The Medway Gift Guide
From gin to books to jam to art, Medway has it all.
Welcome to the first annual Medway gift guide! As ever, this is by no means a definitive list of every great gift option in Medway. It’s a selection of interesting things from Medway creatives and businesses that might offer you some inspiration!
Books from Cultured Llama
Cultured Llama is a Medway-based publisher of fiction, poetry, and selected non-fiction. Their website features a wide selection of fascinating works, many by Medway authors. Of particular interest to Local Authority readers might be Do It Yourself: A History of Music in Medway, a brilliant journey through Medway’s musical history. Cultured Llama is also offering 15% off all orders to Local Authority readers until December 31 with the code Medway15 at checkout!
Buy here: https://www.culturedllama.co.uk/books
Pin badges from DoodlesByBen
Ben Cameron is a Medway artist who designs adorable pin badges. His store is full of cute and funny pins, and with so many designs there’s going to be the perfect stocking filler for anyone. Ben also runs the Pin Badge Club, which delivers a brand new pin and some extra goodies through your letterbox every month. It’s the best post I receive all month and would make a brilliant gift! DoodlesByBen is offering 10% off all orders to Local Authority readers with the code LOCAL at checkout, or you can click here and it’ll be magically applied!
Buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/doodlesbyben/
A bottle of Dockyard Gin
The Copper Rivet Distillery in Chatham has become a destination for those interested in high-quality gins, with the incredibly popular tours and tasting sensations seeing people visit from all over. Their gin is pretty impressive too, with beautifully designed bottles and interesting flavours. I particularly recommend the damson gin!
Buy here: https://copperrivetdistillery.com/our-spirits/dockyard-gin/
Medway tea towels by the Hazelnut Press
The Hazelnut Press are fine printmakers in Rochester. They have produced these incredible Medway tea towels featuring our famous Thomas Waghorn cone statue, as well as the legendary Ban the Mindreader graffiti that used to adorn the wall of Medway Hospital.
Buy here: https://www.hazelnut-press.com/teatowels
Cheese from The Cheese Room
The Cheese Room in Rochester has become a standout destination in the town, both as a restaurant and a place to buy an amazing array of cheeses. They have a range of gift items available, from an annual cheese subscription (yes please!) to smaller gift hampers, and more.
Buy here: https://the-cheese-room-rochester.myshopify.com/collections/christmas-gift-ideas-1
Books from Wordsmithery
Okay, I know these aren’t the first books on this list, but if you’re subscribed to a niche local newsletter, it feels pretty safe to assume that you’re cool with reading. Wordsmithery is a Medway publisher of Confluence magazine, which gives a platform to Medway writers, as well as fiction, poetry, and plays. Their latest collection is A Commonwealth of Wings, a set of 24 poems about bees, which is raising money for The Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Win win!
Buy here: https://www.wordsmithery.info/booksmithery
The Medway range from Designed by Esther
Designed by Esther make a range of Medway products, from tote bags to tins to notepads to prints. All of it is unique and stylish, highlighting recognisable locations from our towns at very reasonable prices.
Buy here: https://www.designedbyesther.co.uk/medway-collection
Preserves by Dockyard Jam
Preserves are always a great choice of gift, because what kind of monster doesn’t enjoy having little jars of jam or marmalade to work through? I stumbled across Dockyard Jam in a farm shop a while back and upon investigating further, all their products all look lovely, and their gift collections are incredibly cheap for what you get!
Buy here: https://dockyardjamfactory.co.uk/collections/all
Hand-drawn Medway postcards by David Frankum
In 2016, local artist David Frankum started a project drawing a scene from our towns every day, putting together an eclectic mix of our famous landmarks and some lesser-known spots. He’s collected the full set together in a book of 31 postcards that can be picked up from his Etsy page.
Buy here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/DavidFrankum
More arty ideas
Jonathan Ash has a range of Medway-based prints, t-shirts, and mugs available.
Beautiful prints by Zara Carpenter.
Prints and printmaking equipment from Printed Wonders.
Handmade plastic jewellery and Thomas Waghorn prints by Vanessa Cube.
Gift vouchers
Loads of great Medway places offer gift vouchers, which make a great last-minute gift, particularly when you have no idea what to get someone. Some good local options: The Dead Pigeon / The Cheese Room / Kiss Kiss Heart / Stray Magpie / Store 104 / The Circle Refill Hub / Austen’s
The greatest gift of all
If none of these options are working for you, why not give someone the greatest gift of all: a year’s paid subscription to everyone’s favourite/only Medway newsletter? Buy a gift subscription during December and get 20% off a full year of this newsletter, or just hit the handy button below. It’s the gift they never knew they wanted.
If you’d like to treat yourself instead, I have good news! The very same offer is available to you too if you upgrade during the month of December. You should definitely consider it. You deserve it.
Footnotes
Got an idea for a brilliant Medway-relevant gift that I’ve not included here? Tell us about it in the comments!
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Albums that soundtracked the creation of this newsletter: Art Brut vs Satan by Art Brut, Jump Rope Gazers by The Beths, and Ruin Music by Yr Poetry.