Shop spotlight on Postcards Home. This online gift shop is the perfect website for anyone looking for unusual homeware, ethical fashion jewellery, colourful stationery and adorable presents for kids. You’ll find an eclectic selection of globally sourced gifts which are carefully curated by the owner. These are from India, Morocco, Peru and far-flung corners of the world. The unique collection is handpicked to bring the colour and culture of your favourite places to your home. With many pieces being one-of-a-kind, you’ll find something original and special. By supporting independent designers and social enterprises, you can feel good that you’re buying an independent design that empowers the makers. I caught up with the owner of Postcards Home to tell me about her journey.
Selection of Products
Meet the Postcards Home Owner
This inspiring online shop is owned by Lucy Coleman. Lucy talked me through her background, “I started out studying History of Art in London, which was a great excuse to wander around galleries all day. Joking aside, it was great training in learning how to pick apart designs and write about them. This now comes in handy when I’m sourcing and copywriting for my e-commerce shop. My studies specialised in graffiti, which is why you can see a lot of street art on our Instagram page!”
Meet Lucy Coleman
It wasn’t long before Lucy landed herself an exciting marketing job. She reveals, “I’ve always loved brands and products, and before I’d even graduated, I got sucked into the start-up world. I joined a newly formed smoothie business and worked there for over five years, building awareness of the brand and trying out plenty of cheeky marketing tactics. I’m a mad fan of radio, and during this period, I worked part-time at University College Hospital, presenting a weekly two-hour radio show. You wouldn’t believe how many times people would request Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees!”
Stationery Notebooks
Lucy’s next job was working at Unilever on brand development within its Foods category. She elaborates, “I worked closely with advertising agencies to make TV ads, build websites and run social campaigns. It always looked like these agencies I worked with were having a lot of fun, so I decided to try it myself. I landed a job at a digital agency, Lean Mean Fighting Machine (recently absorbed into M&C Saatchi), directing their Unilever accounts. I got the opportunity to work closely with Developers and Community Managers, so I was able to glean a lot of useful information, which I can now put to good use.”
Poodle Pouch
In the Autumn of 2014, Lucy found herself living in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) for her partner’s work. She elaborates, “As well as having some incredible beaches and backwaters, Kerala is a hotbed of e-commerce start-ups and website developers. There were also a lot of talented designers making great homeware and fashion accessory products, which were different from the traditional Indian designs you see so much of in the UK. I started to buy these contemporary items and vintage pieces so that when I returned to the UK, my home would be full of bits that reminded me of Kerala. It occurred to me that other people might be interested in doing the same, and that’s when my online shop idea was born. As for the business name, you might have guessed that I’m a big fan of traditional postcards. There is something incredible about taking the time to send a message to loved ones about your travel adventures. I like that the products I sell remind people of their travels and give them a constant connection to their favourite places around the world.”
Hammam Towel
Becoming an online shop was an easy decision for Lucy, thanks to her previous career experience. She tells me, “I love digital marketing, building my online brand eco-system and chatting to customers on social media. It also gives me the flexibility to try out new products, which means I can keep up with interior trends. It’s so easy to reach out and connect to customers and designers globally, and it’s great not having a fixed shop address so that the company can exist anywhere and everywhere around the world. No overheads mean I can focus on finding the best new designers globally and giving our customers the exemplary service they deserve. The virtual world, combined with being my boss, gives me room to act on impulse, from trying new products to having a flexible work-life balance.”
View the Postcards Home Products
Lucy tells me about the products she sells, “It’s a focus on contemporary homeware and gifts inspired by travel and design. Homeware products include; cushions, quilts, ceramics, enamelware, coasters, towels, aprons, oven gloves, tea towels, baskets, rugs, tableware and storage pots. Fashion accessories feature; necklaces, bangles, earrings, rings, baskets, pouches and scarves. We also sell stationery notebooks and greeting cards. Our products for children are very adorable and include; baby pillows, baby quilts, pyjamas and soft toys. Brands include; Safomasi, Piccadelhi, Bohemia Design, Just Trade, House of Wandering Silk and Forty Red Bangles.”
Selection of Products
The products are thoughtfully sourced; Lucy explains, “I select items that I genuinely love, which also have a soul and a story. By working directly with the Makers, we can be sure of how and where our products are made. Where possible, we source Fair Trade items and work with BAFTS-certified suppliers, but if a team have not sought that accreditation, we make sure we fully understand that the production process is ethical and sustainable before we begin to work together. As a passionate feminist, I try and work as much as possible with designers employing and empowering women around the World. I’m also motivated by keeping traditional production methods alive in areas where fast fashion endangers them. A lot of the designers I work with employ artisans to produce their designs, breathing new life into traditional creative industries.”
Regatta Quilt and Tableware
One of the brands you’ll find online is Safomasi, a Delhi-based design team couple making colourful homewares inspired by their travels around India, Japan and the UK. Lucy tells me, “Safomasi has such an eye for design and is so passionate about the production of their products that I am constantly bowled over by their work. I love this Camel Traders cushion, which has a playful pattern of camels and camel traders in bright turbans. It’s quirky and fun with cute pink pom pom edging made by designer Maninder’s super stylish Grandma.”
Camel Traders Cushion
The quirky coaster collection and statement stationery are from London-based brand Piccadelhi. Lucy says, “the designs are a nod to designer Kerry’s British/Indian heritage. We stock tea towels, coasters and notebooks in the signature ‘chips and curry sauce’ style that can’t help but make you smile. The coasters shown below will undoubtedly transport you back to a Delhi street corner and brighten up your table at the same time. They come in four designs; Good Chai Here, another says Tiffin Time, one has a colourful chevron pattern, and one is covered in a quirky star anise print.”
Colourful Coasters
More colourful products for the home are by Bohemia Design. Lucy elaborates, “we get rave reviews for this brand, who is an independent design house based in Scotland working with artisans in Morocco and India. They produce handwoven baskets, enamel crockery and delicate jewellery. These bowls are handmade by skilled artisans in India from embossed cast iron, which is then coated in pink enamel. They are available in small, medium and large sizes with plates to match. Choose from pink, mint green or burnt orange.”
Pink Enamel Bowls
Bohemia Design also makes these cute Baskets. They have been woven from sustainable palm leaves and finished off with sisal handles and bright coloured pom-poms, which have been handwoven in Morocco. Lucy adds, “these baskets are brilliant for the beach or for shopping at your local farmer’s market – we even have one in the office to store wrapping paper!”
Pom Pom Woven Basket
The Berber Bread Baskets are fun. Lucy explains, “I couldn’t resist these baskets which come in bright colours, like bubblegum pink, with striking patterns. They are handwoven by Berber tribes in Morocco using natural raffia stalks which are wound with dyed wool. You even get a tassel on top for additional decoration. They were originally made to store Khubz bread, but you could use them as storage for anything you like.”
Berber Bread Baskets
Aside from these homewares, you can also buy some pretty fashion accessories and cute gifts for children. Lucy tells me, “we’re proud to work with some completely inspiring accessories brands such as Just Trade and House of Wandering Silk. They employ and empower women and men in the remotest parts of India and Peru to produce beautifully modern necklaces, earrings, bracelets and scarves using traditional techniques. If you’re after kid’s gifts, you might like the work of Singaporean-based design-team Forty Red Bangles. They collaborate with The Sambhali Trust in Jodhpur, India, to produce our range of charming handmade toys. The Sambhali Trust does fantastic work towards the empowerment of women and girls in Rajasthan, including helping victims of domestic violence and campaigning for the abolition of child marriage.”
Buy the Postcards Home Products
If you want to brighten up your home, treat yourself to some jewellery or buy a delightful gift for a friend, then make sure you visit the website at Postcards Home. There is something to suit every pocket. Cushions range from £40-70, rugs are £295, earrings start at just £7.50, necklaces from £24 and Berber Bread Baskets range from £38-40. If you want products shipped overseas, email info@postcardshome.co.uk for a quote about delivery charges. You’ll be pleased to know that each order is lovingly gift-wrapped with paper true to the destination that inspired the design of the product and sent out with a postcard for your home.
Author: Homegirl London. Photographs: Postcards Home. Thanks: Lucy Coleman. Disclaimer: This is a Sponsored Post/Advertising.
