As many couples now set up home together before tying the knot, deciding what to put on the wedding gift list can be a little tricky as their collaborative collections provide them with all the necessities they need. Lots solve the problem by opting for honeymoon contributions or cold hard cash, but think twice before abandoning the scanner. Your marital home will love you for it.
Just because you’re going traditional doesn’t mean you have to, ahem, go “traditional”. In this new series, we’ll be championing our top picks for a gift list that’ll
put the chic back
into shopping and have you crying: get it on the gift list!
A standard dinner set and collection of mugs are highly likely to be some of those items already housed in the kitchen cupboards, but they may well have been quick-fix Ikea or supermarket purchases that aren’t the most exciting or of the highest quality.
I’ve totally fallen for these quirky designs from Magpie. The talented lady behind the business, graphic designer Nicky Sloan, describes her work as having a distinctly British edge that nostalgically evokes childhood trips to the seaside, tea time with the grandparents, camping trips to the woods and an unwavering love for the flora and fauna found within the British Isles.
There are eye-catching dinner and side plate sets as well as marvelous mug, coaster and place mat collections, plus curious cake and storage tins, giving couples plenty of options that will instantly inject fun, colour and personality into their kitchens and dining rooms.
The charming collection includes a number of intriguing ranges with differing designs. Many feature quirky animal illustrations captured in their natural habitats as well as geometric and hand-drawn patterns. Nicky says the peculiar prints offer simplicity in shape but a complexity in character.
My absolute favourite range in the Magpie collection has to be Beasties which showcases four wonderful woodland creatures – Mr. Badger, Mr. Fox, Mr. Hare and Mr. Stag.
Those equally captivated by Nicky’s dashing designs will be pleased to know some of her ranges go beyond crockery, glassware and tins with the addition of tea towels, aprons and cushions.
Better yet, animal-loving couples that include Magpie on their gift lists will not only give their homes a stylish boost, but they’ll also be helping a great cause in the process as caring Nicky donates 15 per cent of her sales to the Cats Protection charity to help fund their work.
The Magpie collection is available online as well as from more than a 1,000 stores throughout the UK including high street favourites such as Selfridges, Harrods, Lakeland and House of Fraser, along with hundreds of independent shops, so your guests should find your handsome homeware requests with ease. You can also visit their website, here.
