IF YOU’RE looking for unique gifts this Christmas, Heart of the Home in Newport Arcade is the place to go.

The shop boasts a charming collection of hand-made items that “you wouldn’t see anywhere else,” said owner Lesley Skiffington, who is from Newport.

Jewellery, mugs, candles, food items, ornaments and traditional Welsh love spoons are some of the gifts on offer.

“They are all unusual things, not things that everybody else has got,” she added.

Most of the products are sourced from Wales, too.

South Wales Argus:

Lesley Skiffington stands next to her selection of gifts

“We have Welsh-made cards, jewellery and the love spoons come from a gentleman in Maindee,” said Mrs Skiffington.

“I have tried to help local people.”

A big part of their business is also selling cookware.

Mrs Skiffington used to run the cookware department in Wildings – which was Newport’s oldest department store until it closed down in January this year.

She has put her past experience to good use, offering a “personal service” to customers.

South Wales Argus:

Could this bee the perfect gift?

“Normally, cookware sells quite well because no one really does that in town," she said.

“If I don’t have it in, I will offer to order it in for people because I have a relationship with the suppliers.”

When they first moved in, a giant safe was stationed in the far corner of the shop. Despite several attempts to move it, the safe refused to budge and obstinately remains.

It’s a quirky anecdote that befits a shop proud of its individual and different gifts. Indeed, the owner said is appealing for any information regarding the safe’s history - its heavy-duty design was certainly used to protect something precious.

Mrs Skiffington had always wanted to own her own shop, but it wasn’t until her husband was moving items into the café opposite the store that he noticed it was for sale.

“We thought ‘we had to do it’," she said.

South Wales Argus:

Her Welsh-inspired selection of gifts

“We set it up all ourselves, knocked down units, painted it and installed the furniture.”

And Heart of the Home is here to stay.

“A lot of shops stay for a year and go, they don’t last," she said.

“You’ve got to stick around."