If in doubt, buy a candle or something beautiful for their home… I won’t say no to either of these things! We have some amazing home brands in Milton Keynes that create beautiful pieces. We’re all likely to know a home bird or someone who has recently moved into a new house, so in this gift guide, you’ll find beautiful gifts to make a house a home.
Homeware & Candles Gift Ideas
- Carly’s Candle Company
- CH Resin Design
- CuteMaps
- Flat102
- Gift.ed
- Marc Davies Bespoke Interiors
- Nutmeg Studio
- Outhouse By Hand
- The Crone’s Cabin
This guide is part of Sophie etc.’s Independent Milton Keynes Christmas Gift Guide 2022. Businesses have paid to feature in the guides, but the guide has been entirely curated by Sophie. We hope it inspires you to shop small this Christmas! Every effort has been taken to ensure the information in this blog post is correct. Please refer directly to vendor websites and social media pages for the most up-to-date information for Christmas delivery and products. If you do see an error, please email blog@sophieetc.com.
Carly’s Candle Company
Carly’s Candle Company was born in 2019 whilst on Carly was on maternity leave with her little boy. She wanted to create home fragrances that she knew were a much safer option to burn and have in the house with such a delicate baby. Three years on with baby number two, Carly has been featured in national magazines, been a finalist for Women in Business Awards 2021 and won SME business awards for Milton Keynes and Bucks 2022 for Sustainability. The business has grown from strength to strength over the last few and she now offers candles in three different sizes, a refillable candle option, reed diffusers, wax melts and a range of gift sets.
Candles are a wonderful gift for yourself, your home or your loved one. Carly’s Candles come in a range of gorgeous seasonal scents. She also has refills for your candles, so when you finish the jar, simply order your refill, pop it in the jar and away you go.
Buy candles from Carly’s Candle Company online.
Follow @_carlys_candle_company_ on Instagram | Follow Carlys Candle Company on Facebook.
CH Resin Design
Like many small creative businesses, CH Resin Design was born during the first lockdown. Chloe is very much the type of person who gets inspired when thinking of ways to create one-of-a-kind items, especially when those items are hard to come by. She recalls having a specific style of tray in mind for her own style, but could she find that anywhere on the high streets? No. She poured her first piece in April of 2019 and that was it, she’s been making colourful resin homeware pieces ever since.
They say when you love something, you pour yourself into it, but with Chloe, that’s literal. She hand-pours each item, from coasters to serving boards and even smaller jewellery pieces. Each and every piece is created with care and poured with love in Milton Keynes. She prides herself on my ability to create items that are 100% unique.
CH Resin Design offers a plethora of items, but some of Chloe’s favourites are Resin Coasters and Seascape Serving Boards, perfect for adding a unique touch to your home. Custom engraving is available on all serving boards, making them the most unique Christmas gift you could give!
Use code SOPHIESCHRISTMAS for 10% off of your order online during this festive period!
Buy CH Resin Design products online.
Follow @chresindesign on Instagram | Follow CH Resin Design on Facebook.
CuteMaps
CuteMaps is a local illustration business providing bespoke map designs and curating a local gift collection since 2010. It is run by Sheree who enjoys a studio at the aptly cute Milton Keynes Arts Centre at Linford Manor. She has designed public map and mural projects around the city, including projects installed in Redhouse Park, Wolverton, MK Village, Castlethorpe and the city centre.
Last year, Sheree was commissioned to design the full Milton Keynes Borough map that was sent to the Queen for the successful city bid. This design displays the full MK area beyond Olney to the north and down to Woburn Sands in the south. It is now available in the Cute Maps Christmas collection as a mounted print (from £18) and tea towel (£11) : the ideal gift for MK newcomers, MK lovers or map lovers keen to explore. The gift collection also includes notebooks, t-shirts, cushions, magnets, cards, MK Christmas decorations and designs of nearby regions including Aylesbury Vale and South Northamptonshire.
Visit the CuteMaps website to browse the range.
Follow @cutemapsmk on Instagram | Follow CuteMaps on Facebook.
Flat102
Flat 102 is run by small business champion, Steph, who is part of the team behind The Indie Collective. Steph screen prints and designs bright and cheerful home decor which brings a good dose of positivity to your home. She also has a fantastic Christmas range including cushions, banners and baubles.
This beautiful wooden Christmas countdown sign is such a fun way to count down the number of sleeps until the big day! A great alternative or addition to a traditional advent calendar. Its screen is printed in white onto a wooden plaque painted with chalkboard paint and finished with gold vinyl stars and cream and gold twine.
Head to Flat102’s website to buy the Christmas Countdown Plaque.
Gift.ed
Gift.ed creates gift boxes made of up products from wonderful local small businesses. Marie had the idea for Gift.ed whilst she was running my greeting card business The Little Pencil Pot. She found herself surrounded by amazing local creatives and thought it would be a wonderful gift idea to combine local products and help customers discover what’s in their local area. She also offers customers the opportunity to create their own gift boxes from the range of local products she stocks. These two lovely home boxes feature products from local businesses in Milton Keynes such as Carly’s Candle Company, CuteMaps, Linny Lane, Folly Soap Co. and Urban Bee-lievers.
These would make a lovely ‘first Christmas in your new home’ gift!
Buy Gift.ed boxes on their website.
Follow @gift.ed_uk on Instagram | Follow Gift.ed on Facebook.
Marc Davies Bespoke Interiors
Marc Davies Bespoke Interiors is a cabinet-maker based in Stony Stratford. They design and manufacture all aspects of bespoke furniture for the home and workplace. Everything from kitchens, bedrooms, bathroom suites and free-standing TV cabinets. The company was established by Marc 13-years ago after he completed his classical cabinetry course, and cut his teeth with a range of joinery and cabinetry firms.
These deli boards are all handmade in their workshop in Stony Stratford, designed and finished as a statement piece for your canapes, cheeses, and snacks. There are three different styles; oak, oak with a sapele strip, walnut with a maple strip. They are finished in a food safe oil and look beautiful in any home.
You can order online or pop in to pick one up. Aren’t they stunning?
Order the deli boards via Etsy.
Follow @mdbespokeinteriors on Instagram | Follow Marc Davies Bespoke Interiors on Facebook.
Nutmeg Studio
Adele is the founder and creator of Nutmeg. Originally trained as a traditional sign writer, she spent 8 years working for sign and graphics companies, where she gained valuable experience in the practice of sign-making and – just as importantly – met her husband! Nutmeg was born when Adele designed the wall stickers for her children’s bedrooms. Soon after family and friends started asking for wall stickers for their own homes and offices.
Wall stickers are a fun, stylish and cost-effective way to easily decorate your home. Quick and easy to apply, they can transform your home in a matter of minutes. Ideal for rented homes, offices and children’s rooms as they grow. They can be used on most smooth surfaces from walls, to doors and mirrors. They also offer a vinyl graphic and large-format printing service for businesses across the UK, if you want your name on it they have a solution for you.
As lockdown finished, she created this little door messages for her girls as they started going out and about again. Aren’t they sweet? Nutmeg has various messages to purchase and you can also personalise your own.
Shop Nutmeg Studio’s range of wall stickers on their website.
Follow @nutmegwallart on Instagram | Follow Nutmeg Wall Stickers on Facebook | Follow @nutmegwallart on TikTok.
Outhouse By Hand
Outhouse makes industrial-style reclaimed wood furniture and homewares, all handmade in their Milton Keynes workshop. These chunky industrial shelves are made from reclaimed scaffold boards coupled with industrial raw metal brackets. The boards are all individual, knots and cracks and weathered tones add to the character meaning no two shelves will be completely identical making them an ideal gift.
Each shelf is approximately 220m deep with a thickness of 34mm, All fixings are included and very easy to install yourself at home. Choose your length, colour and shelf bracket option. If you’d like to collect in person to save on delivery costs use code COLLECT at the checkout.
Visit Outhouse’s website to shop the range of furniture.
Follow Outhouse By Hand on Facebook | Follow @outhouse_byhand on Instagram.
The Crone’s Cabin
Helen is a practising witch and has been for 20+ years. She was fed up with not being able to shop locally for the items she wanted but having to travel much farther afield like Glastonbury, so she decided to open her own shop selling Wiccan, pagan and spiritual items and tools. Her shop is in Timor Court which is just off the High Street in Stony Stratford. Here you can find all things witchy and alternative from gifts and cards to magazines and books and most things in between. She also offer tarot card readings on Saturdays with different readers, they offer different types of readings from Angel Card Readings to traditional tarot.
In The Crone’s Cabin, you’ll find crystals which come in all shapes and sizes, prices from 50p to £60; Candles, some regular some spell candles, prices from 35p to £12; Books on Wicca, Paganism, Angels and much more; Silver jewellery (necklaces, rings and earrings); Homeware items too like mugs and candlesticks; Tarot and Oracle cards and
Figurines from Nemesis Now.
Visit The Crone’s Cabin website for more information. You can visit the shop at 5 Timor Court, High St, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes MK11 1EJ
Follow @thecronescabin on Instagram | Follow The Crone’s Cabin on Facebook.
I hope this Christmas Gift Guide has inspired you to shop small this Christmas. If you do decide to support these businesses please let them know who sent you their way and share your purchases with my Facebook Community Group, Eat & Explore MK. You can also share your local finds on Instagram with the hashtag #EatandExploreMiltonKeynes.
Which homeware gifts or candles will you be buying for Christmas?
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