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06/09/2015

Why buying a handmade gift means more than buying a gift...

There is no escaping it, the Christmas shopping season has started...
My inbox has a daily enquiry about new products, last dates for custom orders & I already have some confirmed!

The handmade market always booms in the winter months & for a good reason. It's so easy to order stuff online from faceless corporate companies & whilst it's often what people want, a lot of the time it's just something to pad out or to add a little something extra. We all know the type, hair products, chocolate, alcohol. No whilst you will NEVER hear me complaining from receiving such gifts something handmade from a small business always stands out in my memory.
Take my Mums house for example. In the kitchen there are roses from Mothers Day 2 years ago & daffodils from last year. A sunflower from her most recent birthday. 



In the living room is a blanket from her 50th & in my sisters room a blanket for her 21st. 

(Thinking I REALLY need to make my Dad something this Christmas!)

Think I'm biased coz I made them? Nope. I can't remember everything I received for past Christmas's & birthdays but I remember the personalised notepad my sister bought me, I remember the Gir hoodie (from Invader Zim) that Chelle made me.







My sister is awesome & only shops at independent stores so anything from her is really memorable!

The point is when you buy handmade anything you are buying more than just the item. You seal in a memory. You make that gift unforgettable to that person. Might be because you can see the hard work & dedication that's gone into the item & 9/10 it's gonna be something that's got a super personal meaning to the receiver.

You might pay a couple of quid more for something but 70p of every £1 spent stays locally when you shop independently as opposed to 5p when spent in a chain.



My Etsy shop has opening this weekend with a few hiccups but I think we are sorted now! 

As a thank you for your continued support I was offering 20% off this weekend (on orders over £5) but I have decided to extend this till midnight on Wednesday coz lets face it, we are all feeling a bit rubbish till Wednesday hits & we start looking forward to the weekend!