Absolutely Nothing To Buy – bespoke fine art prints

I have a small problem. No, not a ‘pass me the number of a therapist’ type problem (not yet). It’s just I have a teensy obsession with all things papery and beautiful. Cards, art prints and stationary made by clever, creative folk who sell at groovy little niche fairs, markets or independent type shops up and down the UK. Stuff that makes a REALLY satisfying treat for myself,  and rather lovely gifts for everyone else. Actually, this isn’t the problem as far as I’m concerned, but living half way across the world from them is (Hong Kong to be precise-hubby’s job). And so I had to get resourceful because I’m ticking the age box that equates to a lot of marriages and births, on top of the statutory birthdays. That’s a lot more gifts to buy and so undaunted I have embraced the maxim ‘have computer, will shop’. The upshot of all this is discovering that all those very clever, creative folk tend to have their own online shops or sell through sites like Etsy, and- unlike most big retailers- are happy to ship internationally. Ditto their U.S counterparts. So now I’m truly global in my paper and stationery quest (and yup, I’m now an Etsy addict too).

I’ve discovered that a really nice gift to give is an art print. People love to receive something original and beautiful, maybe a little quirky even, and I’m currently really in to the idea of bespoke art- lovely prints that can be customised with images, colour and text, and then framed to create a unique and thoughtful gift for that special someone in your life. Particularly if that special someone is yourself.

Here’s a roundup of a few that caught my eye:
1. Every one of Made Specially’s fabulous prints can be customised and they also offer framing and a totally bespoke service. Spread the love with this Namaste print (UK) from £40 (30cm x 40cm Giclee print).

2.  If your best friend’s dog means more to her than her own children (and let’s face it, dogs are far easier to train) then maybe a custom silhouette of the pooch would be just the ticket? Letter Happy ( USA) $15 (8″x10″)

3. Stuck for an original  ‘paper’ wedding anniversary gift? This 100 hearts tree from Leeds based Modo Creative can be customised to include your own message but it might be a tough call to beat ”a hundred hearts would be too few to carry all my love for you” £25.80

4. Brides-to-be will love this clever alternative to the wedding guest book from Florida based Fancy Prints. The ‘Signature Wedding Tree’ has 150 leaves for guests to sign and features lovebirds (and ‘optional’ nesting baby lovebirds) which can be customised along with the text and colour scheme.
$45 (16″ x 20″)

5. One for Dad – a thoroughly modern take on the silhouette print from Edinburgh outfit Happy Thought £35.86 (16″x11″ Giclee print)

6. Isn’t this the cutest? Every kids room probably should have a ‘little lion’ from Little Lion (Canada) $29 (30cm x 40cm)

7. Commemorate a birth with this sweet print from from U.S based Ink Tree Press $28 (11″x 14″ Giclee print).

8. Adorbs. Beautifully illustrated family tree with space for photos or drawings from Belle And Boo (UK) £16 (297mm x 420mm (A3)

9. Modern Pop’s alphabet frieze is like a little ray of California sunshine for your kid’s room $60 (19″ x 13″)

10. I love this cute triptych from Sugar Fresh which can be customised to just about any colour you like (USA) $55 (set of 3- 8″x10″)

11. Make any mummy happy (and  grandmummies too) with  Le Papier Studio’s beautiful silhouette print (USA). $24 (8″x10″) plus one-time charge of $10 per custom silhouette which can then be used in any future artwork.

Absolutely Nothing To Buy – Moshi Moshi

The Moshi Moshi retro handsets are my very favourite thing of the moment. They’re the perfect back lash to the need for everything small and compact. These are anything but.

In a weird way too, they seem to stop the urge to shout down the tiny mouthpiece of a mobile phone. They make for a much quieter, if a little less subtle, conversation and quite frankly, I’d rather be seen using one of these than any of your newfangled blue tooth options.

You can buy Moshi Moshi handsets from Amazon by clicking here. Available in all sorts of wonderful colours. I’ve got a yellow one and it makes me very happy indeed. They seem to vary in cost from around £21.99 to £29.99. Not sure why.

Here’s the spec bit to give you all the information you need. Again all taken from Amazon.

• Compatible with all 3.5mm jack mobile phones and computers, including iPhone, BlackBerry, iPad, and the latest MacBooks.
• One touch button for convenient pick-up/hang-up directly from the handset (not all mobile phone support function).
• Noise-reducing technology for a crisp and polished sound.
• Luxurious soft-touch finish for ultimate comfort and feel.
• Eliminates up to 99 percent of the radiation absorbed compared to a direct use of mobile phones.

Absolutely Nothing To Buy – Woop Studios

The very clever people at Woop Studios have brought out a whole load more fabulous prints all based on the wonderful world of collective nouns. No, really.

Woop was founded by Miraphora Mina, Eduardo Lima, Harriet Logan, and Mark Faulkner who all came together through their love for graphic design, images and words. You can read all about them here. Their online gallery was launched in November 2010 and they now have a growing collection of limited edition and stock prints all available to buy framed or plain.

They not only make brilliant gifts for anyone with a liking for birds and animals, but their LOVE collection make the perfect wedding presents. All the designs are printed on 308gsm pure cotton, acid free paper which means they will last for 200 years and each limited edition print is numbered, signed and embossed to make it extra special.

Prices vary from an unframed print costing £69 for a small version and £169 for an extra large – other sizes available in between. Or you can choose to have your print beautifully framed for an extra cost – applicable to UK orders only.

Woop woop for Woop. I’m having the Exaltation of Larks and possibly the Parliament of Owls and maybe A Charm of Finches and……