DID you know it’s 101 years and one day since (some) women in the UK first got the vote? What better way to celebrate than with a round-up of gift ideas for the feminists in your life.
If you’re looking to pay tribute to the suffragettes, Edinburgh maker Lys & Rose makes various one-of-kind necklaces reflecting their campaign colours of purple, green and white, while Dunedin Cashmere has a mini cape in the same combination that will guard against the February frost as well as looking fabulous.
For a more modern look we’ve got earrings from Kitsch Bitch Jewellery, a pin badge from Girl and Cat Studio that gets straight to the point, or this amazing enamel tribute to Nicola Sturgeon from the gloriously named PindependentScotland. (If you’d rather celebrate our feminist FM while drinking your tea, Eat Haggis has the mug for you).
Remembered as the youngest suffragette, Edinburgh lass Bessie Watson played the bagpipes at Waverley Station as trains carrying women’s rights campaigners left for Holloway Prison in London. The capital-based print-making duo Forrest Folk have a print bearing her iconic image and telling her story.
READ MORE: Meet the Maker: Designs with a dash of dry wit strike a chord
Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, whose beautiful art adorns products in the Glasgow Life shop, may be best known in some quarters as Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s wife, but he reportedly once said “Margaret has genius, I have only talent” and it’s hard to argue with the first part, at least.
You can pay tribue to female pioneers past, present and future with a beautiful tapestry hoop from Stitches of Anarchy – the small business of a working mum based in Buckie – or opt for a more contemporary design from The Fuzzy Bee Paper Co, whose prints declare “The resistance is female” and “Less catcalls, more cats” – a snappy political slogan we can surely all get behind. Our maker of the month, Glasgow-based illustrator Corrin Strain, also injects plenty of humour into her designs, such as her own favourite card bearing the warning “Don’t tell me to smile”.
If you somehow missed the 2017 publishing phenomenon that was Nasty Women, this collection of feminist essays by writers from Scotland and beyond is available to buy directly from 404 Ink, the female-run independent publisher, and other recommendations for your bookcase include Glasgow Women’s Library’s She Settles in the Shields, telling the stories of women who travelled to Glasgow in search of family, love and security, and Hens Ta Watch Oor Fur, the library’s queer feminist zine.
Finally, if you’re looking to splash out, splash on some rebellious eau de parfum from Reek, a mother-and-daughter-run company that aims to challenge beauty industry norms.
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