Greetings and Salutations!

I had a little batch of these cards printed a while ago and thought that with Mother's day just around the corner it would be the perfect opportunity to add them to my online shop.

A colour variation of a digital print which I currently sell- this card is professionally printed onto a nice heavy 350gsm satin finish card. It's blank inside- so could be perfect if you have a cake-loving Mum this coming mothering Sunday (18th of March, folks!)

Cards are priced at £2.00 and are available to order now from my online shop!

Win a Perfect Tea-Time!

It's competition time! I've joined forces with the good people at Cafédirect to bring you a truly excellent prize. Cafédirect have very kindly provided me with a hamper full of drinkable Fairtrade goodies for my blog readers to win, including: São Tomé Hot Chocolate, Hand-picked Tea, Classic Medium Roast instant coffee, Rich Roast ground coffee, a crisp Fairtrade tea towel and a shiny new mug to drink it all from! I'll be honest- when the box arrived, I was very tempted to drink it all myself!

And if all that wasn't enough to make for some top teatimes- I'm adding a few of my designs to the prize pack too. I'm giving away a large-size A Cup of Tea Solves Everything print, a limited edition Bourbon keyring (not available to buy- anywhere!) and one of my new Jam Heart biscuit cushions for you to cuddle up with!

Visit Cafédirect online for more about their fine Fairtrade hot drinks and for an extra chance to win some biscuit cushions & drinkable goodies!

HOW TO ENTER:

Just make sure you follow my blog and leave a comment on the post below saying why you'd like to win. I'll pick a winner at random on Friday the 9th of March at 9pm GMT**

Good luck everyone!

**Please note- due to the size & weight of the prize, this competition is only open to UK residents.

Cats & Cushions do Facebook

I had a great response to the pictures I posted of my mum's cat, Alfie and my Nice biscuit cushions last week. I've had folks send me pictures of their cats with Biscuit Cushions they've bought from my shop (Thanks to Alex and Charlie at Snowdon Design and Craft for their picture above!) so I decided it would be a nice idea to have somewhere to share all of the Cats and Cushions pictures I had...and so the Cats and Cushions facebook album was born!

If you have any pictures of your kitty and one of my cushions- I'd love to see them! You can email them to me or even post them on my facebook wall- and I'll pop them into the Cats and Cushions album for all to see.

Hope everyone's having a great week so far- I've got a totally fab competition (I would LOVE to keep these prizes!) to announce tomorrow- so pop back to find out what it's all about!

It's Party Time- New Biscuit Cushions!

Last week saw the arrival of my new Jammy Heart biscuit cushions- and that was exciting enough. However- I have to say that as a long-time appreciator of kid's party food I am so, SO excited to be posting pictures of my newest Iced Ring cushions!

I love the bright pink and soft pastel colours of the icing- and when they're all together they take me back to all of the fun wee parties our parents threw for us when we were little. We always had a home-baked cake (my Dad is quite a talent in the Birthday-cake department) and plates of sausage rolls, chocolate Krispie cakes (for which I'm now developing a mega craving) marshmallow top hats and of course a selection of celebration-worthy biscuits.

My new Iced Ring cushions are available to buy now either individually or as a set (save £4.00 on all three) in my online shop right now!

Happy Jammy Valentines!

Happy Valentines everyone!

I tweeted about my new Jammy Heart Biscuit cushions this weekend- and I thought today was an appropriately lovely (!) day to post them on the blog. A few have already found new homes as Valentines gifts- and if you'd like to bring some Jam-Love into your home you can do so by picking one up in my online shop from hereon!

I've been busy working on lots of new designs recently- which I'm hoping to share with you really soon.

I hope everyone has lovely evenings planned... I will be relaxing with my all time favourite night-in: an M&S Dine-In-For-Two Dinner!

Spotted Plus - Fun Times in London!

Well after all of the hard work and preparation- Spotted Plus at Top Drawer Spring is over- and was jolly good fun indeed!

I arrived back in Scotland late Wednesday evening after a brilliant 5 days in the Big Smoke. It was really great to meet up with everyone I'd met at Spotted back in September and to see their new work for 2012 (see Snowdon's new hand-printed "tweet" card above- it's super cute!) It was also lovely to see the new talent which Charlotte had picked out for the main Spotted feature- with my favourite pieces being Esme Winter's beautiful patterned papers and notebooks (pictured above) and Polaroid inspired ceramics by Just Noey (also pictured above).

For more photos of the Spotted & Spotted plus features at the show, check out my Flickr!

I had a great few days at the show- met some lovely people and arrived home to a really lovely review over on the Guardian House and Home blog!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to come visit me at my- including the lovely Zoe from Ladybird Likes...!

Stay Cosy STORM Discount

The severe weather warnings were dished out early this morning with winds reaching up to 100MPH up here in Bonny Scotland!

Take advantage of being housebound today by putting the kettle on, doubling-up on the wooly socks and getting some Christmas shopping done from the comfort of your living room!

To help you in your quest for cosy home-shopping, I'm giving 10% off everything in my Big Cartel Online Shop for today only! Just enter the code STORM at the checkout.

You can use the code on absolutely anything in my shop from badges to cushions- until 23:59 GMT tonight. Remember, the discount only applies in my Big Cartel shop- the code won't work in my Folksy or Etsy.

Have a great day- and stay toasty!

Vitra Christmas Market 2011

My fabulous central Glasgow stockist, TOJO Design at The Lighthouse are setting up a little slice of TOJO magic as part of the Vitra Christmas Market at the Vitra Showroom, Clerkenwell London. (Above is a photo via Someday London off last year's market. Doesn't it look lovely!)

They'll be showing my Teacake and Caramel wafer cushions as part of their stand at the market which opens today (Monday 5th December) and will run until the 22nd of December 2011.

You can stop by Vitra for all of your Festive shopping (which in my opinion is always more fun when the shop looks like a little Swiss Chalet!) as well as picking up some classic design for your home (Santa- if you're listening- you could pick me up a nice Eames Chair for my studio desk!)

Check out the Vitra Blog for the official press realease. Hopefully I can squeeze in a trip to London before the end of the year to have a look myself and see how my cushions are getting on!

UPDATE: The nice people over at @VitraUk have tweeted some photos of the market as it is- now all set-up and open to your good selves! Here's their snap of my cushions alongside the beautiful work of Donna Wilson!

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!

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!

Ideal Home Show at Christmas: Giveaway time!

I'm still working hard to get everything ready for setting up shop at the Ideal Home Show at Christmas this November but in the mean time I wanted to celebrate via the blog with a little pre-show giveaway!

I'm giving away three pairs of tickets to enjoy the show (worth up to £26 per pair) courtesy of Nikki McWilliams design and the Ideal Home Show! Tickets are valid on any one day (Wednesday the 16th right through to Sunday the 20th- including late-night (9pm) shopping on the Thursday night!)

All you have to do to be in with the chance to win is leave a comment below with:

1) Your favourite item from my Online Shop.
2) Who you'd to take to the show with you, and why.

I'll announce the three winners on Monday the 31st of October. If you're more of a facebook-er than a blog reader, you can also enter via the Nikki McWilliams Design Facebook page!

Good luck everyone!

Shake It Up, Baby

I first watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off about 15 years ago during an inspired late-night sewing and making session with my wee cousin, Danni. We were hopeful and young (we must have been early secondary school-age) and the prospect of taking a sneaky Day-Off to have an adventure in a big city was so exciting.

Over the years I've come back to this film with fond memories. It's not just a story about some school kids skiving- it's about aspirations, taking chances and living life.

And with that (and you might be wondering where this is going) I am pleased to say that within 4 weeks- I will be 100% self-employed and will no longer have a day-job. Leaving the security of a regular income and the familiarity of a workplace which I have been part of for the last 4 years was not an easy decision for me to make- while it's the end of one (longer than anticipated) chapter in my life it is also the start of a new one- and I'm so excited!

In the famous words of Ferris (and at the risk of sounding super cheesy): "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it". I can only hope I havn't just reversed the metaphorical Ferrari through a plate-glass garage wall: wish me luck!

Ideal Home Show at Christmas 2011

I had an excellent time on my last trip to London which is why I am super-excited to announce that I will be returning to our capital city again this November for the Ideal Home at Christmas show at Earl's Court!

I'll be setting up shop for 5 whole days (including one Thursday late shopping night) between the 16th and 20th of November at stand 2C81 (directly across from the Christmas food market within the Ideal Shopping section) so pop along and say hello!

If you're coming to visit me- be sure to use the code EXHX11 for a 10% discount off your ticket price.

See you soon, London!

London, Rain & Raffaellos

It's now two weeks since I set off for London and Top Drawer-and it feels like yesterday, and months ago all at the same time. I've had loads on my to-do list since I've been back, including blogging, which has steadily been getting further and further down my list. So- today I am catching up- here's a fortnight in pictures and a wee bit about what I've been up to!


Top Row: Sticking up my logo vinyls and catching the train to the Olympia at Top Drawer
Second Row: Lovely birthday chocolates from my friend Veronika and meeting kittens
Third Row: The dawn sky from the London to Glasgow sleeper train and drinking champagne at Zandra Rhodes' Jewellery launch
Bottom Row: Insanely lucky charity shop find: New Toffel Swedish Hasbeens for £6.00 and our gloriously sideways Scottish weather


With daylight hours getting shorter, and the familiar sight of fairisle emerging in the shops- winter is approaching fast! Time to dig out the scarf and mittens to brave the cold- and a pair of 150 deniers if I want to give the Hasbeens an outing in 2011.

A Top Drawer Adventure

 

Here's a few photos from my adventures in London at Top Drawer last week- after everything was set up I settled in nicely with my cushions (and some new pals from the surrounding stands) as company!

It was great to meet some of my existing stockists and a few new ones too- so thank you to everyone who made the effort to come and visit me at my stand!

Above (left to right) Helena Carrington, Me, Viviane of Goodwin and Goodwin and Laura Spring.

Top Drawer Prep & The Old Cinema

So, after a long train journey (details of which I won't go into) we arrived in London Euston this morning at 06:45.  After quickly nipping back to our hotel in Chiswick we met up with my good friend Lauren who was helping with my set-up. 

After a little while, boxes were assembled, cushions stuffed and decals stuck!  After laying everything out however- I decided that the thing that was missing was an old school chair, for my Caramel Wafer cushion to sit on.  You know the kind I mean: painted steel legs with a curved light-wood back and seat.  As the events hall only had shiny new chairs (much to my dismay) we set about scouring London for perfect prop...and I was lucky enough to be able to rent a beautiful vintage Belgian school chair on a daily basis from the treasure trove that is The Old Cinema antique and retro furniture store on Chiswick High Street.

So- after a few tweaks early tomorrow morning, I am ready to go!  I'll take lots of photos and try my best to blog tomorrow!

I'll be uploading the rest of the photos from my trip so far to my Facebook page very soon!

New Web Home

Ok- super quick post as I am packing for London as I type...to announce that I have a fresh new website just in time for Top Drawer 2011!

It's live now at www.nikkimcwilliams.com along with my brand new web shop!

I'd best go finish packing, so I can score every last thing from my gazillionth to-do list of the last week- and then I'm hitting the road!  I'll try my best to make time to blog- but if not you can always keep up to date with me on twitter- I'll be tweeting and sharing photos of my experience of the show over the next four days.

See you soon!