Desirable.co.uk is doing the Twelve Days of Christmas! Celebrate with us:

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eleven mp3 players, ten silk ties, nine party dresses, eight lovely milk jugs, seven summer swimsuits, six feather beddings, five golden rings, four calling phones, three French hen homewares, two bluebird shakers and a reed warbler in a pear tree.

Pipers piping? Try mp3 players blasting! Who needs a piper when you can carry the whole band in your pocket?

A: Apple iPod Shuffle 2GB in Pink,* £45.99 GBP at House of Fraser

B: Apple iPod Nano 8GB in Green,* £115.99 GBP at House of Fraser

C: Sanza Fuze 8GB mp3 Player in Black,* £59.39 GBP at Amazon

D: Sandisk Sansa Clip mp3 Player with Radio,* £44.28 GBP at Amazon

E: Dane-Elec 4GB Music Touch MP3/MP4 Player Black,* £34.95 GBP at Amazon

F: Cowan S9 32GB mp3 Player,* £229.00 GBP at Amazon

G: Apple iPod Touch 32GB,* £209.20 GBP at Amazon

H: Apple iPod Classic 160GB in Black,* £195.99 GBP at Amazon

I: Archos 2 Vision 8GB mp3 Player,* £49.99 GBP at Amazon

J: Philips GoGear Opus 16GB mp3 and Video Player,* £120.20 GBP at Amazon

K: Cowan iAudio D2+ 16GB DAB mp3 Player,* £189.00 GBP at Amazon

Desirable.co.uk is doing the Twelve Days of Christmas this year! Celebrate with us!

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, four calling phones, three french hen homewares, two bluebird shakers and a reed warbler in a pear tree.

Keep in touch with these pre-paid cutting edge mobile phones, all available from Amazon:

A: LG Viewty Silver Mobile Phone (on Vodafone PAYG),* £77.99 GBP at Amazon

B: Samsung s5230 Tocco Lite Mobile Phone (on Vodafone PAYG),* 79.99 GBP at Amazon

C: LG KS360 (Orange Pre-Pay Mobile Phone with £10 Airtime),* £66.99 GBP at Amazon

D: Nokia 6500 Classic Black Mobile Phone,* £94.99 GBP at Amazon

We’ve selected some of our favourite designers, craftspeople, online retailers and independent brands to be scrutinised under the Desirable spotlight.  We ask them four simple questions – ‘Who are you?’, ‘What is your design or buying ethos?’, ‘What are your Christmas gift recommendations?’ and ‘What’s in your bag?’  (we’re very nosy).

So now, for your enjoyment, is one of our top jewellery shopping destinations online, Plush Jewellery!

Who is Plush Jewellery?

To answer that simply would be to say that Plush Jewellery is Allie (follow her on Twitter!) and Holly, but Plush Jewellery is equally the product of the jewellery designers we work with.

We have gorgeous jewellery from established names in contemporary jewellery design such as James Newman and Kimberley Selwood as well as limited edition pieces from small scale artisans such as Kate Gill and Dorothy Borland. Right now, we’re showing work from 2 dozen jewellery designers but we’re always looking for new design talent to join our ranks and we run schemes throughout the year to enable new designers to bring their work to a wider audience.

What is your buying ethos?

It’s got to be different. We don’t buy jewellery that you can find on every high street. We don’t show two designers whose work is similar, it’s not fair to the designers to do that. All of the jewellery we buy has to be finished to a very high standard, basically if we wouldn’t buy it and wear it, we won’t offer it for sale (and we are very fussy). Finally we buy from designers who are passionate about what they do; their enthusiasm shines through in their work.

What are Plush Jewellery’s Top 3 Gift Ideas for Christmas?

Just three? We love all of our jewellery (yes, we would say that) but if you’re making us just choose three then these are top of the list this year:

1. Kimberley Selwood Butterfly Effect Silver Cuff (shown above, £235 GBP). This is a stunning piece of jewellery, Kimberley cuts each of the butterflies and forms the cuff by hand. It is beautiful, feminine and completely wearable.
2. Chris Hawkins Corvid Crow Cufflinks with Dark Garnet Eyes (shown above, £240 GBP). Chris’ Corvid collection is new this winter, it is inspired by the obsession the Victorians had for collecting. These cufflinks are made from polished blackened silver and enchance any chaps cuffs.
3. Gemma Clarke Silver acorn cup on champagne pearls – (shown above, £70 GBP). Gemma’s pearls are popular with our customers. She joined us last Christmas under our New Designers scheme and has shown with us ever since. This necklace, featuring champagne pearls, sterling silver and 18ct gold plate is elegant and stylish.

And finally, Allie and Holly, what’s in your bag?

Allie: I’m going stand up and show my complete geekness here: I’ve only just got my hands on an iPhone 3Gs on o2 (shown above F, £745.89 GBP from Amazon) and it’s already changing the way I work with a wealth of apps that tie in with the things I do online.  I’ve used Moleskine Pocket Notebooks for a few years now (shown above B, Plain Cahier £3.96 GBP at Borders). They’re gorgeously tactile and the pocket size fits perfectly in a bag. I always go for the ruled version.  Finally the Montblanc Meisterstuck hommage a Frederic Chopin Platinum Line (shown above C, £235.00 GBP at Wheelers Luxury Gifts), which writes beautifully and feels gorgeous. It’s not available to buy online but can be found in most John Lewis stores or from Montblanc boutiques.

Holly:  I use Clinique lip gloss (in Air Kiss, shown above A, £13.00 GBP from Debenhams) because it has an spf factor and keeps your lips soft through out the day.  It also has a lovely understated colour with a beautiful shine.   I use the Montblanc Boheme roller ball pens (shown above D, £235.00 GBP at Wheelers Luxury Gifts) – they’re beautifully designed, and have a lovely shape and weight making it a pleasure to write with – even if it’s a cheque! It was given to me as a gift and has very happy memories attached to it hence I never leave home without it in my handbag.  I also carry Bliss High Intensity Hand Cream (shown above E, £18.00 GBP at Amazon). When my hands are feeling a little unloved this is the product I reach for. It’s the ideal handbag size for use on the go. The cream is quite rich so you don’t need a lot but doesn’t leave your hands feeling greasy. It also means that it lasts along time.

Thanks so much for letting us have a nose through your bag and your store Allie and Holly! To check out Plush Jewellery for yourselves, click here!

Folks, I’m telling you this because I love you.  I’m telling you this because I know that this year is tougher than most for a lot of us and is hitting us hard in the bank balances and hip-pockets.  I’m also telling you this because as far as good sales go, this is really good.

iWoot, otherwise known as IWantOneOfThose, is holding a flash pre-Christmas sale that starts today at 10am and ends on Sunday at midnight.  There will be up to 50% off some items, with many others reduced to some degree.  The best part is that their range is broad and perfectly suited to those awkward, geeky, male friends and family members you have in your life, so this is the perfect time to get shopping.  Click the banner below to start browsing:

Here at Desirable HQ we do get propositioned quite often (and sadly not always in a good way – where are all the handsome millionaires with yachts and champagne?).  Mostly it’s companies asking for our opinions on products or start-up retailers looking for a bit of free PR.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear from the lovely Natasha at Handpicked Collection, however, who not only wanted us to check-out their (honestly quite awesome) website but wanted us to try out the gift-picking process too!  Follow Handpicked Collection on Twitter, and read ahead to see how our gift-picking went!

First of all, our biggest challenge was limiting ourselves to a budget, because we could easily have picked everything in the store.  The site is set up so that you can browse the selection as you would any other online store, or you can ask for help by selecting particular gift categories (age, interest, price, etc).  We started by browsing, and after seeing lots and lots of pretty shiny things we decided it was time to get serious.

So, what do you give to a brother who is obsessed with animals, gardening and cars?  Perhaps the Eva Solo Bird Feeder, or the Allotment Starter Kit?  How about a fashion-loving, perfectly styled sister?  The Kimberley Clutch by Tucker Paisley would suit.  And finally, the dad that’s read every book on the planet and loves a good drink? Definitely the Leatherbound Wine Journal and the Favourite Novel Picture Frame.

Here are some more of our favourites from Handpicked Collection, but we can’t say who they’re for or it would ruin the surprise!  Having tried out the website for ourselves, and purchased a few items, we can vouch for a fast, friendly and incredibly easy service!

A: Enormous 10-Cup Teapot, £19.95 GBP

B: Little Miss and Mr Mugs, £5.95 GBP ea

C: Ceramic Note Pad, £10.95 GBP

D: Natural Slate Cheese Board, £16.95 GBP

E: Candy Coloured Espresso Maker, £12.95 GBP

F: Rocking Glasses, £14.95 GBP

G: Mummy & Daddy Teatowels, £9.95 GBP

H: Snowboard Picture Frame, £24.95 GBP

I: Enormous Jolly Cockrel Mug, £4.95 GBP by Cath Kidston

J: Metal Detector, £29.95 GBP

NotOnTheHighStreet.com is a great site that combines easy to use site design, high retail standards, and absolutely gorgeous (often handmade) products.  To give the kids something a little different this Christmas, why not consider something crafty, clever and cute:

A: ‘Enter At Ye Own Risk’ Pirate Door Sign,* £9.99 GBP by Giddy Kipper

B: Great Little Dinosaur Hamper,* £65.00 GBP by The Great Little Hamper Company

C: Child’s Jelly Bean Necklace,* £50.00 GBP by Molly Brown London Ltd

D: Personalised Green Robot T-Shirt,* £19.00 GBP by Sgt. Smith

E: Pink Stripey Hobby Horse,* Coming Soon (20 November), by Sally Shufflepants

F: The Pink Dolls House,* £135.00 GBP by I Love Toys

G: Money Bunny,* £35.00 GBP by Bob by Post

H: Giant Colouring Map,* £12.00 GBP by Doodlebug

I: Pirate Treasure Chest,* £9.00 GBP by Junior Geo

Christmas shopping can be a bit of a nightmare, especially if you have a large group of friends or a big family.  Thankfully there are destinations such as iWoot and Firebox that offer a huge selection of fun and unusual gifts, meaning you can cut down on your shopping time, stock up on a wide variety of pressies AND save on shipping.  Firebox is one of my faves, particularly as they tend to get some really clever gifts and gadgets that can keep even the most discerning of nerds entertained:

A: Caravan Birdhouse,* £14.95 GBP

B: Postcode Puzzles,* £19.95 – £29.95 GBP

C: Sparkling Vodka,* £34.95 GBP (700mL)

D: Voco Alarm Clock,* £24.95 GBP

E: Teacup Plant Pots,* £24.95 GBP

F: WoodStation,* £89.95 GBP

G: Tea Dam Mug,* £9.95 GBP

H: Blooming Decorations,* £8.95 GBP