Christmas comes early for Rufus

I received a lovely gift in the post the other day. Not for me, but for my dog, Rufus – yet I was just as excited as if I’d received a goodie bag for myself. I knew Rufus would be delighted – his life revolves around tricks and treats! He’s so well trained now, and so eager to please, that even if we accidentally drop a dog treat on the floor, he never dives in and wolfs it. Instead, he starts doing every trick he knows in succession to see which one will work! It’s most amusing. On this occasion, his command was to ‘sit’ or ‘lie’ in pose for photos: he waited obediently for his treats but as I messed around with my iPhone snapping photos of him looking woeful, the temptation was more than he could stand. A sneaky lightening move left my carefully styled arrangement looking rather bare. I shouldn’t have pushed my luck.

Many thanks to Mrs Twee’s Dog Bakery who sells on notonthehighstreet.com through seller Colloco. Rufus is a big fan!

Posted by sophiecornish on 23 June 2010

we discover... a boutique holiday that you won't find on the high street

When we find something truly special, we love to pass it on. So when Holly and her family holidayed in Mauritius with The Turquoise Holiday Company, she couldn’t wait to share the experience with family, friends and with you.

“The Residence Mauritius has over 135 oversized rooms and 28 suites; large enough to feel spacious and private, but small enough to keep an intimacy that translates into wonderful attention to detail. With a kilometre-long private beach of powdery white sands, it’s one of the most stylish hotels in the world. The spa is heavenly, there are complimentary sports to enjoy and my son Harry adored the first-class children’s club. We love to discover new cuisines and the restaurants were incredible – think London fine dining with a stunning ocean view.

It was the perfect family holiday – Harry was always happy and entertained, Frank and I had plenty of time to relax and our butler (yes, really!) was subtle but attentive. Pure luxury.

We have really high standards at notonthehighstreet.com, and I can’t help but be disappointed not to find the same in my leisure time – I want the best service possible and The Turquoise Travel Company exceeded my expectations, creating an amazing holiday tailored to my family’s needs.”

The Turquoise Travel Company can arrange everything for your perfect holiday, including flights and transfers. They have given us two exclusive offers for notonthehighstreet.com customers, subject to availability so if you are interested, don’t hang about!

EXCLUSIVE OFFERS:

Children stay free!
Receive a free interconnecting room for two children on an HB basis, when holidaying with two adults

Free VIP discount card for two adults worth £300*
Benefits include champagne on arrival, lunch each day, including lunch for two children per adult, canapes, spa discounts and much more.

For more information about these offers, please call 01494 678400 quoting H&F61.

Read more about The Turquoise Holiday Company here.

Terms and conditions:
Subject to availability. Offers available from 28/06/2010 – 30/09/2010 and 01/05/2011 – 30/09/2011. Children must be under 15 years old on date of travel. Average holiday price begins from £1,500 per adult, including flights and half board accommodation for seven nights; children pay flights and transfer costs.

*For seven nights.

Posted by jokite on 22 June 2010

squ-eel for Heidi

It was a delight to see Heidi Mottram featuring in today’s Metro, for all you non-Londoners who might have missed it. Her stunning eel skin bags and purses have been a huge hit on notonthehighstreet.com ever since she joined us, and we love them in the office for their softness, satisfying shape and vibrant colour palette. As graduate from London College of Fashion and Central St Martin’s, she has worked with many of the most famous fashion designers, and continues to develop the use of eel skin so keep an eye out for upcoming new designs.

The perfect gift for your best friend, or to add to your wish list…

Posted by jokite on 17 June 2010

an interview with Nation Pottery

Designer and fashion illustrator Cheryl Denby started creating unique ceramic gifts for special occasions in her own family and friends’ lives when she found mass produced, anonymous gifts simply weren’t enough. Demand for her bespoke hand-painted treasures grew, and Nation Pottery was born. We talked to Cheryl and asked her about her business, and the pros and cons of being a small independent seller of unique, handmade products.

1. What inspired you to create Nation Pottery?
When I got to my mid-twenties, landmark celebrations started happening all around me. Friends getting married and babies being born, big family anniversaries and birthdays… and I simply could not find gifts that were personal, ethical, and as unique as the occasion. I started illustrating and hand-painting pottery in my spare time for special gifts and as the pottery spread, so did the demand!

2. Describe your product range and what makes it unique?
Personalised pottery with personality sums it up! Hand-painted to order earthenware plates, signs, dishes, mugs, and money boxes all painted, dip glazed and fired by me in my small scale studio. Each piece is unique as the design incorporates your special names and dates, so it is a true original. I also offer a wide range of glaze colours so you can tailor your gift to suit wedding themes or nursery colour schemes. I also do pieces for the home such as room names and, most recently, personalised pet bowls.

3. What is your best selling range / product?
My Personalised Mr & Mrs Coasters are my most popular product at the moment with it being the wedding season.

4. Where did you start your company and where you work now?
I started the company in my old house in the city centre of Plymouth. It was a tiny cottage and I actually painted in an old closet with no windows! We built a kiln room outside in the 8ft square courtyard. I now paint in a studio in the Tamar Valley, with a stunning backdrop of Kit Hill in Cornwall and share the view with my neighbour’s seven alpacas!

5. Describe where you live / the style of your home?
I live in a Victorian terraced miner’s cottage in the Tamar Valley. Luckily it retains a lot of its original features and being a bit of a magpie myself it’s full of interesting new and vintage finds.

6. What are the benefits / disadvantages of being a designer-maker?
As an artist and sole trader, getting that immediate feedback and endorsement when you get return custom is fantastic, as you know it’s all down to your hard work.

Knowing my supply chain is another benefit. I think as consumers we should all be more interested in where things come from. Even down to my packing tape which is made of recycled paper, I want to be as nice to the planet and the people on it as possible.

Disadvantages are aplenty too though. Mainly fighting your corner as a small scale operation with a conscience, when people are used to ‘pile it high, sell it cheap’ imported goods on the high street. It can be really demoralising. That’s why notonthehighstreet.com is a great marketplace for Nation Pottery.

7. What are your ambitions for your company in the future?
That the business can grow with us as a family and the pottery named Nation (my 91 year old Nan’s family name) has the longevity and vibrancy of its namesake.

Posted by jenniferbaldwin on 15 June 2010

a belated birthday celebration!

We hit the grand old age of four at the beginning of April, and finally found some time to have a good old knees up later on in May. And now we’ve finally got round to getting some photos on the blog! It’s enormously busy here right now but we definitely wanted to share this photo with you.

As a birthday gift, Home sent us ALL a shopper bag, personalised with our name and year of birth! Such a brilliant idea and coming in extremely useful. There are so many of us in the office now that we couldn’t all fit into this photo but rest assured we were clutching our bags happily, even the boys! We also each found a delicious chocolate letter inside. And coupled with some divine cupcakes from soon-to-be-a-partner, Rachel’s Kitchen, and some fizz, our sugar rush sent us rather excitedly on our way for an evening at the pub. We ventured a little further than our usual haunt, and discovered a wonderful little pub in Barnes called the Brown Dog. It was one of those rare gorgeously warm sunny evenings and we monopolised the pub garden til we were sent inside for being a bit noisy. The sign of a good evening! What a lovely birthday indeed, with a big thanks for all who arranged it and kindly gave treats.

Posted by jokite on 15 June 2010

hey baby!

Like most people, we’re always gushing over anything baby-related, which is why we felt we had to share these pictures of two of the cutest babies ever wearing products from notonthehighstreet.com. One of our sellers Manuka Baby, who sells Merino wool and pure organic cotton clothing, bedding, and sleepwear, sent us in some of their gorgeous range to try out.

Six month old Petra is wearing the Layered Warmth Honeycomb Merino Wool Vest, which is available in three different sizes, from newborn to one year old. The vest is woven in a honeycomb pattern from super-soft 100% pure New Zealand Merino wool. Merino wool is said to help your baby to regulate their temperature – keeping them neither too hot, nor too cool!

Another of our favourites from the Manuka Baby range is the Sleepsac. Unfortunately it is baby-sized (it would really come in handy for power naps at your desk) so we asked another of our little friends, ten month old Christine, to try it out for us.

Perfect for traveling, this little sleeper allows you to quietly transfer your little one from the car-seat to pram to cot, and they’ll be none the wiser. Also made from Merino wool, the Sleepsac will fit your baby from newborn to two years old.

Posted by jenniferbaldwin on 08 June 2010

twelve brilliant Father's Day gifts

If your dad is like mine, whenever you ask him what gift he might like, he’ll claim that he has everything he needs already and only wants gifts that he can eat. So I do quite a lot of baking. But always one for a challenge, I am convinced that the perfect gift for him is out there; it’s not edible, it’s impressive and it’ll make him rather chuffed. So along the way this year I’ve discovered a number of brilliant new Father’s Day gifts that it seemed wasteful not to share (and my dad hates waste):

FOR THE DAD WHO’S A BIT SENTIMENTAL

A cube photo frame is a perfect token gift that you can fill with photographs of family and friends. It works great with black and white photos – and it’s easy to create a story if you choose photos from one event. If you’re pushing the boat out, this personalised heroes sign is brilliant – choose three of his heroes and get an original piece of art made for him.

FOR THE DAD WHO HATES FUSS

A clock is a lovely gift to give, and one that you know will come in useful. This rev counter clock is perfect for sitting on a desk and looking cool.

FOR THE DAD WHO APPRECIATES FINE FOOD

A deliciously stylish set of olive oils that look brilliant and won’t break the bank. We’ve sampled them in the office and they are delicious indeed.

FOR THE DAD WHO LOVES GADGETS

Not a traditional gadget, but definitely something to get out to entertain guests! This hot stone grill is a brilliant alternative to BBQs.

FOR THE DAD WITH A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOUR

This ‘No dancing dads’ print is just brilliant.

FOR THE DAD WHO LIKES A PRACTICAL GIFT

A good set of knives is an essential for any kitchen, and this set from Japan is an affordable gift that will impress. Only get these for him if he’s the kind of dad to take good care of them as they do need a bit of maintenance. But for some dads that is part of the fun.

FOR THE DAD WHO PUTS FOOTBALL ABOVE ANYTHING ELSE

You can’t get better than this England Vs Germany vintage sign. Or a Keep Calm and Carry On England poster is a very apt gift for the months ahead!

FOR THE DAD WHO LOVES CHEESE

This sturdy, unique slate cheeseboard will stand the test of time and make eating cheese even more enjoyable (if that’s possible).

FOR THE DAD WHO’S HIPPER THAN YOU

If he’s hip, and he loves tea, these great british teapots are fantastic – choose from iconic british brands marmite, tate and lyle or colman’s mustard. Or if he’s not a tea fan, a poster is a great gift, and these retro film illustrations are rather stunning – there’s 12 films to choose from. Finally, vintage bus blinds make a brilliant style statement, and a sentimental one too if you can find a destination to suit.

So many ideas, and only one Father’s Day.

Posted by jokite on 04 June 2010

über-cool office space for Retrophenia

Well it goes without saying that we wouldn’t expect anything less from Retrophenia! But it is great to finally see the shots of their new office, showcasing their wonderful range of retro furniture and home accessories, shown off in their full glory. It’s great inspiration for creating an office space at home too, and for cool gift ideas for hip dads this Father’s Day.

Posted by jokite on 02 June 2010