Santes Dwynwen: Love and hearts are all around – Welsh gifts for Welsh lovers on 25th January

From cards to affordable fine art prints, through many beautiful day-to-day items, Driftwood Designs has something for everyone – from starstruck young lovers to your dear old nain and taid – and to suit any budget.

The designs are created by artist Lizzie Spikes, whose passion is creating colourful illustrations that can be translated to homewares, cards, prints and so much more.

Here are some ideas to inspire you:

Cards

As existing fans of Driftwood Designs would expect, there are some bold, stunning designs for cards to capture your loved one’s attention and heart this year. From native flowers jam-packed into a heart shape, to a cosy Welsh nighttime cottage by the sea with birds flying overhead, through to a card that looks like planks of Driftwood pieced together and painted, all cards are illustrated by Lizzie in Aberystwyth and printed in Wales on 100% recycled paper.

Most of the cards also incorporate words into the designs, from small words of love to song lyrics, some in English but mainly Welsh words, phrases and expressions of affection.

Welsh language gifts

Not only can Welsh speakers enjoy cards with their native language, there are also some adorable small gifts that will bring a smile to your loved one’s face. The Calon Lan magnet, for example, displays the words of that favourite national song in colourful fonts. Alternatively, the delightfully illustrated coaster, bearing the words Werth Y Byd, means your loved one can be reminded that they are “worth the world” to you every time they sit down for a cuppa or evening tipple. The Cariad small notebook is another small and practical, yet affordable gift that can fit in the bag or pocket of your dear one.

Calon Lan design to feel the love every day

Arguably the star of the Santes Dwynwen offerings is the Hearty Calon Lan range from Driftwood Designs, which is bound to have the perfect gift for her – or him. Once again drawing on Driftwood’s Welsh heritage, the Calon Lan range is almost as beautiful as the popular song.

The design is bold, vibrant, and striking, with a simple heart image repeated across the products in different colours and designs and with varying backgrounds, rather like an old-fashioned, much loved quilt, meaning the eye is repeatedly drawn from one heart to the next.

The stylish design is available across the range, which incorporates a vast array of everyday items, meaning it will be a gift for more than just one day of the year.

For the girl about town, for example, there is a 100% cotton tote bag, which could be paired with the make-up bag in the same great design.

If your other half loves nothing more than cooking, there are kitchen accessories bearing the Hearty design that you will both love, with options from aprons to oven gloves, and chopping boards to tea towels.

Or if cuddling up in the living room is more your thing, the Calon Lan velvet cushion cover will make a perfect Santes Dwynwen gift. You could even match it with a made-to-order, hand finished lampshade.

Love for all to see with fine art prints

If it is a special year for you and your beloved, perhaps the first married or a significant anniversary, or if you just want to show them and the world how much you love them, why not hang your love on the wall in the form of a fine art print?

It will not surprise you that there is a wonderful selection available. How about lovers in a boat on the sea against a classic Welsh backdrop, with the declaration “O Waelod fy nghalon” (from the bottom of my heart)? If you prefer to say it with flowers, the 24 roses for my love will surely say it all and take pride of place. Or there is Lizzie’s Llwybrau Maith design for the Valentine that loves the Welsh countryside almost as much as they love you!

All fine art prints are available in sizes from A4 to A1, come from Lizzie’s original paintings and are printed at The National Library in Aberystwyth.

And you can make this grand gesture at an affordable price: Most prints can be purchased from just £35.

The full details of the Santes Dwynwen range is here: https://driftwooddesigns.co.uk/product-category/valentinessantes-dwynwen/