Valentine's Gift Guide 2014: Last minute ideas from Fig and Sparrow

Stevie Mackenzie-Smith

Left it to the last minute? Panic not, it’s gifts a-go-go at Fig and Sparrow.

Where last minute birthday gifts and “honestly, I didn’t forget” moments are concerned, Fig and Sparrow is one of our faithful go-tos. Hotfoot it there on a lunch break and you’ll leave with something uncompromisingly lovely wrapped in tissue paper. With this in mind, and with a certain heart-shaped celebration just around the corner, we asked owners Jan and Emily to put together their pick of last minute Valentine’s gifts for friends, lovers and romantic creatures.

Je t’aime…moi non plus? Local designer Nicola Rowlands gives a couple of terriers the Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin treatment with a tongue-in-cheek cushion (£36, above). Everybody loves a mug… and at F&S there’s the Jansen variety in postbox red or Blossom & Bill designs by Anglo-Scandi brand Isak (both £10, above) and if you’re feeling flush (what price love, eh?), throw in a Forlife loose leaf teapot in red for good measure (£24, above).

Salford-based studio Mr PS always hits the nail on the head where easy-on-the-eye screen prints are concerned. The Northern Quarter Hankie is its latest item; a sweet new commission from Fig & Sparrow that maps the area’s streets (£8, above). Fir & Wren’s bicycle brooch, meanwhile, is the gift of choice for those into their wheels (£15, above). Or get your lover what they really, really want: a hastily inkjet-printed portrait of their fantasy other (Clooney/Binoche/Elba/delete as applicable), pop it in a Nkuku antique brass and glass standing frame (£18, above) and allow them to bask in their celebrity of choice’s adoring gaze. Buying for more of a Valentine’s traditionalist? You’ll be better off with a Wild Fig soy wax hand-poured candle from Kew Gardens (£20, above) and one of the cynicism-free locally made cards that declare “Hey Good Looking!” and “You’re the one for me!” And that’s it: Valentine’s Day , sorted.

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Spotlight on

Walking Tours in Manchester by Jonathan Schofield

Presenting the best walking tours in Manchester for history buffs, culture enthusiasts, and those looking to scratch beneath the surface of the city.

Take me there

Culture Guides

A busy image created using generative AI. The image depicts a man at the centre with grey hair and rosy cheeks, surrounding him are fairies that appear to be created in his own image with multiple limbs and unique bodily proportions. Around them are hundreds of vials, microscopes and dated scientific equipment.
Exhibitions

Spring has sprung a wealth of great exhibitions in the North West, from intimate photographic shows to huge installations.

Theatre

Closer, riskier, more immediate. Our small-scale theatre picks stretch from unsettling fables about nationhood to the inner workings of a mind trying to hold itself together.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.

Fatoumata Diawara by Alun Be.
Music

This month’s live music picks move between ambitious new work, grassroots celebrations and a few memorable settings.

Food and Drink in the North

Spring has arrived, bringing with it al fresco dining and a rush of high-profile food and drink-related events in Manchester.

Emily Lloyd-Saini as Grace in Space and Harrie Hayes as Lieutenant Strong in Horrible Science
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.