We first heard about Literary Gifts through the amazing collaborative efforts of Isabelle Kenyon of The Fly on the Wall Press, who drew our attention to Melissa's gorgeous products. Literary Gifts is a US-based online store filled with high-quality tote bags, t-shirts and hoodies with literary themes, so that any bookcover will swoon and spend! I have included my particular favourites in this article. During my degree, I fell in love with J.M. Barrie and having now taken off the Disney-kaleidoscopic-spectacles, I am an avid fan of his prose and the dark undertones of 'Peter and Wendy'. The Peter Pan tote bag immediately caught my eye with its bright colours and wild seagulls. I wonder who the boy represents, Peter himself or one of his crew, either way I felt a kinship with the little figure struggling to get down the cliff-face while being bombarded at all sides.I have recently been trying to overhaul my wardrobe to suit my new body and current personality, rather than the patchwork of past Haley's who have gone through questionable phases and larger waists! Anything that has a typewriter on it is a definite buy for me, as I adore the intricacies of typewriter mechanics and the gritty feel of ink reals. I do have a typewriter under my bed, which I will one day restore to it's former glory having utterly destroyed the ink bands as a young, impatient writer. I love the statement 'hot pink' makes, it is bright, bold and unapologetic - a colour currently missing from my wardrobe! So we could understand the imagination behind the process of creating such lovely products, we sent Melissa a few questions! What inspired you to first start Literary Gifts?I am a big fan of not only literature but also art history. I believe that every story I have read (or listened to, I love audiobooks!!) and every piece of art I have ever looked at has inspired me to along the way. I like to think that stories are meant to be discussed and shared in order to spread the love of the novel or books in general.What process do you go through to create a product?
Each design process is very unique. Some of them involve something I like to call 'treasure hunting' which means looking through lots of old books and things to find the right images to remaster, choose typography and colors for, and make print ready. Other times there is an amazing old book cover ready and waiting and I need to remaster it for design and printing purposes.
How would you like to expand in the future?
I would love to expand both the designs and the product offerings in the future. It would be great to see some of the artwork on phone cases and maybe even duvet covers!Melissa is offering a 20% discount code for all our readers, just use the code SELCOUTHSTATION20 when you reach the payment screen! A big thank you to Literary Gifts!

Shoutout & Discount Code: Literary Gifts!

Selcouth Station