A Unique Life

Well I’ve finally gone and done it!

After months of saying I’m going to start a blog, and almost by accident as it turned out, I now have a little corner of the internet in which to share the highs and lows of our slightly crazy adventure through this thing we call life.

For those who don’t already know, I’m Jac – partner at The Unique Gift Co, a business I started nearly five years ago with my better half Dave.  As is often the case, the idea came about when Dave was out of work and we were trying just about anything to bring in some extra cash! Whilst taking a much needed break with family, his niece found a really lovely piece of driftwood on the beach which we took home with us.  Dave later turned it into a tea-light holder and gave it to his sister as a gift.

We spend a lot of time outdoors, walking in woods or at the coast… well anywhere really… and so it was easy to start collecting more pieces of wood and other ‘treasures’ left behind by folks who failed to see their hidden beauty.

In the meantime, Dave had found part-time work in a warehouse and pallets became readily available – oh the things they threw away! …and so the pieces gradually fell into place.

The Unique Gift Co was mostly inspired by our shared desire to reduce waste.  A reaction against mass-consumerism and a disposable world where ‘things’ can be thrown away and replaced without a moments thought.  Thankfully we have seen this start to change over the last few years.  ‘Upcycling’ has become a trend and, although this means there are more people around doing what we do, I don’t think that’s a bad thing if it means less waste going to landfill.

But these ethics don’t apply to just our business… our life on the whole is pretty ‘unique’. We aim for a sustainable lifestyle wherever possible and enjoy living in harmony with the earth around us.  We’ve only got one planet, with it’s limited resources, and I believe we all have to at least try to ‘do our bit’ in order to protect it.

We currently live in a caravan and when we said goodbye to bricks and mortar more than a year ago we had to seriously think about what ‘stuff’ we actually need. Most of it went to the car boot or charity shop! Now, I love the fact that the birds wake me up in the morning and that the rain sometimes disturbs me at night!  We cook outdoors as often as we can… grow food or forage to supplement the weekly shop… support local businesses wherever possible… and avoid nasty chemicals in our cleaning products and toiletries… but there’s always room to do more!

So my intention behind starting this blog was basically to share some of the awesome things we get up to, both in our personal lives and as The Unique Gift Co, in the hope that it can inspire others to do the same.  The world around us is truly amazing if we just take the time to stop and appreciate it.

I hope this gives a little taste of what lies ahead and that you’ll join me in my ‘blogging journey’…..so off we go!