shop small support independent christmas baubles made in uk

The Guardian published a list of the best Christmas baubles for 2025. They got it wrong: try these instead!

This isn’t sour grapes, I promise! It’s about supporting independent UK businesses and craftspeople. The Guardian’s best baubles list is all about big brands: John Lewis, B&Q, Anthropologie Sass & Belle, and links run through an affiliate website so they make money off their recommendations. They can do better! Come on, Guardian writers! My list …

personalised Christmas name baubles

Black Friday personalised bauble savings for keen beans!

I don’t know if yours is the same, but my inbox is a scramble of Black Friday offers. Here are 2 actually interesting Black Friday facts: Black Friday didn’t exist in the UK until 2010 (thanks Amazon) This year, Black Friday isn’t until the 28th of November. That’s 3 weeks away! Why all the rush? …

Christmas baubles painted by hand and personalised in calligraphy

Why are personalised baubles so expensive?

I spent a very happy hour last night putting finishing touches to some personalised baubles. Different stages of my process for painting baubles are done around my calligraphy studio, and yesterday – being Sunday – I took a little time to paint botanical details on my Evie and Maeva baubles while I watched a little …

I will never be Gordon Ramsay’s favourite calligrapher. Here’s why.

It’s a long shot, but if Gordon Ramsay ever did a show called Ramsay’s Calligrapher Nightmares, he would NOT be happy with me. And it’s because of the baubles I write people’s names on. If you’re not familiar with Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares it’s that programme where he goes into a restaurant, changes everything and transforms the …