Gifts with a Conscience

It’s been a busy week at Of Cabbages and Kings with lots of exciting new things arriving in store. But what has got us really excited are three brands that are all in some way either sustainable, being mindful of their consumption, or they are ethically or socially conscious, supporting exciting forward-thinking projects here and abroad. So let’s introduce these three brands and give you the opportunity to give gifts with a conscience this Christmas.

Dove Earrings and Dove Pendant by Pivot

Pivot

Pivot are a London based jewellery brand established in 2019 by Alice Moxely. The idea behind Pivot is to give homeless people an opportunity to ‘pivot’ their lives away from homelessness through making and enterprise.

Each piece is designed by Alice and made by a homeless person living in temporary housing. The jewellery is designed to be easily assembled and put together with minimal need for specialist tools. Each maker is paid the London Living Wage and is supported through coaching, financial support and guidance. This gives part-time, flexible and meaningful employment for those who find it difficult to access, and helps create swifter pathways out of temporary accommodation.

Each piece of jewellery comes in a box marked with the individual maker’s name.

“I was homeless and hopeless. I didn’t imagine myself that I would be making jewellery and selling it in shops. Being part of Pivot has helped me mentally and has given me self confidence in working with a team and being part of a social enterprise. I remember like it was yesterday, first time walking into jewellery session. I was shy, nervous and didn’t know what to expect but with each class I have seen myself improving. I have something to look forward to in 2020 and can rewrite my life again.”

Pivot Maker – makepivot.org
Sustainable Plain A5 and A6 Notebooks by Vent for Change

Vent for Change

Vent for Change is a sustainable stationery brand based in Bristol. Founded in 2014 by environmental entrepreneur Evan Lewis, it started with just an ageing run-down facility producing pencils from recycled CD cases.

“Pencils are the most iconic educational tool going back centuries and I wanted to do something with them, something inspirational.”

Evan Lewis Founder

Evan took on months of research with NGOs and charities with a plan to help children worldwide after devastating natural and man-made disasters, especially those whose access to education had been affected.

He realised that pencils alone would not solve the problem, but what was needed was money. Money to rebuild schools, money to pay teachers and money to provide essential materials. Now Evan raises money to support children’s education projects worldwide through the sale of his stationery products.

Not only does Vent for Change support charities, but the products they make are also ethical and sustainable. They use recycled leather and board for the covers, and the paper inside 100% sustainable FSC certified.

Small and Medium Light Wooden Vase by Priormade

Priormade

Priormade is the brainchild of Beck Prior, a Bristol based design and fabrication artist. Beck creates beautiful handmade wooden products using a range of sustainable, low impact and recycled materials.

‘I want to change common opinion and highlight that responsibly designed products can be more valuable, well made and striking than those made irresponsibly.’

Beck Prior founder of Priormade

Beck’s ethos is to produce contemporary designs without compromising on sustainability or quality. Her laminated designs are produced from layers of sustainable and responsibly sourced plywood that are laminated together with a water based adhesive. No waste is created during the making process and all offcuts are used or donated to a ‘reusable waste’ charity.

The vases are produced from reclaimed wood from dedicated wood recycling projects. This makes them all unique and each piece of wood has an interesting back story. The small vases were once part of Battersea Power Station roof!

For more sustainable gift ideas check out our Sustainable Gift Guide.

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Postable Gifts

This year’s festive season might be a little bit different to usual. But while friends and family may be spending time apart we can still send a card or gift, however small, to let our loved ones know we’re thinking of them. Of Cabbages and Kings presents a selection of our smallest, most easily postable gifts, many of which will fit into a standard envelope. So grab a book of stamps and get posting gifts this year!

Stuart Gardiner has designed a selection of informative and interesting tea towels that explore topics such as Wine Pairings and Breads of the World. Not only are they useful in the kitchen, but they also contain a whole host of trivia and fun facts like the origins of the worlds sparkling wines or how to spell whisky, or should that be whiskey? Whatever their favourite food or tipple there is bound to be a towel to make a perfect match.

Made in the UK from ethically-sourced premium cotton and measuring. 480mm x 760mm.

Featured here are:

Shop all the Tea Towel designs.

Trying to encourage a friend or family member to be more sustainable this year? These Pretty Bee Fresh Beeswax Wraps are a great place to start. Small enough to fit into a greetings card, but a really useful addition to the kitchen. Made by hand in London they make a great alternative to plastic wraps and can be used again and again.

Measuring 260mm x 260mm and made from 100% pure cotton, organic jojoba oil, pine resin and beeswax from local bees.

Shop all the Beeswax Wrap designs – £8 each

Staying with a sustainable theme are Ola’s Organic Cotton Wraps. Not only are these wraps a great reusable way of wrapping gifts, they also make nice gifts themselves. Ola were inspired by the ancient Japanese art of Furoshiki, which is used for wrapping and transporting items. With this idea in mind Ola applied their trademark contemporary patterns to this selection of wraps. The receiver can use them to wrap their own gifts and pass them on, or find other uses about the home such as a napkin or to wrap a packed lunch.

Measuring 500mm x 500mm from organic cotton in collaboration with a social enterprise whose aim is to create sustainable livelihoods for rural women.

From left to right:

These Design Stencils are great gifts for both adults and children. Covering Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Bauhaus art movements, they allow you to create endless combinations of lines and text in some of the worlds most recognisable art styles. Use them to create your own stationery or greetings cards. What’s even better is they are flat and fit perfectly through the letter box.

Made from brass, the packaging measures 225mm x 160mm.

Do you know an avid reader? Well what every reader needs, be it fiction or non fiction, is a bookmark. This series of Bookmark Clips from Another Studio are a great little gift to slip into a card. With various themes such as London Buildings, Winged Insects, Houseplants and British Writers there is guaranteed to be a clip for even the most discerning of reader.

Made from laser etched steel.

This cheeky collection of brass ornaments are designed to nestle in among your houseplants. A great little gift for a plant lover to jazz up their prized specimen. They could even be used to decorate a Christmas tree – a fun alternative to traditional decorations.

Made from laser etched brass.

Another one for the nature lovers and a great gift to accompany a gardening book perhaps? These Leaf Bookmarks come in Brass and Steel and are a stylish way to mark a page.

Our ever popular City Maps are the perfect gift for lovers of the urban jungle. Flat, light and easy to pop into an envelope. These fold out city maps look at Brutalism, Art Deco, London Underground Architecture, Great Trees and many more. Inspire an adventure or feed a passion for city living.

The map opens to 420mm x 600mm (slightly larger than A2) and folds down to 210mm x 150mm (slightly larger than A5) and is protected by a band.

Shop the whole range of city maps.

Little books that are easy to send and interesting reads are always welcome. The Urban Forager is a fascinating look at what is edible in the city. Measuring 156mm x 109mm it’s the perfect pocket guide to take along on a walk. Organised seasonally with 32 recipes, you will be surprised at the everyday things you can cook and eat.

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