There are gift shops, and then there are the places you open when you are supposed to be doing something productive, have a quick look around and somehow end up twenty minutes deep into a collection of stickers you absolutely did not need five minutes ago.
Fairly Quare Designs is definitely the second kind.
It is not one of those shops full of generic gifts that look nice enough but could have been bought for literally anyone. The appeal is that the stuff actually has a bit of character. It is funny, colourful, bookish, occasionally sweary and clearly made for people who like their gifts to have something going on.
You can have a look for yourself at Fairly Quare Designs.
The range covers prints, stickers, greeting cards, bookish accessories, keyrings and homeware, with plenty of designs built around pop culture, humour, books and those very specific little references that make you think of one particular person straight away.
The sticker collection is probably the easiest place to fall into the rabbit hole. There is an Anti Delulu Pills sticker, Banjaxed, Any Craic?, Buffy references, horror designs and plenty of bookish nonsense. They are small things, but that is part of the fun. You can put one on your laptop, Kindle case, notebook, water bottle or whatever else you own that could use a little less seriousness. (Fairly Quare Designs)
The Anti Delulu Pills sticker is £3 and there is also a four for €10 offer across the sticker range. It is handmade with a matte laminate and designed to cope with splashes and scratches, which is reassuring when the object carrying your questionable life choices needs to survive being thrown into a handbag every day. (Fairly Quare Designs)
Then there is the bookish side of the shop, which is where anyone with an out of control TBR pile should probably stop pretending they have self control.
There are bookish prints, bookmarks, stickers and Kindle backing inserts, including designs such as A Reader Without Their Book, Book Whore Cherry Pattern and dragon themed Kindle designs. It is a nice change from the usual overly delicate bookish aesthetic. You can like books without wanting your entire home to look like a Victorian tea room.
Maybe you want a dragon on your Kindle.
Maybe you want a bookmark that makes you laugh every time you open your book.
Maybe you want a sticker that tells everyone exactly how seriously you take your reading habit.
Fairly Quare Designs gets it.
The same sense of humour carries through the rest of the collection. There are pop culture references, horror inspired pieces, Irish phrases, funny cards and designs that work because they do not spend five minutes explaining why they are supposed to be funny.
That is harder to get right than it sounds.
A lot of “funny” gifts are not particularly funny. They are loud, predictable and covered in unnecessary exclamation marks. The humour here feels more like the sort of thing you would actually send to a friend because you know they will get it.
That is also why the shop works so well when you are buying presents.
You can find something for the friend who has made a fictional character their entire personality, something for the reader who claims they are cutting back on book purchases, something for the person who treats sarcasm as a communication style and something for the mate who is permanently one minor inconvenience away from needing the Anti Delulu Pills.
You can also just buy something because you like it.
There is no rule saying every purchase needs a birthday attached to it.
Sometimes you see a sticker and think, “Yep, that belongs on my laptop.”
Sometimes you find a mug you know you will use every morning.
Sometimes you spot a print that would look perfect above your desk.
And sometimes you buy a gift for someone else, forget to actually give it to them and decide it looks better in your house anyway.
No judgement.
That is really what makes Fairly Quare Designs worth a browse. It feels personal. The products have humour and personality without trying too hard, and there is enough variety that you can usually find something that feels right for the person you have in mind.
So if you are looking for unique gifts, funny gifts, bookish gifts, Kindle accessories, quirky homeware, funny stickers, pop culture gifts or just something a little different, have a look around.
You might find the perfect present for your friend.
You might find something for your sister.
You might find the exact thing you have been looking for without even realising you were looking for it.
Or, more realistically, you will find one sticker you like, add another because it is only a few quid, convince yourself the postage makes a second order ridiculous, then realise you have spent an hour browsing Fairly Quare Designs.
Honestly, there are worse ways to spend an hour.