Happy Shop Small Business Saturday! In celebration, I thought it would be fun to put together an Edinburgh Independent Gift Guide, and since I know that Christmas can be an expensive time of the year, everything in the guide is under £25. Before we dive into the gift guide, I just wanted to say I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful and varied range of independent Edinburgh businesses to choose from and I wish I could have included everyone in this guide! Also, this gift guide is very heavily influenced by my tastes but I hope even if what I've chosen isn't your cup of tea, you might discover something you like from these brilliant businesses.
Edinburgh Independent Gift Guide: under £25
Edinburgh Candle Company "Christmas Spice" - £12
For those of you who haven't heard of the Edinburgh Candle Company, it's a brilliant socially and environmentally responsible business that aims to empower vulnerable women who face barriers to work. The initiative helps women gain the skills and confidence necessary for them to move towards employment in the long term. They have a range of beautiful candles, and I think their "Christmas Spice" candle which has a rich, warm, and spicy scent combining notes of cinnamon and clove with ripe orange and freshly crushed vanilla pods sounds ideal for a Christmas present!
Photo Credit: Edinburgh Candle Company
The Tartan Blanket Co. Lambswool Scarf - £25
The Tartan Blanket Co. is a wonderful family business selling beautiful (you guessed it) blankets, but also scarves, and various gift boxes. Their scarves are designed in their Edinburgh studio and range from more traditional tartan scarves to simple, modern designs (like the one I've selected to show you).
Photo Credit: Tartan Blanket Co.
Huskee Reusable Cup (£13) & 'One Line a Day' Diary (£14.99) from LifeStory
LifeStory has long been one of my favourite independent stores! Whenever I'm in the neighbourhood, I always enjoy popping in for a browse and chat. I recently spotted two items I think would make great gifts, so much so that I've already bought a Huskeecup for a friend's Christmas! If you haven't heard of HuskeeCups, they're an Australian-based business who creates stylish reusable cups that are partly made of recycled coffee husk. The other item I spotted is the 'One Line a Day' Diary which I think would make a great gift for someone to look back on one day!
Photo Credit: Bookspeed via LifeStory
Rachelle W Design's "Scenes of Edinburgh" Collection from £3.80
Rachelle W Designs is an Edinburgh-based creative home and living brand which specialises in bold, colourful patterns. I first came across Rachelle at a Stockbridge Christmas market and have been an admirer of her work ever since. Her "Scenes of Edinburgh" collection is a particular favourite of mine and I think one of her prints, mugs, or tea towels would make a great gift for an Edinburgh local or visitor to Edinburgh!
Photo Credit: via Rachelle W Designs' Instagram Rosevear Tea "Christmas Tea" - £6
Those of you who follow my little Edinburgh adventures on Instagram will know I'm a huge tea fan and one of my favourite tea shops is Rosevear Tea. I think there's nothing cosier than a mug of tea on a wintry day and I think their "Christmas Tea" (which consists of tea, citrus peels, chopped almonds, cloves, vanilla, rose petals, and cardamom seed) would make a lovely gift for a tea lover.
Photo Credit: Rosevear Tea Studio Emma's Little Letters - £4.50 each
Studio Emma is another brilliant Edinburgh-based artist that I've been following for the past few years. Her concrete creations are all made by hand from start to finish in her Edinburgh studio and therefore each one is completely unique in colour, texture and surface pattern, making them all the more special. Emma has a lovely range of vessels, clocks, mirrors, and I've always thought her little letters are so charming.
Photo Credit: Studio Emma
- The Pastry Section Chocolates - from £3.99
The Pastry Section is another business that is a firm favourite of mine and whenever I'm in need of a sweet treat it's the first place I head to. When it comes to this time of the year, the Pastry section produces a limited edition range of chocolates, Christmas cakes, and truffles (made to look like Brussels sprouts!). I think one of these would make a lovely stocking filler!
Photo Credit: The Pastry Section
MODM Alpaca Bed Socks from The Method - £24
The Method is a beautifully curated lifestyle store on St Stephen Street. They have relatively recently brought out their own range called MODM which features various beauty products, jewellery, and lifestyle products. While browsing through their store I noticed these luxurious alpaca bed socks which come in cream and grey and thought they would make a lovely cosy gift.
Photo Credit: The Method
- Coco Chocolate's Salted Caramel Drinking Chocolate - £9.95
Hot chocolate is another drink that is synonymous with this time of the year for me and COCO's classic salted caramel drinking chocolate would make such a lovely gift or secret Santa! The hot chocolate consists of hand-flaked 40% milk chocolate with sea salt from the shores of Isle of Skye and rich cocoa powder, plus gorgeous packaging!
Photo Credit: Coco Chocolate
Hera and Ares Moon Studs from treen £16
For those of you who haven't heard of treen, they're a vegan fashion retailer, offering a selection of style must-haves from a carefully selected group of brands that make a positive difference. I also wanted to say a huge congratulations to them for finding the perfect permanent shop on St Stephen Street! While browsing through their website, I came across these lovely, simple moon studs which I think would make a lovely gift for someone!
Photo Credit: Hera & Ares via treen
- A Gift Card from Grow Urban - from £10
Being a proud plant mum myself, one of my first thoughts, when it comes time to buy a loved one a gift, is "Should I buy them a plant?". Therefore, I just had to include Grow Urban fairly recently opened up in Fountainbridge. You could either visit their store and choose a plant (and while you're in why not sit and have a coffee too) or order a gift card from their online store so your friend could select the perfect plant for themselves!
Photo Credit: Grown Urban
Pockets of Pretty: An Instagrammer's Edinburgh - £20
Lastly, I debated about adding my book to the list as it still feels a little weird plugging my own book, but I have heard from a few people that they are planning to buy it for "the friend who loves Edinburgh" or "the friend who's tricky to shop for" so I thought I'd include it. For those of you who don't know much about Pockets of Pretty, it's basically a coffee table book dedicated to Edinburgh. It guides you around Edinburgh's various 'villages' taking you to a few of my favourite spots to take photos, my favourite coffee shop corners, interviews with local businesses, and various breakaways like "Edinburgh's Little Free Libraries" etc. Pockets of Pretty is available from various independent bookstores like Topping & Company, Porty Books, the Edinburgh Bookshop, plus LifeStory, The Pastry Section, Rosevear Tea, and Strumpets Coffee.
Photo Credit: The Pastry Section
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