I’m going to start this post with a simple statement to help you in your Christmas present purchasing journey – ‘Not one person in the entire world enjoys receiving socks at Christmas’. Personally, if I pick up a present to feel that it’s small, soft, sock-shaped and from a distant relative, a little piece of me dies inside. This is probably the most common festive faux pas and is something that a lot of us are guilty of doing at some point or another – you know who you are! So, why not make a change for the better this season and take your shopping abroad? There are hundreds of Christmas markets all around the world that offer something special and unique for your loved ones. Here are my top 5 Christmas markets: 1.) Angels Christmas Market, London I thought it best to start off with something closer to home. The Winter Wonderland in London’s famous Hyde Park is the event of the year for parents and children in England. There are some incredible attractions including a full scale circus, ice rink, rides and more. The Angels Christmas Market boasts more than 100 stalls and is packed full of unique...

The last couple of weeks here at Feather & Black head office have been filled with talk (don't worry, we're still working hard too) about “Herman” the German friendship cake. Now you may not have heard of Herman, I hadn't either until my Sister passed him over to me a few weeks ago but this sour dough fruit cake is a great idea and tastes delicious. The idea is simple and a lot of fun, Herman is a sour dough fruit cake that you look after and nurture for 10 days, feeding and stirring regularly before you divide him up into 4 portions, pass 3 on to your friends to start the process again and keep one for yourself to make the most delicious fruit cake full of cinnamon, apple and anything else you fancy throwing in to be honest. My first cake was a success with cherries, sultanas, and apple being my chosen fruits; I kept one portion and passed the other 2 around the office for my friends and colleagues to have a go. We are now eating fruit cake every day and hearing of each other’s Herman experiences, the best tin to cook it in, what the...

It's been an exciting week for us here with a trip to the Orange National Business Awards as finalists in the "World Pay Online Business of the Year" category. We dolled ourselves up and headed for The Grosvenor on Park Lane for an entertaining night among the top businesses and entrepreneurs in the country. Unfortunately we didn't win our category, the award went to Naked Wines, a very deserved winner we must say. Even without an award to bring home, we had a fantastic evening with a delicious meal, great company and dancing until 2am. Needless to say the next day in the office was quieter than usual. There was singing from the Rock Choir who blew us away with their rendition of Annie Lennox's Walking on Broken Glass. With George Osborne delivering the key note speech and John Humphreys giving out the awards, it was quite a glamorous affair and we were very proud to be a part of it. Besides, there is always next year...

As a man with a history of unflattering and unfashionable nightwear (Nothing lacey I might add!), I thought it might be a fantastic idea to dig deep and uncover the history of our much loved pyjamas. Ah yes, PJ’s, pyjamas, jammies and jim-jams. We can’t be without them when the weather turns grey and times get tough! Through the years, I’ve sported many a night garment, from power rangers PJ’s to an adult size onesie. Yes I know what you’re all thinking - why does a grown man need a onesie? The simple answer is that rubbing your feet on the carpet and static shocking your housemates is the best pastime when it’s too cold to go outside! The original pyjamas were loose fitted trousers with a draw string waistband, worn by those in South and West Asia in the 1800’s. The term ‘pyjama’ was derived from the Persian word ‘Payjama’, meaning leg garment. PJ’s went into fashion in Britain around 1870 when they were brought back by colonial explorers. At this point in time, they were marketed as sleepwear for men and an upper garment was added. (I’m guessing this was down to the British weather!) . From then...

All of our luxurious bed linens are entirely exclusive to Feather & Black and we spend a long time making sure that we give you something beautiful, versatile, ethically sourced and always the best quality. The process we go through to create them is often unknown to most so here’s some information to shed light on what goes on behind the scenes: Feather and Black’s bed linen is put together as a collection, with cushions and throws to complement. We start with the basis of colour for every season. The colour is incredibly important and we take seasonal trends and existing accessories into account. Colour boards are used to identify the themes which are often inspired by high street fashion as it continues to be a trend setter in the world of interiors. When we design a collection, the consumer is always in mind. We are dedicated to quality and we use the finest threads and factories to make products that we know our customer will love. The majority of our bed linen comes from India and Portugal where we find we get the softest cotton and best techniques for our linens. We only use 100% cotton and our thread...