Shetland sits a hundred miles north of the Scottish mainland – closer to Norway than to Edinburgh, home to rather more seabirds than people, and blessed with its own words for nearly everything. If you are after gifts from Shetland, the makers there will see you right, and this guide rounds up seven of them.
Below you will find a candle named after the Northern Lights, a puffin in a thousand pieces, yarn shorn from a croft’s own flock, gin from Britain’s most northerly distillery island and a crofthoose in silver. All in stock as we write this, every one packed and posted by the maker themselves, and prices run from £12.50 to £105.
One practical note – post from the isles takes a wee bit longer than the mainland, so allow some head room if there is a date involved.
Mirrie Dancers Hand-Poured Soy Candle – £12.50
Jade Crafts Shetland, Shetland
Mirrie Dancers is what Shetlanders call the Northern Lights, and this hand-poured soy candle takes its cue from the greens, blues and purples that turn up in the winter sky. The scent is sage and sea salt – fresh coastal notes with a soft herbal warmth behind them. It burns clean and even in natural soy wax, and the tin, wrapped in aurora-inspired artwork, earns a second life on the shelf once the candle is done.
Octopus from Shetland – £14
Sarah Kay Arts, Shetland
The head of this small resin octopus began as a repurposed blue glass bottle, and inside it sit cowrie shells and a tiny starfish. The swirling tentacles carry fragments of sea urchin shell, which gives each leg its texture. At 9cm across it will perch happily on a shelf or windowsill, and it is a lovely odd thing for anyone whose home leans seaward.
Peerie Auld Boats Tea Towel – £18
Julie Williamson Designs, Shetland
Peerie is Shetland for small, and these peerie auld boats come from Julie Williamson’s Da Banks Collection, inspired by childhood walks with her dad. The design is hand illustrated, then printed in the UK on 100% natural cotton, roughly 48cm by 79cm. Fully washable, though Julie points out it looks equally good hung on a wall, and she is right.
Puffin at Sumburgh 1,000 Piece Jigsaw – £30
Austin Taylor Photography, Shetland
This puffin at Sumburgh is one of Austin Taylor’s most popular photographs, and here it is as a 1,000 piece jigsaw. It is made in the UK by jigsaw specialists GB Jigsaws, printed on recycled silk paper, and finishes at roughly 69cm by 48cm. Long dark evenings were made for this sort of thing, and Shetland knows a fair bit about those.
Shetland Reel Original Gin 70cl – £36
Shetland Reel, Shetland
Shetland Reel’s award-winning signature gin is made with the sweet scented leaves of apple mint, grown and harvested in Unst – the most northerly inhabited island in Britain. It comes in at a confident 43% ABV in a 70cl bottle. One for the gin drinker who reckons they have tried everything, because they will not have tried this.
Aister ’oo’ Yarn Bouquet – £40
Aister ‘oo’, Shetland
Aister ‘oo’ keep a flock on their croft in Shetland, and every ball here is 100% Shetland yarn, hand shorn from their own sheep. You choose seven balls in your favourite colours – one 50g and six 25g – leave your picks in a note at checkout, and they arrive wrapped in tissue and cellophane like a bouquet. Flowers for knitters, essentially, and these ones become a jumper.
Crofthoose Brooch in Sterling Silver – £105
Yala Jewellery Shetland, Shetland
Traditional crofthooses dot the Shetland landscape, and Yala Jewellery capture them in sterling silver, hallmarked at the Edinburgh Assay Office. It is a small, quiet piece of the isles to wear on a coat or jumper. The crofthoose range also runs to a pendant and peerie stud earrings, if you fancy building a set over a few birthdays.
Seven makers, a hundred islands
Shetland is an archipelago of around a hundred islands, and every piece here is made in it by the person who posts it, so your money lands in an island workshop. There is plenty more where these came from in the full Shetland collection.
If the tastes you are buying for sit a ferry ride south, the earlier guide to gifts from Orkney has seven more makers waiting.
