HUGE Shop Small UK Guide – Christmas 2020

Can you believe there is only 18 days until Christmas? Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I’m awful this year and I’m not done. I usually have all my gifts bought by now, but alas I still have my parents to buy for.

This year I wanted to do a gift guide, but not my usual one aimed at the geeks, otaku and kawaii fans, beauty, fashion etc etc. I wanted to instead focus on small companies/independent artists/businesses who need our support more than ever due to COVID and it’s affects from lockdowns here in the UK.

First of all, I’m only speaking about the UK as with a Twitter poll a couple of weeks ago, it’s what you as the readers voted for. However at the end of the post I will mention who you can shop small with all over the world too.

I’m going to add all sorts of categories here, not just geek, kawaii, otaku related. I’ll be talking about beauty, home, geek, Japan related, food and more! I want to try and talk about as much as I can, so when you need ideas for Christmas gifts you have lots of choice. I will also mention the last date to order for Christmas too if you’re in the UK. Please bear in mind with the COVID situation and Christmas on the horizon, Royal Main is struggling a little, so if you want to order, order as soon as possible!

Let’s get started! I really hope you guys enjoy this post. 🙂

Image taken from GIPHY

Geeky/Kawaii

Image taken from Jennifairy Illustration

Jennifairy Illustration – Creating cuties to make you smile. Enamel pins, stickers and keychains, all inspired by cute animals, video game characters and more.

Last date to order for Christmas – 14th December. However, if order after this date it could still get there but that can’t be promised. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Jennifairy Illustration is an independent artist/store I have spoken about on my blog since 2017 and I knew they were one of the first places I wanted to speak about today! Jennifairy has a range of products – enamel pins, stickers and keychains. Her style is incredibly cute and kawaii and the designs make me smile whenever I see them, both on her store and in my home. If you know someone who loves cute animals and certain characters from popular video games, then they will love to open a cute design from Jennifairy. Christmas wise you can pick up some gingerbread friends or even a Christmas Pikachu, with a Santa’s hat and a cup of coffee. There are loads of different designs to choose from, there is something for everyone.

Image taken from Littlest Spook Shop

Littlest Spook Shop – We put the Oo in spooky! Cute spooky ghost prints, mugs and other items to choose from!

Last date to order for Christmas – Currently Littlest Spook Shop is looking to close 9th December.

Halloween isn’t just once a year with Littlest Spook Shop. I discovered them around Halloween this year and I love their spooky ghost designs. They’re so damn cute and spoopy and I’m down for that. I regret not ordering some of their Christmas cards this year to be honest, but there’s always next year. If you know someone who celebrates Halloween all year around then a print (or two!) from Littlest Spook Shop may just be for them! Not only do they sell prints but they also sell mugs, tote bags, enamel pins and patches so that spooky friend or family member can show off their love of ghosts and all things spooky all year around! The Always Cosy Club spooky print shouts out to me so much. During the colder months I’m like that little ghosty.

Image taken from FoxLeap

FoxLeap – Kawaii designs inspired by Disney and Japanese characters from films and video games.

Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at time of writing post.

FoxLeap is an independent artist/store I love buying enamel pins from. They’re adorable and there is always something in the store I want to pick up, including the Jiji enamel pin which I may need to order myself as a treat for writing this post. 😛 There is something for everyone when it comes down to FoxLeap including designs inspired by Disney (especially The Lion King series!), Pokemon, Studio Ghibli, Wolf’s Rain, Okami and more. Anyone who loves enamel pins will really love to receive a FoxLeap design and honestly they probably already know of FoxLeap’s existence. Not only do they make and sell enamel pins but they also sell prints, t-shirts, stickers, enamel pin flags, tote bags and more so there is plenty to choose from!

Image taken from NaomiLordArt

NaomiLordArt – A freelance artist who creates adorable prints inspired by animals, magical creatures, witches, Goddesses, Critical Role and more!

Last date to order for Christmas – Orders will be shipped until the shop closes for Christmas on 20th December. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Guys you know me I love kawaii animals, especially foxes and that is something NaomiLordArt does so bloody well! I mean, look at them cute seasonal fox designs! I feel anyone of any age will love a little stocking filler that involves one of the many designs that NaomiLordArt has on offer. Plus if you and your friends are fans of Critical Role, she’s drawn all of the gang and put it onto a print, which you can find here. I feel NaomiLordArt would be perfect as items to gift children, teenagers and anyone who loves prints and stickers. I’ve gifted my best friend goodies from there before that were surrounding Star Wars and Harry Potter. There are also RPG class animal stickers and prints too, so if you play in a D&D group and are taking part in a D&D themed Secret Santa, these would make perfect gifts alongside some dice.

Image taken from GIPHY

Japanese Snacks

Image taken from Something Japanese

Something Japanese – UK based online shop that sells the best things from Japan! Chocolate, Candy, Collectables, Otaku Goodies and much much more.

Last date to order for Christmas – December 21st. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Something Japanese is a store I have bought from for about five years now and they are really good! I especially love to pick up the Japanese snack boxes from them as they’re always an amazing price for how many Japanese sweets and treats you get. I ordered the Halloween one and it was amazing and I’ve ordered the Christmas Japanese Candy Box too. This might make for an amazing gift to someone who loves Japanese sweets and treats and who may also miss Japan or want to visit Japan. COVID has prevented travelling to Japan for a lot of people and I know a lot of my friends who missed out on their trips this year. This would make for a nice treat to open Christmas Day. Something Japanese does sell other items too and separate sweet treats so make sure to check that out too.

Image taken from Tofu Cute

Tofu Cute – A UK kawaii shop that sells all sorts of cute and unique Japanese snacks, plushies, accessories, stationery and other goodies.

Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at time of writing post.

Tofu Cute is a store me and my boyfriend often order our Japanese sweets from as they’re great prices and they always seem to have the goods that Japan get at the same time. Not only do they stock sweets but also drinks as well! We’ve bought many bottles of ramune and Pokemon fizzy drinks from Tofu Cute and they’ve all been enjoyed! Think my favourite thing I’ve ever bought from Tofu Cute are the Melty Kiss chocolates. They’re to die for and would make an amazing gift for someone’s stocking this Christmas. 🙂

Image taken from GIPHY

Home

Image taken from Cushty Co Twitter page

Cushty Co – Handmade home fragrance. Scented soy wax melts beautifully crafted with sprinkles of glitter and careful colouring. Vegan friendly.

Last date to order for Christmas – Monday 14th December – Store will close at 5pm. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Cushty Co are my go to for wax melts and I’ve ended up buying so many this year! Their autumn/Halloween collection being my favourite to date. If you know someone who loves burning candles and wax tarts like me, Cushty Co are a great place to check out. They do LOADS of different scent varieties and three different sizes of wax so the choices are huge. They currently have their Christmas/winter scents in stock and I have all of them! They’re absolutely amazing and if you know someone who loves Christmas and wishes it could be everyday, then some of the Christmas/winter scents will be right up their street. Not only do Cushty Co sell wax tarts, but they also sell room sprays too, which I’m yet to try. If you know someone who loves Lush then they’ll love Unicorn Dreams which smells exactly like Snow Fairy and Nightfall which smells exactly like Twlight.

Image taken from Bubble Baskets UK/Books Baths and Beauty

Bubble Baskets UK/Books Baths and Beauty – Lovingly Custom made 3D printed Bubble Baskets.

Last date to order for Christmas – 17th December if ordering a pink, black or ombré bubble basket. 14th December if ordering a custom colour. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

I recently decided to buy myself a bubble basket from Books Baths and Beauty as I’ve wanted one for over a year now and as my bathroom was redone in the summer, I’ve finally been indulging in bath products and having bath cocktails more. It arrived over the weekend I’ve used it a few times since. It’s really good and if you’re like me and use bubble bars, shower gels and more to create bubbles, then this is for you! They’re made with a 3D printer and are sturdy and amazing! 😀 If you know someone who loves taking baths and using the same products as I do, this will be perfect for helping them create lots of bubbles! Teenagers will love this, as well as mermaids.

Image taken from GIPHY

Beauty

Image taken from The Bath Bae

The Bath Bae  –  Handmade bath treats to make you glow inside and out. Vegan and cruelty free!

Last date to order for Christmas – Monday 21 December at 3pm Royal Mail Tracked 48 or Tuesday 22 December at 3pm Royal Mail Tracked 24. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

I recently made my first order with The Bath Bae and honestly – I have zero regrets. They focus on bath bomb products in various different varieties and scents so there is plenty to choose from! So far I’ve only tried the bath cubes and they are amazing, perfect for anyone of any age. You can pick up bath sparkle, sparkle rocks, bath cubes and bath soak. These would make great stocking fillers for teenagers and anyone who loves a good soak in the bath. My favourite scent from them so far is Oh So Slushie, which reminds me of Tango Ice Blast slushies from the cinema.

Image taken from Happy Melon

Happy Melon – Handmade beauty products made in small batches and packed with cuteness, colour and yummy fragrance. Cruelty free!

Last date to order for Christmas – Restock this Sunday (13/12/2020) and as items sell out quickly, there isn’t really a last date to order for Christmas.

Happy Melon is a brand I discovered this year and bought from during their last restock. If you know someone who loves their beauty and bath products and for them to be as colourful as possible, Happy Melon is a good indie brand for this! They have a wide variety of products including bubble bath, lip sugar, perfume oil, bath soak (snuggle soak), sugar scrub and more! One of the bubble baths I own is a Lush Snow Fairy dupe (Sabrina bubble bath) and it’s one of my favourite products to use after a long day. Plus a little goes a long way and this stuff lasts AGES! One of the products I am excited to try soon is the Pop Kei Snuggle Soak, which smells just like Tango Ice Blast slushies! It would work so well with the slushie bath cubes from The Bath Bae. Again this is a great brand for teenagers due to how colourful everything is and maybe even children too due to how colourful and sparkly the bubble baths are.

Image taken from Hex Bomb

Hex Bomb – Divine handmade gothic beauty products for dark sweets hearts. Creator of the first black bath bomb! Cruelty free and vegan!

Last date to order for Christmas – 21st December. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Hex Bomb is a brand I have always wanted to try since the Black As Your Soul bath bomb came out. I’m yet to try it still and plan to buy it in the near future! I’ve mentioned some colourful and kawaii beauty indie brands so far, so I wanted to through a gothic, dark brand in there for good measure. I love me a dark bath, it reflects who I am inside and this brand would be perfect for any goth friend or relative out there! Not only do they make bath bombs but Hex Bomb also sell shower gel, soap, scrub, lip balm, perfume oil AND even wax melts for your home. If you aren’t sure what to buy that gothic beauty in your life (because Hex Bomb have a lot of variety!) you could always pick up one of their gift boxes which contains a variety of products. If you want to see a review (or two) of Hex Bomb make sure to go and check out my great blogger friend Raiin Monkey’s blog posts here.

Image taken from GIPHY

Honourable Mentions

Geek/Kawaii – Quirkory – Due to being based in Italy, they didn’t qualify for this shop small post. However, I couldn’t not mention them! They sell enamel pins, stickers and prints inspired by Japanese video games and cute animals.

Geek/Kawaii – Claire Likes To Doodle – The reason I didn’t mention my friend Claire and her store is because she got a post allllll to herself recently! Which I am going to link here. 🙂

Geek/Kawaii – 1 In 100/One In Hundred – A local Brummy like myself, Alex over at 1 In 100 has some amazing designs on her store and you can buy items from clothing, badges, keyrings, stickers, prints, stationary and more. I keep meaning to pick up some of her Japan inspired prints. Check them out here and here.

Geek/Kawaii – Chibi Shibby – May have bought a Christmas present from one of my favourite artists… 😉 Shibby recently reopened her store and has filled it was gorgeous kawaii goodies! There’s also some Christmas related goods in there too.

Geek/Kawaii – Lunaticgumis – Due to being based in Gran Canaria, they didn’t quality for this shop small post. However, I am planning to write about them on my blog very very soon! 😀 They sell stickers as well as amigurumis (Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures). They stock Bee and Puppycat designs WHICH I LOVE!

Geek/Kawaii – Taiyakiblue – This store is joint owned by tattooists senseoftheterrific and tubbybeartattoo. They stock clothing, prints and even some keyrings and pins made out of resin. They’re both inspired by geeky/kawaii themes such as D&D, Studio Ghibli, Dragonball Z, Moomins, Adventure Time and more. I’ve purchased a Christmas present from them and plan to buy prints in the future! I love their style so much.

Bath – Bath Bake Love – No restock until after Christmas where there will be lots of enchanted teasers for the New Year Wonderland and plenty of goodies in January!

AND THERE WE HAVE IT! My HUGE shop small Christmas shopping guide for the UK!

What do you guys think? I wanted to try and cover as much as I could and I like to think I’ve done that quite well. In the future I may pop up with some of these after Christmas, just as good shopping guides throughout the year for birthday’s and more!

Honestly guys, I hope you enjoyed this post today as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’m off work for the week and the first thing I knew I wanted to do was to write this post.

Are there any small shops in the UK that you feel I should know about? Make sure to let me know and I’ll take a look for next time!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you had a lovely weekend. 🙂

Life Lately – March – July 2020

Just over four months ago the UK was told to lock down and stay inside. It was scary but at the same time I was relieved that the UK FINALLY did something about it and was happy to stay inside for a while and hermit away. I wanted to share with you all how lock down has been for me, as well as how things have been throughout July so far. Not going to lie, it’s been good but very tiring! You may want to grab yourself a hot drink as this post mayyyyy be a long one.

To get this out there swiftly, I’ve been working from home since the lock down happened in March and I don’t have a date set yet for when I’ll be heading back to the office. Working from home has been amazing to be perfectly honest with you, but I do miss seeing my colleagues five days a week and having a laugh with them all.

Working from home has made me think more about adding an addition to our family… One with a wet nose and grey fur… No babies here I’m afraid! As well as that, working from home has also made me think lots about how much I loved our trip to Japan in January and just how much I’m craving to go again. I already want to look at going again late 2021 OR early 2022 for Dane’s birthday this time around. Try and visit when the cherry blossoms are out and travel to Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and of course Tokyo! That will be a big trip, may even go for three weeks if we can justify it!

Although I have bought loads of shit over the past four months, one of the best things me and Dane bought was a new bathroom! Back in May around one of the bank holidays we discovered a leak in our kitchen ceiling, which had come from the bath. We called our insurance and called someone in for a quote. Two months later the work has been fixed and our bathroom COMPLETELY redone. We are both over the moon with it! Sadly I won’t be sharing it on my blog, which I had contemplated before. I want some privacy for us two from my little space on the world of the internet. I know my readers will understand. 🙂

As we all know, Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out in March JUST BEFORE lock down happened in the UK and I know so many people who have loved and enjoyed it, and who still are. I also have a couple of friends I helped source Switch and Switch Lite consoles so they could get their hands on Animal Crossing to play. It’s amazing having more of my close friends playing the game than ever before and that makes me so happy! I’ve calmed down a little of late with Animal Crossing, although I have picked it up of late to redo parts of my island.

I’ve done some baking during lock down and more so of late I’ve REALLY stepped out of my comfort zone to make something I hadn’t before, Millionaires Shortbread. I added a twist by adding salt to the caramel, to of course make salted caramel. 🙂 It was amazing and it was so simple to make. I was just worried about the caramel more than anything as I’ve never made it before. It took 30 minutes, which felt like too long, but it was worth it. Instead of milk chocolate, I put dark chocolate on top instead. They were amazing and really went down a treat with Dane, as well as my family.

As I mentioned previously how I’ve bought loads of shit, mostly shit I don’t need but has cheered me up during lock down and passed the time. I happened to save money too, even though I’m not 100% sure how I’ve done it! There are many brands I have wanted to order from for years and I finally have during the lock down, including Happy Place Cosmetics, Bath Bake Love, Cushty Co, Kittynaut and Jenni Illustrations who is pictured above.

I have been showing off the bath and home products on my Instagram pages stories (theremightbecoffeeblog) so if you’re intrigued by this, make sure to go and check out those stories highlighted on my profile.

I’ll be talking about the goodies I bought from Jenni Illustrations very soon, as well as when the enamel pins I’ve bought from Kittynaut have arrived. I for one am excited to share those with you. 🙂

Another item that I am planning to talk about in the future is my Yapfrog Isabelle ita bag! I’ve recently filled it full of enamel pins and although I may change them around in the future, I’m really happy with how I have it at the moment! I bought a piece of green gingham cloth to fabric to keep inside the bag so it looked a little more like Isabelle. So far I have enamel pins in there by Yapfrog, Quirkory (which you can read about here), Appleminte and Illustrator Jake. By the way guys I have a 10% discount code you can use on Illustrator Jake’s website which is – THEREMIGHTBECOFFEE10. 🙂

I honestly can’t wait to share this bag with you, but I want to make sure to spend plenty of time on it, as I’ve been excited to share it for God knows how long now! 😀

I’ve missed many things during lock down, including seeing my friends, going for coffee dates, sushi, spontaneous geeky shopping trips to town with Dane and my friends and getting my nails done! The nail salons opened up again recently and I finally went and got a much needed manicure. The last one I got was just before Animal Crossing and I got blue and green similar to the joy cons that came out for the limited edition Switch.

It was amazing to go and get my nails done against though and I went for this gorgeous creamy purple colour and a holographic blue/purple on the ring finger and thumb. I love them so much and have felt myself again in regards to feeling pretty. I’m getting them redone next week and I’m already torn at what I’m going to have. I get them done every three weeks, but I am a bit tempted to go every fortnight… We shall see! Any suggestions of what colour(s) to get, pleased let me know!

One of the last things I’m going to natter on about on here is how I have started reading manga again! 😀 Been too bloody long, I swear to God! I’ve been reading all the volumes in the Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid series, including the two spin offs too about Kanna and Elma. I plan to read and catch up on all my manga series I have to buy more in the future. I need to continue on with it, but lately playing games or watching crap on my iPad have taken place.

So, that is everything I can think of lately and that I wanted to share with you all.

Throughout July my blog feels like it’s been quiet, but that may have just been because I had a break last week as I had a lot going on. The bathroom took a while to get started and finished, but now it’s done we are so happy! That was stressful though, which you can only imagine why.

Alongside that I’ve been busy at work, as well as personal matters. For some reason this week I have been so tired throughout the day and especially in the evening after work. I don’t know why, but I hope some lie ins this weekend help sort it all out.

I’m excited for August now to be honest with you. I want to be able to go out and do more. Me and Dane treated ourselves to a McDonald’s last weekend as we really needed food and that was the easiest thing to get at the time. I’ve missed their fries and milkshakes so much! We also popped to Homesense and The Range to get some house stuff we needed and for a while I felt a little bit normal, even with a face mask on.

Eventually the world will be back to some normality and we’ll all relax a little again.

For now however, make sure to let me know in the comments how you have been during lock down, what have you been up to and most of all what you have missed and can’t wait to do again!

Apologies for what may feel like a rambling post, but I wanted to get a lot off of my chest onto this post today. 🙂

Until next time all, take care, keep safe and can’t wait to speak to you all soon!