We've been asked quite a lot about giftbags over time so I've finally found ones by Caroline Gardner that I think fit the bill. Especially good if you want to put a few wee things together. Complete with matching gift-tag. From £2.25-£2.60
New melamine trays by the lovely Donna Wilson!! I have a bit of thing about trays at the moment so I was really very pleased to see these by one of my favourite designers. 4 different designs to choose from. £28
And some new lambswool cushions. Fox & Robin. Each £57 
Greyfriars Bar will be holding their annual Christmas Fayre on Monday the 17th starting at 7.30pm!!
Just in from Edinburgh's Haberdash House are these brooches and necklaces from her new Circus Collection. The wooden 'I've joined the circus' brooches (I love these!) come printed with red, pink, or black, Henrietta the horse in red, black or white, and Trevor the tiger in red. Brooches are £10, perspex necklaces are £25
We have just got some advent calendars from Lucy Jane Batchelor which you put together yourself from her cut-out decorations and stickers. I'm taking one home with me tonight so I'll take a photo of it when it's finished and hopefully it will be in the shop window next week! They are £8.50
We've just got a delivery of cosy lounging (bed)socks by London based textile designer Catherine Tough. Great for keeping cosy on these long dark nights. In three different colours at the moment...and more to come next week! £18
We've had lots of new things appearing this week but I'll start off with these very lovely handmade notebooks by Glasgow designer/maker Emma Wilson (aka pumpkinsputnik). I was really pleased to get Emma's work here as it really is gorgeous. From £3.50-£8. Perfect stocking fillers!
New in are some gorgeous leather purses from London's Miss Budd! Above is the 'lovebird' large purse/clutch. Each one is hand screenprinted onto leather (in this case gold leather) with a different image on either side. At the moment we have yellow on gold (as above) and mauve on gold. They would make a very special present! Priced at £45.
garden with wheelbarrow. approx 27cm x 9cm. £70
dark tulips. approx 15cm x 15 cm. £65
chocolates. 16.5cm x 11.5cm. £65
cats & flowers. approx 15cm x 15cm. £65
4 gardeners. 
I was really pleased to receive a fabulous package of goodies this week from one of my favourite illustrators Anke Weckmann. Inside was a wonderful collection of badges/brooches, pendants, mirrors & stickers. I wish I'd taken picture of the box. It was a joy to look at in itself...and a treat to open! Even the invoice is beautiful to look at!
badges £7 
pocket mirrors £6 
screenprinted bird stickers (pack of 20) £5
Other recent arrivals to boo vake are these fabulous little notebooks by illustrator Kate Seaward for Lov-Li. They are £3.50 each.
Adding to the aromas floating around boo vake at the moment are these colourful scented candles by Pintail in Cumbria. As well as the ones pictured above we have jasmine & lemon balm, elderflower & champagne, peony & pink rose bud, and suitably seasonal cranberry spice. mistletoe & wine, and mulled wine. They are £7 each.
We've had a lot of new bits & pieces appearing recently. I'll start off with the soaps, candles and shower gels from Clare at Barony Crafts. Her scented soy candles last twice as long as normal candles and if you spill them you can clean any spillages with soap and water!
The Perthshire Open Studios event started at the weekend and runs until next Sunday. We managed to visit a few venues on Sunday including that of boo vake favourite Ceri White (above!) at Baldinnies near Dunning. The highlight for me was finding out how she does her animal 'flock' tiles (I've spent many a quiet moment pondering this!) .... and was impressed to find out that it's all down to good old-fashioned time-consuming labour-intensive fiddly stuff!!!
My brother, Alasdair Baird, is an architect. The house he designed for his mother-in-law features in the Sept/Oct edition of Homes & Interiors Scotland. It's a fabulous, beautifully crafted house with incredible attention to detail. My jaw did drop when I read the budget was £450,000 (as I still harbour thoughts that someday I might be in the position to benefit from his services!) but phew!!! they made a mistake (quite a big one) - it should have said £250,000! I'm sure this issue will still be in the shops if you want to take a peek.
We've just got in jewellery by the lovely Islay Spalding. Islay graduated from Duncan Of Jordanstone College of Art in 2005 and has been creating fabulous one-off pieces ever since. Her biomorphs range is made from silver and colourful hand-dyed resin, and we also have some of her resin & chain pieces (...made from resin & chain!). Prices from £33-£90. Islay also specialises in designing & making bespoke kiltpins so if you're looking for something special for somebody special check her site out here!
A quick detour to Duart Castle.
Ken at Lochbuie.
Me having a well earned cuppa after reaching the end of the long rise in Glen More (and the sun came out!).
Leaving Calgary behind.
Ken at the top of the long upwards stretch on the Calgary/Gruline road.
Glorious sunshine overlooking Ulva.
A waterfall!
We have new things from Brighton's Sukie! First off are the travel journals which have silkscreen printed covers and inside a mix of lined, plain & squared paper. They also have sewn-in envelopes to hold all the 'stuff' ' you've picked up along the way! Priced £9.50.
Next we have the perfect multi-purpose notebook. One half of it has plain paper, then turn it over and the other half is lined! The covers are silkscreen printed and the paper is recycled (as are all the Sukie notebooks we have). They are £7 each.
Finally, we have 3 more designs of Sukie's screenprinted hankies. They are big enough to use as scarves, or (as I've done in the shop) they can be stretched over a canvas and hung on the wall. They are £8 each. 
We now have these 'make-a-book' kits by illustrator, book artist & printmaker Alison Hardcastle - so I thought I'd have a go (results below!). Each kit (there are 4 designs) has a screenprinted cover & A4 sheet, a needle & thread, and an instruction sheet. What you end up with is a fabulous little Alison Hardcastle book or notebook.
The technique is really simple but amazingly effective and if you are new to bookbinding I can almost certainly guarantee that once you've made your first book you'll be thinking about making your own from scratch. Perfect introduction for any budding artists or illustrators in the family. Each kit is £8. 
Some lovely new cushions from Marie & Maria at Lush Designs. Also we have a new batch of hanging birds in orange, pistachio, pale grey & teal.
The monkey lampshades make a return in a smaller size (17cm x 20cm). And we also have mermaid shades in orange or turquoise to fit your lamp-bases (hurrah!).
