Let’s talk about… Spring/Summer heroes

Bryony Taylor-Edwards, head of brand and gift, home, food, and toy buyer at Yarnton Home and Garden in Oxfordshire, highlights some of her new season finds and favourite discoveries

Hello folks! Gosh, it’s good to be back, especially to see blue skies and sunshine as I pen this column. This month I’m going to take you on a tour of our home and gift department at Yarnton Home & Garden to highlight our Spring/Summer heroes, and give you a sense of how the buy came together this season. Enjoy!

“It smells so good!”

Every time I wander into the department, I hear customers remark: “It smells so good!”. I have worked hard to provide a home fragrance gift offer that appeals to all our senses, and a new season equals new scents. The outcome is a complete, multi-sensory joy.

Spring Fair had some real delights on offer in this category. My hero choices are F.Y.G., Olor and Elä Life - all very different ranges, but they sit beautifully side by side.

F.Y.G. was founded by the brilliant Demi Pendakis, who sought to capture his childhood joy of family holidays spent in Greece. And the scents do not disappoint. The brand offers stunning packaging, gorgeous-smelling handpoured 100% natural wax candles and diffusers - which are 100% recyclable to boot. I love this quote from the company’s website, and I agree with it wholeheartedly: “It is our belief that emotion and scent are entwined. Scent can transport you to any place on earth but, more than that, it can evoke feelings of place and time.”

Olor is another gorgeous bounty of colour and fragrance. This design-led supplier is so funky and modern that I had to take most of the range. Who wouldn’t want to receive one of its candles or diffusers? The firm also has the very on-trend wax melts that everyone is after.

Elä Life is the opposite of these two brands. Instead of igniting a gregarious sensory overload, it immediately grounds us straight back to earth. With its simple yet beautiful branding, Elä Life offers earthy scents and natural ingredients. Not surprisingly, it’s committed to living well throughout the journey of life, by embracing and practising the art of selfcare. I was so inspired by the diffuser at Spring Fair that we now have one releasing Elä Life’s wonderful scents across our departments.

These home fragrance newbies complement our core ranges, and we are delighted to welcome them to the store and to offer a selected edit online.

Textured gifting

Gifting does not have to be ‘hard’. This Spring/Summer I have upped the ante on textured gifting. Often when we think of gifting, we first think of candles, soaps and perhaps a diffuser. I, for one, take real joy in gifting the unexpected.

Our textured delights this season include stunning kimonos by One Hundred Stars. Witty, bright, and timeless, these beacons of elegant apparel add an element of surprise, personality, and movement to the department’s spa area.

Pad Home was one of my favourite discoveries. We love the brand so much that it’s now a major offer, but you will have to visit us and see for yourself!

It’s delightful, handcrafted laptop and pencil cases are a dream, not to mention wallpaper in tie-dye printsjust fantastic. Who wouldn’t adore a botanical bonanza on the wall?

And finally, what to wrap spring gifting in? Paper Mirchi of course. The swirly prints have me in a whirl! They are beyond gorgeous.

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