Whimsical Wonders

We discovered the work of Freya Ete about 18 months ago but I only recently realised that I'd never blogged about her and her beautiful range of cards, prints and textiles. 

We love anything that's heartfelt (and makes us go a little bit mushy) so, when we saw Freya's amazing work our hearts were stolen... 

Born in Australia, Artist and Poet Freya now lives in London and designs incredibly beautiful and optimistic pieces.  What we love most about them is that their whimsical sentiments are perfect for absolutely any age, from newborn baby through to adults. 

They've now become one of our bestselling ranges so obviously you love them as much as we do!

Here are some of our (and your) favourites...

       

The Archivist Letterpress

Anything stationery related gets our hearts beating a little faster... add the word 'Letterpress' and we're close to having palpitations...

Which is why we were so thrilled to discover these amazing greetings cards.  Made in a very traditional style in the heart of Oxfordshire: with the help of wood blocks, an intricate system of suction, gears and levers...oh, and a windmill.

Just in case you're unfamiliar with the process of Letterpress, here's a little explanation...

If you can conjure up an image from your history books of a Caxton press, you will not be far away from visualising the production process of an Archivist Letterpress greeting card 500 years later...

In contrast to the world of offset printing, the role of the 'press minder' is still key.  Armed with an oil can, an inking knife and his judgement, he constantly adjusts and tweaks the arms and the plates to create the perfect print.  

Archivist is not soulless factory printing in an industrial unit.  Instead, the workshop is suffused with the heady smell of printing inks and resonates to the rhythmic workings of the press. The human element of the process gives each impression a charming individuality.  Everytime the block hits the paper, the result will be different.  

Here are a couple of our favourites...

          

If you'd like to see The Archivist Letterpress in action, Click HERE for a little video (I'm sure you'll fall in love a little bit, just like we did!) 

Cards priced at £2.95 each and are available at Nora's Ilkley

Trumpet Blowing...

Back in March we found out that we had been shortlisted for two national industry awards at 'THE GREATS' Gift Retailer Awards.  Completely flabbergasted but obviously chuffed to bits, mum and I started planning a little girlie day out in London...

The day came around quickly and on Thursday morning last week we got our glad rags on and set off on the train down to The Savoy (it's so posh they wrap their loo rolls up in tissue paper...) 

             

        Toilet roll wrapped in tissue... 

  Original little ashtrays in the toilets...

We thought you might like to know (and see) how our day went...

(So, you remember the scene at the end of Notting Hill where Julia Roberts is holding a press conference and Hugh Grant dashes across London to declare his undying love for her blah blah blah?  Well, the awards were held in that very room - terrible picture so you're going to have to trust me on this or click here to see it on you tube!)

                         

Our table was right at the very back by the kitchen door (the naughty table) and as soon as we found our seats I said to mum; 'there's absolutely no way we're going to win; firstly, there's about 350 people here and secondly, they never put winners on tables right at the back - you didn't see One Direction sat at the back at The Brits...'

After 2 hours of 'networking and hob-nobbing' we sat down to a lovely meal and got ready for comedian Hal Cruttenden (very funny, camp but straight bloke) to present the awards. 

Me and mum enjoying ourselves

Finally, our catagory was announced -  Independent Gift Retailer of the Year 2013 (North & Northern Ireland).  Nervously holding each others hand, mum and I tried to concentrate on the nominees... And the winner is...<X Factor style dramatic pause> 'Nora's Interiors and Gifts, Ilkley'!!!! 

           Receiving our award

Posing...

    

Our table (who were all strangers just a few hours before) cheered and whooped for us - to say we were gobsmacked was an understatement - we made our way up to the stage through the maze of chairs and tables and collected our (extremely heavy) award, posed for photographs and then 'bounced' back down to our table. 

If I'm honest, the rest of the awards was a bit of a blur and completely overwhelming... we couldn't stop grinning and have yet to come down from cloud nine!  For our little shop to be recognised by the industry at a national level is just incredible.  

Beautiful orchids at The Savoy

Once everyone had filtered out, we decided to have a celebratory 'brew' in the American Bar at The Savoy (well we are from Yorkshire) and the staff were so lovely - our award got its own chair!

We made our way back to Kings Cross ready for our journey home (and a marks and sparks sarnie on the train - we know how to live!)

                           

The humble water glass

Ahhhh, the humble water glass.... 

An absolute essential and yet quite often the most overlooked of all the dinner table glasses.

I am one of those people who is guilty of coo-ing over delighfully shaped wine glasses; those with gloriously curvacious bowls, unusual stems and fine bevelled detail are my weakness.

However, when it came to choosing water glasses the ones I came across just didn't inspire or enthuse me... Until now....

These are quite possibly the most beautiful water glasses I have seen in a long time? - A great size that comfortably fill my (smaller than average!) hand and don't even get me started on the etching...

Stunning, stunning stunning

Now, just to decide which ones to buy for myself!

A Yorkshire Rose

To celebrate our 1st birthday we asked our favourite designer Helen McAllister of Helkat Design if she would make a cushion especially for Nora's. 

As always she has come up trumps and her 'Yorkshire Rose' cushion is perfect for our little Yorkshire shop!

We are so proud and honoured to have been one of her first retail stockists - her rustic designs inspired by the natural world complement our rural surroundings perfectly.

Each cushion Helen makes is hand made, hand screenprinted and finished with different ribbons and trimmings.  You are always guaranteed a completely unique cushion which is something you definitely won't find on the High Street.  Our favourite feature? The back is always as beautiful as the front...

  

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT NORA'S, ILKLEY

Nora's wins New Business of the Year!

We're celebrating this morning after winning the New Business of the Year award at the Telegraph and Argus 'Bradford Means Business' on Saturday night.

The Award, sponsored by Bradford University School of Management, was presented to us at a glittering ‘Oscars’ style event attended by over 300 people and recognised the huge achievements of businesses throughout the Bradford area.  The evening was hosted by renowned broadcaster John Hammond and featured speeches from ‘The Secret Millionaire’ Carl Hopkins and Bradford Council Leader Councillor Ian Greenwood.

We’re so thrilled to have received this award; it’s a huge achievement for us and recognises all of our hard work and also the support of our customers.  It’s great to be able to share our success and support other small businesses in Yorkshire and the rest of the UK by selling their products at Nora’s.  We’re looking forward to celebrating our 1^st Birthday in May and having many more years of successful trading in Ilkley. 

Thank you as always for your continued support