Edinburgh is heaving with wrapped up party goers gearing up to celebrate Hogmanay this evening. We would love to wish you all a wondeful Hogmanay, and happy 2009!
Thanks again for all your support over 2008, The Red Door just wouldnt be the same without you. xxx

I have always been a fan of Crayola (I think it was the major set I got on my 10th birthday which was housed in a mini suitcase that did it - that set was sooo cool!). They simply make the most vibrant, rich crayons around which is why kids love them - and lets face it, kids are tough when it comes to crayon judging.

My love for Crayola only widened when I recently came across a pack of their 'Multicultural Crayons' which have an assortment of skin hues ''that give a child a realistic palette for coloring their world''. Colours can be blended to create any skin tone you can think of which is great considering we all come in different colours. Go Crayola!

During the few days break over Christmas I made my way to Berlin and back - and what a wonderful trip it was too. There was lots of eating, drinking and merriment as well as great company. Christmas Berlin style was fab and I must admit I did wish I could stay for longer. Above are a few images of Berlin along with a post image from Adore Vintage which I couldn't resist adding - I just loved all these great vintage outfits!

A big thanks to Peter and Melanie for making our Christmas truly German. xxx

A belated but very warm Merry Christmas to all of you!
Things have calmed down a little in the shop, so there shall be lots of fun posts to follow. Thanks to all of you who helped make our festive season so fun and memorable. Seasons Greetings. xxx

We are in full festive swing at The Red Door and I think it may have something to do with our festive windows. We are thrilled to be able to share some of the great products we stock with our Christmas shoppers and hope that we are making things a little easier for them. Merry Christmas everyone. x

We now have some great Ding Dong Designs finger puppets in stock. Designs include Ziggy Stardust, bjork, Salvador Dali, Elvis and Spiderman. Better grab then quick as they are flying out the door.

We sadly said to goodbye to Annika as a team member at The Red Door last week. Annika is off to the big smoke of London via some sun in Australia for Christmas. We wish her every success and are missing her like crazy already. Annika - here are a few things that remind us of you - Belle and Sebastian, Diana Camera (email us some of your shots), chocolate and red wine cupcakes and the wonderful thing that is a cup of tea. Thanks for everything Annika. xxxx

A new lot of Eleanor Grosch prints arrived on our doorstep a few days ago. Very simplistic and stylised, these prints are a steal at £25 each. Available both online or instore.

This year to strengthen our festive spirit, we undertook one mighty fun craft project - the construction of our very large window advent calender. Admittedly it doesn't house chocolate, but instead, we get to open a window each day of December to reveal a special product treat from The Red Door. The fun we are having! Oh and at the back is a little doorkeeper from Kate Sutton who keeps guard all day long (see below).
Seasons Greetings everyone. xxx

Gift Guide - Fun Stuff

Here are our last two gift guides for December. Hopefully these helped with those tough decisions. Remember - you can buy your Christmas gifts right now from our online shop. Makes battling the Christmas crowds easy. Merry Christmas everyone!

From left to right, top to bottom: Make-a-Monster kit £14, Gnome magic garden £3, London Make-a-City £3, Invitation pack £10, Sweet Stickers pack £3, Hole-on-Ex camera kit £14, 'What a Day' mug £13, Hug Card £4, Flatpets Kitten £10, Junk Food badge pack £4, Harry Hairy Head £44, Rain Cloud necklace £10, 'The Enormous Finger' book £4, Ships postcard sets £5.

Gift Guide - Prints

Artwork is such a lovely thing to recieve. It also doesnt have to cost the earth! Here is a few suggestions.

From left to right, top to bottom: 'Tea Time' £27, 'Ocean Outing' £160, 'Woodpecker Decor-a-Board' £20, '5 Buildings' £60, 'Love and Luck' £12, 'The Beds too Big' £220, 'Air Piracy' £250, 'Cowboys and Indians' £20, 'Herringbone' £60, 'Hamsters' £25, 'Little & Often' £25, 'Ive Been to Sea' £220, 'Forward Conquer' £350, 'Best Of' £25, 'Our Beautiful Dream' £150.

'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Decoration'

We love supporting the creations of independent artists and designers and this Christmas is no exception. The festive season is lots of fun at The Red Door with our customers searching for that something special which they won't find on the high street. We also know that people love a Christmas decoration with a story to adorn their trees and what better decoration to hang than one made with love by hand from an independent artist!

'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Decoration' is a fun, seasonal project run by the team at The Red Door to bring our customers some independent Christmas cheer. This cheer comes in the form of a Christmas decoration made by artists, which are all for sale at The Red Door right now. All pieces are hanging from our tree in the window and can be bought and taken home on the spot.

Most pieces are under £10 and are very limited so first in first served. See below for some close-ups of a few decorations. Seasons Greeting!

Gift Guide - Accessories

From left to right, top to bottom: Purse Bag £25, Umbrella brooch set £14, Soop ring £6.50, Belong Badge £10, 'With Love' badge £1.50, Tuck-Tite purse £12, Ooid shoppers £9 each, Anchor bracelet £25, Laptop Bag £95, Soop ring £6.50, Love-o-Meter £18, Glass of Pop £8, Fawn necklace £15, House necklace £24, Yeah! necklace £25, Double Flap bag £58, Soop ring £6.50, Redwood necklace £24, Bow necklace £30.

Gift Guide - Guys

We all know that guys can sometimes be hard to buy for - so hopefully this solves a few problems.

From left to right, top to bottom: 'Traffic Mirror Eindhoven' print £110, 'The Streets of Dream' print £16, Seymour vintage framed piece £60, 'Home is where the Record Player Is' badge £2, 'To Capture a Moment....' print £150, Sheds book £9, Seymour postcard sets £10, 'Best Of' print £25, 'There is a Blueprint' print £16, Hole-on-Ex camera kit £14, Grid notebook £5, Mountains wallet £12, Sharran camera kit £14, Topless Birds Calender £12, Apak print £20.

The lovely peeps from the shop formally know as Hitherto (which sadly closed last year) have relaunched in a bright and inviting shed in Glasgow's CCA under the new name Narrative. Krista and Stuart are the forces behind this collective which plan to collaborate with local artists to create beautiful, imaginative and whimsical products. The shed in the CCA is their temporary home from the 5th till the 20th of December which means it is the perfect place in Glasgow to grab something merry.

Threadless always come up with some great design competitions and their latest entitled 'Threadless Loves Horror' is no exception. We were thrilled when rumaging through the designs submitted to come across a stunner from Seymour. His piece 'Horroroptics' seems to hit the horror nail on the head and we would surely buy one as a tee. So ........... time to get voting as the competition runs out very soon. Best of luck Seymour!

Gift Guide - £50 and Under

Another guide for you all - this time lovely things in the under £50 mark.

From left to right, top to bottom: 'Coins' print £25, Redwood Necklace £24, Charlie Monkey £28, 'Hairy Lady' teatowel £25, Electric Leaflet £30, Elastic Tote £22, Blabla cushion £38, 'Underwater Circus' print £22, 'Dancing' print £27, Seymour vintage framed piece £40, Double Clip Purse £28, Cavity Necklace £52, 'Barrat Homes' print £25, 'Tea Time' teatowel £25, 'Sleep...' print £25. Enjoy xx

Stolen from old ladies sitting rooms and then shrunken to convenient fashion accessory size, these classic porcelain sculptures now fit perfectly around your neck. This gorgeous necklace range from Chinnychinchin includes 'Bird in Tree', 'Boy Holding Lamb' and 'Running Horse' which all hang from a 32" sterling silver chain. We have very limited stock in store at the moment and at just £34 each, they are a the perfect pressie for that special someone.

Gift Guide - £25 and Under

Another guide for you to ponder - this time all goodies are under just £25.
A Steal for something unique!

From left to right, top to bottom: Belle and Boo 'Cowboys and Indians' £20, Flatpets Kitten £10, Doily Placemat £14, Make-a-Monster Kit £14, The Hungry Girls Cookbooks £20, Emmi Mug £13, Scissors Necklace £14, Yes/No Necklace £24, Clip Purse £14, Richel the Bird Necklace £24, Doves Decor-a-Board £20, Owl Decor-a-Board £20, 'Blue Deer' print £12, 'The Queen' print £15, Tuck-tite purse £14. Happy Shopping!

We are thrilled to announce a wonderful addition to the world of blogs. The one and only Seymour has extended his website to include a blog - which means we can all be kept up to date with everything that goes on in the world of Seymour and his colourful characters. Check it out now!

We will be posting a few bits of news about Seymour over the next few weeks, but in the mean time, above is a sneak peak at his brand new print entitled Cabaret Baby which was created as a tour poster for a new Stephen Deazley's production. Limited prints (an edition of just 10) will be out shortly. Watch this space.

Gift Guide - £10 and Under

With the first of December looming we are launching the first of many gift guides. Todays guide is for goodies £10 and under. These are all perfect for secret santas, stocking fillers and bargain hunters!

From left to right, top to bottom: Hug Card £4, Ooid Totes £9 each, Make-a-City London £3, Kate Sheridan Key Ring £5, Gemma Correll Badge Pack £4, Vintage Purse £10, Non-Planner diary £10, Bug Button £1, Soop ring £6.50, Flatpets Puppy £10, Matchstick Garden £1.50 each, Vintage Purse £10, Flatpets Kitten £10, With Love Badge £1.50, Coral Button £1, Important Notebook £6, Soop ring £6, Flower decoration £6. Happy Shopping!

I am a total sucker for beautiful packaging and seem to have a basket at home filled with labels from various things I have collected over the years. Whilst checking out notcot today, I came across these great absinthe bottles from French company Pandor who create one of the very few absinthes to be made by traditional hand-crafted methods. We think these new bottles are just stunning!

With Christmas just one month away (yes, its true) many of us have begun the fun, stressful, joyous or plain horrifying task of Christmas shopping. To keep things interesting, fresh and of course Independent, shopping at The Red Door should be high on everyones list (well, we think so anyway).

To help with those difficult decisions, we have put together a series of gift guides which we will be posting over the coming weeks. Guides include 'Under £10, £20 and £50 as well as guides to prints, accessories and those difficult to buy for guys. So, keep popping back and we shall solve all those present buying woes.

I have just fallen in love with these great Head Hoodies made by a one coffee loving, headhood devoted individual based in Brooklyn, NYC. Each hood is meticulously designed and handprinted and is therefore something truely unique. A great Christmas pressie for that hard to buy for guy, gal or even baby so time to get shopping!

Kate Sheridan's autumn/winter collection is flying out The Red Door like hotcakes. We love her new colours and cant seem to keep our eyes off her gorgeous laptop bag (centre). So, if you are keen to get your mits on a piece from her new range, then best get buying - either instore or online. The talented Kate Sheridan has done it again!

Our postie has been busy bringing us parcels all week which included some brand new goodies which made us smile instantly. Above are a selection of prints, brooches and drawings from the lovely Fun is Cool (aka Sarah McNeil) and below are a selection of prints by the talented Justin Richel. All pieces are limited and at bargin prices so time to come by and snap them up. Mmmm those cakes look good enough to eat!

Glasgow based illustrator Eilidh Weir popped in yesterday to drop off some of her brand spanking new 2009 Topless Birds Calenders. These beauties use word play with the combination of paintings of glamour models and birds to mock the ideology that a woman’s beauty corresponds directly with the size of her breasts. She placed these pseudo-sexual images in the context of a calendar to mimic those that can be found pinned up in garages, builder’s yard offices or teenage boys’ bedrooms, but gave it an overall feminine design to confuse the viewer more about the intended audience and message. At just £12, we think this calender with a difference is a bargin. Thanks Eilidh.

An email first thing this morning from Gemma Correll alerted me to this great postcard book brought to us by the all female collective 'Girls Who Draw'. This group of international illustrators create a diverse range of work including slick digital graphics, quirky hand drawn characters and humerous sequential imagery. Available through their website and various fairs around London, this would be a great stocking filler!

A wee while back, in Issue 9 of Scottish art magazine MAP, I stumbled across the drawings of Glaswegian artist Stuart Murray. Having long lost the magazine and forgotten his name, I spent months searching the internet fruitlessly trying to find more of his work. Today, I gave in to the fact that my memory has failed me, and gave MAP a call to hunt him down. Murray's drawings are acute social observations of various Scottish 'characters'. Simple line drawings accompanied by text, his work portrays, with tongue-in-cheek affection, the many faces of the people you may meet in any Scottish pub, or down any Scottish close, or even in any ordinary Scottish office. His books are available at his website, where you are also lucky enough to have a sneak peak through their pages: http://www.stuartmurray.co.uk/page1.html

Yesterday a customer informed me about a little treasure of a design website called notcot.org, after she saw that we stocked soop rings that had been featured on that blog. Teeming with the latest in design, fashion, architecture and conceptual ideas, our lovely customer described it as 'addictive' and I can now see why. Hours of aesthetic amusement ahead.

After a quick scout around on the Guardian website this morning I found a delightful series of images of everyday life in the United Kingdom by Magnum photographer Martin Parr. Capturing everything from fish and chip shops to dog-grooming parlours and hens nights, Parr certainly has an eye for portraying, with affection, the idiosyncracies of British life. Here are his shots of Edinburgh... a full slideshow of 40 of his works can be found at http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture.

Britannia at Ocean Terminal, Leith


Scotmid supermarket, Leith


The Leith Rules Golf Society


Edinburgh Castle