Handmade Gifting: Make Christmas more meaningful with handmade gifts

I’m Lily, designer and maker at Lily Carmen Jewellery. I’m really passionate about the magic of handmade objects, and I think they can be so much more special than the options offered by the high street. Here’s why I think handmade is wonderful and why you should choose handmade for your gifts this year.

My Endless Ivy rings were hand carved in jewellery wax, resized by hand and cast in small batches. 

Why choose handmade gifts?

When there are so many gifts available on the high street, with almost unlimited choice at big retailers, what benefits are there in choosing handmade?

Unique Finds

• Big retailers on the high street or online have countless options for things you can purchase, but those same objects are available to everyone, often all year, and they lack a distinct voice in their design. Small businesses may offer fewer options, but their collections are curated and express the unique design ethos of their brand. A small business you give a gift from could become your recipient’s new favourite designer, who they come back to again and again.
  
  
• Shopping handmade, whether online or at local markets, you can find pieces you would never find on the high street that are tailored perfectly for your recipient. By choosing a handmade item for them personally you can celebrate their originality and show how well you know them.
  
  
• When buying from a designer maker, the pieces they offer will often have stories that imbue their designs with extra meaning. In a landscape watercolour of a particular location, or a piece of jewellery inspired by a favourite childhood object, these deeper meanings can make the item extra special for your recipient especially if the story is relevant to them.
  
  
• In addition, when shopping handmade there’s often the chance to personalise items just for your recipient, by adding their name, a meaningful date, or their birthstone. Adding personal touches like these can make your gifts even more meaningful.
  
  

The hand carved Man in the Moonstone pendant is available set with a beautiful rainbow moonstone or without a stone.

Quality Items Made to Last

• Many items on the high street in 2024 are made as low cost as possible. This does mean we can purchase things at prices that are much lower than in previous decades; people used to spend much more on far fewer items each year. But it also means that many of the objects available are made to a much lower standard of quality.
  
  
• To take the example of jewellery, pieces available on the high street are often made in base metals plated with silver or gold. These base metals can irritate your skin, and the very thin layer of plating easily wears off, leaving pieces looking tarnished or worn quickly and permanently.
  
  
• Handmade jewellery is more often made of solid sterling silver, gold vermeil (thick gold plating on solid sterling silver), or solid gold. This does incur a higher cost, however these high quality precious metals won’t cause irritation and their finish will last much longer than plated alternatives.
  
  
• This quality not only makes them more enjoyable to wear, it means they last longer, and with proper care solid silver and gold jewellery can stay looking lovely for a lifetime. Also, if your tastes change with time, solid precious metal jewellery can be transformed into new pieces by a jeweller in the future.
  
  
• This long lasting quality means lower environmental impact of each piece. This is true not just for jewellery but for all high quality objects, from crockery to clothing.
  
  
• High street items are also often trend led and designed to be disposable once a fad has passed. Due to the high investment in time and energy involved and their long lifespan, handmade items are often more timeless in design meaning they can be used or worn for much longer.
  
  
• Bringing it back to gifting, giving fewer, higher quality items means your thoughtful choices will bring your recipients joy for years to come. Every time they put on that necklace, or pull that stoneware mug out of the cupboard, they can think of you and remember the Christmas you gave it to them.
  
  

My Star Set pieces are handmade from 100% recycled sterling silver.

Love Local

• The pieces available in high street shops are designed and made all over the world, but the UK is a treasure trove of handmade businesses, using their skills to make unique pieces. You could find your new favourite brand based just around the corner from you!
  
  
• Supporting local businesses celebrates the skills of craftsmen and craftswomen in our local communities, enabling more people to have fulfilling jobs doing things they love doing. And in return, you get pieces imbued with local culture that you can’t get anywhere else.
  
  
• Shopping local is also a wonderful way to remember a cherished place. A vase from a local potter or pair of mittens from a fibre artist can bring you happy memories of the holiday you bought them on every time you use them. You can also remind a friend or family member of a trip you took or a place you used to visit by gifting something local to a special place.
  
  

My handmade Ocean Wave Topaz rings were inspired by the sea.

Joy Beyond Unwrapping

By choosing handmade gifts, you can give longer lasting, timelessly designed pieces that bring joy well beyond the Christmas period, making them more eco-friendly and meaningful. This season, I hope you’ll consider shopping small!

Shop all handmade jewellery