October 16th, 2011
One of my loves in life is art, modern art to be more exact. I know it’s not everybody’s cup of tea but ever since my first visit to Tate Modern I fell in love with modern art. Up to that point my understanding of art had been stuffy portraits, sea battles and terribly dull landscapes and they just didn’t hold any appeal for me. My first loves were Mark Rothko, Tracy Emin, Anthony Gormley and Jackson Pollock. For the first time ever I felt moved by a piece of art. I felt it talking it to me and it resonated something within me that I had never experienced through art. 
I know a lot of people like to just scoff at modern art and to be honest I don’t understand a lot about it but I do know lots of it has an effect on me. I am very fortunate to live not too far from the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and have spent many a happy day wondering around the gorgeous grounds & admiring such a diverse amount of sculpture. 
Another favourite haunt is The Baltic in Newcastle which has staged some great shows and of course is hosting the Turner Prize very soon. And of course being based in the North East on a regular basis I get to see The Angel of The North which I love just for it’s sheer scale. Public art is one area of life that I think should be encouraged as it brings something special to towns and cities that always get people thinking and lifts your day out of the mundane.
Tags: angel of the north, anthony gormley, art. modern art, jackson pollock, newcastle, tate modern, the baltic, tracy emin
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September 16th, 2011
Not too long ago we started to stock bunting products which are designed and made in the UK by a fabulous designer, Gabrielle Treanor. Gabrielle has a combined love for gorgeous and eco friendly products using FSC certified paper for her designs which are made in an ethical and environmentally-friendly way in her garden studio in Surrey. The bunting has proved to be very popular and her Wedding Wildflower Paper Heart Bunting is a firm favourite. 
A few weeks ago we approached Gabrielle and asked her if she would be happy to produce a product just for us and the most obvious thing we wanted was penguin bunting! We gave Gabrielle a very vague (!) design brief and when we saw her idea we were absolutely thrilled with it. We love the design of the penguins and the colour range is gorgeous. The bunting will be exclusive to us and we think it will be loved by penguin lovers far and wide.
Tags: bunting, eco friendly, new arrivals, paper bunting, penguin, penguin bunting, penguins
Posted in Home Accessories, Just Arrived | No Comments »
August 23rd, 2011
We absolutely love these new additions to our shop. The ‘Pintie’ Milk Jugs are creatively upcycled from used, vintage milk bottles. Each and every jug has been hand crafted and manipulated using the highest levels of glass-making skills. The bottles for these jugs have been sourced from garages, lofts and sheds from households throughout Devon. They are available in a range of decal designs from the 1980′s, including Kellogg’s Cornflakes, Ready Brek, Weetabix, local dairies, Crusha Milkshake, Typhoo Tea, PG Tips and many others. 
The company that produces these gorgeoius products is an environmentally aware glass-making company that specialises in unique, handcrafted recycled glassware. Their fundamental ethos is to make the upcycling of a used glass bottle as environmentally friendly as possible – to transform a waste consumer container, destined for landfill, into a desirable and contemporary glassware product with a definite and purposeful eco stance.
There are just so many to choose from I don’t know which one I love the most!
Tags: breakfast, cornflakes, dairies, eco friendly, environmentally friendly, jug, made in the uk, pinties, recycled, recycled glass
Posted in Just Arrived, Kitchen & Dining | No Comments »
July 22nd, 2011
A new area in the gift range market we are moving into is jewellery. It’s always a bit of a risky prospect starting to sell something you’ve never sold before. You are not sure whether it’s a product your customers expect or want to see but we felt it was a range we could offer something a little special in. We approached the young designer Alyssa Smith about stocking some of her range because her beautiful handmade pieces stood out from the mass produced items on offer from retailers. 
Handcrafted to the highest quality in her Hertfordshire studio, she creates a range of stunning and unique jewellery in silver, gold and gemstones. Her jewellery is loved and worn by women and celebrities around the globe, so you will be sure to discover a little luxury that you will treasure forever in our great jewellery collection. Each hand-made piece of jewellery comes in a beautifully gift wrapped in a box with decorative ribbons.
Tags: bangle, bracelet, earrings, gemstones, gifts for her, handcrafted, jewellery, necklace, silver
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July 15th, 2011
Sunday sees us off to the Home & Gift show in Harrogate to have a look for new products and suppliers for the gifted penguin. I really enjoy trade fairs (I suppose that’s why I’m the buyer!) enjoy meeting suppliers and I enjoy the challenge of buying the right type of products for our site. I don’t always get it right & to be honest I don’t believe I am any different to any other buyer, otherwise there would never be sales. Over the past couple of years I have seen a proliferation in the number of people setting up ecommerce sites and the never ending growth of ebay sellers, some of whom don’t seem to have a basic grasp of the fact that turnover doesn’t equal profit! All of this brings a challenge to any existing company and so the key is to be ahead of the game with your purchasing and also look outside of the trade fair option of purchasing. I have been exploring new routes to finding suppliers of unusual and quality goods and will continue to do so. I have people contact me directly and I am always happy to take a look and am often amazed at the extremely talented people out there trying to build and establish themselves. There a number of key issues that I keep in mind when I purchase apart from the obvious one, cost(!), and the main one is what do our customers want to see on the site? What do they hope to find when they hunt for that key home accessory or that perfect gift?
I shall let you know how the trade fair pans out but just to let you know we have a great new product coming in soon that we are really excited about and it’s British made which is great.
Tags: buying, Harrogate, Home & Gift, new arrivals, products, trade fair
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July 1st, 2011
Gifts are traditionally associated with birthdays, Christmas and other holidays. However a gift is just as well received without reason or occasion. Some people enjoy giving them just to see the smile on the recipients face. These days there are a wide range of funky and novelty ideas to give people.
One popular trend these days are photo and personalised gifts. This makes a great present as it allows you to personalize it, giving the recipient something truly special and unique.
Some people like eco-friendly gifts, whether they have been made ethically or they use fewer resources and energy. These gifts are perfect as they often look funky and different. There are a wide range of items to choose from, whether it be recycled gift boxes, handmade clay pots and ornaments or other handmade presents. The advantage of this way is that you are giving them something special and unique.
You can find what you’re looking for without even leaving your home! You can choose from a wide range of products in different sizes, styles and colours, to suit the person you’re giving it to! You can even shop through different brands; there are a wide number of top brands and designers that produce great gift ideas and artworks.
Tags: contemporary gift, contemporary gifts
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June 15th, 2011
I don’t know if it’s the Royal Wedding factor but the Queen and her entourage do seem to be back in fashion following some rather dodgy years in the wilderness. This is being translated not just into celebrations and bank hoildays but also into interiors with cushions, artwork, fabrice etc having a regal theme. When we spotted these absolutely stunning stamp rugs we just knew they would be extremely popular. That popularity had definitely been enhanced with Alan Carr’s programme Chatty Man having one of the 1p rugs adorning the studio floor. 
Each Stamp Rug is hand knotted by highly skilled weavers in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, giving you a unique piece of art. The rugs are woven onto cotton warps and wefts and are made from 100% New Zealand wool. Initially the looms have to be specially made for each different size rug. The high quality wool is then spun and dyed using aniline colours, which produce depth and clarity in the finished product. Finally, the weavers dexterously hand knot each unique rug from prepared graph paper images. The culmination of the weavers’ experience combined with the highest quality materials creates the perfect hand made rug.
Used as a conventional rug or hung on a wall for an alternative look, the Queen’s Head Stamp Rug is the ultimate majestic design statement. The scalloped edge design reflects the postage stamp and the hand woven work produces a 3D effect.
Tags: contemporary home accessories, hand woven, handcrafted, living, queen, rug, rugs, stamp rug
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June 1st, 2011
We’ve had some lovely giveaways over the past couple of weeks and people have been delighted with their prizes. This past weekend saw us offer free delivery on all orders and we also entered every customer into a free prize draw to win £100 to spend with us and we are delighted to inform Mrs K Orr that she is the lucky winner. Denise Corcoran was the winner of May’s competition and will shortly be receiving her prize of a set of Nest 5 goodies from Joseph Joseph and Mary Anne De Sousa was thrilled with her prize from our Facebook competition which was a pink Paul Frank bag. 
Why not take a look at this month’s competition on the website for a set of Emma Bridgewater cake tins. It’s so easy to enter and you never know it could be who will be this month’s winner. Why not follow us on Facebook or on Twitter where we run competitions all the time and where you can receive exclusive offers and up to the minute news re new stock and giveaways.
Tags: competition, Emma Bridgewater, freebies, giveaway, hearts cake tins, Joseph Joseph Nest 5, Paul Frank bag
Posted in News, competition | No Comments »
Another favourite haunt is The Baltic in Newcastle which has staged some great shows and of course is hosting the Turner Prize very soon. And of course being based in the North East on a regular basis I get to see The Angel of The North which I love just for it’s sheer scale. Public art is one area of life that I think should be encouraged as it brings something special to towns and cities that always get people thinking and lifts your day out of the mundane.
