Let's Hear it for the Boys: Festive Gift Guide 2011

One of the reasons that I love taking my work to shows and fairs is the fact that it's a great opportunity to speak to my customers and get their feedback on my designs. One thing that stood out at the Ideal Home Show was that lots of folks were buying my Bourbon Cushions as gifts for the boys in their lives!

So- I've decided to put together a gift guide of things that would make great presents for your special chap this Christmas:

1. Chaos Theory Print by John Alan Birch (£8.00) A Giclee print from an original illustration of an Old Icey. It's slogan reads, "Without Ice-Cream There Would Be Only Darkness and Chaos". Brilliant.

2. Bourbon Biscuit Cushion by Myself (£30.00) Hand-Printed giant version of the biscuit-tin favourite.

3. Geometric Circle Scarf by Hilary Grant (£46.00) Super cosy lambswool circle scarf (also available in Magenta/Oatmeal or Cornflower/Coral)

4. Homework Pencil Box by Present and Correct (£24.50) Old fashioned pencil box with new-fangled laser-etched designs decorating its lid.

5. Secret Agents I Met and Liked Notebook by Archie Grand (€11.95) One of a plethora of coloured notebooks with neat round edges and Witty titles detailing different people you may meet, and like.

6. Box Pattern Leather Wallet by Backerton on Etsy (£24.42) Hand-stitched leather wallet with a nice box-inspired pattern printed on one side- I do like a bit of geometry in pattern!

I hope everyone's enjoying the Festive season so far- stay cosy! I can't believe it'll be December tomorrow...argh! You can buy both Hilary Grant's lovely scarves and my cushions at Bunty and Bella's Boutique bash here in Dundee this Sunday.

All product images belong to those as noted above.

Shop Handmade: Bunty & Bella's Boutique Bash

After I missed being part of the last Boutique Bash (have a look at the beautiful photos here) I am so excited to be part of the next Bunty and Bella extravaganza at the Maggie's Centre in Dundee this Sunday the 4th of December from 1pm - 3pm. It's FREE to attend- and a great chance to do some of your Christmas gift-shopping straight from your local designers. I'll be there, cushions in tow, along with Hilary Grant, Yoke, Lovely Pigeon, Claire McVinnie and loads more fabulous Dundee-local makers.

Maggie's Dundee is a really beautiful building- and if you've not been it's definitely worth a trip! You can find it- here.

If you're feeling creative you can also come along the Festive Printing Workshop to carve your own stamps- perfect for personalising gift-wrapping and making your own cards this Christmas. It's £20 to attend the workshop- which includes all of your materials, tuition AND homemade cake AND tea/coffee- which sounds like a totally perfect afternoon to me! (In fact, if I disappear from my stall at the fair...you'll probably find me here!)

Getting Festive at Say No To Plastic

After a whole week zooming around London it's great to be back on home turf in bonny (rainy) Scotland!

It's been a busy few days catching back with everything that I've missed whilst being away- and I've been very lucky to be offered a stall at this Sunday's (the 27th of November) Say No To Plastic Craft and Vintage Sale at Oran Mor on Byres Road in Glasgow.

I'll be in good company alongside fellow Scottish maker and twitter pal Miso Funky, as well as We Are the Robots and Peony and Thistle

To celebrate being north of the border again, I'm giving a 10% discount to anyone who shops with me at the fair on Sunday. Just snap a screen-shot of the voucher below on your phone (iPhone peeps: use home button + lock button- not sure how you'd do this on other handsets) or just print it out and bring it along with you. The discount is valid on my range of cushions purchased only at Say Not To Plastic on the 27th of November- so get yourself down to Byre's road to shop hand-made this Christmas!

And if you weren't already in the Christmas mood- here's a wee tune (by the master of movie soundtracks John Williams) from one of my favourite Christmas movies of all time: Home Alone! See you Sunday peeps!

A Day in the Life

I thought I'd do a visual Day in the Life blog post this time- so I took a few photos to mark my day at the Ideal Home Show at Earl's court.

Nikki McWilliams at the Ideal Home show at Christmas

If you've been following my blog over the last few weeks you'll probably have guessed that by now I have set up shop for the week at Earl's Court exhibition centre in London for the Ideal Home Christmas show!

It's taken a lot of planning but with a little help from friends and family it's all come together nicely! I'm really pleased with my stand and it's actually a bit scary how close it is to my original plan sketch- but what can I say- I do like being organised! My very talented friend Lauren Gentry did my pretty chalkboard price list- I love it!

Today was the first day- there were absolutely loads of people in and I had a really fab response from those who stopped by my stand- favourites of the day were definitely the Caramel Wafer and my Custard Cream.

We'll be open tomorrow for late night shopping from 10am until 9pm (and then 10am - 6pm thereafter) so if you're in the area and you'd like to swing by, say hello and hug your favourite biscuit, please do! I'll be at Stand 2C81- upstairs in the shopping section!

Ideal Home Show at Christmas: an exciting update!

With only a few days before I leave for London to set up shop at this year's Ideal Home Show at Christmas- I'm all prepared and starting to get properly excited about a week in the capital city at what is shaping up to be a super-festive show!

I've been lucky enough to have had my cushions selected as one of the show's Top Gifts: they'll be featured in a special display at the entrance of the show- which is a really fabulous opportunity! I've also been asked to contribute cushions to the show's famously inspiring Room Sets- along with Top Drawer friends Goodwin + Goodwin and Design Bark.

I wanted to share this time lapse video of the build-up of last year's show- the transformation from empty space to the show in it's finished state is truly incredible!

If you're in London between the 16th and 20th of November- pop along and say hello! I'm travelling down for preparations this Monday- so you can keep up with me while I'm on the road via twitter and instagram.

Last Christmas Posting Dates 2011

With the nights drawing in and the Scottish air getting cooler every day I can't believe how quickly the Festive Season is approaching us!

So without more ado, here are the last Christmas posting dates for 2011 for all orders from my Online Shop (Etsy and Folksy included): please ensure that you order before these dates to make sure your biscuity goodies arrive in time for gift-giving!

Last International orders: Friday 2nd December

Last UK orders: Wednesday 14th of December

With last year's winter weather and subsequent postal delays in mind I would of course recommend that orders are placed ASAP to avoid disappointment.

AWOB (Absent With Out Blogging)

Night owls- I've been super busy and therefore a bit absent from the blogosphere- so here's a wee video (it was made entirely using my phone- filmed and edited- so don't judge!) of what I've been up to- for those who are interested! With only 8 days until we leave for London for the Ideal Home show- I'll be doing a lot more of this in the days ahead- it's cushions-a-go-go here!

Enjoy!

p.s- It's stated at the end of the video- but music is by Frightened Rabbit- they're pretty great, I think!