Shop of the Week - Jo Heckett

After a week of neglecting my blog due to my Prince's Trust workshop week (which was brilliant!!) I'm back to blogging!

The Shop of the Week feature is always my favourite and with Christmas coming up I've been adding tonnes of new favourites on Etsy to my 'hearted' shops and items. One of my all time favourites is Jo Heckett. I discovered her shop on Etsy over the summer and keep checking back because I love her porcelain items so much! If money was no object, everyone on my Christmas list would be getting their name in porcelain.

Not only has Jo got the cutest items, but she herself is lovely! You can find her on Etsy at http://www.joheckett.etsy.com/ and NOTHS at www.notonthehighstreet.com/joheckett.

Her facebook page is one of the best I've seen from a handmade seller, with lots of behind the scenes photos and plenty of updates! It's one of my favourites: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jo-Heckett/123346152940

Shop of the Week - Pouch

I have a friend who likes all things purple...actually, a few friends of mine love purple, so on an 'Early Christmas Gift Browse' of Etsy.com last week, I used the search term 'Purple' and 'UK'. I came across the shop 'Pouch' and her handmade purple owl was the item that appeared in the search. I was drawn into look at her shop further, the owl was just so sweet!

Her shop is full of gorgeous handmade owls, bunnies and bags...all eco-friendly and adorable! The lavendar-filled owls and bunnies are my favourites, a chemical-free alternate to moth balls or just a cute decoration for a drawhandle or to help you sleep.

Pouch is currently offering free worldwide shipping before her shop closes at the start of October. Her shop will close while she has her first baby, so grab a sweet treat for yourself or get started on your Christmas gift purchases before October 4th to make the most of free shipping and a super-cute product!

Shop of the Week - Wall Envy Art

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of meeting Louise of Wall Envy Art who makes the most adorable decorative items from old books and offcuts of wood. Not only are the framed pieces gorgeous, they're enviromentally friendly as Louise collects old books to reuse for her work and offcuts of wood from her brother's framing business. Her work makes perfect gifts for book lovers and art lovers alike. My purchase was a lovely piece from a French Dictionary, decorated in greetings. I know the inteded recipent of my gift purchase will love it...if I can part with it!

For anyone local to us both here in Northamptonshire, Louise will be taking her work to the prestigious Lamport Hall Gift Fair in October and the first Made By Artisans fair in Peterborough in November. Or simply have a look at her Etsy shop to purchase directly.

Shop of the Week - Middleburg

I love Middleburg and as soon as I thought about doing a new shop of the week, I immediately thought of her gorgeous papier mache bird cake toppers! I think every time I manage to grab a treasury on Etsy, Middleburg is one of my trusty favourite shops I first check out for my treasury theme. I think sometimes I have to stop myself from including her gorgeous products yet again!

Middleburg's Folk Art style reminds me of when I visited friends in Georgia, USA a few years ago and visited loads of cute little shops with wooden trinkets and rustic treasures. I live in England and the little country gift stores I discovered in the mountains in Georgia are nothing like any shops I've seen here in England. Seeing Middleburg's shop reminds me of all the goodies I discovered on my trip. It's a style I love and I think is one of the best shops to showcase the more unique, handmade finds on Etsy. One of my favourite items is her Calico cat (which you can see below) which reminds me of a special kitty I grew up with.

Another brilliant thing about this artist, is the eco-friendliness of her process. Using 100% recycled newspaper, water and a biodegradable binder, Middleburg makes some gorgeous and environmentally friendly items!

Check out Middleburg on Etsy: http://www.middleburg.etsy.com/

Shop of the Week - toastjewelry

Toast Jewelry has been active on Etsy since March 2008, yet I discovered her gorgeous products only last week. Take one look at her shop and you can see owner and creator, Hayden, loves leaves and wire wraps stunning simple leaf shapes for necklaces and earrings. Thoroughly modern and elegant!

When it came to deciding who to feature as this week's Shop of The Week, I instantly thought of Toast Jewelry and wanted to share her products on my blog! The shop not only has beautiful nature-inspired products but is also caring to the environment, using recycled silver and gold as well as recycled packing supplies.

Visit Toast Jewelry's Etsy Shop

Featured Seller: Pretty By Pistachio

I'm hoping to make regular blog entries and I've found some lovely sellers, so I thought I'd create a 'Featured Seller' feature. This week, my twitter-friend Lousie of Pretty By Pistachio.

Louise sells her cute floral and button jewellery both on her own personal shop and via Etsy also. I recently purchased what is now her top selling item, her Floral Fabric Button Earrings, which I love! They're so well made, adorable and a bargain at £4.50. I highly recommend them!

Other products include bright and cheery floral pieces from her 'Say it With a Flower' collection and fabric button jewellery (my personal favourite) from the 'Cute as a Button' collection. All are handmade by Louise and are gorgeous!

Check out Pretty by Pistachio on Etsy or the Pretty by Pistachio Shop.

Louise also has something special planned called 'Simply Forgotten' and I can't wait to see what that is all about. I'm sure it'll be as gorgeous as Pretty by Pistachio!