When you’re in the process of shopping for a gift or present for a friend or family member, it can often be difficult to know exactly what to buy, especially if it’s either a special occasion or you’re simply looking for something that little bit different to what you usually buy. Whilst there are, on occasions, unique gifts to be found in local independent stores, unfortunately the internet has meant that many of these have closed down leaving far less choice than you’d often like. Of course, there’s always a flip side to every circumstances, however and with the death of the high street has come the rise in Internet boutiques, allowing to to purchase the right gift for your friends and family members from the comfort of your own home. In order to showcase just a few of the different sorts of presents available online from these various different unique boutiques, below we want to share with you just two of our favourites; Angelshare who offer Fair Trade, ethical and artisan gifts and Busy Bee Candles who offer a fantastic selection of handmade candles and home fragrances! Two very different businesses yet two who fit the ‘online boutique’ model very well!
Angelshare (www.angelshare.org.uk)
Angelshare offer an extensive range of Fair Trade and ethical gifts, stocking everything ranging from tea light holders and ornaments through to a beer bread mix kit! If you’re wanting to give the gift of something a little different to usual, we are confident that you’ll find something perfect for anyone here and the fact that they have a great range for under £10 makes it even better! Fair Trade and ethically sourced gifts often come with a hefty price tag, however here you’ll find gifts which it’s safe to say are reasonably priced whilst still giving you the sense that you’re doing the right thing and buying at the end of a chain where everyone gets a fair deal! What we especially like about Angelshare is that they donate 5% of every sale into a Kiva fund which is designed to help provide loans to those in developing countries to get their businesses off the ground. Not only are you buying from an online store where the producers get a fair price but you’re also supporting those just starting up in developing countries; brilliant!
Busy Bee Candles (www.busybeecandles.co.uk)
Who doesn’t love their home smelling great? Candles have become a popular gift in recent years however it’s almost always Yankee candles which are given, with these now being the most commercially popular on the market. Whilst there’s no denying that Yankee offer a great range of products, they’re certainly not handmade and don’t offer that extra special touch which ones from candle makers such as Busy Bee Candles do. We simply love the range of scents on offer as well as the great range of products which includes everything from wax melts and home fragrance bars through to their very own innovative Magik Beans! If you want a great smelling gift which doesn’t cost the earth, you could do far, far worse!