Gifts
In the gift area of the shop, you will find a fabulous choice of unusual ideas for presents or treats for yourself... Bags, Candles, Cards, Clocks, Frames, Glassware, Jewellery Boxes, Lighting, Mirrors, Pewter, Pictures, Pottery, Silverware… and much more! Because we have no Head Office or other shops, we can choose what we wish to have in the shop, so the range is always changing with new things coming in all the time. What follows, like with the jewellery above, is a showcase of some of the ranges that we carry. It is only a taster and nowhere near the full extent of what we have available – we hope that it whets your appetite! Christening Gifts
It's a special day for any child and you will want to give them something that they will treasure. In the past, it was considered good luck to 'cross a baby's head' with silver - the idea remains today and so we have plenty of suggestions for you. In addition, pewter has become a very popular choice for christening gifts and again you will find an assortment of ideas. It can be difficult to choose a gift for a christening, particularly as the recipients are rarely old enough to give you any hints! So here are some tips... Think whether you want them to have something they can enjoy now (or over the next few years)... or something for when they are grown up? It seems easier to buy for girls than it is for boys, because you can choose more jewellery; but there are lots of ideas for both. Here are some of the more popular choices... | | • For Boys or Girls:- Tooth Fairy Box, 1st Curl Box, Birth Certificate Holder, Picture Frame, Pewter Mug, Silver Napkin Ring, Silver Pill Box, Bubble Blower, Clock, Quaich, St. Christopher, Money Box, Silver Cross
• For Girls:- Silver Locket, Silver Bangle, Daisy Pendant, Charm Bracelet
• For Boys:- Cufflinks, Hipflask, Tankard, Silver Key-Ring
Engraving is a popular idea for christening gifts. Both pewter and silver are relatively soft metals and therefore can be easily engraved. The child's name or initials and perhaps the date of the christening day are often chosen. There is an engraver ("Multiserve") situated 20 yards from our shop in Union Passage - they are reliable and take great pride in their work. They are also very reasonably priced. |
| Royal Selangor
Royal Selangor was founded in 1885 and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with the world’s largest pewter factory. Every piece is hand-cast, soldered and hand-polished and the range is vast; from picture frames, through corkscrews & moneyboxes, to wine glasses and wedding registers.
Royal Selangor make some of the most intricate pewter pieces we have seen, and their skill in polishing gives mirror-finishes on their modern pieces. We also carry their ‘Inspired’ collection, with more traditional designs inspired by the collections at The Victoria & Albert Museum. They also produce a superb range of items suitable for christenings and weddings.
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Lily-flame candles
We have been stocking these scented candles in tins for over four years and they have a huge following in Bath and customers return time and time again to buy more! With over 15 different fragrance, such as ‘Bluebell Forest’, ‘Mango Fandango’ and ‘Lavender & Lime’, there are lots to choose from and they smell fabulous and burn for 35 hours. Jo and Luc, who make them about 25 miles south of Bath, began their business with help from The Prince’s Trust and now struggle to keep up with demand as their candles are so popular!
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| Clocks
There is an impressive range of wall clocks on show – with a selection chosen from three different manufacturers, ensuring an excellent choice. From the most classic and traditional, perfect for a Georgian townhouse, to plainer modern designs suitable for a minimalist apartment. If it’s a specific colour you are wishing to match, with such a wide choice, there is certain to be the clock for you. All are quartz, battery operated and come with a 12 month guarantee. |
Marinoni Pewter
This collection of Pewter is hand-made in Italy by the long-established Marinoni family business with a wealth of experience and a host of beautiful designs that they produce. It is unlike any of our other pewter ranges in that it has an aged finish to it and so looks as though it is an antique. The resulting appearance of the collection is one that would fit in with a Georgian townhouse, a rural cottage or indeed a modern home.
They make a whole variety of pieces, from decanters, to tankards, from bowls to bells, and from candlesticks to condiment sets. Some of the pieces are plainer, and some have a richer, very ‘Italian’ feel to them and provide a handsome addition to anyone’s home. Once again, the qualities of pewter are such that it needs only minimal cleaning and upkeep.
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| Raku Pottery
Raku was devised as a technique over 2,500 years ago in the Far East. What gives Raku pottery its distinctive appearance is how the potter snatches the piece out of a special kiln while it is red hot, and then plunges it into a deep bed of sawdust to prevent it from cooling too fast and cracking right through. This sudden contact with the cool air causes the glaze to crackle in an attractive and unusual way ensuring no two pieces are exactly the same. Our collection of animals, are all handmade in Wrexham by John Hine and his team. Some pieces are formed from as many as sixteen individual parts, all of which have to be meticulously and seamlessly joined together before the unique firing and cooling process and being hand-painted. It is an exceptionally unpredictable operation with huge amounts of wastage - but when it is successful, the results are both beautiful and engaging. |
Silver Scenes
This pretty range of boxes, frames, clocks and more, is made in Wales and has a following of collectors. Each item is made of pewter and then silver-plated. Most include an extract of poetry or prose to compliment the theme or animal on the piece. The featured clock contains the wording: “To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour”. | |
Silverware
With a name such as ours, you would expect a good range of silverware, and we aim to meet your needs. Whether it’s a silver picture frame, or a silver napkin ring, a decanter, or a silver pill box – we carry a great range of products in different sizes and styles. All the silver is hallmarked in line with legislation and in many pieces, the hallmark is used as a feature of the piece. Most of the silverware is manufactured in Birmingham and Sheffield with the assurances of quality that you would expect from well-established British silversmiths.
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| Brighton Roc Mirrors
This unusual range of mirrors is handmade about 15 miles north of Bath by Julian and Roger in their workshop on a farm. They use a resin and specially formulated paints to create a realistic Bath Stone effect border to the mirrors which they shape into all varieties of church and castle-inspired forms – Gothic, Norman, Saxon etc. They come in a wide choice of sizes and they even produce a range suitable for outdoors use. |
More Pewter
Pewter is made of 95% tin with the remaining 5% being a mixture of copper and a metal called antimony, which are added to strengthen the tin. In the past, lead was used, but obviously this has health implications, so nowadays it is illegal to use lead, and antimony is used instead. All our pewter is lead-free and therefore entirely safe. One range, made in Sheffield by English Pewter Company includes a fine choice of hip flasks, tankards, boxes, picture frames and much more. The hip flasks and tankards are particularly popular as presents for ushers and the best man at weddings and are reasonably priced (from below £20). A piece of advice to grooms - best to give them empty, or at least wait until the best man’s speech is over! All are suitable for engraving. | |
| Animal Doorstops
A veritable zoo of different animal doorstops is ready to keep open that annoying door. Heavy enough to hold open the heaviest of doors, yet soft enough to be kind to your paintwork and toes in the dark! Cats, dogs, hedgehogs, horses, frogs… there’s plenty to choose from. |
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