They say it’s the thought that counts and these brands have certainly put a lot of consideration into their products. Now is the perfect opportunity to support the local economy – and get your friends and family incredible presents in the process.

Every time you buy independent, you shop from a small business, and the person behind that business does a happy dance, and a sigh of relief. Be the reason behind someone’s happy dance and lifted spirits this Christmas. 

Here are seventeen present ideas even the elves would be proud of.

Eat, Drink and Be Merry…

Chocolarder

Founded in 2012 Chocolarder is one of a handful of bean-to-bar chocolate makers in the UK, and the only one based in Cornwall. Everything that comes out of their factory is made with only the best ingredients, sourced locally where possible, in the seaside town of Falmouth. From luxury chocolate bars cased in gold-foil packaging, to boxes of vegan-friendly truffles, their delicious products are positively brimming with flavour and festive cheer.

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Yallah

Yallah roast really tasty coffee from their barn in Cornwall while promoting social, economic and environmental prosperity. They promote fairness and give back to the community – both at home and afar, and recognise the role they have in the lives and livelihoods of the growers they source from, those who directly face and are at risk from the affects of climate change. They work to support initiatives and projects to mitigate and combat the affects. Try their taster pack which includes three of their most popular blends, indulge in their drinking hot chocolate and purchase their handy and stylish coffee storage canisters which stop your coffee from aging before you’ve finished the bag.

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Verdant 

Verdant began life back in August 2014 with an ethos revolving around brewing flavour-packed beers inspired by the New England craft beer scene. Think juicy, hoppy, unfiltered, hazy beers that are always vegan. From their Fridge Filler Mixed 6 Pack which includes their Lightbulb Extra Pale Ale to their 100% Donegal Merino Wool Verdant Beanie Hats, their online shop has a mixture of products for the beer fanatics. 

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Cornwall Pasta Company

Using organic and foraged ingredients from a small team of west country suppliers, Cornwall Pasta Company’s pasta is extruded using traditional bronze dies to create a porus surface permitteing it to absorb more sauce to enhance flavour. They experiment with unique flavours to make innovative, original pastas that you won’t find anywhere else. Choose from flavours such as organic beetroot, squid ink,chilli pepper and wild garlic. 

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Cornish Food Box

Tor and Lucy started the Cornish Food Box Company in 2010, with the simple aim of making it as easy as possible for people to buy Cornish food and drink. They sell food that they can feel good about, including grass-fed, free-range meat and poultry, sustainably caught fish and seafood, and veg grown just down the road, from producers they know. Today they work with over 250 local producers and farmers and sell everything from pies and pastries to cheese and deli hampers. 

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Deck the Halls (and Walls) with something unique…

Lou Tonkin

Lou is an artist and print-maker from Cornwall who studied Illustration at the Falmouth College of Art. The inspiration for her magical lino prints is taken from her local environment; think hedgerows, flying birds and insects. She creates captivating work which is loved all over the world. The beautiful range in her online shop includes prints, tea towels, mugs, notebooks and aprons. Lou especially loves turning her artwork into something functional and uses several local producers to transform her prints into useful homewares.

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The Oystercatcher

Placed perfectly next to Cornish Holiday Cottages in Mawnan Smith, we have long been firm friends and fans of The Oystercatcher. Opened by Sarah and Brendon who have a love and passion for design, interiors, accessories, and art, they are constantly seeking to bring customers inspired collections from around the world – with an emphasis on the South West and Cornwall. A beautiful lifestyle store with homewares, art, jewellery, and gifts for everyone, you can purchase your Christmas presents either online or in-store.

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Bloom Remedies

Based in the wilds of West Cornwall, Bloom Remedies handcraft award-winning aroma wellbeing products, using natural ingredients and pure essential oils. Their small team uses essential oils, herbal extracts, organic base oils, and a whole lot of love to create fragrant and therapeutic well-being and skincare products to help us all live a better and more balanced life. From sleep mist and clay masks to essential oil wax melts and aromatherapy sets, their range is full of self-care, skin nourishment, and soul love well-being. 

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Glass By Bryony

Former graphic designer, Bryony, combines shapes, colours, traditional crafting, and graphic design to create stained glass pieces for your home, from her studio in Cornwall. She draws leaf designs using inspiration from the tropical gardens around Cornwall, turning these visions into glass combinations and stained glass panels. She works intuitively and without structure and uses hand-rolled artisan glass from two craft glass houses, one in Oregon and one in Germany. Particular colour combinations are integral to the overall sense of each piece.

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Studio Lowen

Studio Lowen was created by Lisa, a designer-maker from Cornwall in 2018. Made with joy in her little garden studio in Cornwall, and created with the simple objective of designing and making pieces that bring happiness through aesthetic and functionality. Lisa spent her early career working as an in-house designer before taking the plunge to go freelance. The idea behind the brand is that every piece is created with happiness and joy, and should also bring you or your loved one joy through the product’s function and aesthetic. 

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Debbie Rudolph

Debbie is a textile designer-maker with a bold approach to creating unique, individual textiles using traditional techniques. Colour and texture are used to create visually exciting textiles, which are both fresh and striking. The handwoven textiles are produced using a Glimakra Countermarch Loon and Upright Tapestry Loom in her Falmouth studio. Debbie photographs and sketches the Cornish coastline and the gardens around Cornwall and represents these in her handwoven tapestries and textiles. In addition to her own practice, she delivers Weaving and Teaching Workshops from her weaving studio and has produced a range of looms to help make weaving accessible to everyone. 

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Christmas comes but once a year but experiences can last a lifetime…

IndiDog

Indidog Restaurant and Bar in Falmouth sits on the grade II listed harbour wall of Fish Strand Quay overlooking the River Fal and The Roseland. The food here is modern British with a strong focus on locally-sourced Cornish produce, with menus featuring day boat fish, shellfish and local farm meat. Buy your friends, family or colleagues a meal at Indidog and let them dine and drink to a seaview. Their gift cards can be used for breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks or in their artisan shop.

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Upcoming Workshops at Inspire Makers

Based underneath our popular Maker’s Loft apartment on the Old High Street in Falmouth, Inspire Maker’s is a creative space and workshop base, showcasing the talent of over 50 Cornish design-led arts and craftspeople. Their workshop programme offers a wide range of “kitchen table” based classes to inspire you to find your creative path. Classes are held by makers showcased in the shop, offering attendees the chance to learn more about them, what inspires them and what they create. Each class is designed to give you an introduction to various art forms, through half or full-day sessions, and give you the confidence to carry on exploring at home without needing a large outlay on equipment or materials. Classes include jewellery-making workshops, rubber stamp making, and introductions to fused glass. 

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‘Tis the season to invest in glad rags…

Frenzy by Zara

Surrounded by stunning coastlines and age-old landscapes, Zara makes unique jewellery handcrafted using traditional silversmithing techniques, hand tools, and wherever possible, recycled or eco silver or gold. She loves to create beautiful pieces from precious metals and a range of ethical gemstones. These standout statement pieces include items such as pink sapphire necklaces, gold twisted hoops, and vintage coin pendants. 

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Lucy Spink Jewellery

Using her Granddad’s old workshop tools, each piece that Lucy makes shows the marks of process and the beauty of form, reflecting patterns of nature – the outline of rocky outcrops, the surface patterns made by hammers like the texture of stone, small spurs of silver and gold to replicate the growth patterns of lichens. Her beautiful handcrafted, textured jewellery speaks of details of our natural environment and the deeply rooted human connection to the landscape. Her aim is to create jewellery which is easy for everyone to wear yet thought-provoking in the message it carries. Lucy works full-time as a jeweller and has a BA Hons from Glasgow Art School as well as 2 years of practical experience working in a jewellery studio in Trinidad. 

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Naked Generation

Founder of Naked Generation, Lara, lives in a tiny village in Cornwall with her husband and her two sons. Naked Generation, is, in many ways, the sum total of a life lived amongst the lyrics of Jini Mithcell, vintage threads and a deep affinity to the 1970s. Inspired by the past, thought-up in Cornwall, created in India, and loved everywhere, their dresses are hand-dyed and hand-block printed, they are as unique as the women that wear them. When you order from Naked Generation you take home a movement that’s trying, in its own small way, to rewrite the standards of the fashion industry, with integrity, soul, and boundless creativity. Think flowing dresses, patterned quilts and bags, vintage jackets, and silk sari robes.

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Francli Craftwear

Rooted in a love of the outdoors and a passion for making things by hand, Francli Craftwear create canvas and fine leather goods in Cornwall. Side-stepping the throwaway culture, they aim to help people reconnect to the things they buy, making pieces they can use, care for and cherish. Created in 2013 by two like-minded makers Ali and Franki, both makers wanted to live by the sea, and use their combined talents to make things by hand. A ship’s sail or a supple hide of leather, they go where the inspiration and materials lead them, so each batch they make is completely unique and every last scrap is accounted for. From potter’s aprons and leather toolboxes to utility vests and tote backpacks, a gift purchased from Francli Craftwear will always be well-made, well-loved, and long-lasting. 

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