Category: Things of Interest

Christmas Feast Gift Box

To start off with a bang, we have our Christmas Feast Gift Box. Sweet, savoury and gorgeous red wine are well and truly covered in this generous Christmas gift box! Think hamper favourites, but on another level. 

Christmas Feast Gift Box

Christmas Wine
Firstly, the deliciously easy-drinking red wine Vinho Regional Lisboa Tinto 2019. This treat is bursting with aromas of ripe cherries, juicy blackberries and blackcurrants for your taste buds. A delightfully fruity blend of indigenous Portuguese and international grape varieties and a brilliant Christmas wine for this gift box.

The Sweet Tooth
For those with a sweet tooth, the addition of our 15 Mixed Pralines and Cracker with Chocolate Santas is perfect.
Our pralines chocolate box contains decadent flavours including Caramac cream, caramelised sesame, hazelnut truffle, and orange praline. So many choices to choose from and try!
To go further, we’re giving you the classic cracker with chocolate goodies inside. The delicious Lindt chocolate Santas are a lovely treat for a Christmas box and a wonderful bit of fun and festivity. 

Staying along the sweet line, our All Butter Shortbread Rounds are the perfect little treat. They are hand baked in the UK, crumbly and light! They are perfect with a lovely cup of tea.

Evening Nibbles
For the classic evening nibbles, cheese, biscuits and chutney are the way to go and we’re treating you with all three!

To fulfil your cheesey needs, we have our Extra Mature Black Bomber Cheddar and Extra Mature Cheddar with Summer Truffle by the Snowdonia Cheese Company.
The Black Bomber Cheddar is their flagship cheese, with rich flavour and a smooth creaminess. Similarly, the Cheddar with Summer Truffle pairs beautifully. Its unique, earthy flavour delivers strong savoury characteristics and a delectable sweetness. Both are perfect for any cheese lover and ideal for this feast gift box.

As every cheese lover also knows, with cheese comes biscuits! Our Savoury Pumpkin Seed & Cranberry Biscuits are just the thing. The specially selected mix of seeds compliment the fruity, flavoursome juicy cranberries. 

The perfect finishing touch to your nibbles is Fig & Apple Chutney, also by Snowdonia Cheese Company. It is deliciously sweet and fruity, delivering a lovely richness for a cheese and cracker. A sumptuous final touch to our Christmas Feast Gift Box.

Sparkle & Wine Gift Box

Next up is a smaller range of Christmas gifts, but still just as lovely! We have our Sparkle & Wine Gift Box. This shimmering seasonal box is a great option for some thinking of you gifts.

Festive Activities & Bubbles 
A little time to relax is a definite necessity over Christmas time, so our Origami Ornaments are a lovely addition. With 80 festive patterned and plain papers and six ornaments to create, there’s something for everyone. Make some lovely stars, Christmas trees or wreaths for some beautiful Christmas decorations. 

For this relaxation, who doesn’t love a little tipple to enjoy? We feel Christmas bubbles are the perfect choice, so indulge yourself with our Prosecco Spumante Extra Dry. This prosecco is made from Glera grapes in a vineyard situated in the hills of Veneto, creating a light straw yellow with fine bubbles! The notes of pear and white flowers follow onto a palate which is bright and clean, with a refreshing finish. It is a wonderful festive drink.

Calming Candles & More Sweet Treats
These two Christmas gifts are wonderful, but we wanted to go further. We feel that candles are perfect for creating a calming space to feel festive. Infuse your home with the refreshing and sensual aromas of Byrd & Bay’s Evergreen, Grapefruit & Juniper soy wax candle. Lemon, bergamot and mandarin create the refreshing body that is beautifully contrasted by juniper and a base of amber, musk and woods. 

To complete this magical gift box, yummy sweet treats were definitely needed. We added our delightful Truffle Kerfuffle Salted Caramel Truffles. With notes of caramel, a hint of fresh sea salt and peppered with milk chocolate flakes, they are a playful twist on a chocolate classic. Perfect for this gift box. 

Family Christmas Box

For our last Christmas gift box unwrapping, we wanted to show a box that can suit everyone, so here’s our Family Christmas Box. This wonder has some elements from our previous two boxes, as well as Christmas decorations and games.

Fun, Games & Christmas Decorations
The fun and games are created with the Origami Ornaments and our Christmas Trivia Cards. The Trivia pack contains 50 cards with fun questions based on some fascinating facts. You can get your game face on for a competitive Christmas game, or enjoy a peaceful, quiet family game together.   

Our Christmas decoration for this box is our Christmas Eucalyptus & Berry Bouquet by our Bookblock Florists. Originally this box was going to feature the beautiful Classic Handmade Dried Wreath shown below. However, the florists wanted to pack so much into it that it wouldn’t fit inside the box!

So we swapped it out for our amazing Christmas bouquet. This features dried eucalyptus, poppy heads, beautiful golden foliage and pops of red berries. Therefore, an extremely festive bouquet and the most gorgeous of Christmas decorations. 

More Candles & Crackers
Our last two additions are featured in the previous boxes, but with different fragrances and flavours. We just had to include a candle and a cracker!

The Fig & Snowberry Soy Wax Candle is fruity, peppery and festive. A delightfully wintry candle that has all the aromas of an English Winter, so perfect for Christmas gift boxes.

The charming Santa Cracker houses thirteen delicious milk chocolate Santa belts. The fun Santa design creates a great little addition to Christmas boxes, with the surprise addition of lots of chocolates!

We hope this has helped add to your festivity and given you some lovely gift ideas for you and your loved ones!

Whether we like to admit it or not, the cover of a book can strongly determine our decision to either pick it up and read it immediately, or leave it on the shelf to gather dust. Something with this amount of power to influence our opinion of a book we haven’t even read yet shouldn’t be overlooked, and because of this we believe book covers are works of art in their own right.

Whether it be adorned with elaborate illustrations or touched by simple typography, each design has to be a unique representation of the book inside, effectively conveying its themes, atmospheres and genre. We want to appreciate the time and effort that goes into getting this right, so below we share three examples of where we believe designers have done just that.

MANUJA WALDIA – Pelican Shakespeare Series, published by Penguin Random House

Our first example isn’t a single book cover, but a new series of designs for Shakespeare’s works illustrated by Manuja Waldia, in collaboration with Penguin Random House. One of the things that drew us to the project is that something as well-known as Shakespeare’s stories have been given such a fresh new identity. As Manuja tells us, “it’s hard to escape Shakespeare as his stories are so deeply embedded in popular culture, even if they are diluted to a point where you don’t realise it’s his stuff.”

Some of the more subtle hints to themes within the books keeps the whole series interesting and it’s nice to see some of Manuja’s personal interpretations, who carried out a lot of research prior to the project. Manuja gives us an insight into the positive collaboration with publishers Penguin and it’s clear this was a key contributor to the success of the project, which won a Gold Medal at the Society of Illustrators Annual Exhibition.

“I start by reading and researching the material. Sometimes the editorial team provides me with some initial ideas of their own, which are helpful insights about which directions would work better over others. I explore those along with a few ideas of my own as wordlists, or quick pencil thumbnails. From these I blow out 6-8 enlarged pencil sketches, the art team selects one for the front and another for the verso. I digitize them on Adobe Illustrator along with a couple of icons for the spine. Next comes final thoughts from the Penguin team, selecting a spine icon, and polishing up artwork. I get complete creative freedom, and the inputs from Penguin just push the work to the next level (thanks Paul Buckley!)”

When choosing our favourites from the (pretty large) series, we gravitated toward the comedies which are grouped by a consistent light blue background. Histories are grouped by maroon, and tragedies by black. When asked about her personal favourite covers in the series, Manuja replied “The Tempest, and The Merchant of Venice are my favourites as I took risks with both the concept and drawing, and the Penguin team were awesome enough to let me do it.”

Manuja’s approach to illustration is very personal and she has allowed her style to develop organically. When asked what her favourite book cover designed by any other artist, she answered “believe it or not, I don’t follow book cover design as it dilutes originality while I work… As most self taught artists, initially I was learning by copying a lot of both classical masters (Indian and Persian miniature paintings, Matisse, etc) and also contemporary successful illustrators (Jessica Hische, Lotta Nieminen). But thankfully overtime I had the good sense to stop consuming illustration for inspiration.”

She insists this is how her personal style was born, and advises others to embrace the kooks and imperfections in illustration. In the future she hopes to design cover artwork for authors from the Indian subcontinent, intersectional artist M.I.A, and feminist poet Nikita Gill.

MARIE-LAURE CRUSCHI (AKA CRUSCHIFORM) – Cabins by Philip Jodidio, published by Taschen

This is a beautiful hardback book published by Taschen that caught our eye when it was released in 2014. It’s no secret that we at Bookblock are fans of illustration, and French illustrator and art director Marie-Laure Cruschi’s artworks played no small part in our attraction to the book, as one of many beautiful illustrations of a cabin in the forest adorns the entire cover, uninterrupted (just like the landscape that many of the cabins inside fit so perfectly into).

Marie-Laure tells us she worked closely with Taschen for 6 months and over this time created over 60 illustrations, drawings and symbols, but it was an early trial drawing that Taschen immediately chose as the front cover image. We find this illustration particularly atmospheric which may be why it was such a clear choice for the cover. The size of the book, (measuring just over 24 by 30cm with almost 500 pages) and this full bleed illustration complement each other wonderfully, creating an impression of the cabins and their environments being tangible when you hold the book.

The feeling of being able to engage with the environments was also important for Marie-Laure, telling us that “each illustration represents a contemporary cabin celebrated in it’s nature’s jewel box. I wanted to create dreamlike pictures between realism and fantasy. So I tried to make a glorified vision, to inspire, to invite in a virtual journey, while trying to convey each cabin’s unique character, and remaining faithful to the original cabin architecture.”

In that sense, this project seems to strike a nice balance between her work in children’s books, cultural magazines and graphic design, as she combines the feeling of child-like fantasy with accurate and faithful representations of the cabins which is key to the nonfiction book.

She also recounts a positive collaboration between illustrator and publisher and how creative freedom paired with guidance produced a result and experience they both enjoyed, “once I had a good grasp of Taschen’s requests and their goals, I had a lot of freedom on creating the illustrations. It was like a Carte blanche. Of course I shared with them my work in progress, showing them my sketches, pictures references, colour moods… and it went very well.”

JENNIFER CARROW – Against Happiness by Eric G Wilson, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Our final choice is this cover designed by Jennifer Carrow, a prolific designer of book covers. Her portfolio spans various styles and genres, each of her many cover designs appearing unique to the book in question. Against Happiness is an example of her more minimal approaches to design, and we think this was the perfect direction to go in for this nonfiction book exploring the advantages of melancholia, particularly in relation to creativity and expression.

The book explores two polar opposite themes; happiness and sadness. Jennifer Carrow presents this brilliantly and simply; the bright yellow background instantly connotes themes of happiness, while the simple shape of a down turned smile, formed here by the typography, is equally as recognisable as a symbol of sadness.

Continuing our series on artists that inspire the Bookblock team, Designer Nicola shares her love of David Shrigley.

It’s hard to talk about who inspires me as I find it hard to be inspired without feeling some sort of ‘artistic guilt’ if it influences my own thinking too much, but of course it naturally happens, and when I am truly inspired (which is rare) it is usually because it has sparked a new idea or encouraged me to be more confident in my own thinking. Or in this case, my style of drawing – which is what David Shrigley has done for me. I started as an artist with two drawing styles, one that can take me days to complete and is structured, neat and often trying to represent reality in its true physical form. My other style exists similarly to Shrigley’s, bringing personality and humour to the work through confident lines and conviction in what my hand naturally wants to do. To some this style could be thought to be the opposite to what is classically considered beautiful or skilful, but to me Shrigley’s work is relatable, characterful and charming. I often remind myself ‘If you want to see an accurate portrayal of something then take a photo.’

I first fell under his charm back in 2012 during my foundation year at MMU, when he exhibited ‘How are you feeling?’ at the former Cornerhouse. Described as ‘art-therapy to help you cope with “an increasingly crazy and poorly signposted world”, the exhibition poster has followed me from home to home, doing exactly that. Reminding me that art needn’t take itself so seriously, and indeed neither should I.

His work seems to curiously pop up in many places, as though it seems to follow me around, with every occasional familiar glimpse of his black on white drawings appearing like a friendly face in a crowd. Once in the form of a recent collaboration with Tiger on a range of stationery, another as a piece of ‘Art on the Underground’, and most recently in the form of a large thumbs up on the 4th plinth.

It would be hard to pick a favourite piece of work by Shrigley, as there are just so many to choose from. But I could probably pick my top 5, though if you were to ask me again tomorrow it would likely be a completely different 5. I like to think that though Shrigley and I originate from, according to Wikipedia, the same ‘small market town’ of Macclesfield, or perhaps more notably the Times 2004 most uncultured town in Britain, something managed to slip through the cold grey cracks.

We feel this particular post encapsulates a combination of two of our favourite things at Bookblock; design and food. Chocolate, specifically. We love seeing other brands that put time and thought into their design so wanted to share three of our favourite chocolate packaging designs. It may be a cliché, but these really are a treat for the eyes as well as the taste buds.

Love Cocoa

Speaking of gifting, Love Cocoa is a chocolate company specifically tailored to ordering chocolate straight to your door to brighten the day of a loved one (or yourself). The packaging follows a consistent design across all the flavours which makes the chocolates look lovely both as a bundle and individually. Each bar is wrapped up in a small pattern on a white background which corresponds to its particular ingredients or flavour, for example the repeated cow motif signifies classic milk chocolate which is simple but striking. We were also drawn to the bright green bottle design for the gin and tonic flavour, which creates a vision of drinking a refreshing G&T on a sunny day.

Sweet Virtues

Sweet Virtues are London based chocolatiers who produce truffles and thins which are free from things such as dairy, gluten, and added sugar. They’re designed to include restorative ingredients and make you feel better for having eaten them, rather than queasy and slightly regretful (just me?). We chose the packaging of one of their boxes of thins, which is a delightfully small box which it’s clear has been thought about thoroughly. Each product’s packaging is adorned with nature-inspired illustrations reflecting the flavours, and different colours depending on the ingredients. For example, we chose the Himalayan pink salt thins, housed in a padded pink box which makes sure the chocolate is well packed and looked after (this is very important to us). We also like the use of typography alongside the illustration.

Coco Chocolatier

Coco is an Artisan Chocolatier based in Edinburgh that “specialises in making ethically traded, organic and most importantly delicious chocolate.” It’s clear the same level of attention goes into the packaging design as goes into the hand crafting of their chocolate. Each flavour bar has a unique design, and the collection of 14 available to buy online spans various colours and styles. Some, such as the date and ginger dark chocolate, have more geometric patterns, and some are more expressive, as is the case with the gorgeous red and pink packaging we were drawn to which houses an equally enticing Artisan Roast Espresso flavour. It goes without saying that these make lovely gifts, and with this variety of designs, if you can’t decide on a flavour you can definitely pick a design that will suit your giftee.

Over the next few month, five creative members of the Bookblock team will be sharing one person that inspires them and their work. Keep an eye out for posts from Creative Director Stefan, Designers Sophie & Nicola and Product Designer Fran, but first photographer Sarah explains how Carl Kleiner inspires her.

When I was asked to write a blog on who inspired me and my work, one photographer sprang to mind straight away. Carl Kleiner is a prolific still life photographer based in Stockholm, who has produced advertising work for high profile clients including H&M, Ikea and Google, as well as editorial series for international publications.

As a relatively young photographer, his influence on still life photography and styling over the past decade has been prodigious, pioneering the bright, graphic aesthetic that’s become so popular in contemporary still life photography. I don’t at all hesitate to include myself in the long list of photographers he’s inspired.

Although his compositions are controlled and clean, his imagination and sense of humour also come through clearly in his work which is often styled in collaboration with Evelina Kleiner. I find that when browsing through his many projects and commissions, you can see his ability to communicate different messages and brand identities while maintaining his own recognisable style.

Carl shares behind the scenes videos, photos and sketches along with each series on his website, and these give a little insight into his shooting process. At a time when CGI is so prevalent in commercial still life photography, I admire the efforts Carl and his collaborators go through to physically produce the perfect photo, manufacturing their own props from various materials to fit the particular project. Due to the level of detail and the cleanliness of the finish, it would be easy to assume many of his images were completely computer generated at first glance.

This particularly applies to two of his recent series; a collection of 50 photographs showcasing Italian lighting company Flos, and a series of backgrounds produced for Google. Both of these projects encapsulate Kleiner’s signature abstract style, while still emphasising the minute and beautiful detail of Flos’ products, and creating paperscapes that are recognisably Google. This behind the scenes video and photos from the Flos shoot show how these images were created without the use of CGI.

It’s impressive to think that despite the quantity of photographs in the Flos series, not only is each image fresh and unique, and each product clearly tailored to, there’s still a degree of experimentation during the shoots, with consistency maintained through the carefully prepared and curated backgrounds and props. In terms of Bookblock photography, this is particularly inspiring to see, as we’re faced with the challenge of maintaining fresh imagery with many products of generally the same size and shape. It’s also reassuring to know that the best images can sometimes come to you during the shoot, and not every image has to be meticulously planned:

I tried to do sketches first, but found these got in the way of the process. I knew what I wanted to achieve in terms of composition, and the best way of getting there was to let the images come to me during the process of making them.” (Carl Kleiner talking to the British Journal of Photography about his personal project ‘There Will be Blood’ which was a development of his work for Google)

The final project I want to share had me transfixed by the behind the scenes page for about half an hour. This project, commissioned by Lärabar, involved a very fiddly–looking and painstaking setup which created a great effect without excessive post production. Overall I think this clever and practical use of materials and objects is what inspires me most about Carl Kleiner’s work, as it proves that planning, imagination and patience can produce a result to be proud of.