The Design-led gift umbrella is a remarkably broad church embracing everything from the hand-drawn and whimsical to the avant garde and ironic.
Fitting the hand-drawn bill is a delightful company we found at Pulse – the UK’s renowned hotbed for emerging industry talent – first-time exhibitor Mister Berwyn, founded and run by artist Amy Brown.
Mister Berwyn design themes are based on distinctive animal characters. The Nocturnal collection features lovingly draw
n badgers, owls and moles, Circus has a more fun, whimsical feel and the luxurious Fox and Rabbits, which is hand-painted with gold lustre details, rounds off this promising first collection.
The brand new homeware ranges include tableware, tea-towels, cushions, lampshades, with gift stationery also available and all products made in Britain.
At another side of the design spectrum – also seen at Pulse – is the contemporary, male-oriented Uberstar, a cool British distributor of original, design-led home and giftware for modern living, including: beer gadgets, cocktail equipment and mixes, tea and coffee, coffee accessories, glassware and wine innovations.
Founder Ryan Collins – formerly head of buying at Firebox.com, the UK’s largest online gift and gadget retailer – set out to transform everyday life into something a bit more remarkable, saying he is “passionate about great looking products that make life easier”. He loves the retail world and is ambitious about making Uberstar one of the largest, forward-thinking and exciting distributors operating within the UK.
Fulfilling their mission to inspire and transform people’s lifestyle choices, Uberstar offers a hand-picked selection of aesthetically pleasing and innovative coffee cups, travel mugs, wine coolers, barware and interesting objects.
Brands currently available include: Avoseedo, Cuppow, Ello & Zulu, Foster & Rye, Host, Joco, Quai Sud, True Essentials, True Zoo, Twine, Viski, Wine Traveller and Urban Hardware.
