Faversham Life
Faversham Life
Words Sarah Langton-Lockton, Amicia de Moubray, Posy Gentles and Nell Card Photographs Apotheca, Hugh Ribbans, All Stitched Up, Laura Hutchinson, Fable and Base, Juniper and Bliss, Mighty Fine Things and Edibleculture
Kinshipped
Strikingly contemporary wrapping paper by Kinshipped
We love the fact that your locally-bought gifts can now be wrapped in sustainable paper from the local, luxury gifting company, Kinshipped. Kayleigh McCardle founded Kinshipped in 2018 after a career as a brand strategist. Her minimal, Scandi-inflected designs are made in the UK using vegetable-based ink, sustainable paper and FSC-approved card. Even the packaging – which is made from potato starch – is entirely compostable. The designs and messaging are conceived with longevity in mind and are intended to enhance your home, rather than fill your bin. We are drawn to the swooping simplicity of her single-line Christmas trees (£2.20 per sheet, £3.50 per card), which Kayleigh is happy to deliver free of charge to lucky locals.
Elegant Christmas cards by Kinshipped
Fable and Base
Cushions are an easy and effective way of adding a flourish to any interior. Why not give a Fable and Base cushion? Or maybe a tea towel £15, lavender bag £7 or lampshade – prices ranging from £30 to £85. The distinctive fabrics of Fable and Base have attracted a loyal band of devotees in the four years since Fran Baur set it up. Based in Whitstable, Fran scours the Kentish countryside for inspiration, often incorporating local Kent flora in her designs such as the Phragmite Chevron inspired by the marshes of Elmley Nature Reserve on the Isle of Sheppey. There is a pleasing clarity to her work both in the graphic lines and the simple colour palettes. She is passionate about using natural eco-dyes and natural fabrics including linen, hemp, voile, batiste and organic cotton. Fable and Base has captured the zeitgeist.
Cushion by Fable and Base £75
Pretty lavender bag £7 from Fable and Base
Also available at the Rochester Art Gallery until 4 January 2020.
Apotheca
Bath bombs made using natural ingredients by Quintessentially English from Apotheca
Among the many fragrant and health-boosting goodies at Apotheca, a blissful shop and natural health clinic, are long-lasting candles made by Amphora Aromatics using pure essential oils and 100 per cent natural plant wax. The larger size burns for 40 hours, price £9.99, and the smaller version for 20 hours, price £4.50. Delicious wintry aromas include Juniper and Pine, Marzipan and Candied Peel and Mulled Pear and Spices. Bath Bombs by Quintessentially English and soaps, free of palm oil and parabens, by Soap Daze are perfect stocking fillers.
Scented candles made with 100 per cent natural plant wax by Amphora Aromatics from Apotheca
Apotheca is at 13 West Street, Faversham ME13 7JE; www.apothecaclinic.co.uk
Hugh Ribbans
Hugh Ribbans’s linocuts capture the spirit of Faversham and tell its stories – about the people and places, the creeks, coastal marshes and birdlife – in a distinctive graphic form. Pictured here are Kent Wildlife £75 and Faversham Creek 1959-1963 £180 which are available from Top Hat & Tales along with a wider selection of his work.
Faversham Creek 1959-1963, a linocut by Hugh Ribbans from Top Hat & Tales in West Street
Top Hat & Tales is at 110 West Street, Faversham ME13 7JB
All Stitched Up
A needle felting kit to make your very own Fabulous Mr Foxy
There are kits for every kind of crafter at this popular haberdashery shop, not just those who knit, sew or crochet, but also for practitioners (and beginners) of needle felting, lampshade and rag rug making, weaving and macramé. All the kits are UK sourced and range in price from £3 to £30. Knit Your Own Unicorn costs £15 and a needle felting kit for making a very lifelike Fabulous Mr Foxy costs £24.
Unicorns are all the rage at the moment. A kit to Knit your Own Unicorn from All Stitched Up
All Stitched Up is at 1 Court Street, Faversham, ME13 7AN
www.allstitchedupfaversham.co.uk
Edibleculture
If you’re looking for a present for one of Faversham’s environmentally-aware gardeners, dash up to Edibleculture’s Christmas Plastic Free Pop up Shop. As the first year of its commitment to plastic-free selling draws to a close, Edibleculture can look back on a year when it appeared on BBC Gardeners’ World, won Horticulture Week’s best new product award for its POSIpot, and gave Faversham gardeners the chance to buy refillable compost bags, plants in recyclable pots, Christmas trees wrapped in hemp hop twine rather than plastic netting, and the opportunity to create a garden which benefits wildlife and the environment without adding to landfill.
Wittily-captioned packets of seeds by Franchi from Edibleculture’s pop-up Christmas shop
Here is a sample of what you can add to your present list at Edibleculture: Nutscene twine gift pack £12, Nutscene twine tins £6, Nutscene small gift pack £4, Franchi Brexit Survival Kits 12 seed packs £24.99, Franchi Pollinators Climate Survival Kits 7 seed packs £14.99, Franchi Endangered Vegetable Kit 8 seed packs £14.99, bird and bat house kits at £10.
Garden twine in an appealing range of colours from Edibleculture’s pop-up Christmas shop
Coxy’s Mighty Fine Things
Mighty Fine Things is well known for its imaginative fruit vinegars – who else would dream up Apple and Honey Spiced Balsamic? Or Faversham Raspberry Vinegar? Vinegar Taster Sets £15 are an ideal present for any foodie, young or old. Gin aficionados will love the Triple Gin Miniatures set of three 60ml bottles infused with lavender, pink and honey spiced. Cocktail Blends are also available and non-alcoholic whole fruit and apple cider vinegar cordials to mix into cocktails and mocktails.
Fruit infused vinegars by Mighty Fine Things from Macknade
Juniper and Bliss
Ethical and luxurious, Juniper and Bliss makes 100 per cent plant-dyed and organic products which are rarely available direct to the public – this Christmas is an exception for Faversham Life readers.
Naturally-dyed pouches stuffed with organic leaves, buds, seeds and oils, are perfect stocking fillers from Juniper and Bliss
Scented pouches make a perfect stocking present. Juniper and Bliss’s intensely-scented Alchemy pouches (£12), encased in naturally-dyed organic cotton, are full of organic leaves, buds, seeds and oils including rosebuds from Yunnan, eucalyptus and juniper. There are also pouches of wild oregano for £10.
Useful hand-knotted fisherman’s bags at £15 are available in yellow dyed with tansy and daffodil, brown dyed with alder and eucalyptus, and pink dyed with avocado and madder.
Subtly-hued scarves dyed with organic plants
There is a selection of plant-dyed shawls and scarves, handwoven from Himalyan wool in soft and gorgeous colours. Prices start at £60.
To buy any of these items, direct message Yasmin Hossain on Instagram @juniperandbliss where you can find more products such as bed linen and zero-waste drawstring bags.
