If you picked up Issue 3, you'll already be au fait with the story of our Shop Of The Month, Cachette, the online lifestyle store that's the brainchild of Anglo-French couple Stephen Rogan and Delphine de Chabilier. Cachette stocks a cornucopia of beautiful, hand-picked items for your home, all from "young designers, unknown artisans or old heritage manufacturers from Europe."
With the festive season fast approaching, we looked through Stephen and Delphine's really quite amazing selection of Christmas gift ideas, and here's a handful of our favourites, as pictured above:
- Wooden Elf – A gorgeous, cheeky ornament, made in Denmark from solid oak and beech wood. There are two designs to choose from and each is supplied with a leather string for hanging on your tree.
- Large Wicker Star – Made in France from natural wicker grown by small co-op of artisans, and available in two sizes, this star will look elegant hanging above your Christmas dining table or in a porch. Assembling the star is an easy-peasy yet satisfying task that the whole family can get involved in on Christmas Eve.
- 6 Gift Wrap Sheets, Geometric Design – Printed on thick 100% recycled paper using vegetable-based inks, right here in the UK, these 50x70cm gift wrap sheets are as green as they are beautiful. An eye-catching alternative to overly festive-themed wrappings...
- Advent Calendar – Bright, cheerful and nicely complementing the Gift Wrap Sheets, this calendar is made in the UK from thick recycled board comes with 24 stickers, one for every day up to 'the big one'. Small people will love moving the stickers, each of which features a striking geometric design, around the board to keep up the excitement as the 25th gets ever-closer!
- Artisan Made Panettone – This festive Italian treat has become deservedly popular as an alternative to (or in addition to!) the traditional Christmas cake. As you'd expect, Stephen and Delphine, "spent a long time searching for the best Panettone", and eventually sourced this 600g of airy, fruity indulgence, which has been made by the Perbellini family for some 130 years, currently in their bakery attached to their 2 Michelin-starred restaurant. That kind of pedigree is hard to beat, and tempting, oh so tempting...
Finally, and we're sharing this because it's a great example of just how unique some of Cachette's product are, we present the Log Torch! A brilliantly simple, French-made alternative to an open fire or outdoor fireplace, these special logs contain a natural fire lighter and have been cut so they stand upright and burn vertically. Perfect for a toasty evening, sat talking under the stars or watching festive fireworks, they throw out heat across a five metre radius:
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