GIFT GUIDE: Bring Braemar, Scotland Home with Artisan-Made, Luxury Products

October 13th, 2022

The New Christmas Collection and All-Time Best Sellers from the Fife Arms Help Bring the Nature and Style of Braemar, Scotland Home

For a holiday gift that’s a cut above the rest, feast your eyes on these hand-crafted collectibles from Scotland’s Fife Arms. Lovingly handcrafted by some of the best local and regional artisans, these gifts speak to Scotland’s rich craft heritage and deep storytelling traditions. From a writer’s gift box and sable-hair paint brushes to a cocktail stirrer from Queen Elizabeth II’s silversmith, these 25 gifts are sure to bring festive cheer and artful inspiration to the most discerning travelers on your list.

The Fife Arms Tartan Gift Box

A treasure trove of tartan imagined by Scottish textile artist Araminta Campbell (who designed the hotel’s house ‘sett,’ or pattern), this curated gift box is steeped in the woodsy coziness of the Scottish Highlands. Among its treasures include a buttery-soft cashmere scarf, a hot water bottle wrapped in tartan cashmere, a tin of Brodies Scottish shortbread, and a set of black-and-white postcards wrapped in yarn and featuring a Fife Arms pencil.

Needle-Felted Christmas Tree Decoration

What will it be — a flying stag, a white hare, a highland cow, or a ptarmigan bird? These needle-felted Christmas decorations will dress your mantelpiece in holiday cheer, bringing some of the beloved animals of the Highlands into your family home. Artist Doreen Cowe uses fleeces from local farms in Aberdeen to create these charming animals, each of which takes 2-3 hours to make!

The Fife Arms Artist’s & Writer’s Gift Box

Buying for a writer? This beautiful gift box —inspired by the Artist’s Studio, a room in the Fife Arms that pays tribute to the Bloomsbury Group and the interiors they created at Charleston House – is sure to stoke their literary aspirations.  A horn magnifying glass, thistle paperweight, and a set of postcards make for beautiful desk accessories, while a cashmere silk stole (in the hotel’s custom tartan pattern) will keep your writer friends cozy as they burn the midnight oil. Finally, the Fife Arms Botanical Painting & Writing Inks Artist’s Sketchbook is an inspiring canvas for all their best ideas and observations.

Scottish Botanical Painting & Writing Inks

Artisans Rebecca Wallace and Pip Seymour worked in close collaboration with the Fife Arms to create this bespoke set of natural inks which are made from seasonal plants and botanicals (elderberry, nettle, birch soot, meadowsweet and more) foraged from the hotel and its surrounding landscapes by the lodge’s in-house forager. Pair with a sable brush, a Scottish reed pen, or a traditional dip pen for exquisite results!

Hand-Knitted Highland Hare Egg Cosies

These adorable egg cosies were crafted by two members of the knitting collective Deeside Knitwits. Like little hats for your ouefs, these hand-knitted fabrics are done in an assortment of colors (inspired by the Fife Arm’s house tartan!) and topped with charming mountain hares, which are found in the surrounding Cairngorms National Park. It’s the surest way to brighten any breakfast table!

Scottish Reed Pen

The most common writing implements in antiquity, reed pens have long been favored by calligraphers and artists alike (including Van Gogh) for their precise and expressive ink strokes. This set of traditional reed pens were made from common reeds that were harvested in Scotland in late spring, cut when they were green and soft, and have stiffened over time, becoming strong enough for writing and drawing.

Constellation Journal

The skies above Braemar, which is situated in the Cairngorms National Park, constitute the most northerly International Dark Sky Park. This ‘Constellation’ journal — crafted by Glasgow-based bookbinding studio Juju Books, which is run by a prize-winning bookbinder and QEST Craft Scholar Gillian Stewart—is an ode to the area’s star-filled night skies, with soft linen book cloth hand finished with celestial flourishes in gold.

Artist’s Concertina Sketchbook

Also from the Glasgow studio Juju Books is this beautiful ‘Concertina’ sketchbook. The notepad is ideal for doodlers thanks to its clever folding arrangement that allows for the pages to be used front and back, portrait and landscape, opening 4 different ways. Best of all, its paper is milled from recycled coffee cups, hand-bound in soft linen book cloth, and hand-tooled with gold foil to finish — an exquisite mix of high and low!

The Fife Arms Leather Luggage Tag

Made from bridle leather, a durable material that is traditionally used in horse saddles, this handsome luggage tag (in black and tan) adds an air of refined luxury to your luggage. Each tag is individually crafted in the Scottish workshop of McRostie, which has been making handcrafted leather goods since 1887, and has a unique patina that will only get better with age.

Florentine Sable Brushes

Handmade in a family-run workshop in Florence, Italy, these superior quality paint brushes boast an exquisitely fine tip made from pure sable hair. Choose from a set of three (with a small, medium, or large brush) or individual brushes that pair beautifully with other gifts like the Scottish Botanical Painting & Writing Inks.

Sterling Silver Glassware Accessories

Add some Scottish flair to cocktail hour with these sterling silver glassware accessories, hand crafted by the Edinburgh-based workshop of Hamilton & Inches. Since its founding in 1866, the firm has been the go-to silversmith of the English aristocracy, known for its responsible sourcing and practices and its peerless design. Choose from a cocktail stirrer with a stag’s head design, stag antler ice tongs, or a decanter label (or “bottle tickets”) that can help you elegantly identify the juice in your decanter.  Other treasures include a ‘Highland Cow’ cocktail stirrer stamped with the Platinum Jubilee hallmark, a silver stirrer engraved with the Fife Arms crest, or a silver wine coaster that’s both practical and pleasing to the eye, designed to prevent spillages and slide between diners on polished tables.

The Fife Arms Celestial Globe

The exceptional darkness of the night is what attracts avid stargazers to Cairngorms National Park, the majestic setting of The Fife Arms. And now that this limited-edition black porcelain globe has been exclusively created for the Fife Arms, constellation-lovers all over the world can glimpse the star-spangled sky as seen from above the hotel. Marked by needlepoint and hand-painted, each globe is an heirloom piece set in an emerald-green nappa and oak pocket case on an oak stand.

The Fife Arms Paper Globe

Charlotte Bourros is a skilled paper artist based in southwest France who creates classic glass globes that capture the essence of a place. For The Fife Arms, Bourros created a bespoke globe that features the hotel’s façade amid Scottish flora and fauna and other iconic images of the Highlands — all intricately hand-crafted out of cards. It’s the ultimate memento from the property, transporting guests to the special place from the palm of their hands.

The Fife Arms Christmas Stocking

This hand-stitched stocking from Hunt & Hope is crafted using 100% British wool that’s sourced, spun, and dyed in the UK. Depicting a majestic Highland stag, a leaping hare, the rushing Clune Water, and a glass of whisky, it’s a heritage piece that’s meant to be passed down through the generations.

The Fife Arms Binoculars

Guests of the Fife Arms are known to stop by the hotel’s gift shop to stock up on durable essentials before long hikes through the Cairngorms National Park. A favorite purchase are these state-of-the-art Leica Trinovid 8×42 HD binoculars, housed inside a structured bridle leather case crafted by McRostie’s Scottish workshop that can be easily swung over the shoulder on outdoor adventures.

The Fife Arms Deer Leather Journal Cover

Billy Tannery is known for its sustainable, black-tanned leather goods that age beautifully over time. The small-batch tannery used deer hides sourced from around the U.K. to craft this leather journal cover which features the Fife Arms house tartan and its crest—plus a journal made of recycled leather fibers and a Fife Arms pencil.

The Fife Arms Deer Leather Backpack

Also from Billy Tannery is this handsome zip-top backpack, which is crafted from deer hides sources from around the UK. The thick and buttery-soft carrier features two pockets and a padded laptop compartment, with a lining trimmed with the Fife Arms house tartan.

Elsa’s Cocktail Suitcase Hamper

For the ultimate holiday gift, look no further than the Fife Arms signature hamper, packed into a handmade linen-bound suitcase with leather handle and straps, and containing the very best the hotel has to offer: a cocktail shaker, 2 Highball glasses, a silver candle holder, a stag’s head cocktail stirrer, Scottish honey and tea, Fife Arms playing cards, Albamhor Body wash and hand & body lotion, and the Fife Arms notebooks, postcards, and pencil.

The Fife Arms Cocktail Shaker

When it comes to holiday entertaining, the difference is in the details. This handsome nickel-plated cocktail shaker inspired by the hotel’s glamorous Art Deco cocktail bar is sure to leave a lasting impression, adding a dose of retro style to your bar cart.

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