A Warm and Welcome Place to Shop

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My grandest fantasy as a young girl included leading a life like Chris Evert or Gabriella Sabatini, which for an 8-year-old mostly meant wearing cute tennis skirts and being on TV. Although I have a great tennis game today (if I do say so myself), playing pro quickly lost its allure as my life took its creative twists and turns.

One of those turns found me thinking about opening a small store in my hometown, filled with luxurious handmade, artsy and hard to find stuff. Then the online shopping trend took off and I moved on.

Although my dream job has finally found me, if I was to twist and turn yet again I’d open that small store and imagine it would have the same look and feel as Radici.

This UK-based online store sells handcrafted and eco-friendly wares for the home, the baby, him and her, as well as computers and iPods. Not just any wares, mind you, but sweet, special and stylish things that make great gifts for the hard-to-find person in your life.

The site itself has a warm, welcoming attitude, and the owners, Fiona and Jenneth, are clever and passionate about their mission. It shows. Another member of the Radici team writes the blog, featuring “just some beautiful things”¦” as well as great design finds and fun facts.

To whet your appetite, here are just a few of the shop’s offerings:

PhotobucketThe Ceramic Basket Bowl (5.9″ in diameter) is made with eco-friendly ceramic and a non-toxic finish. It’s companion, the Tiny Ceramic Bowl (3.3″ in diameter), is also trés adorable. Available for $50 and $34, respectively.

PhotobucketShoppers in the UK are now being charged for using plastic bags, so the reusable Urban Shopper ($96), handmade using recycled sails, is a must-have.

PhotobucketCheck out the Pebble Journal ($34), another handmade item that’s made of wool felt and acid-free paper.

I could go on”¦but at the moment, shipping is restricted to the UK and Northern Ireland only. So you lucky folks across the pond, start shopping for your favorites and I’ll just keep hoping they change that shipping policy, and quick.