About Pippins An Introduction    Pippins Gift Company is a treasure trove of pretty and stylish home accessories, vintage inspired gifts, quirky cards and all manner of fanciful trinkets. Owned and run by myself, Michelle Tuckwell with the help of Heidi my Jack Russell, I preside over a busy workshop crammed to the rafters with carefully sourced stock and one-off vintage finds. The business blossomed when during my maternity leave in July 2000 I began restoring and painting vintage furniture and garden tools with the help of lashings of love and Annie Sloan paint! I soon found that people could not get enough of my hand finished pieces and so Pippins grew. The business now offers a wonderful selection of items including funky retro signs, delectable bath and body products, vintage wedding accessories and not forgetting gorgeous cards by Berni Parker and Angie Spurgeon. Named after a rather special little house in Devon which is close to my heart, Pippins has gone from strength to strength and between thriving workshop, busy website and gorgeous retail space in The Packhouse, Farnham, Heidi and I are kept busy all year round!   View Our Website

My English Summer Handmade bath and body products are as evocative as they are sublime. The scents of yesterday drift sweetly through this collection of soaps, body butters, balms and creams which are lovingly hand made in the Pennines. Ladies Who Love Life Welcome to the magical world of Berni Parker and her charming and very English collection of greetings cards. Lovingly created by Berni in her Worcestershire studio, Berni’s designs are the very epitome of what it means to be British.

Pippins Arrive At The Packhouse!

We are now pleased to have settled nicely in our new retail space within The Packhouse, Runfold, Nr,Farnham, Surrey.

The Packhouse is an independent lifestyle retail experience, a one-stop retreat for customers in search of something unique and individual for their home and themselves. It is located in a 400-year old Grade II listed former Hop Kiln, on the outskirts of Farnham, Surrey; we have a gorgeous mix of old and new treasures and our stock changes continually so you can be assured that no two visits will ever be the same.

Café Fig within The Packhouse offers delicious, home cooked food in a relaxed, informal atmosphere. Take time out to enjoy coffee, breakfast, light bites or a tasty lunch and you'll be assured of friendly service and the warmest of welcomes.

ANNIE SLOAN PAINTED FURNITURE

We have our bright selection of Annie Sloan painted furniture perfect for children's bedroom or that statement piece for that somewhere special. Our collection is changing regular so ensure you make a visit to our trading space K4.

WALL ART

Our range of metal wall art offers an authentically retro selection of cool and funky focal points for your home. Soft, vintage inspired colours and bold graphics come together to create a truly individual accent for any room that needs a lift. The unique designs which are all created in-house feature inspiring quotes, heartening words and vintage menus festooned with pretty garlands of fruit…so reminiscent of those warm and cosy café’s of the past. Creating a homely atmosphere within your favourite corners, these signs are made with a high quality and sharp finish which ensures they stand out for all the right reasons.

BATH AND BODY PRODUCTS

Our collection of handmade bath and body products are as evocative as they are sublime. The scents of yesterday drift sweetly through this collection of soaps, body butters, balms and creams which are lovingly hand made in the Pennines. The perfumes of lilac, violet, rose and lavender fill the pretty pots, packages and jars which in turn are scattered with rosebuds, bluebirds and the sepia-toned glamour girls of yesterday. Hand finished soaps are fastened with twine and tiny roses bringing a touch of old fashioned magic to this gorgeous range of luxury gifts.

GREETINGS CARDS

Welcome to the magical world of Berni Parker and her charming and very English collection of greetings cards. Lovingly created by Berni in her Worcestershire studio, Berni’s designs are the very epitome of what it means to be British. Scatty, pretty ladies in rose festooned hats run amok across her range as they engage in a series of delightfully feminine adventures! The soft, pretty colours and distinctive characters are memorable enough for Berni to have gained an international reputation for the world which she has created…a world in which cakes,shopping, village fetesand gorgeous frocks are all-important!

We are just one trader with over 65 displaying their wares you will be spoilt for choice!

THE PACKHOUSE OPENING HOURS

Monday - Friday 9.30am - 5.30pm
Saturday/Sunday 10.00am - 5.30pm
Bank Holidays 10.30am - 5.30pm

The Packhouse is open 7 days a week, including bank holidays you must visit, you won't be disappointed!

My Tiny Gallery By Emma Vallis

'My Tiny Gallery' began life at the kitchen counter one evening in 2005, when Emma picked up a set of watercolour paints left out by one of her three daughters. She began experimenting with the medium and loved the way the colours ran and mixed together. Before she knew it was producing little paintings for friends and family, adding in inky wording and doodles to perfect her very own style.

Since then things have really grown and she is now lucky enough to be painting full time. There is still nothing that compares to settling down at her drawing table with a clean sheet of rough grain paper, a jam jar of water and a battered little tin of paints. Often working from a client's list of hastily scribbled notes and the odd photo for inspiration, She aims to create artwork that is fresh, pretty, full of styleand character.. and, of course, a reflection of the recipient or occasion as requested. 

Overflowing with detail her work is a popular choice for babies and children, but more and more she is asked to paint for adults and families. Emma hopes her artwork adds a bit of personality to a decor, and gives a feel good factor to the home (it is certainly painted with that in mind!).

All her materials are artist quality, for a rich and fade resistant finish, and also frames her own pieces in beautiful, locally made custom frames. 

Emma has now created a fabulous collection of greetings cards in a range of themes, illustrated by her and published by Monkey Boo Designs. These are printed on beautiful textured card and left blank inside and are suitable for any occasion.

         

Here at Pippins we are thrilled to have become a stockist of these cards and have all her designs available on our website.

Make Your Purchase Here by following our logo link :

  

Pippins Colour Confident Furniture Collection

Annie Sloan - Antibes Green Chalk Paint

We are very pleased with the array of Annie Sloan paints we have selected from our local stockist Les Jolies Choses to use on our furniture, it looks amazing! We decided against the usual soft pastel colours and went for bright and vibrant.

The first colour we chose was Antibes Green chalk paint, wow what a lovely colour! We opened the pot and found the paint to be a little thick and followed the instructions on Annie Sloan's website to add a little water, simple!

 

We distressed the edges of the heart trays and stool and then added a clear wax. The paint is so easy to apply, some darker pieces of furniture did need 2 coats.

Images of the completed furniture will follow shortly!

Ladies Who Love Life!

                                                     

We really enjoy having Berni Parker's wonderful card ranges in our collection, they always bring a smile and are perfect birthday cards for friends and family.

   

Berni lives and works from her home studio in Worcestershire surrounded by beautiful countryside. She has a degree in graphic arts with illustration as her speciality. She has a successful greetings cards company publishing her own designs with her work selling in over thirty different countries. She regularly exhibits in the UK, New York and Japan. Berni exhibited her work for the first time at the Autumn Fair NEC eight years ago and has had huge international success with her gift card range, becoming a finalist at ‘Gift of the Year” She has developed her own individual style using multi layered handmade papers sourced from all over the world. The results are magical pieces of art which have a delicate soft three dimensional quality and texture. This special hand crafted and charming style is said to be unique and that “the picture can be touched with your eyes”.

We stock many of Berni's ' Ladies Who Love Life ' cards all with FREE UK Delivery.

   

 

Which one is your favourite? 

Make your purchase from our website at www.pippins.co.uk.

My English Summer Strawberry Lip Balm - REVIEW

We have now been a stockist of My English Summer bath and body products for over a year, their vintage inspired products have been our best seller and many customers have left positive reviews. We decided at Pippins HQ although we know the products look and smell beautiful are they as fabulous as our customers claim?

After some consideration we decided to review the most popular item which is a strawberry lip balm in a tin with an Edwardian lady and cute pink rose detail. Does it really do what it says on the tin?

         

Michelle's Opinion

I decided to pop this in my handbag so it was readily available and have been trialling it for the last 2 months. I have applied the balm as and when I found my lips to be dry and as its in a tin it stayed fresh, did not dry out and still smells of strawberries, not over powering just refreshing. I expected the rose to have fallen off, but no still intact, just a little tatty, maybe I should of kept it in the little organza bag provided! I was thrilled with this lip balm and will recommend these as wedding favours when my best friend gets married this Summer.

We also stock a parma violet lip balm which is not as popular but is still fairly new. Would love to hear what you think about this one.

Keep those lips nice and soft this Valentines!

We LOVE Shabby Chic Gifts and Accessories!

We have been sourcing shabby chic gifts for over 15 years and are very excited when we find a perfect gift we know our customers will love. Our gifts are perfect for any occasion, or simply why not just treat yourself!

 

Shabby chic is a form of interior design where furniture or home accessories are chosen for there appearance of age and signs of wear and tear. Many new items are now produced with a distressed finish to show an appearance of an antique look.

The newest addition to our collection is this vintage chic heart decoration, if you look in the centre heart it is showing a distressed paint finish. This can be created by lightly rubbing with sandpaper or wire wool.

Shabby Chic Interiors have become very popular and can enhance a room and create that homely feel we all love. Why not add a heart decoration to that beautiful country pine dresser?

With Valentines Day fast approaching below we have a collage of our many heart inspired gift ideas. 

Hearts are still our most popular gifts and we are looking forwards to writing our next Blog with love in the air!