the elongated weekend than with a spot of shopping? You can even treat yourself to a new accessory in the comfort of your own duvet if you're being really lazy!

See a list of our shops here or shop online here. Have a lovely weekend!

Letter Love

2010-04-27T13:48:00.000+01:00

I spy something beginning with...

Our letter necklaces our back, and if that wasn't good enough you can now get them in even more letters!

Each necklace features the letter of your choice in a raised, gold plated charm with a pretty pink gem and detailed leaf bead sitting alongside it. They also sport a rather beautiful Ollie & Nic button dangle next to the clasp, making this necklace a perfect gift for a friend or a treat for yourself. Wear it casually with jeans or dress it up with your favourite dress for a special occasion. Why not group a few letters together too (works especially well if you have a short name!) to make a statement piece of beautiful clustered charms.

Letter necklace £37

You can now also buy our fab gift boxes online too. They are a big hit in our shops and a great way to present a lucky recipient with their Ollie & Nic goodies! Choose between the smaller box for jewellery and little items or the larger box for purses and scarves.

Large Gift Box £2.50

Small Gift Box £1.50

What's your favourite?

2010-04-16T10:48:00.000+01:00

With the launch of our first Catalogue this week and the arrival of our Summer collection, we've all been busy compiling our own personal wish lists of our most desired items. Life can be so hard being surrounded by gorgeous bags and accessories everyday...! Here are some of the picks from the Ollie & Teams around the UK:

"My favourite item in store at the moment is the Rose Shopper. I love the handy size of it - it's so big that everything can fit inside it and there is still loads of room! It is a great colour for Spring /Summer and matches everything. The leather is really soft and it has a really pretty embossed pattern to make it stand out. A fantastic bag for taking to the Summer festivals, especially with the x-body strap to keep your hands free."

Rose Leather Shopper £140

"Favourite thing: Roedean Bag - It's gorgeous! I love big bags. I can throw everything in and not worry about it. Love the colour, love the leather! I also have a second favourite which is the Clare Purse because... well, it's named after me!!!!"

Roedean Slouchy Leather Bag £145

"I love the Ginger Bag in black because it is an elegant and classy bag that is a good all rounder. It can be a casual bag but is also practical enough to be used as a weekend travel bag. I like the fact that it looks expensive but is actually very reasonably priced. If I had to describe the bag in one word it would be FANTABULOUS!!!"

Ginger Bowling Bag £60

"I absolutely love the Trilby hat and would customise it with coral flower hair brooch. It suits my laid back, fun loving approach to life. I would love to take it on holiday - perfect for taking a stroll on the beach or looking fabulously stylish by the pool!!"

Avignon Straw Trilby £20

"So hard to choose as I have too many favourites!! But I would have to go with the Apple Shopper as I am going to New York next month and I think this would be just too cute!! (The Big Apple!!) It folds flat so it will fit easily into my case so it would also make a great beach bag for my summer holidays too. Everyone should own a shopper now to cut down on plastic bags so why not make it an absolutely fabulous one?!"

Apple Shopper £22

"I will be buying a pair of Saba Sunglasses because they are like something a heroine from an 80's film (like Thelma & Louise) might wear when she's cruising down Sunset Boulevard. I hope I can look as good in them whilst I'm driving around in my new 1985 Gold Mercedes!"

Saba Sunglasses £20

"My favourite Summer item is the Delicious Apple Bag because I love the shape of it - it's sooo cute! Perfect for a sunny day going shopping around London, for a picnic in the park or for a festival. Red is also one of my favorite colours for the summer."

Delicious Apple Bag £40

Let us know your favourites! You can view the full collection at www.ollieandnic.com or if you would like a copy of our new catalogue delivered to your door you can request one here.

Prints Charming

2010-04-12T12:37:00.000+01:00

It's all starting to get a bit sunny here at Ollie & Nic! We've got loads of new summery accessories, including candy-coloured purses, quirky jewellery and big, bold printed bags. Here's a quick pick of some of the new additions:

If you love big, casual handbags then this could be the bag of your dreams! This holdall is so versatile - you can cram in loads of everyday bits & pieces and even use it for overnight stays. The flowery print will look great on sunny days and brighten up those not-so-sunny days too! Kensington Holdall £50

Everybody needs one of our handy clip-on purses, if you don't have one then you're missing out on a handy place to keep valuables whilst keeping them at easy reach clipped inside your bag. For summer, we've got a range of candy colours to suit any taste. Ollie & Clare Clip-On purses from £10, Nic Keyring £6

Going on holiday this summer? Why not jazz up your passport or travelcards with a colourful retro-print cover! Marina & Sputnik travel accessories from £6

Tea & Cake are our staple diet at Ollie & Nic, so we couldn't resist these cute tea-party necklaces. It's like having your favourite vintage tea set miniaturized and taking it everywhere you go - now, who's for a cuppa?! Teacup Necklace £18, Teapot Necklace £20

Enjoy the sun whilst it lasts! x

A leisurely stroll down Kings Road

2010-03-30T11:52:00.001+01:00

Over the past year, Ollie & Nic have been venturing all over the UK to brings our shops closer to you! We now have 10 lovely shops in England, Scotland and Wales and we thought it would be a great idea to let you know more about your local shop and the area it's based in. To kick off, we've chosen our smallest (but perfectly formed!) shop on the glamorous Kings Road, London.

The Kings Road shop has been open a mere 4 months, making it the newest addition to the Ollie & Nic family. We chose the location because we thought it was the perfect place to find potential new Ollie & Nic devotees, especially with the new Anthropologie store right across the road!

It didn't take long to put together a team of enthusiastic ladies to look after our shop and lovely customers - manager of the store, Mette, lets us know a bit about her shop...

Introduce us to your team!

Working with me I have: Mayra who is the supervisor and Cordelia and Linnea who are both sales assistants.

What's the best part of working in your shop?

The opportunity to be creative in store and talking to new people every day. It's also nice to work for a small company where you are not just a number, and where your hard work is appreciated.

What are the perks of the job?

The staff discount!!

The shop is filled with an array of beautiful accessories (including these fab resin

flower keychains, £15, available in-store only).

Which piece from the Spring collection is your most desired?

Definitely the Brunswick Bag in Coral.

What is the best part of working on Kings Road?

The lovely clientelle that visit our shop.

The windows are dressed with original vintage furniture and the new Spring

Collection, including Mette's favourite Brunswick Bag, £55.

Finally, where are you favourite places to visit near your shop?

The Love Bakery at 319 Kings Road is a great place to go when you're in need of a sugar fix! Also, our neighbours across the road at Anthropologie have just opened a new store stocked with their awesome range of fashion and lifestyle accessories, and there's even an indoor fountain!

These Candy-coloured purses (from £10) are a guilt-free alternative to Mette's

favourite store, Love Bakery.

Our neighbours across the road at Anthropologie recently opened a truly

inspirational new store!

You can visit Mette and her team at our Kings Road store and take a look for yourself at 182 Kings Road, London SW3 5XP.

New favourite toy!

2010-03-19T13:07:00.001Z

We've discovered a new favourite website today - Polyvore. Check out a few of the style sets we made based around some items from our Spring Collection:

It's such a great way taking one or two items and building a fab look around them. We'd love to see any you have created using Ollie & Nic bags and accessories!

Cupcake Competition Winners

2010-03-16T16:48:00.000Z

Drum roll please....

We are delighted to announce the winners of our Crumbs & Doilies cupcake competition!

There have been an overwhelming amount of entries, with some truly inspiring reasons why Tea & Cake is the world's greatest invention. We spent yesterday reading through all of your answers (which made Lucy very hungry for cake, resulting in a panic purchase of a large chocolate gateaux on the way home!) and eventually we came up with a shortlist of our favourites. We then had a vote and picked our two winners.

And here they are!

Anna Shaw

"Crumbs and Doilies cupcakes are very yummy  

Together with a cup of tea is nice in my tummy  

The only other thing that would give me a kick  

Would be a Portland shopper from Ollie & Nic"

We loved Anna's poem because it gives some very good reasons why tea & cake are so great in one short and simple verse. And an extra gold star for perfect rhyming!

Jennie Stubbs

"I work in a team of 8 girls & we love to have tea & cake once a week because it makes everyone smile & take a little break from work, cupcakes are our favourite so I'd love to win this prize!!!"

Everyone in Ollie & Nic HQ totally agrees with Jennie's idea of a weekly cake break - any excuse for a slice of the sweet stuff is a good excuse in our books! We hope all the girls in her office get a cupcake each (but we also don't mind if Jennie decides to keep her winnings for herself - we know that's what we would probably do!).

Thanks again for all your competition entries, we had much fun reading them and if you didn't win this time you can always try your hand at making your own cake to pair with your favourite cup of tea. We particularly like the recipe below from Nigella - perfect for celebrating St Patrick's Day on Wednesday.

Chocolate Guinness Cake

FOR THE CAKE
250ml Guinness
250g unsalted butter
75g cocoa
400g caster sugar
1 x 142ml pot sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
275g plain flour
2 1/2teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

FOR THE TOPPING

300g Philadelphia cream cheese
150g icing sugar
125ml double or whipping cream

1.Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C, and butter and line a 23cm springform tin.

2.Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter – in spoons or slices – and heat until the butter’s melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarb.

3.Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.

4.When the cake’s cold, sit it on a flat platter or cake stand and get on with the icing. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the icing sugar and then beat them both together. Or do this in a processor, putting the unsieved icing sugar in first and blitz to remove lumps before adding the cheese.

5.Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. Ice the top of the black cake so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.

All the new things

2010-03-05T12:02:00.001Z

We've been very busy this past week and we have lots of new things to show you!

If you've ever been in an Ollie & Nic shop, you'll know that we have a lovely range of jewellery and accessories that sit alongside our bags very nicely indeed! We want to bring as many of these to our online shoppers as we can - so here's our pick of fab accessories now available to buy on our website...

These summery silk corsages are a great way to brighten up your outfit or your hair. Available in a choice of 4 colours.

Our first shop opened in Brighton so we love a bit of sea air! And what better way to add some nautical style to your wardrobe then with this Oyster and Pearl necklace? We only have a limited number of these beauties to buy though - so you've got to be quick.

It might not feel like it, but Summer is just round the corner - we promise! As the sun is shining (accompanied by sub-zero temperatures, but we'll forget that part...) what you need is a pair of fabulous sunglasses to get in the summer mood. If you're lucky enough to be jetting off soon they're also an essential part of your holiday kit too. Our range of sunnies are inspired by original vintage styles and come with an Ollie & Nic pouch.

Last but not least, our new range of scarves hit the shelves this week too. They are perfect for bridging the gap between seasons - adding an extra layer on cold winter days and keeping your shoulders warm with t-shirts and vest in the spring.

Of course, we have lots of other new things but there are far too many to blog about here! If you want to see the full range (and why wouldn't you?!) then go to our website or one of our stores to check it out.

Cupcakes, cups of tea and retro cabinets - our first photoshoot!

2010-02-24T22:10:00.001Z

Hurray and pop open the pink Champagne, we've just finished the first ever Ollie & Nic photoshoot!

After a long, hard day of propping up bags and arranging purses we think we have the perfect pictures to set the scene in our forthcoming Summer catalogue. Throughout the day we've been keeping a visual diary so you can see all the hard work behind the scenes (and have a sneaky peek at some of the new summer range!)...

The location was quickly turned into a scene of organised chaos when we arrived at 9am with a van full of bags, furniture and people! After a quick refresh around the house and a cup of tea, we got to work unpacking and arranging everything ready for the first shots.

Whilst the first shot was taking place upstairs, the rest of the collection downstairs was grouped together ready for its turn behind the lens. These quirky apple bags are one of our favourite pieces from the summer collection and we think they look great teamed with this stripy jacket from Dahlia, who supplied us with some gorgeous clothing for the shoot.

Half way through the morning we had a very special delivery... some absolutely amazing Ollie & Nic cupcakes from our favourite bakers Crumbs And Doilies! They were used in our teaparty scene and looked great on vintage cake stands next to our candy coloured Ollie Purses. We also enjoyed tucking into them after we'd finished... a small reward for our hard work!

This was one of our initial set-ups for our summer travel scene, featuring an over-sized floral tote bag, colourful straw clutch, travel accessories and the all-important sunnys. We used vintage sourced fabric in the background and rested our products on an old suitcase stuffed with antique dresses and silk scarves.

It is important to remember that Photographers (and stylists) need to be well-fed, so we made sure that lunch was plentiful!

As the day drew to a close and we put the finishing touches to our last few shots, we all became very excited thinking about how good our photographs were going to look in the catalogue! You can see the finished articles in the next few weeks, but in the meantime make sure you sign up to our mailing list to receive your copy of the catalogue when it arrives.

Ready for our close-up

2010-02-18T12:32:00.001Z

We're getting very excited at Ollie & Nic for our up and coming photoshoot next week! After weeks of planning we've found the perfect location which we think really suits our 'at-home' retro vibe. Alconbury House in East London is the amazing home of Ashlyn Gibson, founder of cute kid's boutique Olive Loves Alfie.

So far we've been busy collecting various props for the shoot, including lots of vintage teacups and cake stands. As all of the Ollie & Nic shops have an eclectic mix of hand-selected vintage furniture, a nice stock of gorgeous side boards, dressing tables and antique accessories has built up in our office - a perfect 'sweetie shop' for us to dip into for props! And if your up as early as us this Tuesday, you will find two of the Ollie & Nic team making some last minute purchases at Kempton market ready for the big day.

The pictures from our shoot are for a very special reason too - the first ever Ollie & Nic catalogue! It is due to be launched in April, so make sure you join our mailing list to receive your copy. Expect lots of classic Ollie & Nic bags, gorgeous accessories and our fabulous range of summery, picnic-inspired prints.

Check back next week for the first previews of the photoshoot - a sneaky exclusive of some of our new styles due in later this Spring.

Alconbury House - the perfect vintage location!

(Image from London Style - Japan)

Time for tea!

2010-02-15T10:36:00.001Z

It's competition time! We've teamed up with our friends at Crumbs and Doilies to give two winners a chance to win one of our Teacup Print shoppers and a box of Crumbs and Doilies cupcakes! To enter, all you need to do is fill in the online entry form here and finish the statement "I love tea and cake because...".

Winners will be notified by email and the closing date is 14th March! Good luck!

Who do you heart?

2010-02-10T16:25:00.001Z

Who do you dream of receiving a Valentine's card from?!

Ollie (She designs all our fab prints!) loves Mark Owen, she says: "I am also ever-so slightly in love with Mark Owen from Take That. My dream came true a couple of years ago when I was fortunate enough to share an elevator with him (& Jason Orange!) at Heathrow Terminal 3 on returning from an O&N design trip. Sadly the lift did not get stuck….I was extremely star-stuck but managed a hello. He was very lovely and smiley. I liked him even more after that."

Wendy from our Bristol shop loves Gordon Ramsey for his cooking skills and enjoys oogling him in the part of the F-Word when he changes into his chefs jacket!

Lucy (our Graphic Designer) loves Justin from Hollyoaks - we all like a bad boy, especially one that can ice skate too! Hmm...!

Becky (our strange, but very lovely product designer) loves Bill Bailey and she has a very special cushion with his face printed on it! Apparently she's put him on the back-burner for now though...

Vicci from our Cardiff store loves The Schofe!

And if you don't receive anything from your dream man or woman treat yourself to one of these gorgeous bracelets or necklaces!

Will you be my Valentine???

2010-02-03T12:48:00.000Z

With Valentines Day fast approaching, there are many gentlemen (and ladies) panicking about what over-blown romantic gesture to make this year. With all the pressure to make your other-half swoon and go weak at the knees, it's so easy to get it so wrong. At the Ollie & Nic HQ we've been swapping our stories of disastrous romantic gifts and have uncovered some corkers! Here's a taster:

I've slipped into something more comfortable...

One of our head designers was presented with an ultra-sexy Slanket from her loved one - yes, it may be cosy and fluffy for bedding down on the sofa with a box of chocolates but it certainly isn't slinky or alluring!

Real imitation Designer gold watch!

Another of our designers was delighted when her new boyfriend came home with a little jewellery box for her... unfortunately when she opened it she found a hideous gold watch that he had bought off a man in a pub. And to top off this generous gift, he had bought himself one to match! Needless to say, the His n' Her watches have NOT made an appearance since!

Jealous? Us?!

To prove every cloud has a silver lining, we were all secretly jealous when our account manager told us that her other-half surprised her with a stunning diamond heart necklace and matching bracelet... time to start the lists of hints!

Luckily for you, we've got a new Gift section on our website where you can find all the ideas you need for the perfect gift this Valentine's Day. With a selection of gorgeous bags and purses, glamorous knitwear and pretty letter necklaces you can make sure your February 14th has no disappointments!

new year, new blog!

2010-01-08T12:49:00.000Z

Hello

We have decided to set up an Ollie & Nic blog - there is so much we want to tell our customers and fans about, we just haven't got the space on our emails.

We hope this blog will give you a better insight into the world of Ollie & Nic, and any news we have that we think is of interest - new product ideas, shop openings etc.

Please do feel free to join in, comment and guide us on our way!

Love O&N x