Handmade Gifts is an independent UK website that helps you find gifts made by hand: jewellery, wood, glass, leather, knitwear and more, from small makers and studios. We write buying guides for the people on your list and the occasions you shop for, and we link to the shops where you can buy each piece.
What we do
Most gift sites list whatever sells. We focus on one thing: gifts that a person has actually made, stamped, forged, stitched, turned or painted. Our guides cover gifts for her, for your girlfriend, for your husband and for dad, along with jewellery, glass, wooden gifts, personalised gifts, baby gifts and Christmas.
How we choose products
Every guide follows the same four rules.
- Made by hand. We look for the method in the listing: hand stamped, hand forged, hand turned, hand knitted or hand painted. Where a product is not handmade, such as engraved factory glass or a craft kit, we say so in the description.
- Named makers. We favour makers who say who they are and where they work. A real workshop behind a listing is the best sign of genuine handmade work.
- Trusted sellers. On eBay we only include new, fixed-price listings from UK-based sellers with at least 98% positive feedback and a solid sales record.
- Clear materials. We prefer listings that name the metal, timber, yarn or wax, and we leave out vague descriptions such as "silver tone" or "wood effect".
We also clean up product names so they are easy to read, and we check that each piece still fits the guide when we update it.
How we research
Gift advice should be accurate, especially where safety or the law is involved. When a guide makes a factual claim, we link to the source so you can check it. Sources we rely on include The Assay Office for hallmarking rules, The Lullaby Trust for safer sleep advice in our baby guide, legislation.gov.uk for consumer rights and product rules, and museums and heritage bodies such as Museum Wales, the Natural History Museum, the Royal Collection Trust and UNESCO. We do not link to competing gift shops as sources.
How the site is funded
Handmade Gifts is free to use. We earn a small commission when you buy through some of our links, from programmes including Amazon Associates, the eBay Partner Network, Awin and Webgains. You pay the same price either way. Commission rates do not decide which products we recommend, and the rules above apply to every pick. You can read the full details on our affiliate disclosure page, and we place a short notice directly above every set of product links.
Keeping guides up to date
Handmade stock changes quickly, because small makers sell out and replace pieces often. We review our main guides regularly, replace products that have gone, and update dates such as Royal Mail's Christmas posting deadlines. Prices shown with products update automatically from the shops, so the price on the card is the one to trust.
If you spot a mistake, a broken link or a product that no longer matches its description, please tell us through our contact page. We read every message and correct errors as soon as we can.
Get in touch
Makers who would like their work considered for a guide are welcome to get in touch, as are readers with questions or suggestions. Please use our contact page. You can find out how we handle your information in our privacy policy.