By Amira Hashish
On the hunt for a festive gift that feels extra special? Whether you are keen to splash out on a statement piece or are seeking something more low key with a unique stamp, it is all in the detail. From playful pyjamas to a diamond encrusted pendant and a bespoke wine collection, these luxury items can all be personalised for that thoughtful touch…
The Coveted Fragrance
Since its inception in New York City in 2006 Le Labo has garnered a major following of scent lovers who are obsessed with its potent fragrances. The Noir 29, fusing fig and bay leaves with the depth of cedar wood, vetiver and musk, is a signature. Splash out on a 500ml bottle for the superfan in your life who will have it on proud display on their dressing table. The label and box can be stamped with a name in Le Labo’s distinctive font.
£720 for 500ml, lelabofragrances.com.
The Travel Companion
The Walton is a colourful new weekend bag designed for effortless travel by Anya Hindmarch Bespoke. Crafted from lightweight canvas and beautifully finished with contrasting leather trims, it can be carried by hand, over the shoulder or with the detachable crossbody strap when you are running for your flight. It can be personalised on the front with initials. Alternatively, emboss a name on the top and include a handwritten message on the key cover.
£995, anyahindmarch.com.
The Smoky Spirit
The Lost Explorer has been making waves since its UK launch in October 2020. On a mission to become one of the most sustainable Mezcal brands in the world with various environmental initiatives in place to help combat climate change, it is also delicious. Personalisation of the full range of Mezcal bottles is on offer and it makes for a fun gift. The last date for ordering is December 18.
From £62.50 for 70cl + £7 for personalisation, thelostexplorermezcal.com.
The Wine Journey
The Bespoke Wine Collection will tailor 12 fine wines uniquely to you and your partner for its A Year of Romance Collection. As part of the package, you will be invited to meet founder Ksenia Karpenko to discuss preferences and share your story. You will then be sent 12 wines across 12 months with a bespoke bound book featuring the history of the estate, tasting notes, gastronomic pairing, serving suggestions and love letters, photos and clues about your future adventures together. The wooden cases can be personalised too.
£1,950, bespokewinecollection.com. Contact the BBB team for a referral.
The Special Scented Candle
Engrave a classic Diptyque candle with a personalised message, initials, a name or a date. The service is only available in the Spitalfields store but boy will it be worth the trek. The Amber, a heady fragrance of balms and spices, is a perfect winter scent.
£49, diptyqueparis.com.
The Bling Bag
With embossing and engraving services as an option for most of Aspinal London’s leather accessories and sterling silver gifts, you are spoilt for choice. Our pick would be the Mayfair bag, hand-crafted from full-grain leather, with a shield lock that opens to unveil a luxurious grosgrain lining.
£520, aspinaloflondon.com.
The Wow Factor Wallet
If you are in search of something iconic, practical and pretty look no further than the Louis Vuitton Zippy wallet. Select a stripe or style, along with two exterior colours, interior colour and initials for a unique twist on a classic.
£720, louisvuitton.com.
The Colourful Clutch
Will Bees Bespoke makes its beautiful bags and accessories with love in Salcombe, Devon. Each item is able to be embossed, embroidered or vinyl printed with a name or initials. Make a beeline for the Diana 2 in 1 clutch from The Bee Garden collection; a new collaboration with former Head of Design at Liberty Art Fabrics Emma Mawston.
£99.95, willbeesbespoke.com.
The Playful PJs
Desmond & Dempsey is the go to brand for playful and stylish pyjamas. The Sansindo Tiger Print in black and orange is a fun lounge look. Initials can be embroidered onto pockets or onto hems for the kids’ range. Click ‘add monogram’ for a little preview.
£175, desmondanddempsey.com.
The Winter Warmer
Burberry’s Classic Cashmere Scarf in check is made at a 200-year-old mill in the Scottish countryside. It is super soft and instantly recognisable but you can make it all the more special by choosing an array of colours with up to three initials.
£370, burberry.com.
The Dreamy Diary
There are few more chic stationery options than Smythson’s Mara Diary with a glossy, crocodile print finish. Artisans print and dye the leather to create the signature look. Put your stamp on it with a choice of font, text, colour and motif.
£225, smythson.com.
The Bespoke Guestbook
Sloane Stationery Guest Books are handmade in England by classically trained craftsmen. The cream paper with gilt edges and lizard embossed card feels sumptuous. You can add a name or initials or get creative with a quote, saying or line from a song. Email info@sloanestationery.com if you would like more ideas.
£59 + £3 per character for embossing, sloanestationery.com. Contact the BBB team for an exclusive referral.
The Perfect Pendant
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend and there are few more treasured than Tiffany. The diamond and turquoise circle pendant in 18k white gold has been sparkling for more than a century. Some things never go out of fashion and engraving can be added for that extra special touch.
£1,840, tiffany.com.
The Timeless Watch
Cartier’s Santos watch has a smart navy blue face and steel bracelet for a classic style. Opening the famous red box to reveal this number will be quite the moment. Opt for engraving for the man in your life who deserves a truly luxurious festive treat.
£6,250, cartier.com.
The Power Pen
After purchasing the Extra Bespoke fountain pen at Montegrappa, why not make it your own with the brand’s complimentary engraving service at Harrods? A limited edition design, it is fitted with a stainless steel clip for easy carrying inside or outside a suit jacket.
£1,345, harrods.com.
Amira Hashish is the founder and director of content, creative and events agency Rapport. Previously, executive editor of the Evening Standard, she writes columns for leading newspapers and magazines about design, travel and lifestyle. Follow @thedesigneditor and visit www.clubrapport.com for more.
A Long Weekend in Budapest
By Anya Cooklin-Lofting
When one visits Budapest, one is greeted by two very distinct yet equally charming plains. I’m not talking about the city’s divided origins as Buda and Pest, but about the two most prominent ways of seeing it. Its first apparition as the Pearl of the Danube is the hodge-podge of Gothic, Renaissance, Romanesque and Baroque Revival architecture. The city throbs with the heft and weight of collonades, domes, spires and sculptures; an immersive map of its complicated history and cultural idiosyncrasies. The second is its doppelganger, shimmering and vivid in the reflections of its famous river and steaming baths. Once your attentions are drawn, there they will inescapably remain, noting the way the steeples warp in the ripples and the sunsets are somehow augmented in the wavelets.
To embark on a visit to Budapest ought to be a commitment to total submersion in Hungarian heritage. A city break in the country’s capital offers an abundance of cultural and historic sites, well-making, stress-busting steeps in its mineral-rich waters and unforgettable dining experiences. Read on for some tried-and-tested suggestions for a long weekend in ‘the Paris of the East.’
Eat & Drink
Budapest’s dining offering is exemplary but narrow. Most restaurants have a rather traditional leaning, although some, including Zeya Restaurant and Laurel Budapest, experiment on the common theme. For a more lively, relaxed brunch, lunch or dinner, the Jewish Quarter is home to some of the most beautiful and welcoming bistros and cafe-style restaurants. With its rich and resilient history, the district is a hugely vibrant and dynamic corner of the city and its eateries are flanked by gorgeous shops, clubs and of course, exquisite Synagogues.
Macesz Bistro is a popular haunt, and while it’s currently closed in the wake of the pandemic, your visit will be worth the wait. Its contemporary twists on Hungarian Jewish classics are available a la carte or as curated tasting menus with delicious wine pairings. For a feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds, you could also try MAZEL TOV, a biophilic atrium of a restaurant, strung with festoon lights and furnished with simple, wooden tables, which unsurprisingly, are hard to come by. Its Israeli-inspired dishes are served with warm, fluffy pitta bread, garnished with fresh herbs and bejewelled with pomegranate seeds.
For those with a taste for European nightlife, be sure to visit the Ruin Bars and Szimpla Kert in particular. The bars can be found in the Jewish Quarter in the ruins of abandoned buildings after the neighbourhood was left after the Second World War, hence their memorable name.
See & Do
Without mentioning the architecture again (oops!), Budapest has a wealth of cultural must-sees. Buda Castle, for example, is a fairytale-like 13th-century palace seemingly conjured from the stone of Castle Hill. There is also Fisherman’s Bastion, a similarly spectacular fortification in the Romanesque Revival style, which features lots of 19th-century look-out points for sweeping views of the city.
One of the most impressive feats of bricks and mortar is the Hungarian Parliament Building, which sits on the eastern bank of the Danube. It is the largest and most spectacular building in Hungary and will celebrate its 120th anniversary in 2022. You’ll get the best view of the sprawling Seat of the National Assembly of Hungary from the Buda side of the river, and many agree the best time to see it is at night.
A trip to Budapest is simply not complete without a therapeutic dip in one of its spring water pools, and one of its most popular is the famous Art Nouveau thermal Gellért Spa, part of Hotel Gellért. There are 10 pools of various temperatures and scales, each of which is open to all every day of the year. More than anything, the pools prove to be a remarkable source of solace from the bustle of the city – a real treat for weary legs.
Unique Gift Ideas for the Person That Has Everything
It seems every family has one, that impossibly hard person to buy for that either has everything or wants for nothing. We scratch our heads and scour the internet in search of that special something but always somehow end up falling short. So, to save you the trouble this year, we’ve rounded up a delightfully unique selection of gift ideas for Christmas, birthday’s and beyond, that are guaranteed to go down a treat…
AMI Archive
Preserve the treasured photo memories of a loved one with a little help from AMI Archive. Following the journey of discovery, AMI will bring your family’s photographic archive to life through meticulous preservation, digitalisation and curation techniques that guarantee the enduring legacy of your cherished memories in a bespoke, handmade photo book.
AMI’s artisan bookbinders will gather and stitch the pages together by hand, followed by the handcrafted creation of each cover and slipcase using foil blocking techniques to produce a true labour of love.
Kind Box
Give a gift that’s good for animals, people and planet. The Kind Box is an ethical gift box filled with unique and hand-picked products that have been tried and tested in-house. For an extra special touch, you can build a custom gift box using the bespoke build a box platform, choosing from hundreds of vegan, sustainable and cruelty-free beauty products. Each beautiful box is then wrapped with eco-friendly tissue paper, zig zag offcut paper from a UK paper mill and tied with an organic cotton ribbon.
Kensington Parker
Call on Kensington Parker for a piece of bespoke, made to order diamond jewellery; a gift that even the person that has everything would be hard-pressed to resist! As a private jeweller, Kensington Parker are not refined to the constrictions of a traditional high street jeweller. From a home appointment in the evening, to a visit at your office to overlook a handpicked selection of diamonds, this is the kind of service that makes Kensington Parker a private jeweller for the client.
Rome de Bellegarde
Treat that special someone in your life to a bottle of one of the world’s most expensive and exquisite cognacs. Rome de Bellegarde has garnered a reputation for the highest standard of excellence, specialising in a limited edition collection of modern Premium Crus harmoniously blended with rare-aged Eaux de vie.
BBB recommend a bottle of the XO Limited Edition. Characterised by its full and powerful fruity notes and extravagant spices, the XO distils the essence of Rome de Bellegarde’s iconic heritage while bringing to the fore a modern freshness of flavour, imbued with lingering hints of sweet vanilla.
Genealogica
What could be more special than gifting someone with their very own genealogical family portrait? A company like no other, Genealogica is the world’s best family history research and story-telling team. With proven expertise in unearthing unique and barely traceable documents, photographs and heirlooms, Genealogica bring the people and places of each family’s extraordinary odyssey to life, telling the story of their unique journey through the generations.
Genealogica will then design and deliver the family legacy in any way clients desire, from bespoke ancestral encyclopedias to physical journeys into the past.
Belmond Gift Card
Give the gift of a Belmont gift card for something to look forward to when the time is right. The beauty of this particular gift card is that it can be redeemed for a range of experiences including a delightful afternoon tea, a relaxing massage a fascinating masterclass or towards the trip of a lifetime! From restaurants and hotels to trains, boats and safaris, nobody does luxury adventures quite like Belmond.