notonthehighstreet, the online site dedicated to thoughtful gifts, has launched at London Waterloo the first of two physical pop-ups in the run up to Christmas 2018. notonthehighstreet is working with agency Initials on the design and build of the pop-up spaces.

The curated online marketplace will be showcasing products from over 200 notonthehighstreet partners across the two pop-ups, which will run from 2nd to 22nd November at London’s Waterloo Station and from 3rd to 24th December at Westfield London.

Both three-week pop-ups will provide shoppers with an opportunity to buy from a curated collection of unique and thoughtful gifts from the site’s 2018 Christmas collection. This will include personalised Christmas Eve boxes and baubles, customisable jewellery and a selection of gifts from stocking fillers through to larger, limited edition and one-off, artisanal items.

Each of the two locations will also feature information about the partners behind the gifts, to highlight the skilled craftsmanship of some of the UK’s best small creative businesses who sell through notonthehighstreet. The Westfield pop-up will incorporate opportunities for live personalisation and ticketed experiential workshops so that shoppers hunting down the perfect Christmas gift for a loved-one will be able to co-create something special, with the help of selected notonthehighstreet partners, while they shop.

“Our pop-ups will be an opportunity for our customers to really get to know notonthehighstreet this Christmas,” said Ella d’Amato, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at notonthehighstreet.

“We are working with some of our most innovative Partners to develop carefully curated ranges of products for each location which showcase the best of the unique gifts that can be found on our marketplace this festive season. We hope it will help our customers to understand the work of the 5,000 creative small businesses that sell through notonthehighstreet by bringing their stories to life and demonstrating their passion for creativity in a way which it can be hard to appreciate when you’re browsing online.”

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Prestige Flowers, which has supported Barnardo’s since 2012, has vowed to continue raising money by creating a special range of bouquets in honour of the charity. For every order made through a dedicated website, www.barnardosflowers.org.uk, Prestige Flowers will donate 25% of the overall order cost to Barnardo’s, which supports more than 301,000 children, young people, parents and carers.

As part of the celebrations for the rejuvenated website and special bouquets, Prestige Flowers also organised a special flower arranging session in Barnardo’s Listerhills office in Bradford for the families, young people and children it works with in the city.

The day was a fun and informative workshop involving 20 adults, children and young people learning about the different origins and species of flowers, as well as the art and skill of arranging flowers. The participants got take their bouquets home after they had made them.

Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan said: “We are really grateful for the continued support from Prestige Flowers. We hope this partnership will raise lots of money towards our vital services which support hundreds of thousands of children, young people, parents and carers across the UK every year. On behalf of those children and young people we would like to say a massive thank you to the staff at Prestige and their customers.”

Cath Ormerod from Barnardo’s in Bradford, commented: “We were delighted when Prestige said they’d like to arrange a special flower arranging session with our families. It was a lovely day – people really enjoyed themselves and the results were absolutely beautiful.”

Philip Crowther, Business Development Manager at Prestige Flowers added: “The Flower Workshop was an incredible event and extremely rewarding. We’re really passionate here at Prestige Gifting to work with charities like Barnardos, creating events and opportunities like the Flower Workshop. We’re thrilled to be supporting Barnardo’s and the thousands of children and young people who will benefit from their services.”

Visit www.barnardosflowers.org.uk to buy a special bouquet from Prestige Flowers and donate to Barnardo’s.

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Maker’s Mark, the premium handcrafted American whisky, is working with agency White Label to launch its 2018 UK bartender engagement programme, The Makers. The programme kicked off on 6^th of August in London and will roll out across London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Bristol.

Following the success of last year’s workshops, The Makers will once again offer UK bartenders an immersive and educational experience into the world of premium bourbon through a series of intimate, hands-on workshops aimed at providing practical crafts and skills which they can take back to use in their bars. This comes in light of an exponential boom in popularity of American whisky among UK drinkers as the Premium American whiskey category continues to grow in both volume +30% and value +22% respectively – the second fastest growing spirits category behind gin.

Each uniquely designed to showcase the handcrafted credentials of Maker’s Mark, the experience will explore the fundamental elements that go into the creation of the liquid by delving into experiences based around wheat, wax, paper and wood. Bartenders interested in building on their knowledge of the bourbon category can sign up, here: www.jointhemakers.com.

Starting in London, The Makers wheat workshop features artisan doughnut making at Bread Ahead lead by renowned baker, Manuel Monade, using the same Red Winter Wheat that gives Maker’s Mark its smooth characteristics and sweet flavour. The wax workshops will encourage bartenders to personalise wax candles, representing how every single bottle of Maker’s Mark is still hand-dipped in Maker’s signature red wax – an iconic design feature in which every drip is distinctively different.

Partnering with London Print Club, bartenders will create bespoke cocktail mats as part of the paper session, signifying how every Maker’s Mark label continues to be printed and hand-pressed at the distillery. And finally, each bartender will be given training in how to expertly engrave bar tools as part of the wood workshop.

Amanda Humphrey, Maker’s Mark Brand Diplomat said: “We have a rich history and heritage of doing things differently, so we wanted to move away from traditional bartender training and offer immersive hands on opportunities to understand and experience craftsmanship. These bespoke experiences aim to offer bartenders an insight into the unique process that goes into making each and every bottle of Maker’s Mark.”

Susan Walkinshaw, Maker’s Mark Brand Mananger added: “After the success of last year’s programme, we are delighted to be back working with White Label to deliver The Makers 2018. We wanted to take a step away from traditional on-trade training programmes, and deliver unique, hands-on experiences for bartenders. Our goal is for them to walk away with both a new-found skill and an appreciation of the craftsmanship behind Maker’s Mark.”

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