Turtle Doves Lucky Dip Recycled Cashmere Fingerless Gloves

Turtle Doves is a British company that designs and creates cashmere accessories from  recycled accessories in the heart of Shropshire.   The wool is sourced from charity shops,  their new gloves are n exchange for an old sweater scheme and textile merchants.  The business was started in 2009 by Kate Holbrook and has expanded from a business based in her home to a business employing over 20 people, some of whom had lost their seamstress jobs in the 1990s when Laura Ashley moved their operations overseas.  

I follow Turtle Doves on Instagram and saw they had a lucky dip offer on their fingerless gloves - £29 down to £19.  I bought a pair for my mum to wear as she has suffered for years from rehumatoid arthritis in her hands and when it is cold she has no feeling on her hands and they are very painful.  The gloves arrived nicely boxed (recycled of course as is the brown wrapper) within 3 days of ordering them.

She has been wearing them constantly since she got them and her feedback is that they are really comfortable and soft and warm.  She cannot feel any seams rubbing her wrists (some of her cheaper gloves do she this).  They are a lovely muted burnt orange colour, which she likes, and she has already decided what colour she wants next. They are very light and not bulky to wear which are extremely important considerations when buying gloves for anyone who has arthritis or has problems with their hands as if they are too bulky or feel too heavy they are uncomfortable to wear.  I have also tried them on (I have neuropathic pain in my hands) and found them comfortable and could still grip my walking stick handle properly and my mum could still hold her stylus to do her crossword or surf the internet on her tablet. The gloves are quite long so there is no gap,  and potential for chilly wrists, between the gloves and jumper/coat arms.  As she wears them all the time she is pleased that they look quite discrete and elegant and so not look as though she just forgot to take her gloves off and needs reminding to do so.  They do fit a wide range of hand sizes.  My hands are child size but they fit my mum's hands just as well and didn't go baggy when I wore a hen after she had had them on for a few hours.

I love Turtle Doves' ethos and products.  The products are gorgeous and in their own small way make a stand against the fast fashion, throw away society which is becoming the norm. I just wish they made actual jumpers as well!  

Lucky Dip Gloves Available: Here (whilst stocks last).

Rie Designs: A6 Recycled Plain Wildlife Jotter

I have purchased several items of jewellery from Valerie Harrison, artist and illustrator, the owner and designer of Rie_Designs in the past few years. I blogged about the mini pet portrait pendant I commissioned here and the Penguin mini portrait pendant here. I needed some small flat gifts that could be used instead of Christmas cards and would be more useful to the recipient as well.  I chose this A6 plain recycled notebook with the wildlife print (it also comes in several diffferent designs, seashells, autumn, fish etc). It can easily be slipped in a handbag and the design is so pretty!

It cost £2.50 plus p&p and would make a great thoughtful gift for almost anyone as the designs cover most interests.  My potential receiver loves wildlife spotting so maybe she will use it to keep track of what she has spotted.  

Valerie lives on the North Rhins, South West Scotland and her designs are inspired by the wildlife, nature and countryside of that area. The items are then handmade in Dumfries and Galloway.  The hand drawn prints are not only used for notebooks but also jewellery, cards and gifts all of which are also reasonably priced. The wooden robin earrings are £5.95, otter hair clips £4.95, mini picture frame necklaces £9.95 and the cards and book marks £2.50. There is also a range of notebooks and handbag size mirrors.

Ebay shop
Etsy

Alex and Ani: eco-conscious, empowering jewellery.

Alex and Ani was established in the US in 2004 by Carolyn Rafaelian, aiming to make "bangles bracelets, necklaces, earrings and rings that adorn the body, enlighten the mind, and empower the spirit." All their Jewellery is made in their US factory and all the materials used in them are also from the US. Although this may seem a bit hippyish and out there they claim that all the jewellery is infused with positive energy via the manufacturing process in the US factories; the symbols used in their designs are carefully researched and every design is meant to positively empower the wearer and reflect the jewellery owner's unique qualities.  

The bracelets are adjustable and can fit any wrist between 2" to 3" in diameter. All their jewellery is made from recycled materials, scrap and finished in either Russian silver or Russian gold. Their enameled jewellery is especially unique and distinctive. Although adjustable wire bangles are becoming more widely available, no other company has the same detailed finish when using enamel in their products. 

Alex and Ani puts a great emphasis on giving back to the community and regularly maks bangles for specific charities, the most recent being UNICEF. Their charitable philanthropic endeavours are channelled through Charity by Design. By the end of 2015 they had donated over $20 million to over 44 charities. I can look past the positivity angle that Alex and Ani promotes (not really into it) to see well made, unusual jewellery which, unlike many other brands, actually gives back a substantial amount to local communities and charitable organisations.

Alex and Ani products for US/Canada can be found at: http://www.alexandani.com

And in the UK: https://www.simplyjewels.biz/page/alex-and-ani-jewellery?meta=alex-ani-landing

http://www.bdazzledjewellers.com/alex-and-ani-c64/3d-charms-c73?gclid=CKekqICCmc0CFcrjGwodIpwJlQ

Certain Fraser Hart jewellers stock them in store.