With it being November and all, this and next months posts will be orientated towards the gift spectrum. I'm a huge fan of Big Cartel because anyone can set up a shop on the site and begin trading anything from second hand books, to jewellery, clothing and home wares During a recent scour of the store directory I came across some lovely things that I thought would make great gifts for book lovers. If you're anything like me, half of the gifts you buy others at Christmas are books, so I thought these would be really nice alternatives.
Jewellery:
The Mymble's Daughter.
The Mymble's Daughter is a jewellery shop which offers beautiful, Victorian inspired designs. The shop gives free postage worldwide, which I think is amazing, and their products are lovely.
Above is the Sleeping Beauty Pendant (Which is much bigger than you think it's going to be!), The Charles Darwin "I think" earrings, The Edgar Allan Poe locket (inside is a tiny reproduction of an illustrated news page depicting Poe's grave), and the Oscar Wilde necklace. There are many other beautiful pieces on the shop including the Book Excerpt necklace which is an oval shaped pendant of a quote you choose, the site offers Pride and Prejudice, Tom Sawyer, Alice In Wonderland, or anything else of your choosing, this pendant in particular I feel would make such a nice gift. Purchases form The Mymble's Daughter also come wrapped in brown paper and tied with string, which is a such a nice touch. The stock on the front page of the site offers much more in terms of literary themed pieces, so perhaps they are stocking up for the festive season at the moment, (everything on this store is handmade!) The prices can be a little high at first glance, but once you counter in the handmade factor and the quality I'd say it's quite reasonable, especially for a keepsake gift to a loved one (or yourself!)
Bookcharger is (as you can tell I'm by no means a "tech" myself...) still a little confusing to me, but I think the premise is great. Beautiful books are something you want to show off, but having them in piles around the house always gets a little too much, and it seems a shame to put a lovely cover away on a bookcase, If you have that problem and you also have an iPhone or an iPod, this would seem to be the perfect solution!
I've added pictures here of the Huckleberry Finn Bookcharger, but also available are bookchargers with the print of; Pride & Prejudice, Hard Times, Jane Eyre, The Odyssey, A Tale Of Two Cities, and Jules Verne. I think this a such a great idea! You can also use your iPhone or iPod while it's on the Bookcharger - smashing! The store ships product from the U.S. so if you live there you'll be paying $7.50 (about £4.70 GBP) in postage, but if you're anywhere else in the world it might start adding up, what with the item being heavier than your average paperback, The Bookcharger + postage to the UK is around £50, but if you know someone who'd delight in a product like this then I'd say it's not too bad a price.
This is a very similar idea to the one above - a great way to showcase a beautiful book, in this case, a beautiful old vintage book, this idea is not quite as modern, but still as inventive.
There is a huge collection of these on the shop itself spanning every genre, the above were just some of the clocks which captured my attention design wise. I think the most special thing about these clocks is that some of the books have "destroy" or "discard" signs inside from public libraries, so they've been saved and turned into something completely new. Also they are all one of a kind - the clocks for sale are one a piece, so you know no one else will ever have, or give as a gift, the same item. On the flip side though if you were feeling confident you could always make a book-clock yourself, all you would need is a plastic clock mechanism (very cheap), and a book you don't mind cutting up. Either way, this is a lovely thing to own
I think this may be my favourite in terms of lovely stock. The Book Tree Press produces beautiful hangings and objects made from paper items such as letters, printed paper and maps.
Above is the Carriage Clock, the Mail Hot Air Balloon, the Candelabra Christmas Decoration, the Bell Christmas Decoration and the Book Tree. I think these would be such beautiful decorations for any occasion - Christmas, weddings, parties or just home décor, they're so beautiful and quirky. I think the book tree and the hot air balloon are my favourite items and would look so great in any room. Although there is the same catch as the above shop, if you were feeling crafty enough, you could certainly make a few of these items yourself and knock of the £4-£50 price tag The shop is based in the UK but ships internationally, and also sells books, cards and prints - definitely worth a look if you like the items above.
That's it for my first gift idea's sites! I'll be doing a similar post at the beginning of December so if you've enjoyed this or it's given you any inspiration then be sure to come back around then.
