41 artisans and businesses to 'shop small' with this Christmas
Here at Country Living, we are passionate about championing heritage crafts and talented artisans – from weavers to stained glass makers – and there's no better time to show small makers some love than in the run up to Christmas.
If you resist the lure of high street Black Friday deals and shop small, you'll be supporting individuals who pour their heart and soul into their craft.
You'll also be giving your loved ones gifts that are completely unique – so what's not to love?
Below, you'll find a list of the artisans and makers we've featured in Country Living throughout 2024 for inspiration – along with some of our favourite gifts you can buy from them this Christmas.
Also, be sure to visit Country Living Marketplace for more gift inspiration.
41 artisans and business to 'shop small' with this Christmas
Beauvamp
The chance discovery of a threadbare Victorian lamp led Alice Moylan to reimagine vintage lightings designs to spectacular effect. Her opulent lampshades have even featured on the set of Killing Eve.
Blackthorn Salt
From the Ayrshire coast, Blackthorn produces Scottish sea salt that will elevate any dish – a must for keen chefs.
Chocolarder
Chocolarder makes the finest bean-to-bar chocolate with flowers foraged on the Cornish coast, and honey produced by Cornish black bees from a local beekeeper.
Coffeenotes
Coffeenotes picked up the Sustainability Champion award at Country Living Christmas Market, part of Good Housekeeping Live 2024, for its stylish stationery that uses recycled coffee cups.
Cornishware
Charles Rickards and his daughter Rebecca moved iconic striped pottery brand Cornishware back to Cornwall from its temporary home in China, setting up a kiln on the family farm and converting brans to potting, painting and packing stations. We covet their mugs – and, best of all, they can be personalised for a thoughtful gift.
Diane Hill
After discovering chinoiserie as a textile student, Diane Hill started creating her own prints, wallpaper and accessories featuring birds, flowers and butterflies inspired by this elegant style.
Flora Jamieson
Flora was working in admin at Madame Taussauds when she found a book about stained glass. Now she creates her own designs and takes bespoke commissions, bathing a medieval art form in a bold new light.
Helen Round
Helen designs handprinted linen homeware in Cornwall, all made ethically-sourced materials and traditional techniques. Her linen bread bags, snack bags, tea towels and bowl covers make lovely kitchen additions.
Hiut Denim Co
Since launching in 2011, Clare and David Hieatt have been designing jeans made from eco-friendly cotton in Cardigan, West Wales.
Home Sussex
Born out of an obsession with gingham and stripes, Lizzie's handmade Christmas stockings, scrunchies, laptop sleeves and children's accessories can all be personalised with different colours and initials.
Imprint Casts
When ill health threatened to turn her life upside down, Katy Eccles crafted a new career, creating ravishingly beautiful casts of homegrown plants.
Jennifer Collier
We love an artisan who thinks outside the box; Jennifer Collier uses battered old paperbacks and muddied maps to craft everything from teacups to typewriters in her Staffordshire studio. “I don’t like writing or sketching because my brain doesn’t work like that,” she explains. “I think in 3D.
Julie Jones
Star baker and pastry chef Julie Jones also campaigns to raise awareness of dementia and the therapeutic power of baking – and Jamie Oliver raves about her recipe books.
Makiko Hastings
Makiko’s life was blighted by personal trauma – until she discovered that making Japanese-inspired ceramics can be as cathartic as it is creative. Her soothing designs are available during online shop opening periods throughout the year.
Master The Art
Along with his daughter Kate Elwell, master gilder and paint-effects expert Roger Newton opened a studio in Shropshire in 2021, which hosts courses from gilding to willow weaving. You can also purchase course vouchers and the pair's hand-embellished homewares online.
Otter Surfboards
James Otter spends up to 80 hours handcrafting each of his wooden surf, body and paddle boards in Porthtowan, Cornwall.
Paper and Sprig
Florist, stylist and artist Em takes inspiration from British landscapes and gardens to create whimsical pressed flower designs on paintings, prints and delicate stationery. Paper and Sprig was also voted editor's choice at the Country Living Christmas Market this year.
Prickly Thistle
This pioneering small business has breathed new life into traditional tartan, reviving a dying industry in the Highlands and rebelling against fast fashion.
Rachel Mulligan
Rachel’s intricate stained-glass designs are inspired by medieval art, nature and poetry, using hand-blown glass from her garden studio in Surrey.
Rosa Harradine
This self-taught brushmaker uses natural fibres and hand-harvested hazel to create objects of beauty and function from her home in Carmarthen.
Rush Matters
Felicity Irons skilfully weaves baskets and homeware using freshwater bulrushes harvested from rivers in Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.
Salcombe Dairy
Salcombe Dairy began making Devonshire ice cream in 1979, now they offer all kinds of tantalising sweet treats, from botanical chocolate to winter truffles – all of which make lovely gifts for the foodie in your life.
Smokin' Brothers
From a Cotswolds smokehouse, three Italian friends – Vincenzo, Allessandro and Iacopo – produce sustainable smoked salmon. A-list chefs can’t get enough of its buttery texture and rich flavour – and you can order it to your own home for a decadent Christmas treat.
Vanessa Bowman
Deep in a Dorset valley, artist Vanessa captures the nostalgic charm of a village in winter. Customers love cards and prints of her coloruful designs – including the Highgrove Estate.
Wild Thyme Spirits
Although the Isle of Colonsay, part of the Inner Hebrides, has a population of just 130 people, it’s also home to a small-batch distillery that exports gin around the world, run by husband-and-wife team Fin and Eileen Geekie.
Yare Valley
Father-and-son duo Tim and Will Mack cold-press rapeseed from their Norfolk farm into nutritious and delicious oils, dressings and infusions, beloved by foodies.
Below are 15 more artisans offering plenty of Christmas gift inspiration...
The Full Six Bar Collection
Bare Bones Chocolate's single-origin bars, made in its Glasgow factory, are beloved by Rick Stein – and who are we to disagree? Treat a chocaholic to the full range, or divvy them out into Christmas stockings.
£39.00 at bareboneschocolate.co.uk
Scoops
What to give the coffee-lover who has everything? Why, a beautiful cherry-wood scoop, of course. These are hand-carved by woodworker Ambrose Vevers, and will be used in daily coffee rituals and treasured for years to come.
Inspiritus Scented Tin Candle
We celebrated this sustainable candle-maker’s 30th birthday in 2024. From its Cornish farm workshop, St. Eval now makes several million candles a year – but its festive wintery fragrances are always firm favourites.
Winnats Roll Top
The Level Collective is an outdoor lifestyle brand inspired by founder and designer Mark Musgrave's sense of adventure. Specialising in sustainable, handmade British pieces, its waxed cotton backpacks are particular favourites.
£349.00 at thelevelcollective.com
Black Meander Candle Holder Small
Jo Anna Butler and Gearoid Muldowney – aka Superfolk – craft homeware and prints inspired by the wild Irish coast. The design of this copper candle holder was based on the meanderings of the Owenmore river – a unique and special gift.
Baa-ble Hat Pattern
Why not knit a present with one of Donna Smith's charming hat patterns? Donna knits and produces naturally dyed yarn from her croft house on West Burra.
£4.00 at donnasmithdesigns.co.uk
2025 Calendar
In her Speyside studio, Angie Lewin transforms sketches of the landscape into evocative prints and paintings. Her 2025 calendar showcases a seasonal botanical design each month, and comes with £20 voucher to redeem against the purchase of any of Angie's prints – sure to be well-received by any art lover.
rose + oud eau de parfum
Joan Woods, founder of organic perfumery Waters + Wild, takes her inspiration from the countryside around her in County Cork. Fragrances are created using natural ingredients from her studio overlooking the Atlantic.
Seaweed Pressing Kit
Molesworth & Bird make designs using pressed seaweed from Dorset and Cornwall – there are over 600 species in the British Isles. Spark a new hobby by gifting their seaweed pressing kit, complete with guide.
£70.00 at molesworthandbird.com
Paper Narcissi
They press blooms from the garden and produce paper using the kitchen blender... the mother and daughter behind Flint, in Sussex, take a down-to-earth approach to crafting their wares. Gift a few of these handmade crepe paper narcissi for a forever vase of flowers.
Initialled Oak Leather Flask
Jason Booth and Gemma Gilleard, of Hord, channel inspiration from the Pennine Hills into bespoke leather accessories for outdoor adventurers. Monogrammed hip flasks are amongst their most popular gifts.
Sussex Oak Fabric Cushion
This is a cushion with a story; Sarah Burns forages for plants to creates dyes from her West Sussex studio, which are then used to block print linen and hemp. Her cushions are filled with local wool and would add a dose of country charm to any sofa.
£90.00 at sarahburnspatterns.com
Wild Tree
Forget six-foot Norway spruces: the Arboretum's Christmas trees, made by a woodworking duo, can fit in the palm of your hand and will never drop their needles.
Cider Brandy
Anyone would be delighted to receive this tipple, from Herefordshire cider-makers Artistraw.
From Coast & Cove: An artist’s year in paint and pen
Acclaimed illustrator Anna Koska celebrates fish, fruit, shells and seaweeed collected near her Devon home in paintings that burst with life. This book is a beautiful love-letter to the natural world around her.
Here at Country Living, we are passionate about championing talented artisans – from weavers to stained glass makers – and there's no better time to show small makers some love than in the run up to Christmas.
If you resist the lure of High-street Black Friday deals and shop small, you'll be supporting individuals who pour their heart and soul into their craft. You'll also be giving your loved ones gifts that are completely unique – what's not to love?
On this page you'll find all of all the artisans and makers we've featured in Country Living magazines throughout 2024 – along with some of our favourite gifts you can buy from them this Christmas.
Artisans and business to 'shop small' with this Christmas
Smokin' Brothers smoked salmon: From a Cotswolds smokehouse, three Italian friends – Vincenzo, Allessandro and Iacopo – produce sustainable smoked salmon. A-list chefs can’t get enough of it’s buttery texture and rich flavour – and you can order it to your own home for a decadent Christmas treat.
Jennifer Collier paper artist: We love an artisan who thinks outside the box; Jennifer Collier uses battered old paperbacks and muddied maps to craft everything from teacups to typewriters in her Staffordshire studio. “I don’t like writing or sketching because my brain doesn’t work like that,” she explains. “I think in 3D.
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