Friday 12 February 2010

A brief encounter into modern historical crafting!

Hello again, this week's blog focuses on the handmade community and all the talented people that are out there.Sites like www.misi.co.uk, www.folksy.com and www.etsy.com feature an abundance of handmade artisans selling handmade treasures to suit anyone.From jewellery, cards and soaps to candles, ceramics and glass. There is something there for everyone.Like most creative types Ideal Gifts are interested in history and how creations from the past influence today. We have taken a particular interest in the BBC's history of the world through 100 objects. This series highlights how people have been creating and making for thousands of years. Back then one persons innovation and creative ability could change the world.In modern day craft, items can change the way a room looks, they can change the way we look or they can just bring a smile to the recipients face. The items we create are no longer based on the need for survival but on the need for pleasure. The idea that through creativity we are keeping a well established historical tradition alive is inspriring and Ideal Gifts would like to congratulate all those sellers who help contribute to this.
We have chosen two sellers that we believe demonstrate the link between our heritage and our modern lives to feature in this week's blog. They are Lauren Denney Ceramics and Badge the Badger. Two very different artists but both keeping creativity and innovation alive.

Lauren Denney Ceramics
www.laurendenney.com
http://www.misi.co.uk/handmade/laurenceramics.html
Lauren Denney's ceramics tie in nicely to the idea of history linking with the present. The earliest pottery is thought to have been made in the Gravettian era,believed to be 29,000 to 25,000 BC.Clearly pottery is a craft that has survived the ages and still remains popular. The ceramics of the Gravettian age were functional but unattractive vessels. Lauren Denney's ceramics are beautiful pieces that bring together function and aesthetics and combine our historical need for practicality with our modern need for beauty.

Badge the Badger
http://www.misi.co.uk/handmade/badgethebadger.html

On first instance the link between badges and history may not seem that clear. However, the idea of adorning ourselves with decorative objects first appeared 75,000 years ago.Decorating our bodies symbolised status, wealth and upbringing, concepts which are still followed today. Badges and other such items provide us with the opportunity to create a sense of personality and the fact that they are removable gives the owner a sense of authority over their own creativity.

Crafting and creating things is a huge part of our history and hopefully through sites like misi, folksy and etsy we can keep that tradition alive.Good luck everyone!
Thanks to Lauren Denney Ceramics and Badge the Badger for their cooperation.
If you enjoyed reading this why not become a follower of Ideal Gifts blog.

Wednesday 3 February 2010

These are a few of our favourite things.....


This week's blog entry is going to focus on some actual items we've made. Following some advice from fellow users on www.misi.co.uk We decided to show you a collection of our personal favourite Ideal Gifts products.
The first one is this beautiful canvas shopper bag.In the last blog we told you about our inspiration and it only seems appropriate to dedicate at least one item to the women who started us off. This is the Margaret Shopper bag £3.50 named after an inspirational great grandma!

Mint & Sea Salt Soap £1.95
This is one of our favourite items as it is one of the first soaps we ever made and it has been unbelievably popular at the home parties we sell at.We think it's appeal lies in the fact that its a good looking piece of soap that is neither masculine nor feminine. It's a brilliant everyday soap with a nice refreshing minty scent.
Blue Beaded Bracelet £3.50
This bracelet makes it onto the favourite list as it's one of a kind! It was a joy to make as it involved tipping a big bag of beads out and sorting through to find all the blue ones which to a beader is like being 'a kid in a sweet shop!'

Thanking you for taking the time to read this blog entry. If you enjoyed yourself why not become a follower of our blog?
All the items featured in this blog entry are available to buy at http://idealgifts.misi.co.uk

Monday 25 January 2010

Hello everyone, and now for a little introduction...

Ideal Gifts are a small company run by a one man craft machine! our aim is to provide everyone with the chance to buy beautiful handmade products and gifts with little effort.

The idea for Ideal Gifts started with a great grandma with a great talent.It was fascinating to see that with a little imagination you could make anything.Growing up in a world with little money but plenty of creativity was inspiring.

Ideal Gifts went from originally just giving personal gifts to friends to getting requests from people. It's wonderful to see that someone is impressed with something you have made and encouragement from loved ones led to selling online. Why not take a look at http://idealgifts.misi.co.uk

We know not everyone has the time to create something spectacular to give as a gift which is why Ideal Gifts do the creating for you.It's as much a joy to give a good present as to receive one.

Thanks for reading x