Making a perfect gift for your mum, granny, sister or even yourself, is the Sarah Smith Apron. Yes, I know it’s an apron, but this apron is sure to brighten up any kitchen (or even, the person wearing it!). This fantastic cook’s apron is made from 100% Fairtrade certified cotton. It is versatile and easily adjustable, and hosts a large front pocket for you to keep your essentials in! You can feel the quality of this apron, and will be happy to have it on show in your kitchen.
Within the homeware range at http://www.sarah-smith.co.uk you will find Fairtrade and fabulous gifts. The aprons, tea towels, bags, picnic blankets and towels come in a selection of beautiful prints, being described as Confetti, Moo, Scooby and Polka dot. The Apron is priced at £19.99.
LEGO® continues to be a major player in the world of toys. Some innovative releases, like the New Star Wars range and the LEGO® Batman / Indiana Jones (and others) video game releases have enabled LEGO® to keep right up with the new boys.
LEGO® has now really raised the bar, with the new range of lighting. Fun, tough and practical, I cannot praise these enough, all available from amazon.co.uk and Boots.
Starting with the basic keychain, £5.99, this is a great push and hold torch with strong LED to provide a short term lighting solution - perfect for helping you find keyholes. To give you an idea, The Iconic Lego man is nearly twice usual size.
The Headlamp is a slight variation on the above. With a push and click function you can have a continuous beam. This has the head strap, but also has a very useful clip at the back (my son thinks it’s a jet pack) £7.99.
The Lego brick is a sturdy piece, designed to give out a constant glow. Can also be wall mounted within the home, £9.99.
For the Eco minded, the Dynamo torch is brilliant. The oversized Lego man’s arm is the crank, give it a whirl and you get instant eco lighting…so much better than other dynamo torches on the market today - £14.99
19cm of Lego man, fully poseable, and the ultimate torch. Maybe not as sleek as your standard design torch, but a lot more fun. The beam is surprisingly bright and, as with all these torches, the exterior is robust and would stand up to the tests of little ones (well, they do have a habit of managing to break things…) £14.99.
The Lego Man Lantern is my favourite. Again, a large 19cm man that gives 360 degree light and a fab carry handle makes this lantern portable. Perfect for use by a camp fire and for sleepovers or holidays £16.99.
This new range is as you would expect from LEGO®. The men are all poseable, with moving heads, arms and legs. On the smaller models, the moving legs are great, you can aim your beam to wherever you need it to be.
Value for money these days is a big issue. Just look at the prices above. These are top quality torches that will last. They are manufactured by a well known and loved brand. They are great prices. As gifts, these torches represent tremendous value for money.
I love coffee, I sometimes need coffee! What I find hard to replicate at home, is that lovely cup you get from your favourite coffee shop.
You know what I mean, somehow it’s not the same. My cafetierre gave up on me recently, so I was over the moon when Nigel’s Eco Store sent me the Presso, an Espresso coffee maker. Formed from polished aluminium (can be recycled at the end of its life), The kettle uses the only electricity needed to make an Espresso. No electricity required for the Presso itself.
To make an Espresso, 2 things are required - Boiling water and pressure (ok, 3 things…you need coffee grounds!). This is where the fun of Presso comes in. You provide the pressure by moving the arms up and then slowly down. You become an Espresso professional. There is something in the movement that makes you start to pose a little bit. It’s very satisfying!
More importantly, The Espresso itself is of coffee shop quality. What you get is delightfully smooth, not like my old cafetierre which used to chug out grainy coffee.
And as important again, the electricity consumption is a lot less than normal machines. It looks really cool as well! It has pride of place in my kitchen now - because of two things, it’s looks and it’s performance.
At £79.99, you can get real Espresso’s time after time. There will be no electricty costs and you will be lowering your carbon footprint. Guilt free, perfect Espresso’s from Presso and Nigel’s Eco store.
If you are looking for something entirely organic and 100% natural for you Father this Fathers Day, you should try out the Men’s Stock range from Aubrey’s Organics. Not only is this range absolutely fabulous for being completely ‘pure’, it is also great for those Dads who have sensitive skin. So Daddy would not have to worry about harmful ingredients or dangerous chemicals rubbing off on their precious children when giving them a great Daddy bear hug. You can hug, tickle and play rough and tumble with the little ones, with the welcoming fact that there will be no bad reaction to either of your skin. My fiancé, the father to my two little boys is using the Men’s Stock range daily now. In fact, it has taken over any other toiletries that he has previously used and loved on a daily basis. He would urge any other man to try it out as it has left his skin feeling better than it has done in a long time!
Aubrey Organics have the belief that great ingredients make great products (common sense, isn’t it?). Their mission is to provide all-natural, safe and effective grooming products for their clients, and therefore will only manufacture the highest quality products without any compromise to the ingredients, packaging or cost. They have said;
‘All products are creatively designed to work in harmony with nature. This fine balance of performance and nature is truly an art… and a little science. Next comes the sourcing of ingredients. They only accept the highest quality and purest of ingredients from around the world. Each ingredient is tested to ensure it meets out high standards for purity and efficacy.’
Product within the Men’s Stock range include:-
Men’s Cleansing Bar Soap (3.99) – This is made with 85% organic ingredients. It really is a big bar of soap and will surely last you a long time. Having a little menthol in it plus organic cleansers, this soap will leave you with a cool and creamy lather. Also, the organic shea butter keeps your skin from feeling tight or dry. My Fiancé loves this product; in fact, my boys are starting to use it as well! Being 100% natural, I am happy for them to follow in their father’s footsteps and do what Daddy does.
Men’s Daily Moisturiser (11.99) – A lightweight but hardworking moisturiser which is absorbed quickly and wont clog your pores, leaving your skin feeling clear and comfortable. This fantastic moisturiser will help balance oil production and reduce the occurrence of razor bumps with twice daily use.
Northwood’s Herbal Pine Deodorant (8.49) – This natural herbal extract will keep you fresh smelling all day, without the use of harsh ingredients or preservatives. This actually does work!
Northwood’s Shaving Cream (6.49) – Helps towards a smooth, cool shave. Use this really thick cream daily for a comfortable, easy shave and invigorated skin. Soothes and guards against irritation from razor burn.
Other products include; Northwood’s Aftershave (9.99); Ginseng Biotin Hair repair (13.49); Ginseng Biotin Shampoo (8.49).
All can be purchased at http://www.aubreyorganicsuk.co.uk or call 0800 0851 697.
If your Dad is a ‘green’ Dad, likes to have everything ‘Eco’, and is also hooked on his iPhone, smartphone, iPod or the new iPad, then porporta have the ideal gift for him this Fathers Day. This truly eco range of mobile accessories are just beautifully designed and look very smart indeed. My very generous and kind friends recently bought me an iPod for my birthday, and the only thing missing was that perfect cover to protect it. Now I have found the most amazing looking holder for it.
The skilfully designed Recycled Leather Case looks very chic. It hosts a bamboo screen protection that will protect your handheld device from knocks and bumps, much needed if you are forever on-the-go, like most of us are! The Bamboo plate which comes with the packaging, also acts as your screen shield by simply popping into the top of your case, very clever indeed.
Other options available are a pouch style in either recycled leather or in a soft hessian. These also offer protection by inserting the bamboo plate in these options.
Proporta has themselves declared to be really proud of their new product range. Joint founder Guy Monson states:-
“In early 2008, we decided that we wanted to do more than simply pay money to offset carbon emissions and rename products “green”. Ever since then we’ve been conducting extensive research on how we can run our business in a more sustainable manner – looking at every aspect, from the drawing board to the manufacturing and supply chain. Proporta Smart is the culmination of this and we hope we shall be able to adapt some of the best features from the range into the rest of our products”.
The Proporta Smart range is available to purchase online from http://www.proportasmart.com priced at:
£29.95 for the Recycled Leather Case with Bamboo Screen Protection, £19.95 for either of the pouches and £34.95 for the Recycled Leather Case for iPad
The Recycled Leather Case with bamboo screen protection is available for Apple 2G iPod touch, Apple 5G iPod nano, Apple 2G iPod classic, Apple iPhone 3G S, Blackberry Bold 2 & HTC Desire.
