1 Endless Journey myriorama
Price £10
This is a new issue of a bestselling myriorama (meaning ‘many thousand views’) by Tom Gauld, which was inspired by the works of Laurence Sterne. It consists of 12 picture cards that can be arranged to form 479,001,600 different landscapes. Each card depicts fragments or segments of landscapes that can be arranged in a multitude of different combinations. This ‘entertainment’ for young ladies and gentlemen originated in France. This contemporary myriorama by Gauld has many references to Laurence Sterne’s writings and contains incidents and characters that may be familiar to the reader. He has ordered his drawings to allow an almost limitless variety of Sternean encounters to take place.
2 Natural Enemies of Books: A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography
Price £12.50
Natural Enemies of Books has been published by feminist graphic design collective MMS (Maryam Fanni, Matilda Flodmark and Sara Kaaman) as a response to the 1937 publication Bookmaking on the Distaff Side, which brought together contributions by women printers, illustrators, authors, typographers and typesetters. It highlights the print industry’s inequalities and proposes a takeover of the history of the book.
3 Phomemo M02 Pocket Printer
Price £66.99
The Phomemo M02 is a tiny mono printer for producing notes, stickers, labels or indeed any small and simple print product. It prints at 203dpi although you could upgrade your gift to the Pro version, which offers 300dpi and has fancy chamfering on the edges. It is a thermal printer that you can connect to your phone, via Bluetooth and a dedicated app, and is intended to be very simple and easy to use. It has a 50mm printhead and takes paper rolls of 53mm wide. Like so many other things these days you can charge it via a USB cable. The manufacturer promises 24hr battery life in constant use, which will probably outlast your phone, and one week in standby mode. Its super compact design measures just 86x81x15mm.
4 Fish printing workshop
Price £65
The Japanese, of course, have a long history of printing using a wide range of techniques but did you know that those techniques included printing with fish? Yes, actual fish. Pull Nemo out of his bowl slap some ink along his side and press (very gently) against paper to make an image. This perfectly normal practice goes by the name Gyotaku derived from ‘gyo’ meaning fish and ‘taku’ meaning rubbing. Apparently the technique was used by Japanese fishermen to record their catch in the 1800s. The perfect gift for someone whose love of print is matched by their love of fish. This workshop is led by Deborah Withey, award-winning designer, illustrator and printmaker of Cheese & Pickles Studio in St Davids, Pembrokeshire. At the time of writing it is unconfirmed whether or not one is able to pan fry one’s printing implements with a little salt and butter at the end of the session.
5 Tybo Tidy Tie-Dye Print Studio
Price £16.99
For the younger fashion-oriented print lover here’s an easy way for them to get creative and get their hands inky – and probably the walls and the carpet too. It’s a simple screen printing kit for knocking out colourful t-shirts, bags and other fabric items quickly and easily. It comes with four themed templates, four stamps for added detail and five fabric inks.
6 Winter Owl advent calendar
Sold out on the Angela Harding website but still available via some stockists, such as Cotswold Trading and Tinsmiths.
Price £10
Renowned illustrator Angela Harding creates an advent calendar each year inspired by the nature that surrounds her in the Rutland countryside. She describes this year’s beautiful calendar as her most adventurous to date – the freestanding calendar sits on two fold-out trees and features a swooping owl to slot into one of the trees. Harding uses a combination of vinyl cut and screen techniques to create her evocative images and her calendars are printed in the UK by Swallowtail. This is a calendar that will grace any mantlepiece or bookshelf.
7 Claudio Lugli X Tyson Fury – The Dosser Shirt
Price £90
It may be too late for many of us to match Tyson Fury’s record as a two-time heavyweight world champion, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look the part. If you’re buying for someone fond of a bold image, it might be worth checking out Claudio Lugli, the London-based fashion house that was responsible for Tyson Fury’s extraordinary custom printed suits. How about this You Big Dosser shirt? Fury labelled Deontay Wilder a ‘Dosser’ in the build-up to their iconic bouts and fans haven’t stopped chanting it since. The company says: “Outfits reflect mood and so all Claudio Lugli shirts are upbeat and daring, unapologetically disruptive, invariably making a statement. Showstoppers, head-turners – we strive to create clothing that inspires unparalleled self-belief and adventurousness.” If you spend more than £150 with Lugli they will throw in a free face mask in a range of eye-popping designs – the must-have accessory for Covid Christmas!
8 Craft courses
Price From £25
There are a huge range of print-related courses for all ages and available up and down the country. From Indian block printing in Northamptonshire, to natural dyeing and eco-printing in the Highlands of Scotland, to experimental printmaking in Derbyshire – there’s a something to suit all tastes. So if you’re buying for someone with an itch to study gelli plate printing in Cheshire, check it out.
9 Personalised Face Mask
Price From £15 for two masks
If you fancy making a – slightly muffled – statement what better way to do so in the current climate than with a personalised face mask. These comfort-assured custom fashion face masks from Bags of Love are made from soft, stretchy latex-free fabric for comfortable, snug wear. They are custom made to order in UK and available in four different sizes in high-quality breathable fabric, meaning they’re anti-sweat and allow you to breath easily. The stretchy elastic straps ensure that your mask will stay in place over your nose, chin and mouth. Upload your images to the website and get masking!
10 Mush Cush
Price £14.99
Put your mush on a cush and add a personal message! Why not give a loved one a roughly face-shaped cushion printed with an image of your face (or someone else’s face, or their dog’s face, or someone else’s dog’s face, etc) so they can hug it and ignore you? These face cushions are printed, cut, sewn and finished here in UK and measure 310x250mm). They feature soft touch faux suede fabric; vibrant print, assuming your image is of high enough quality; and are machine washable at 30˚C.
