Even more so now in the current economic climate we choose to spend our money more wisely on gifts that will last, and are utterly gorgeous!
well look no further than Sarah and Anna at u.ni.k gifts, i caught up with them for a chat about why they run this particular business..
Who are you?
Well there's an 'About Us' section on our website that tells you exactly who we are, but in short - we're two Mums that have started a business while doing all the other superhuman things that are expected of first time Mums. We are two ordinary people, from ordinary backgrounds (OK so Sarah's background is a little mixed up having grown up in Germany but apart from that she's…oh OK so Anna's from a normal background anyway), who have never owned or started a business before that decided to take on all these things while being first time Mums.
Like all good stories ours started over a cup of tea (Anna) / coffee (Sarah) and like all good heroines - we're both a little crazy.
Anna
Sarah
What do you do?
We promote and sell heirloom baby and children's gifts on our website http://www.unikgifts.co.uk. We have searched all over the world to bring a treasury of wonderful gifts together. Our gifts are usually handmade and one of a kind, and unlike mass produced toys are designed to last years of use. This means that a u-ni-k gift can be played with by your little one, your little one's little one and so on. We hope that most of our toys are played with by children and grandchildren alike.
What are your favourite products that you stock?
Textile
Sarah - If you'd asked me this last year my answer would have been quick and easy - our Red Shuktara blanket!! However, we now have the lovely Susan from FatHenandFlo making memory quilts for us and so my answer is now our FatHenandFlo memory quilt. Kathryn's quilt is made up from a selection of my old maternity clothes, her first baby clothes and a selection of pieces that her Granny and Nana gave her. It's soft and cuddly and full of memories already.
Anna – I am also a avid Shuktara fan...who isn't! We are expecting a new delivery any day! I am very excited! However, at the moment I LOVE the Annafie liberty print dresses. I have a picture of Ida wearing hers at a family function while playing with her Grandma’s blusher brush. I love the picture and adore the dress. Such a treasured moment. When the dress becomes too small I’ll wrap it up with a copy of the photo, put it in her treasure box and save it till she is a Mum and my granddaughter can wear it.
Artwork
Sarah - The Victoria Plum pictures. I was lucky enough to find Colin Petty selling the last remaining Victoria Plum original sketches for one of her books and was able to persuade him to sell them through u-ni-k. These wonderful pictures don't photograph very well, but in real life their colours are amazing and bring back memories of long summers playing in the woods.
Anna – I am actually very fond of Freddie bunny that Sarah penned with her own hands. He is a very handsome bunny that would be beautiful on any nursery wall. Sarah has captured his little spirit perfectly. A little on the greedy side and happy to munch through anyone’s vege patch. A very naughty bunny! Both Sarah and I are mad about bunny rabbit’s
Woodwork
Sarah - We have one of the horse coatracks. It's up in the hallway at a height that Kathryn can reach. It's really pretty and looks like something out of a magazine with her little coats hung on it and tiny wellies kicked off underneath them.
Anna – This is easy. By far the new rainbow makers. I love the way Ida’s catches the light during the late afternoon sunshine. The colours dancing on the walls astound and encourage her to play with the shapes and colours they create. She chases, pats and tries to catch them as they dance on her walls. They amaze her until the sun goes in. Sam’s rainbow maker catches the light during the morning sunshine. He is happily entertained, dancing with his hands, with the pretty colours streaming through the curtains, meaning that he lets us get a little lie in! On sunny days anyway!
Ceramic / Silverware
Sarah - Mine has to be the silver fingerprint charm. I spent some time trying to extract a fingerprint out of a 6m old squiggly baby… and I'm now the proud owner of a lovely charm with a very small indent and fingerprint on it.
Anna – I ordered “the naughty” a hand thrown and hand painted porcelain Breakfast set for her birthday. It consists of two bowls in two different shapes, and a beaker for juice. Each has an images of Ida and her favourite companion Mr Elephant on. I hope she will treasure it as much as I do. The cup is my favourite with a naughty Mr Elephant sitting happily on it! The set is something she can keep for ever and pass down to her children. *Photo available once the item is available for sale*
A massive thank you to the girls for sharing with us their favourite, currently anyway, pieces available on their fabulous website.
You can while away your hours here u.ni.k gifts
Alternativly email Anna direct anna@unikgifts.co.uk
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