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Last year I put together a creative gift guide and I had a lot of fun digitally window shopping, so I wanted to do it again. This year, I’m putting a small business twist on the list, because I really want to do my best to support makers where I can.

 

Without further ado, here are a few of my favourite maker run places to shop if you’re on the hunt for the perfect gift.

Oh My Clumsy Heart

I’ve mentioned my love for Oh My Clumsy Heart’s minimal jewellery before, but I felt Sophie’s beautiful work deserved a spot on this list as well. If you’re looking to get someone a simple timeless piece, or there are a few people you want to gift the same thing to and know they will be universally happy this is a great place to start.

 

Night Time Holiday

If you’re shopping for someone with likes a bit of a bolder accessory, Grimsby based Night Time Holiday do the best accent earrings. They have colours and patterns to match pretty much every outfit.

 

Print Club London

In last year’s list, I mentioned that one of the best gifts you can give is art, and I still think that’s the case. Print Club London sell lots of affordable beautiful screen prints from a wide range of incredible artists all made in London, so they have something to meet every taste. They also do gift certificates, so your giftee can pick their own piece if you’re not sure or they can even pop along to a workshop and print their own.

 

Printed Goods

Run by brothers George and Raffy Greaves, Printed Goods is a collaborative creative project with the ambition to combine their practice as designers with their passion for high-quality lifestyle products. I want everything. If you know someone who’s just moved, or is a homebody, their homeware is particularly worth a look.

 

Frannerd

Fran Menses is one of my favourite illustrators and content makers out there – her YouTube is a dream. She makes some of the most wonderful illustrated stationery, so if you have a letter lover or Type-A organiser in your life give her Etsy a gander. Her planner is a true thing of delight, with illustrations throughout and some lovely check in activities.

 

Custom Portrait

If you want something truly unique this year, you can’t get more personal than a custom portrait. Last year, I got to draw some lovely faces as gifts and I can’t wait to do the same this year. My portraits are simple and modern, and shared with you as a digital file so you can have them printed on whatever you like! I offer couples and group portraits as well as individual illustrations so you can get everyone you love in. The deadline for Christmas order is the 15th so book your space soon to guarantee you get your in time to be put in a stocking!

 

Other honourable mentions (because this list could be miles long)

 

If you’re trying to shop small this year, I’ve also put together a list of the best independent maker made cards out there too.

 

Any purchase you make from a small business can really make someone’s day, so where you can these holidays shop small!

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If you’re subscribed to my newsletter (and you really should be), you’ll know that I’ve been thinking a lot about how I approach social media and sharing my work.

 

Towards the end of last year I got fed up with how much time I felt like I was spending scheduling posts rather than making things, which is what I actually enjoy. So, I took a step back and let Bloglovin share my new posts for me. It was easy. But I obviously didn’t have the same engagement as I had before and I missed having good conversations around my posts.

 

In September, with my new (school) year new motivation attitude on I decided something had to change.

So, I turned off my autosharing and signed up to Buffer. It took me a good while to decide which social media scheduler to use, as I mentioned in my design toolkit post. But I landed on Buffer because it had great reviews and allowed me to schedule to Pinterest, which for some reason is my biggest social media channel.

 

I’m so glad I chose Buffer for one big reason; it automatically pulls in pictures when you schedule a post. It might sound like a little thing, but I used to spend hours having to sort through images, especially if I was sharing an older post, and Buffer has made it so easy now.

 

The other big change I’ve made when it comes to scheduling is that I’ve started to keep a log of my posts with pre-written tweets. I’m currently slowly working my way through my backlog of posts. This giant sheet has been a step in the right, more organised direction, for me. It means I can easily share older posts as well as my most recent content and more promotional content. It also means I can keep better track of the kinds of posts I’m sharing and when using some super intense conditional formatting. Personally I much prefer chipping away at this one document then copying across into Buffer once a week or so, rather than having to have really intense scheduling sessions. It’s also reminded me of quite how much I’ve written over the years!

 

So those are the major structural changes I’ve made.

 

But the other thing I’m getting back into is trying to engage with and support the content I love more. This was something I spent hours doing when I started out, but has fallen by the wayside as I’ve gotten busier. But there’s so much good stuff out there. So I’m spending more time chatting on twitter, commenting on Instagram and engaging with stories, more time reading and sharing from Bloglovin, and of course telling you about the stuff I love in the newsletter.

 

I’ve been trying out these changes for almost 2 months now and while I’ve only started to see a tiny shift in the amount of people reading the stuff I post on here. But I have felt a really big rebalancing in how I feel about what I’m sharing. I’m enjoying it again and I’m proud of what you’re seeing again. And, you know what, that’s really what matters in the end!

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I’ve not done one of these big illustrated posts in a long while, and I fancied an excuse to just draw some portraits. I’ve done podcasts, I’ve done Christmas movies, so I thought it was about time that I illustrated some of my favourite TV characters. You all know that I’m a big rubbish TV gal so this was always going to happen

 

This is by no means an exhaustive list (seriously), rather it’s just the few characters I thought of first when considering the TV that has shaped me. That’s a lie, this list was much much much longer, but then I had to be realistic about how much time I have, so there may be a part 2 to follow!

 

They also just happen to be incredible ladies

Ziva David

Procedural dramas are a huge part of my life. That’s not an exaggeration. I grew up with NCIS. I think my mum and I started watching from the second season, so 2005, when I was 12. So I really did grow up with this show. I have to be honest and say that I don’t watch it anymore, it’s not quite the same show I started watching. But it’s safe format, great whoddunits, witty banter and genuinely interesting character (enter the kickass lady above) were a companion to me and a background to conversations with my mum for so long that it had to kick things off.

Rory Gilmore

Gilmore Girls was the show I watched (as well as House – ugh why can’t I do them all) when I came home from school and desperately needed to recharge before starting homework and whatever side creative project I had going on. As a slightly isolated nerdy girl, Rory Gilmore, despite being hugely problematic, was something of an icon for me. Plus, while we’re not quite so co-dependent, having a positive mother daughter relationship on TV, as an only child who thinks their mum is the bees knees was so good.

Jude Harrison

This one feels like a more niche selection, but bare with me. The show Instant Star (off of Canadian TV then Nickelodeon I think?) was what brought me into the world of fandoms. I think I loved the online community more than the show in the end. But the fact that it brought me to dirtylittlesecret (was anyone else on DLS? It definitely sounds shadier than it was), then LiveJournal, then Fanfiction.net and Tumblr means I will be forever grateful to Jude Harrison and her angsty teenage songs.

Emma Woodhouse

The 2009 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma is my ultimate comfort show. I must have watched it 7 or 8 times now. There’s just something about it that soothes my soul. Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller are wonderful and the costumes and settings are so much more vivid than your typical Austen adaptation. But when it comes down to it, I guess I’m just a sucker for a great romance.

Jessica Jones

Like procedural dramas, I have a big space in my heart for superhero shows, and the most recent batch of Netflix Marvel adaptations have been great. I definitely could have picked from at least 2 handfuls of shows, but Jessica Jones stands out as a character I love, quite simply because she’s a badass. Sometimes you need to feel a little tougher, a little bitchier, a little like you give less of a fuck and that’s when you channel Jessica Jones. She’s her own saviour and she wears the heck out of a leather jacket.

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Tis the season for giving. And in this second festive post for the year, I thought I’d do a little giving. I’ve designed a few printable ornaments which you can use to decorate your tree, add to bunting or just stick up around any room you have. They’re flat, so they’re super low effort to make and like with my little standing tree last year, I’ve created line only versions for them all so that if you’re in the mood for some colouring you can match them up to whatever style you’ve chosen for your decorations.

 

These designs are all based on elements from my Christmas gifting range this year. So if you want to have the most coordinated tree, card, present setup possible you can pick up the greeting cards and wrap in my store. If you’re going all out, you could also use these decorations as gift tags.

So here they are. 4 flat baubles you can print and use however you like. All you need to do is:

  1. Select the design you like best
  2. Download the corresponding pdf
  3. Print it out on card (if possible) or paper
  4. Cut it out
  5. Stick the two halves of the design together so that your bauble is double sided

Download the star

Download winter flora

Download tree topper

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I’ve made no secret about the fact that writing Christmas cards is one of my favourite seasonal activities. So I like to get on it quickly. If you’re looking for the perfect card to wrap your warmest wishes in, here’s a selection of my favourites from small maker run businesses so you can feel great about your purchase as well as the card you’re sending.

My own cards!

Okay, so I couldn’t make a list like this without kicking off with my own Christmas collection. Inspired by the warmth of the season and some of my favourite things, these square cards are the perfect way to send your love through the post. They come with matching gift wrap, if you’re all about that coordinated life. Plus right now, if you buy 4 you can get a third for free!

 

Annie Dornan-Smith

Annie is one of my favourite makers all year round. Her stationery is beautiful, I’ve had so many compliments on the bits of peachy keen collection I sent out. Everything is wonderfully shot and packaged too, so it’s like you get a gift too!

 

Dorkfeatures

Dorkfeatures AKA Lauren Goodland is just all round wonderful. Her cards are hilarious. If you’re looking to send your Christmas greetings with a little bit of extra sass or sarcasm you have to check out her cards. I wish we were doing a work secret santa this year, so I would have the excuse to startle and amuse a colleague with one.

 

Katrina Sophia

If beautiful botanical designs are more your jam, then Katrina Sophia is your lady. Her cards this year are super classy. Plus while you’re in her store you can pick up some gorgeous plant based prints, so you can do a bit of a gift present double whammy!

 

Clover Robin

I’ve only recently been introduced to Clover Robin’s work but her collages are stunning. Her cards remind me of picture books I loved as a child in the best way, and who doesn’t want to spread some childlike joy at Christmas?

 

Any purchase you make from a small business can really make someone’s day, so where you can these holidays shop small!