We just had to share these lovely festive tea cosies and penguin door stops, some of our favourite Christmas gift ideas available this year.
They are also a present with a social conscience, made under the sponsorship of prison charity Fine Cell Work.
These Fine Cell Work designs are made by prisoners, who are trained and encouraged in creative needlework, so as to give them a sense of purpose and an opportunity to earn some money to help rebuild their lives upon release.
And the result? A few snippets of beauty.
There’s this mini house:
Or alternatively, some adorable little penguins:
For other designs by Fine Cell Work take a look on their website, here.
They’ve got a whole group of designers coming up with ideas, including Cath Kidston, who praised the ability of the work to “change lives”.
The original idea for the charity came from Lady Anne Tree in the 1960s, who observed on a trip to a prison how much time was wasted.
Her initiative now allows participating prisoners to spend between 20 and 40 hours per week stitching diligently away, which helps to promote work ethic and aids rehabilitation.
Libby Purves , a patron of the charity, said: “Of all the aesthetic projects offered down the years to capture the imagination and tame the frustration of prisoners, fine needlework is one of the oddest.
“Yet it has worked, and borne fruit, and perhaps after all it is a piece of ‘unnecessary’ beauty and sent it out into the world is at once a defiance of that environment, and a good use of the time spent there.”
And when prisoners are making things as cute as those penguins, it’s difficult to disagree.
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