2 minute read
The art of gifts
The art of gifts
Friends Aimi MacKay and Emma MacKenzie went their separate ways after graduating from Gray’s School of Art in 2008. Armed with degrees in Textile Design, the pair started their professional careers in roles spread not just across the UK, but also in international design hotspots like Copenhagen and Paris.
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Separated by hundreds of miles, Aimi and Emma were determined to keep their friendship alive. After spending countless hours searching online for the perfect gift to celebrate special occasions, they thought there had to be an easier way to send thoughtful gifts home to friends and family. From this, an idea was born – Native Sister.
Native Sister is a provider of beautiful, bespoke gifts, thoughtfully curated by Aimi and Emma using their combined years’ experience in the creative industry.
Based online, Native Sister provides a range of gift box options including special themed packages for bridesmaids, expectant mothers, and those who just like a little indulgence. The company uses predominantly small, independent suppliers, and ships to customers across the UK.
“The reason I studied textile design is because that’s what I had a passion for. I was encouraged by my family to study a subject that I enjoyed,” said Emma.
Aimi’s reasons were similar, adding: “I’ve always been creative and I always knew I was going to go down that path, and Gray’s just seemed like the ideal school for me. It was a nice size, a nice community vibe, and you got to try out all the different disciplines before you decided what to specialise in.”
Both Aimi and Emma separately considered doing Fine Art before deciding to progress with the Textile Design course instead.
“You could use elements of fine art in textile design, so it made sense,” said Emma.
The pair have sourced suppliers both in Scotland and further afield, with the work of some independent brands they met during their travels also featuring in their gift boxes.
They spend a significant amount of time searching for the right products to match the style and ethos of Native Sister to ensure the gifts received by their customers are not only beautiful and thoughtful, but also affordable.
“We want to promote and encourage independent designers,” explained Emma. “It’s something we’re really
passionate about. A lot of our suppliers are independent so quite often there’s only a couple of people, or sometimes even just one person, behind that business”
“We both come from creative backgrounds ourselves and we’ve both had our own side projects,” Aimi added. “We’ve got quite a strong relationship with all the brands that we’ve sourced and I think that’s quite important to us, because it’s all about boosting each other and helping each other out.”
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