Orkney sits off the north coast of Scotland – around seventy islands, roughly twenty of them lived in, with standing stones older than the pyramids and the world’s shortest scheduled flight for hopping between two of them. If you are after gifts from Orkney, you are spoilt, because the place is absurdly well supplied with makers.
Seven picks below from seven Orkney makers – tablet made with Orkney butter, a heart full of Orcadian wirds, silver cast from a beach find and a wave caught in glass. All in stock as we write this, and every order is packed and posted by the maker themselves. Prices run from £5.25 to £80.
A small note – island post takes a little longer than the mainland, so order with a bit of head room if you have a date in mind.
Vanilla Tablet – £5.25
JP Orkney Produce, Orkney
Tablet is Scotland’s answer to fudge – firmer, sweeter and gone quicker. JP Orkney Produce make theirs with Orkney butter and vanilla flavouring, firm and sugary while still smooth and creamy, and their own packet admits that once opened it is too tempting to close. A 100g bar at pocket-money money, so it works as a wee extra alongside a bigger gift. Contains milk, for anyone who needs to know.
Orcadian Wirds Wooden Heart – £8
Claire Kirkpatrick Art, Orkney
A wooden hanging heart, around 10cm wide with a twine loop, printed with dozens of Orcadian dialect words and their meanings in cheerful coloured lettering – peedie for small, groatie buckie for a cowrie shell, and plenty more where those came from. Made by Claire Kirkpatrick in Orkney. The right gift for an Orcadian far from home, or for anyone who collects good words.
Orkney Puffin Gift Box – £25
Pretty Little Things Orkney, Orkney
One cheeky puffin, five ways. The box holds a 30cm tote bag, a coaster, a hanging ceramic decoration, a wee fridge magnet and a blank A6 card with a detachable gift tag, each carrying the same hand-crafted layered vinyl puffin design. It is made to order in Orkney, packed in a postal box with tissue paper, and if you leave a note at checkout with your message the maker will write the card and post the whole box straight to your lucky friend.
Headband in Morocco – £38.50
Ann Mackie Knitting Services and Designs, Orkney
A lambswool headband in Ann Mackie’s Morocco design, designed and made in Orkney. It comes in three colourways – oatmeal and charcoal, barracuda and diesel, or charcoal and white – and barracuda and diesel is a better colour name than most paint charts manage. For the person who finds hats a bit much and cold ears worse, which in Orkney describes a lot of us.
Wave Tea Light Holder – £45
Flow Glass, Orkney
Flow Glass make this in their studio in Kirkwall from two sheets of glass fused with coloured frit, so a crashing Orkney wave stands up behind the flame. The glass sets into a groove in a handmade larch base with a recessed tea light holder, and a tea light is included to get you started. The whole thing folds flat for delivery, which is a clever bit of design for something crossing the Pentland Firth. Assembled it stands 10cm by 10cm by 11cm.
Silver Mini Cockle Ear Studs – £59.50
Marion Miller Jewellery, Orkney
Solid silver ear studs cast from a real cockle shell, found on a beachcombing walk along an Orkney beach by Marion Miller. Each stud measures 13mm by 10mm and is oxidised so the ridges of the shell catch the light properly. The shell did the design work long before the silversmith arrived, and the result is a lovely small thing for anyone who loves the sea.
Handwoven Merino Scarf in Blues, Cream and Grey – £80
Handmade In Hope, Orkney
AJ of Handmade in Hope weaves in Hope in Orkney on one of two table looms – one in the sunroom, one in the attic – and every scarf comes off them a row at a time. This one is 100% merino in a quiet stripe of pale and dark blue with cream and grey running through it, finished with a twisted fringe, measuring 62 inches by 9 excluding the fringes. Merino is soft against the neck and warm without much weight, so it earns its keep from autumn right through an Orkney spring.
Seven makers, seventy islands
Every piece here is made in Orkney, and buying one lands the money in an island workshop, which is a nice thing to wrap up alongside the gift. There is plenty more where these came from in the full Orkney collection.
If your sea-lover already owns silver cockles, the earlier post on gifts for someone who loves the sea casts a wider net, and the Isle of Lewis gift guide is there for Hebridean tastes.
