Xmas Shopping

Stuck for ideas for what to buy your nearest and dearest? Well, look no further and read this guide on the best places to go to find that special gift for Christmas. We want this phone (£29) for our office from Red Candy if anyone is buying…

Mr. Bird’s Emporium
Gibb Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B9 4AA
mrbirdsemporium.co.uk
The cool kids behind Urban Village and Sutton Vintage & Arts Fair have joined forces to present a new concept in Vintage and Independent retail – Mr. Bird’s Emporium! If you want something different for your quirkiest and vintage loving buddies then you’ll find it here. With 13 permanent traders within one open plan shop space, your sure to find that special something.

RedCandy
www.redcandy.co.uk
Not strictly a store, but a website owned by a Birmingham based whizz-kid, which will have fans of the colour red dancing in excitement. This website has the quirkiest gifts for the home – our personal favourites are the invisible book shelf and the do-it-yourself cubic clock. Perfect for gifts for him and her.

FFrenchy’s
The Custard Factory, Gibb Street
www.ffrenchys.com
If antique furniture and one-off vintage furnishings float your boat, then this is a little treasure trove for more spectacular gifts. Cocktail cabinets, cute crockery, collectables and great dinner party fodder can be found – perfect for gifts for mum and your vintage fashionista friends.

Nostalgia & Comics
14-16 Smallbrook Queensway  Birmingham,B5 4EN
forbiddenplanet.co.uk
If your buddies are more into geek chic, then the comics and memorabilia in this store will bring a smile to their faces. Nostalgia & Comics is one of the UK’s original comic shops, opening in 1977, which makes it the second oldest in the UK.
It has comics and graphic novels aplenty, covering all genres as well as little pieces of associate memorabilia that will definitely boggle your mind for hours as you choose the perfect gift.

Cyber Candy
80 Bull Street  Birmingham B4 6AB
0845 838 0958
cybercandy.co.uk
The greatest place to find presents for your sweet toothed friends. This year we’re hoping we get plenty of Oreo Kit Kat Chunky’s and massive Star Wars Pez dispensers from Cyber Candy.
There are so many sweets and chocolate in here from all over the world that you could quite possibly pass out from the choice and sugar in the air. You really won’t leave this place without a bag full of goodies.

Raquel Rouge
1 Newbold Terrace, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV32 4EA
01926 886357
www.raquelrouge.co.uk
Ladies, looking for a marvellous way to treat yourself? Raquel Rogue offers a ‘boudoir session in a box’ which includes a voucher for hair, make-up, photo shoot, basic retouching and two 5×7 prints in a 220 x 220 x 100mm shiny black box laced with red ribbon. The girls at the studio will make-up even the shyest girlie at ease and the images are reminiscent of vintage Hollywood glamour shots of the bygone era.

Words: Kimberley Owen