Zinnia, as all you gardening buffs will know, is the name of a flower, and it's one that we rather like. Being the old romantics we are, we believe the giving and receiving of flowers - and other gifts - is a good thing. Gifts are what we are about; more specifically, Zinnia brings you gorgeous gifts and precious pressies to treasure - all from Egypt. These include:

1. Suede and leather shoes and boots in 30 colour combinations
2. Suede and leather hats, gloves and belts
3. Suede and leather handbags
4. Fair Trade Egyptian cotton scarves

In Egypt, people like vibrant colours and so we bring you shoes and accessories in 8-10 bright colours per style. They also like soft rich natural materials such as the world famous Egyptian cotton which is what our fair trade scarves and wraps are made of.

Because we make our products (shoes, boots, handbags, hats, gloves and belts) from the same high quality goat and beef leather using the same shades of colour, we give you the opportunity to mix and match your shoes with your belts, your hats with your handbags, your gloves with your hats etc. etc. etc.

We offer high quality products made from natural materials at a competitive price.

The materials used are, on the whole, not heavily processed and local textile manufacturing has negligible effect on the environment. Some of the skills employed in making scarves bags and footwear go back centuries.

When it comes to taste and style Zinnia acts as a bridge between European markets and the Egyptian artisans and manufacturers. We tell them what people here like, and they adapt local materials, well established production processes and ancient crafts to produce their own unique blend of the two.

Zinnia adopts ethical trading principles in dealing with its suppliers. This is what we do:

1. We work with manufacturers who employ adult workforce, work in a healthy environment and pay fair wages
2. We buy our own leather from reputable tanners in Egypt to ensure high quality of material and manufacturing processes
3. We pay for our products up front in local currency so that our suppliers are not at the mercy of currency fluctuations
4. We endeavour to use recycled materials in our packaging and shipping

Just because we conduct our business through a website, please don't feel that you cannot talk to us. We take pleasure in meeting and talking to people, so please feel free to email, ring or write to us with your comments: only by receiving your feedback we can learn what we are doing right and what we need to do better and that would in the long term help us both. So why not join our mailing list?

Happy shopping!