Local, British and Thoughtful – Perfect Gift Inspiration from Squire’s
This Christmas, Squire’s Garden Centres make a great destination for shopping for gifts. When carefully choosing items for friends and loved ones, this year more than ever, many people choosing to support smaller, local producers and with sustainability in mind. Many of the products available at Squire’s have inspiring stories behind them too, making them even more appealing!
Squire’s prides itself on working closely with its suppliers, enabling them to bring customers an exciting range of products that champion traditional skills, like candle making and pottery. These items make great gifts and offer something a little bit special.
A great example of this is the range of candles and diffusers available at Squire’s. The Country Candle Company produce the most delightfully fragranced candles, diffusers and soaps. A family business based in Farringdon, near Alton, Hampshire not far away from the Squire’s family business, they produce beautifully presented candles which are hand-decorated with coordinating petals. The range includes candle tins (from £10.99), glass candles and reed diffusers. Not only are they locally produced, but they are also vegan, palm oil free and GMO free too. Other candles available at Squire’s – and British made – include ranges from Lake District-based, Wax Lyrical and Cornish based, St Eval.
The Puremess Collection, is new to Squire’s. Made by a local business from Guildford which is passionate about its’ range of natural products made with essential oils and with regenerative properties. Puremess products are plastic-free, sustainable, natural, vegan and vegetarian and include hand cream, sleep balm, deodorant, shampoo, body scrub and body wash (prices start from £9.99). In addition, renowned soap and herbal merchants, Heyland & Whittle, are a family business based in Crawley, supplying Squire’s with a range of soaps, hand creams, candles and diffusers (from £7.49). They offer an eco collection of reed diffusers, hand-poured candles and Palm Oil-free soaps – and use 100% recycled card and packaging.
Supporting the English pottery region, Squire’s is delighted to bring customers elegant bone china mugs, made by RepeatRepeat, based in Stoke-On-Trent. With contemporary and tactile designs and more than a nod to nature, their mugs and little jugs are made using traditional techniques which keep alive the age-old skills and craftsmanship of the region in which they are made. A perfect complementary product is one of the range of cork placements or coasters (from £2.99) from Cornish-based Liga where they are both designed and printed. With some stunning images inspired by the beauty of nature, these products are sustainable, renewable and recyclable – a great eco-friendly addition to the home as well as a really useful gift.
Offering a wide range of prefect gift ideas are products from Toasted Crumpet, based locally in Leatherhead, Surrey. From coasters, bone china mugs, notebooks, thank you cards and greetings cards as well as printed tea towels, soaps and candles (priced from £4.99), the range is based on inspiration taken from the local outdoors and British nature through the artist owner’s own water colour creations.
For gifts for the younger ones, there is the delightful range from PlayPress products (priced from £6.99) – buildable 3D construction playsets. Perfect for creative minds, these are made in the UK from fully recyclable and biodegradable board and paper and use food-safe water-based inks that are vegan and ocean friendly. With different sets to choose from including a Knight’s Castle, Pirate Island, Dinosaurs and Space Station to name a few, there is certainly a set to inspire youngsters – whatever their interests (suitable from age 3+).
Ideal as a stocking filler, a gift for gardeners or anyone who likes to support nature, the Seedball range (from £4.99) is beautifully presented and includes a Bee Mix Tube, Seedball Tin and Mini Meadow Bamboo Pot. The British based non-profit company is on a mission to help increase the abundance of British wildflowers and the wildlife that depend on them.
Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, comments: “Many customers are looking to buy products that are sustainably sourced and purposeful – either in the skills and livelihoods they support or what they bring to the recipient as a gift. Products that have a story behind them, producers that have a passion for what they make, locally sourced – are all things that make buying Christmas gifts that bit more special.
“We are delighted to champion local and British producers and help bring these fantastic products to our customers. They will certainly make for some wonderful thoughtful gifts this Christmas. The only difficulty is what to choose from the beautiful selection our team has brought together.”
