At Bombus we're all about map gifts. Beautiful pieces of art filled with shapes, wiggly lines, and all sorts of colours.

---

Discovering local treasures...

As well as being pretty to look at, maps represent a special and unique spot on the surface of our earth.

While we've all been forced to spend more time close to home, the pleasures and hidden gems of our home towns have come to light. Our own special spots on the map are now right where we live.

In Faversham, where our Bombus studio is located, we are lucky to have the Creek on our bit of map.

Along the water, boatbuilding, brewing, brickmaking and even gunpowder all flourished here.

Did You Know...? Ships built in Faversham were launched unconventionally sideways! This was because the narrow shape of the creek prevented the usual method being used. By launching the ships sideways it meant that large commercial crafts could still be built, despite the challenges of the local geography.

---

Exploring the walk along the creek banks has been a perfect lockdown activity, and I have discovered history and enterprises I didn't know existed. Local life, it seems, has become the center of our world for a lot of us during this pandemic!

Turn where you live into a work of art...

We have all reconnected with our communities, and are learning to truly love where we live. And for that reason, we have seen a real lift in people ordering our Personalised Map Location Heart. It has always been a best seller at Bombus. The perfect Personalised Map Gifts. But, over the course of this year, our customers choices are reflecting how HOME is now the place to be celebrated.

The beauty of our Map Location Heart, is that we use real maps. Geographically, we can find the exact spot of your town or village (we're not Google maps, we can't pin point your house!) and turn it into art. We cut out our design from old vintage maps to center on the precise location that means the world to you. Now more than ever, the places close to us have more meaning than ever before.

Is there a bend in the River Ouse where you caught your first fish? Or maybe it's a town square that houses the restaurant where he finally proposed? Maps mark nature, but also how humans have changed the landscape. Old quarries, major roads, and hundreds of churches. All can be found on an old fashioned paper map. It's great to see how they've changed through the generations too! We have peppered the landscape with memories, and the maps have documented them for us.

Find your home on one of our map gifts @

https://www.bombus.co.uk/map-location-heart.html

Supporting local businesses...

Somewhere that really focuses on local life is one of our well respected business partners. Save the Children have opened up shops across the country, and when they do they immediately become part of the local community.

We have supplied Save the Children with Bombus cards and prints for years. Their charity is genuinely focused on making sure that their shops contribute to the local landscape in an appealing and attractive way.

As we celebrate our Home Towns, why not hunt out your local Save the Children shop? They are located in some of our most beautiful spots in the country. For example, their KEW store is only a stones throw from the stunning Kew Gardens. A great charity, and a superb retail experience. Is there a Save the Children shop in your spot on the map?

Mary Portas began working with Save the Children in 2009 when she overhauled their shop in Orpington, Kent as part of a three-part television series, Mary Queen of Charity Shops. The transformation was so successful that Save the Children appointed Mary as their Retail Ambassador and together they created a premium charity retail proposition using the local community as inspiration.

There are now 25 shops across the UK, all based on the philosophy that generosity, kindness and collaboration can create a fantastic place for supporters. The Kew shop opened in 2016 and took inspiration from the botanical gardens and their renowned glass houses, the store design celebrates the area’s floral beauty and botanical habitat with its striking murals. It’s always jam-packed with must have pieces that have kindly donated as well as an array of new goods that are perfect for gifting. 

https://shop.savethechildren.org.uk/

https://shop.savethechildren.org.uk/product/london-heart-card/