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Archive for the ‘Just Arrived’ Category

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

Whitby is a gorgeous north east coastal town that isn’t very far from the office and from my home so I love to drive across the moors for a visit. So when I spied these gorgeous ceramics at the Top Drawer trade show in London I knew I wanted to sell them.

The range is called Whitby and the design evokes the stormy & chilly North Sea and the design captures the movement of the sea.

The range features all you would need for those afternoon tea purposes & includes, mugs, tea cups and saucers, side plates and a simply stunning cake stand.

We love penguins!

Friday, 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. Thebunting will be exclusive to us and we think it will be loved by penguin  lovers far and wide.

Mine’s a pint!

Tuesday, 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!

All that sparkles.

Friday, 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.

Stamp your mark on your home.

Wednesday, 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.

Beautiful & Fair Trade Certified

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

We are very excited to bring the design company En Gry & Sif to the gifted penguin. Beautiful hand made fair trade products which are designed in Denmark and made in Nepal.  

The wool used in the making of each product comes from New Zealand and when the raw wool arrives in Nepal, it is coloured with eco-friendly dyes. The beads, sequins etc are sourced at the local markets in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. All of the products are made by hand and the amazing skill and dexterity shines through every product which being handmade will vary very slightly from each other. These items are all certified by the World Fair Trade Organisation. 

Bring out the bunting, Spring is here.

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

I love bunting! There I’ve said it. People who know me well will definitely not put me down as a bunting girl as I am a very unfrilly, uncluttered, practical type. The only things that clutter my life are books and artwork but there is something about bunting I can’t resist.  

I think maybe it makes me think of Spring & Summer, celebrations, street parties and I suppose all of those things are full of positive images and connotations.  The new double sided bunting that we are selling is not only gorgeous but also very eco friendly as it uses recycled paper and is dyed using soy ink, thereby reducing the impact on the environment. And the pick of the bunch has to be the wildflower bunting as I just love the idea that once you have used it maybe for a very special occasion such as a wedding, birth, anniversary or Christening you can plant the bunting in the ground and wildflowers will grow back as a reminder of that special time.

The bunting is all handmade and so each piece will be unique to you. I can’t wait for the celebrations to begin!

Special Moments

Monday, January 17th, 2011

We love the new East of India products that have been arriving  during the past week. East of India use skilled artisans to produce gorgeous hand crafted products which have a rustic look to them. The new wooden keepsake boxes are lovely and it is such a unique way to store all those special momentos from a wedding, the birth of a child or just those special keepsakes that bring fond memories back. The linen covered photo albums are also such a lovely way to store memories and each is decorated with special words relating to that important event.

Orla Kiely

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

Orla Kiely is a fashion designer whose now instantly recognisable prints have appeared on handbags, accessories and homewares throughout her 20 year career span.

Kiely takes inspiration from the geometry she sees in nature and her unique designs are where colour, pattern, graphic control, texture and rhythm continually work and rework together.

We have stocked a number of her mugs in our shop for sometime but it’s her new range of stationery which has really caught our eye this autumn. Her repetitive patterns translate very well onto the notebooks, address book and her storage boxes.  What a gorgeous way to store your CDs and DVDs.

Morph has arrived

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

I suppose it’s my age but I do love a bit of nostalgia especially around my childhood  so I loved the new Morph products that have just arrived. Morph is an animated plasticine character that first appeared on our tv screens in 1977, in Take Hart. Morph lived in an artist’s wooden pencil box and was later joined by his friend Chas who was the naughtier character of the two. Morph just spoke goobledygook but his gestures conveyed all that we needed to understand.

I love all the Morph products but I think my favourite has to be the Morph Bookends as it combines my love of nostalgia and books! My colleague has already treated herself to a Morph Desk Buddy which now sits with pride of place next to her computer and faithfully holds her pen!