Cards, Gifts & Toys

Stationery and Other Gifts

We have a wonderful selection of gifts and cards in stock.  Most gifts are suitable for all year round, but we always have some appropriate for each season.

Our beautiful range of gifts and cards is carefully selected by Fiona, who tries to source as much as possible from local suppliers. Here are some of the people we work with:

Rachel Ellen Designs – Innovative greeting cards and stationery products for children and the young at heart. We keep a large range of Rachel Ellen products in the shop, but also have a selection available to order online from our Nottinghambooks website.

Rachel Ellen Designs is an independent greeting card, stationery and gift business based in a Victorian mill building in Nottingham, England. The company was founded in 1997 when Rachel retired from a career as a professional ballet dancer and started hand painting cards at the kitchen table in her London apartment.  Interest in Rachel’s unique products soon grew and she moved back to her home city of Nottingham where with help from her parents and husband Justin, the company thrived and went from strength to strength to become one of the leading publishers in the UK and market leaders in children’s cards and gifts.

“Rachel Ellen Designs believe in shopping locally.  All our cards are designed, printed, flitter and finished on or within a 5 mile radius of our premises in Nottingham.  We think that independent retailers like The Bookcase in Lowdham are the heart of the local community and should be supported enthusiastically.”  Rachel from Rachel Ellen Designs

BugArt – Cards and stationery that incorporate plenty of sparkle into their lovely designs.

“We are a local greeting card publisher based in Nottingham. Established for 20 years and supplying to countries all over the world, we support and value our local UK customers, especially small independent shops such as The Bookcase. A bookshop is not just a shop, it’s a cultural centre, it’s somewhere where people can browse and meet and chat. We fully support The Bookcase and their service to their local community. Please support them, buy a book, attend a festival and don’t forget to look at the beautiful cards!” Jane from BugArt

Emma Ball – Original watercolours, greetings cards and limited edition prints, typically featuring the seaside or countryside. Emma also produces a range of “county” products and those relating to Nottinghamshire are not just available in the shop, but can also be ordered through our Nottinghambooks website.

Emma lives in Nottinghamshire, having graduated from Nottingham Trent University in the 90s with a degree in Graphic design. The paper products (greetings cards, notebooks, limited edition prints etc) are all produced in Nottingham, but Emma also works with other companies licensing her images onto their products, for example mugs with Dunoon, tin ware with Elite gift boxes , fabric with McCaw Allan and melamine with Melamaster.

Timothy O’Brien– greetings cards

Local artist Tim O’Brien has a series of greetings cards featuring scenes from Nottinghamshire and the Vale of Belvoir.  He has also produced some cards specially for us with linocuts of local landmarks such as the golden postbox in Lowdham and the smithy in Gonalston.

The Art File – greeting cards and stationery.

The Art File is an independent publisher of greeting cards and stationery established in 1997 and based in the historic Lace Market area in Nottingham.

Orchard Toys – Educational games and puzzles for children as young as 18 months through to Key Stage 2.  We always keep a selection in stock.

Orchard Toys was started almost 50 years ago by Keith Harvey and his wife Margaret, and is now one of the leading educational toy companies in the country.  The couple, who then lived in Nottinghamshire, had transformed part of their house into a nursery called Orchard House and began thinking of ways to provide cheap but educational resources for the young children. The firm only moved from Nottinghamshire to Wymondham business park in 2006 when Mr Harvey sold the business to his son-in-law, Hugh Beevor.

Helena Tyce beautiful handmade prints and cards

Helena works from her studio in the Creative Quarter of Nottingham hand making beautiful gifts to inspire and empower kids from 1 to 92 years old. It’s a family affair with her husband creating the poems you see on the products and her two children and the dog providing inspiration.

 

One range we always try to keep in stock, however, isn’t local, but comes from Ireland. Inis products have proved to be incredibly popular with our customers – and we love them!

Fragrances of Ireland has been creating perfumes and toiletries inspired by the beauty and nature of Ireland for over 30 years.  It is an independent business, operating from a converted farmhouse in County Wicklow. Its signature scent is Inis The Energy of the Sea, a light, invigorating fragrance that appeals to all ages, and to both women and men.