A Christmas Fair - Part I
Hello and welcome to The Gimlet Eye. It’s so exciting to have you here! After many years editing A Little Bird, I have missed being able to share the wonderful things I come across. This venture is a way to carry that on. The focus will mainly be on the decorative arts - which has become a bit of a niche for me in my writing life. Flowers, paper, embroidery, textiles, pottery and all those beautiful things made by hand or sourced by brands I love. To kick things off I’ve gathered together a fantasy Christmas Fair - online. The second instalment will be out in a fortnight or so. I am an absolute newbie to Substack so please forgive any technical glitches or errors, which are bound to happen, but let’s not let that ruin a good thing. The whole ethos here is about sharing good things, and I hope you like it.
DIY Christmas Decorations from The Fabled Thread, £35. Paint-your-own wooden ornaments for the tree. Restock coming on Sunday - set your alarm.
Bespoke handmade baby quilts from In Praise of the Fold, £160. Personalised with your choice of animals from cats to bunnies to teddybears.
Flower Scissors, £40 from Suwada. Japanese snips in every colour.
Champagne coupes, £74 for a set of four from Skye McAlpine Tavola. For a Venetian spritz.
Lemon soaps, £4 from Pophams Shop. Satisfying little soaps.
Joy is a Rebellious Act by Tamsin Abbott, poster from Tinsmiths, £37. I love Tilley’s Letterpress posters and the oak hangers make them look smart.
Delftware Basket Vases by Emily Mitchell, £205 at The Merchant’s Table. Asking to be filled with paper whites.
Happy and sad spoons £12 or two for £20, by Laura Bird. Laura’s things always sell out - these spoons will be available at 10am on Saturday 23rd via her online shop.
Mermaid print by Theodora Boorman, £35 from The Chuffed Store. Lovely Millie Cowie’s online shop is filled entirely with things that are handmade in Britain.
Feel Good Jumper, £295 from Slow Love. Made from natural yarns to last and last.
Teddy bear hot water bottle cover, £52 from Owen Barry. Snuggly sheepskin and just the right size for children.
Brass birth flowers, £85 by Jess Wheeler. March (daffodils) and January (snowdrops) have lucked out.
Dried flower wreath, £95 from Burnt Fen. Made with dried flowers from Norfolk.
Berdoulat Shop Advent Calendar, £23.95 from Berdoulat. The most beautiful shop counter in calendar form - with jokes behind each door.
Fabric extension leads, £39 from Lola’s Leads. Boring made beautiful.
Personalised stocking, £45 from Patchwork Textiles. Brilliant Nancy made 16 bridesmaid and page boy outfits for me in a month. Pick your fabric and initial. Email patchworktextiles@gmail.com to order.
1930s folk art weathervane, £595 from Marc Kitchen-Smith. A scratch-built horse standing under a tree that charmed me.
Personalised high chairs by Artel Design, from £200. Isobel can work with any type of high chair. Email isobelrosewalker@gmail.com to commission one.
Seeds packets, £3.50 from Alma Proust. The very best seeds from Sussex.
1940s textile design print, £65 from Pattern Garden (unframed). Beautiful vintage prints for your wall. Get in touch with Regg to order, regg@patterngarden.co.uk
Vintage marble paper screen, £1600 from Rococo London. Hides toys and mess.
Winter 25 perfume, £89 from Ffern. Seasonal scents using natural ingredients. The new perfume will be out on 21st December.
Cupid Dresden ornament, £6 from Scribble & Daub. For a cake, for wrapping presents or just to adore.
Everlasting fabric paper chains, £100 for a 2.3m string from Lucky Finds. Pick a fabric.
John Derian Picture Book II, £65 by John Derian. A visual delight.
Anglepose Original 1227 in red, £175 from Anglepoise. The best light for writers, sewers, painters, makers. Currently with 20% off.
Christmas cocktail decoration, £13.95 from Scribble & Daub. Hand painted in Sussex with Andy Warhol’s favourite inks from the 1950s.
The Position of Spoons by Deborah Levy, £20 from Bookshop.org. Levy on her artistic influences from Lee Miller to Paula Rego.
Ship in a bottle, £85 from Marc Kitchen-Smith. Early 20th century three-masted clipper.
Pin-free pinboard, £41 from Daisy Belle. For a children’s bedroom.
Silver heart earrings, £125 from Otiumberg. Great contemporary jewellery.
Cotswold Knit Cardigan, £210 from The Chuffed Store. Good colours and warm Geelong Lambswool.
Velvet baby shoes, £48 from Felpeto. Chocolate brown and handmade in Spain.
Classical Bust stickers, £7.50 from Bridie Hall. I can never have too many stickers.
Wool blanket, £65 from TBCO. A machine-washable recycled wool blanket.
Patchwork pyjamas, £36 from Sleepy Doe. This Bath-based company make the softest baby grows and kids pjs.
Mouse on the River by Alice Melvin, £14.99 from Bookshop.org. Wind in the Willows for a new generation, with fold-out flaps.
Alphabet Animals, £32 by Megniv Studio. I just love Meg’s animals. These posters would be great in a little one’s bedroom.
Marmite print, £45 by Rachel Eardley. For the Marmite lovers.
NICE rosette, £6 from Polar Post. The shop will be restocked on Monday 25th November for Letters to Santa, rosettes, sweets and more.
Vintage fabric lavender bags, £9 from Lucky Finds. Annie sources exquisite vintage fabrics and fills them with Suffolk lavender.
Italian Harlequin Sweets, £35 from Choosing Keeping. Bergamot, sour cherry, blueberry, sage-lemon and more wild flavours wrapped in the prettiest papers.
LINSEED Journal, Volume II, £26 by Louise Long. A beautiful magazine that brings so many creative ideas to the page.
Long Live Great Bardfield: the Autobiography of Tirzah Garwood, £15 from Persephone Books. For fans (like me) of her new exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery.
My Emily Mitchell Cup Runneth Over drawing by Annabel Pearl, £275 from The Merchant’s Table. Unique artworks with a donation to MIND.
Pair of notebooks, £15 from Willemien Bardawil. The paper isn’t lined - great for drawing or sketching.
Make More With Less by Kitty Coles, £22 from Bookshop.org. Everything Kitty posts on Instagram makes me want to eat it immediately.
Girlfriend socks, £11.30 from Le Bon Shoppe. A pair of good socks.
THANK YOU FOR READING. If you could share with anyone you think might like to receive The Gimlet Eye that would be hugely appreciated.
NEXT INSTALMENT COMING VERY SOON…
So good to see you back. We missed a little bird. X
OMG, this is so fab! I absolutely loved A Little Bird and was so sad when it was no more, it was just the best for all kinds of suggestions. And am very excited for this newsletter….