A new collaboration between Gardening for Kids and Emma Lawrence Designs is a natural match – combining a love of the outdoors with beautifully illustrated, educational products.
Gardening for Kids is a family business with one goal – to get children growing! Founded by Louise Edgeworth, a teacher, in response to the question "What's the point of plants Miss?" they are the UK's only specialist children's gardening supplier.
The company has licensed Emma's charming sub-brand, Little Nature Explorers®, across a brand-new range of growing kits, garden tools and accessories.
With a shared ethos of helping children learn about nature and encouraging outdoor play, the range is designed to inspire curiosity and creativity - while also supporting the KS2 science curriculum.
Posted: 6 August 2025
Anna McLoughlin Fine Jewellery has been awarded the prestigious HALO Award for 2025, in recognition of her innovative work to engage customers with the importance of hallmarking and consumer protection in the jewellery sector.
The HALO Award, established by the British Hallmarking Council in 2021, and now operating under the Assay Assured banner, a joint venture between the four assay offices of the UK (Birmingham, Edinburgh, London and Sheffield) is awarded annually. HALO recognises the UK-based jewellery business that uses their online platform in the most creative ways to leverage the added value that hallmarking provides and to educate their audience on the meaning and importance of the hallmark.
Posted: 6 August 2025
The Giftware Association is delighted to announce that Gemma Sault will be joining as managing director at the beginning of September. With a strong background in the giftware and retail sectors, Gemma brings a wealth of experience and fresh energy to the Giftware Association as it continues to support and champion the UK's vibrant home, stationery, craft, jewellery and gift industry.
Posted: 5 August 2025
Gandys, the adventure-inspired lifestyle brand known for combining travel-ready products with social impact, is proud to announce its official certification as a B Corporation.
This milestone recognises Gandys' unwavering commitment to creating a positive impact for people and the planet – while delivering high-quality, purpose-driven products.
From day one, Gandys has stood for more than just style and function. Born from a journey of resilience and inspired by global adventure, the brand was founded on the belief that business can and should give back.
Gandys donates 10 percent of every sale to support the empowerment of children through education projects.
Posted: 1 August 2025
Gift of the Year, organised by The Giftware Association, is thrilled to announce that Chi Cups by Chi Cups has been officially crowned the sixth People's Choice Champion.
The brand earned an overwhelming number of votes - nearly 20 percent of the total - and captured the hearts of fans and supporters within their network. The award was announced at the Harrogate Home and Gifts Sundowners drink, held after the first day of trading.
From the very beginning, Chi Cups brought energy, creativity, and an undeniable spark to the competition, making its way through to the shortlist stage of the awards and proudly exhibiting at Spring Fair. The company's ability to rally support and inspire its community was nothing short of phenomenal in the most voted awards to date.
Posted: 23 July 2025
Gibsons Games has been honoured with a King's Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development.
Gibsons is one of 197 organisations nationally to be recognised with the award, recognised for its excellence in sustainable development.
The company is a fourth-generation family-business founded in 1919, a small team based in Surrey, committed to bringing people together with the fun and joy of puzzles and games.
Kate Gibson, Managing Director, said: "This award is an incredible honour for Gibsons. It celebrates the ongoing efforts of our team, past and present, who have shaped our sustainability model and prioritised how we can do better. I couldn't be prouder."
Posted: 8 July 2025
New research from Ventrica has revealed the revenue benefits for brands that invest in providing emotive customer experiences (CX) that consumers want.
The company surveyed over 2,000 UK consumers and found that over the last 12 months, only 4 per cent of positive experiences were delivered by AI and only 18 per cent were a combination of AI and human interaction. Furthermore, only just over half (53 percent) found chatbots to be a successful means of resolving enquiries, significantly lower than calls (87 percent).
This is leaving UK brands at risk of losing out on potential revenue opportunities, with the survey finding consumers would be willing to spend up to £100 more on a brand in the future, following a positive experience.
Posted: 8 July 2025
The Literary Gift Company is re-branding its trade website to reflect the evolution of the business and the broad range of topics and curiosities that inspire its products.
It marks a new phase for the company as it seeks to work with even more independent bookshops, libraries, museums, theatres, galleries and gift shops across the UK and beyond.
The Literary Gift Company Trade becomes Academically Gifted,www.academicallygifted.co.uk
The Literary Gift Company Trade website was created in response to calls from bookshops who wanted to stock products created for www.theliterarygiftcompany.com.
As the company's sister site, www.presentindicative.com, came online the company began producing a growing range of unusual design-led products with an academic twist. The new brand and website reflect this evolution.
Posted: 30 June 2025
Supplier of colourful jewellery, scarves and bags, Miss Milly has scooped the gong for Micro Business of the Year at the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce Awards.
"We have previously been a finalist for Most Promising New Business," explains a delighted Sarah Watmore, Owner. "And after a strong period of sustained growth it felt like the right time to enter these prestigious, local awards again. I am over the moon that our consistency, passion, evolution and success has been formally recognised."
Judged by representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Luke Elliott from the Worcestershire Growth Hub, Sarah was presented with her award at a sparkling magic-themed evening at the Worcester Arena.
Posted: 25 June 2025
A new drive to grow the number of small businesses in the UK, through targeted support for side-hustles and start-ups, has been announced by Small Business Britain and eBay.
The new Side-Hustle Lab – a free, six-week online programme, designed to help people get started, scale up, and build successful businesses – will launch on 4th June.
With the number of small businesses falling by 9 percent over the last five years – from a peak of 6 million in 2020 to 5.45 million in 2024 – the organisations are jointly calling for greater support for start-ups, and particularly businesses starting life as side-hustles.
Posted: 3 June 2025