Wordless Wednesday- The beauties have arrived!

Coming very soon to unikgifts

Blooms of florals, by David Earp

unikgifts.co.uk

david earp

shuktara

Monday Maker David and his u-ni-k blankets

David makes beautiful cotton blankets & scarves. 
For us, he makes baby blankets. 
The idea originated from his lovely blankets given to myself when my daughter was born almost 3 years ago.

Each blanket is made from 100% breathable cotton layers
Each is Hand stitched from recycled saris
Each measures approx 90cm x 90cm
Machine washable, Do not tumble dry



Here are a few that have already found happy homes.

Elsie's 1st blanket Elsie's parents are BIG fans of kantha blankets. They already had a beautiful one they bought long before she arrived. This is the one they chose, a balance of beautiful tiny blue flowers perfect for a boy and girl

Here are a few that were custom made to order.

Elsie's made to order

As Elsie's parents are BIG fans of kantha blankets, this blanket was commissioned for her as a gift when she was born. The likes and dislikes of the parents were sent to David and he chose a simple selection of flowers pre stitched to choose from. A larger single size was chosen over a baby size, so Elsie could always have and love her blanket with her. A blanket to roll over on as a baby, a blanket to take to University to remind her of home and a blanket to put over her knees when she becomes older.



Primroses blanket

Primrose was born on a beautiful sunny February afternoon. Her parents didn't know if if she was a girl or a boy but somehow this blanket was perfectly chosen for her without knowing. By just knowing the parents very well.
She loves her blanket and at just 1 year old her Mummy has said that her beautiful kantha blanket was one of the things that helped her sleep through. By laying the light weight blanket over her sleeping bag kept her snug and warm during the winter months and helped her sleep through the night.



Winfred's blankets

You've all met Winnie. Winnie's Mum is our newest maker. When Winifred was due, her Mum and Dad wanted to be surprised by her sex. So a blanket suitable for a girl and a boy was chosen. Her parents were described to David and the two blankets below are what was made as a result. Much loved and growing ore beautiful with age just like Winifred. 

Ella-Rose blanket

To see our blankets available click here
To commission a very special blanket click here

unikgifts.co.uk 

david earp

shuktara

Wordless Wednesday- All wrapped up dreaming of Spring

unikgifts.co.uk

Wordless Wednesday: Wrap up warm in cashmere

                       

cashmere comforts

Christmas wrappings

Keep your little ones tightly wrapped this Winter.

Our kantha stitched baby blankets make the perfect gift for a new Mum and  baby.

As seen in Selvedge Magazine's Christmas gift, Gifts that you wish for!

Take a peek at our stitched treasures  here.

Finding a new home...

Find out where our beautiful blankets now live.

'My name is Emma. 

I make quilts, so I have to confess I bought the Shuktara blanket for myself really. 

I was intrigued by how something so simple could look so beautiful. 

Quilting has a history of recycling old garments just like the Sari's used in these blankets.  

At the moment, the blanket spends most of its time in my daughter's room, but occasionally it gets dragged around the house for her to use in a game, as the roof of a camp, or in some other way that only a 5 year old can imagine!
I also write a blog about Brighton based artists and makers, (http://madeinbrighton.blogspot.com)

This beautiful blanket has found a very happy home with Emma and her daughter.

To find blankets as beautiful as this, see our other shuktara blankets proudly sitting waiting to find a special home on our new shuktara page. Take a peek before they fly the nest!

Take a peak at why these blankets are so extra special here. 

Heat

From the moment a parent knows of their forthcoming child, the weight of the responsibility of your own child's little life being solely yours bears heavy on your shoulders. They aren't delivered with a Manuel especially for the child.We all know that babies cannot regulate their own temperature.  For parents, it’s a difficult thing to do for them without turning into a neurotic parent who checks their numerous thermostats every hour and trust the thermostat over their own instincts. Yes, I heard of a new Daddy that was sat in a baking hot room trusting a thermostat over his own common sense.

Even the Naughty's Great Nana was told when her baby was born (a December baby) that she must keep her new born warm. So on her first outing she overloaded the baby with blankets and hot water bottles. Perhaps a little too snug for comfort.
It's hard when your a new parent. Especially with the weather changing so frequently at the moment and the temperature taking frequent peeks and dives. So what do you do?

It is important to be aware of your child’s surroundings at all times. I was told that the rule of thumb was that baby needs one more layer then you wear.  A fairly easy thing to do when you with them all the time. If you’re going out and your putting on a coat, put theirs on and cover them with a small blanket. If your home and you take off a layer because you are warm, then do the same for your baby.

But at bedtime, what do you do? Fingers crossed your baby will sleep for hours on the trot without you in their room. There are thermostats that help warn you of sudden changes in temperature but it is also important to remember that your babies bedding may need a re-shuffle when the season changes.

In my household my baby boy has the luxury of sleeping under cashmere in the colder seasons. In the warm seasons he sleeps under cooling layers of cotton. Layers are perfect for both summer or winter as they keep you cool when it’s hot and trap warmth in when it’s cold.

Both cotton and cashmere are natural fabrics that are breathable. The most important factor when choosing bedding for your baby is that the fabric is natural, breathable and soft to touch. A baby doesn’t want something itchy and irritating to sleep with just like we wouldn’t. Never use a synthetic fabric, It holds heat too close to the skin and makes your baby sweat. Just think how you feel when you wear a paca mac.
Currently my little boy is still sleeping with his cashmere blanket. It's a gentle weight and not too densely knitted so it is perfect for this weather. He's lucky enough to have one of the cashmere blankets below. Lucky boy!

Here are unik’s special blankets. All made with love and perfect for little ones.

             

Cashmere blankets

Cotton blankets

Always remember that folding a blanket in half is the same as putting your child under two blankets.
When the seasons change, think about the weight of your babies/child's bedding. 

In BLOOM

With the arrival of spring…flowers have started to bloom and gardens and parks are being filled with colour and beautiful scented smells.

Spring is my favourite season. The earth, air and flowers smell gorgeous and fresh and the coming season is exciting.

It may finally be time to pack away those big jumpers, big coats and snow boots and make room for Spring and Summer.

We celebrate with all things floral and flowery.

Pretty hand smocked dresses

       

Recycled Picnic blanket

Coming soon to unikgifts

Blooming booties 

 

Memory boxes coming soon to unikgifts

Flowery Baby blankets

Get out your floral dresses, get ready to flash those toes and swap the cashmere blankets for the cotton ones.

Enjoy the fresh air and let your little ones run wild while squealing!

Heaven.

The little dress for everyday

Yesterday’s blog was all about Ida’s party dress. Today’s blog is about Dangerbaby and what mischief she got up to in her pretty Annafie dress.

Dangerbaby made her play day in the garden all the more special with her Liberty dress.

She opted to wear her’s like every pretty dress should be worn with pumps and t-shirt while she played in the garden.

Haven’t we all worn our posh dresses to puddle jump or play in? If you weren’t allowed to, try it today. Wearing your pretty frock or special shoes to do everyday things makes you feel very special. Doing those simple things with a special item makes your smile in a very BIG way. After all who hasn't wanted to wear thier princess dress or spiderman outfit to school at some ocassion?

Dangerbaby's day went a little like this.

Dangerbaby had a tea part in her dress with her Teddies. They talked about who would be in charge of  watering the garden that day and whether the pink or yellow pot was best for making tea in.

She zoomed up and down the slide with bunny bunny and teddy stopping only so Mummy could snap a picture of all the fun.

When slide zooming was complete she had a quiet chat with her favourite companion, Bunny Bunny about how best she could improve her sliding technique tomorrow.

And at the end of a very busy day she had her milk with bunny bunny and thought about getting ready for bed while snuggled up under her favourite Shuktara blanket.

Dangerbaby made her special day of garden games all the more special as she wore her liberty dress.

All Annafie dresses are  hand smocked making them perfect for every little girls body shape. They all follow a traditional design and are perfect for today's little girls. Either worn like Ida and Kathryn's or worn with wellies to puddle jump in. For pre-walkers and tom-boy’s, Annafie will even make a romper style in one of the pretty floral fabrics to make it easier for crawling around. 

We hope you find your perfect dress like our girls have. 
When the rain stops we may even put on our pretty dresses and find afew big puddles to jump in!

http://www.unikgifts.co.uk/clothing/clothing_annafie.php

Taking over the world with Florals by David Earp, founder of Shuktara

With the gorgeous mention of our baby blankets in ST Kids (Sunday Telegraph) by Daisy Bridgewater, we have asked the orginator of the blankets, David Earp to tell us about his story of how he started his gorgeous charity Shukara and about his love of florals. Without florals the world would be most certainly a very dull place! So celebrate florals with Shuktara and u-ni-k.


The shuktara blog, by my very dear friend David Earp.

The Shuktara family

I was delighted when I found out that Anna, who I had known from egg in London, was going to start up an online company, with a friend, selling beautiful heirloom products for children.  I met Anna at egg some years ago, when I started selling my blankets there.  As Maureen who owns the store was choosing her designs, Anna and I hatched our own evil plan to take over the world with florals.

Shuktara girls gang *

Before coming to India at the end of 1998 and starting shuktara (www.shuktara.net) I had been working at Portobello Market selling vintage clothing and textiles.  Then on one of my trips to India I visited Calcutta and decided to start a home for children with disabilities who had no family to care for them.  I gave up my flat share, sold my car, closed down my stall and packed a bag for India.

Many friends of mine came out to visit and as much as they were delighted to see what had been created for these children and young people, they were concerned about my passion for textiles and often asked me why I wasn’t doing anything.  It just wasn’t the right time for me then.

Shuktara Girls, photo by Paula Harrowing

Some years later I saw very dilapidated blankets lying on the roofs of people’s homes.  They seemed to be layer upon layer of random textiles and on further investigation I discovered what I like to call village kantha.  With little spare money for people to buy blankets in the colder season, they would stitch together old pieces of lungi/sarong or bed sheet, sari or dupatta – layering them and patching them as they went along, finally finishing off the entire piece with a running stitch.  I loved this mismatch of textiles, the worn upper layer suddenly revealing a vibrant check or a faded floral underneath and so I decided to try and recreate the same thing myself.  With the help of my staff and women from their villages I made a handful of oddments.

David outside the boys house with Ramesh and Sunhil

I carried this bag of kantha blankets with me on a holiday to Goa, to show some friends of mine, who immediately snatched them off me and told me that they would take them to show Maureen at egg.  I was almost immediately contacted by Anna about egg having exclusivity on my blankets for about 6 months and Maureen’s beautiful store has continued to support us by stocking shuktara products.

In a world that is frequently seen as selfish and uncaring and only out for oneself, I have continually been moved by Maureen’s generosity of spirit in passing our products and our charity and myself on to other clients, rather than hold on to me – with the exclusivity tag.  It therefore came as no surprise when Anna asked me to work with her on some exclusive baby blankets for u-ni-k of course with Maureen’s blessing.

The beautiful baby blankets 

It has been wonderful for me to work (again) 
with Anna on this new project, pushing for 
everyone to start enjoying hand made 
one of a kind beautiful imperfection – 
and our evil plan to take over the world 
with floral …. continues







http://www.shuktara.net/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/shuktara/117414948032
http://www.eggtrading.com

*Image includes Prity, Tamina, Ipshita, Riya and Lali with Priyanka (holding Prity) their tutor, Nandita their activity co-ordinator and Tenaya & April (Gallaudet University interns)