England-ophiles, please help with wedding present ideas
 

Hi there Fodorites --

I'm looking for some advice on nice gifts that are English-made to give for a wedding present. I am getting married in New Jersey in a few weeks and some very dear friends, who live in Birmingham, England, are not able to come. The wife emailed me and asked me what I would like for a gift that is English.

I joked and said, Well, my fiance would love a jug of Branston Pickles and I'd love a box of Aero and Cadbury bars, but I didn't think that's what she meant. I really have no idea what to ask for. My fiance and I don't like a lot of "stuff" -- we're not into fine china, for example. He also says that in this day and age, anything we want can be found in NYC. Well, yes, but this is a gift from a guy I've known since 1981 when we were 15-year-old pen-pals and his wife, and I'd like it to be something special that is from them, not because we can get it in NYC....

Please, can you give me some ideas of nice things made in England that I could suggest to my friend? And nothing so huge that will be lots of shipping charges.

Thanks so much for your suggestions and advice...
p.s. I've not been to England since 1993 so I'm not exactly current with things there.

Why don't you look at the websites of our well known chain shops & see if you can find something & then your friends would be able to order online. Don't think I am allowed to say which well known stores!!.

If you wanted to browse some things in online shopping that are available in England, you might like these ideas: www.conranshop.co.uk (similar to Crate & Barrel in the US), www.johnlewis.com (similar to Macy's in the US), www.liberty.co.uk (a unique London department store with a home department), www.vandashop.com (the shop at the Victoria & Albert museum in London which has lovely things for the home).

Since you have no idea what you want, it seems like the gift-givers who live in England should have had the good taste to pick something out they think is special to give you. Personally, functioning as buying agents for someone who tells you what to buy is not exactly producing a "special" gift.

There really isn't anything special, to be honest, as far as I'm concerned, especially if you don't care about china. They do good tailoring, but that doesn't make for much of a gift (a Savile Row suit). I don't buy anything when I go there, but they do have some decent tea and other sweets, I guess. That won't make a good wedding gift. Well, there is always some tea set, but who needs that. Ask for some linens from Fortnum and Mason or something like that.

If you like art, why not some reproduction from the British museum or something like that.

If you want something practical rather than just decorative, you might like Henry Watson kitchenware, especially the Terracotta Suffolk ware.
There is a Henry Watson website http://www.henrywatson.com/
but it is playing up this evening.
However if you go to Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/
and type in Henry Watson, you will see some items there.

See also
http://www.tablemannersofbroadway.co...erracota_.html
and http://www.just-kitchenware.co.uk/He...ollection.html

Something locally made? I love ceramics and would pick out a piece of pottery from a local studio as a unique gift.
A teapot would cover all the bases... traditionally it's 'something' English and if it was also handmade in the UK it would be a unique gift. It could be paired with some tea.

If you're not a tea drinker then maybe a vase in handblown glass (shipping is a little dodgy though).

I think you could stick with the idea of something unique and locally made and then suggest an item that you'd appreciate leaving the choice up to the givers.

How about a local artist's stuff? There are some fabulous, relatively cheap stuff for sale from artists along the London streets. I know someone who made his living that way, before he retired to Florida. That way it's local, it's unique, and it's from England :)

Another option would be something from one of the museum shops, or a castle shop - something unlikely to be gotten here.

Birmingham? What about something from the jewellery quarter?

http://www.visitbirmingham.com/shopp...llery_quarter/

It doesn't have to be jewelry as in something you wear, it could be a commemorative coin

http://www.123celtic-irish-jewelry.c...rish-small.jpg

OK so that one is irish but you get the idea.

Or how about a replica of something from the Staffordshire hoard? http://englishjourneys.co.uk/in-the-...e-saxon-hoard/

The jewellery quarter also has things from £10 to thousands of pounds so you don't have to worry that you have asked for something too expensive

As you mentioned in your post, shipping from the UK to the US costs a bomb for anything of any sort of weight.

As you also say you're not into "things" I'm having trouble coming up with something. Maybe a small watercolor of an area you like in the UK--usually watercolors roughly 12" x 18" can be had for around 25 quid--obviously not known artists. Shipped unframed, the cost would be very low.

CW and others will say this is naff, but I really like the tea/dish towels sold in the National Trust gift shops and similar in any high street shop. Even the NT selection has some modern-ish designs. They last for years and are the best for drying wine glasses.

I don't know their circumstances or your taste but Isle of Wight glass has some beautiful small things--vases, paperweights, fairly modern. But, you can quickly get into high prices and high shipping costs.

If you have any plans to get over there any time soon, you could say you'd love dinner as a wedding gift or if you want to be altruistic, a contribution to a UK charity such as Children in Need in your honor.

CW and others will say this is naff,>>>

No I won't. I think it's a good idea.

I am looking at the antique biscuit jar my husband's cousin bought us in London for a wedding gift in 1979. It has been sitting in a place of prominence in our dining room ever since.

We also received placemats from some of his relatives in London. They are of a type I don't see in the US, made of hard board.

And my fallback wedding gift is always a craft made by a local artist.

I think the tea towel idea is brilliant. We used a variety of the National Trust towels to make pillows for what DH insists on calling the <<den>>. It sounds a lair, but is really a very nice room that is more casual than the lounge. I did not make the pillows myself, btw, but if you are handy with the needle you could do it easily.

Even if you are not into "stuff" you can always use a vase and The English make some beautiful ones.

I like the tea towel idea too. It might be something that you use every day for years and will bring back fond memories.
Art galleries and museums in the UK often have a selection too and usually these can be ordered online to save your friends the actual trip.

I have recently bought a very nice one from the MFA in Boston with an Egyptian design (on Irish linen no less, ha the dichotomy! I guess papyrus wouldn't have worked as well.)

Nottingham lace

A nice edition of the Complete Eorks of Shakespeare

Something nice from Cadbury- before Kraft closes it down

A miniature Black Cab from Coventry; or something else derived from the car/ steam engine history they have. Or from the canals

A Tamworth Sow

Not exactly English, but what about a Welsh Love Spoon. I don't know if they can be made to order, but if they can, get one made with the wedding date on.

oh you are just all so wonderful. Thank you all for such fabulous ideas.
I LOVE the tea towel idea. In fact, now that I think about it, when I was growing up my mom had a special kitchen towel that is the Tube map of London. I think it was very old. I think she was there in 1957 when she graduated college.

These are all so inventive and creative. I love the idea of a local artisan -- in fact, that is exactly what I buy for wedding gifts here; I sent a gorgeous hand-made glass serving tray that I got at the Grand Central Terminal (NYC) holiday crafts fair and sent to a cousin in Israel who got married and she loved it.

I'm going to talk all of these over with my fiance. You are all so kind. Thanks!

or something else derived from the car/ steam engine history they have>>>>

The most famous Coventry car marque is Jaguar.

Brum was Morris and Austin.

But maybe for the honeymoon:

http://shop.lambertsouvenirs.com/lt2...-gap-249-p.asp

What about table linen? Cutlery?

You may browse here:

http://www.harrods.com

What about a picnic basket? The British have nice picnic accessoires, like wine glass holders:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Steady-Stick.../dp/B000FMHCEA