Press Release Feb 2011

PROUD TO SELL BRITISH

We are all about sourcing good, honest, British products here at the Little Present Company. It is with great pleasure that we introduce 3 creative artists to you: each with a different medium, but all sharing that essential ‘British-ness’ which is our ethos at the Little Present Company.

Sarah Watkins, founder and designer of Fairbourn Children’s Furniture is right up our ethical street. It was after her son was born that Sarah tried, unsuccessfully to find furniture and attractive accessories for her home. Using her background in design, she set about creating her unique range of wooden items which are based on the Shaker principles on honesty to the materials: “whatever is fashioned, let it be plain and simple and for the good”.

Her carved and painted words Love, Dream and Angel are brilliantly adaptable. Made from solid wood from renewable sources, they are painted and distressed by hand in her workshop. They can be wall-mounted or table top displayed and are available in a range of soft pastel colours (£36 each). Her cheeky Bunny, Gingerbread Man and Love Heart blackboards have been flying off the shelves since we introduced them into our range in November, and at £12.99 each, it is hardly surprising.

All of Sarah’s wooden accessories are made by hand. The soft palette range and integrity to the wood give each one a lovely vintage feel. She gleans ‘real pleasure’ from creating beautiful pieces. Designed, produced and sold from North Yorkshire through the Little Present Company, these Fairbourn wooden accessories have ‘local’ metaphorically stamped all over them.

Similarly local to us at the Little Present Company is Dick Willis’s furniture workshop. We are the only on-line distributor of his stunning range of hand-crafted children’s Windsor-style furniture which he has been producing since the late 1960s. His empathy for the wood and his intrinsic knowledge of early 18th Century domestic furniture has earned him a faultless reputation and a loyal following. Pieces of his furniture are extremely popular presents to mark important occasions, such as a birth or a Christening, and Mr Willis is able to engrave initials and dates along the back rung of the chairs. Each child’s chair is £75 and made to order.

We have recently introduced a range of children’s solid Oak and Elm stools. Each one has been whittled and carved locally in Bedale, no one the same. The average size is around 21cm tall and at £25 each, it is a solid investment in a life-lasting piece of elegant furniture.

We inherited Maxine Pharaoh when we bought the Little Present Company in 2009, and she has continued to be one of our top-selling artists. We are proud to sell her new collection of personalised children’s clocks and chalkboards (all £24.50 each). Each item is hand-made in her St. Ives workshop in Cornwall. Using her skills of collage and story-telling, Maxine has a range of personal and bespoke gifts for children that will be treasured for years to come. Some items are part of a limited edition of 50.

Handmade using traditional materials from blanket, cottons, linen, buttons and with stitched detailing, Maxine’s cushions (£36) are personalised with a name of your choice to create an absolutely stunning keepsake gift. They are made to order with much care and attention to detail, and to the very highest standard. Maxine sells through a few websites, but she is one of our biggest treasures and we have her most affordable prices.

Share the love for our home-grown British talent at http://www.littlepresentcompany.co.uk/. 01748 810450 / 07789 000504
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Drawstring Bags: Handmade with Love

New Product alert! (siren sounds loudly). Another divine value-for-your-hard-earned-pennies present from the Little Present Company.

Our new Drawstring bags for boys and girls: Rocket, Car, Star, Dino, Boat, Flower, Bird, Heart, Cupcake, Butterfly. Personalised with name below the appliqued motif... for a staggeringly affordable £18.50 each.

The bags are interlined and quality through and through. The rope drawstring is sturdy and there is even a hook at the back so that they can be hung on a peg (see image).

Yet another gift lovingly sourced and made in the UK. Not an airmile in sight (unlike the packet of Asparagus which accidentally found its way into my shopping trolley yesterday... Peru I tell you!).

With love
Emily and Emma x

Hand-Made Wooden Stools

Our friendly local genius, Dick Willis, has given us four gorgeous stools to sell. Each one has been whittled and carved locally in Bedale with a skill perfected over the years. There are a range of sizes, the average being approx 21cm tall, is 30cm x 20cm on the top and has 4 sturdy legs.

We have 2 oak and 2 elm, the latter being 'blonde' colour.

It is also possible to get an image etched on (with a burning rod - very clever): a Highland Cow, a Swaledale Sheep, a harnessed Horse and a Monarch Stag. Your choice, please specify at checkout.

They are tall enough for little children to sit on, and small enough for grown ups to use as foot stools. Clever, versatile and affordable at only £25 (the tiny one is £20) excluding postage costs.

Good honest design here at the Little Present Company, and not an air-mile in sight.

With love from
Emily and Emma x

Artist Profile: Maxine Pharoah at LPC

We inherited Maxine Pharoah when we bought the Little Present Company, and she has continued to be one of our top-selling artists.

Her creative juices are working on designing a new personalised wedding range which we will be stocking the moment it is ready for launch. Named photo frames for bridesmaids and pageboys will make a perfect gift for the little helpers on your big day.

On our 'What's New' page, we are selling her new collection of personalised clocks and chalkboards to add to the very popular mirror range. http://www.littlepresentcompany.co.uk/whats-new.asp
Each item is hand made in her St. Ives workshop in Cornwall. Using her skills of collage and story-telling, Maxine has a range of personal and bespoke gifts for children that will be treasured for years to come. Each piece is stunning with eye-catching colours and vintage-style materials.
Some items are part of a limited edition of 50.

Handmade using traditional materials, from blanket, cottons, linen, buttons and with stitched details, her cushions are personalised with the name of your choice to create an absolutely stunning keepsake gift. The cushions feature a high quality printed image taken from her own original artwork, using gorgeous colour combinations it will look great in any stylish nursery or bedroom. Complete with feather pad, and finished with a button flap on the reverse, the cushions are handmade to order with much care and attention to detail, and to the very highest standard.

Visit our website or see her in person at the Spring Fair, stall 4B72.

She sells through a few websites, but she is one of our biggest treasures, and we have her most affordable prices.

With love from

Emily and Emma

More is Always More

Did I mention that we love co-ordination?

We have Boats, Soldiers, Butterflies and Birds, Hearts, Trains, Pirates, Tractors, Fairies and Bunnies multiplying and ready to take over the world.

The artists and clever ladies who make our gorgeous gifts are busy creating new products to add to our existing bulging range. Make way for the ENORMOUS Little Present Company (drum roll)....

Birthdays are an all-year round occurrence, so build up a collection of a theme for your little godchild, niece, nephew, son, daughter, neighbour's offspring.

The themes are as follows:

Pirate: Mirror £53, Canvas £33, Personalised Cushion £45, Skull and Cross Bones Canvas £40 and Keepsake Box £38 large, £28 medium.

Bunnies: gorgeous designer Jessica Graham cushions from £22, wooden Peg Racks £26 and shaped Chalkboard for only £12.99.

Tractors: Personalised Cushion for £35, Bean Bag and matching Toy Storage (£45 and £39 respectively) and small wooden Tractor & Trailer toy for £5.95.

Hearts: get your heart a'fluttering with our bespoke Personalised Keepsake Boxes in 3 different colours from only £28, shaped Chalkboard £12.99, Personalised beaded Canvas £40 and cute pink painted Wooden Heart for only £6.95.

Boats: our matching blanket (£21) and baby grow £7.95 are fabulous for a newborn gift, or there is the new personalised Chalkboard and Mirror both £24.50, our funky Ocean Liner wall Mirror £53 or the Money Box for £23.50.

Birds, Butterflys and Ducks: Personalised Owl Clock, mirror, and Birdcage Blackboard all for £24.50. The Lucky Ducks cushion and Butterfly Frame are both personalised for only £35, as is the Butterfly Delight Beaded Canvas for £40.

Train: our best-selling painted wooden Pull-along Train £9.95 joins the personalised Cushion £45 and Canvas from £33. Every little boy's dream come true.

If you have any specific requirements, our afore-mentioned artistic clever ladies will be happy to help fulfill your commission. Better go. The business drum is beating.

Love from

Emily and Emma xx

Keepsake Boxes

We are delighted and excited to introduce more products from our very favourite Claire Ramshaw of Ava P. She extraordinarily talented and has created a new and interesting range of gifts for girls and boys of all ages.

Her Boys boxes Car, Ship and Skull and Cross Bones, the former two are available in sky blue and the latter is in black only. The Girls boxes are Heart, Pink Pram and Butterfly available in pink, lilac or cream eggshell.

Each box is 16.5x26.5x8cm (medium) for £28 or 20x20x9cm (large) for £38. There is a felt base to the boxes so that they do not damage the surface. Inside, Claire adds a small plaque with the child's name and a few buttons and love hearts.

My children have one each - James aged 6 has obviously gone for the Skull and Cross Bones, and Molly has the Love Heart - and they fill them full of sweets, gadgets, small toys and badges. Never before have I found a present which has kept my house tidy AND looks great.

Feast your eyes on our collection which is due to go live during this week at www.littlepresentcompany.co.uk

With love

Emily and Emma

New Supplier: Hand Made Mirrors & Clocks

Happy New Year, one and all! Here's to a very happy and successful 2011, and a massive thank you to all of our loyal customers who have supported us so generously. You will shortly be receiving a discount code in the post - keep it safe so you can get 10% discount from your next order.

We are very excited to be welcoming some new products to our website. The first is the very talented Liz Mortimer who designs and hand-makes all of her clocks and mirrors.

Every piece is handmade to order making each one unique and something to be cherished for many years. When Liz'z 2 boys were young, she noticed that there were no exciting or distinctive children's mirrors around. Dipping into her skills and a Fine Art Degree, she decided to design her own. That was 10 years ago and she has never looked back.

All the mirrors and clocks are made from wood and clay relief, painted twice, varnished twice then decorated with sequins and glitter, even metallic and glow in the dark paints so don't be surprised if you can still see them when you switch out the lights! The mirrors are papier-mached onto the back for extra safety as this means no pieces will fall out if the mirror is broken. The clocks have all their numbers on the front so that children can learn to tell the time.

Each product can be personalised with names, dates and messages making them fab presents for birthdays, Christenings,weddings, Christmas and any other special occasion.

Because Liz's products are all handmade to order they can take about 14 days before delivery, if you have a special date in mind or need something sooner please contact us at post@littlepresentcompany.co.uk as miracles can sometimes happen.

With much love from

Emily and Emma x