If there’s a theme running through the hilariously original gifts, books and art of the Elsewhere Trading Co., it has to be the unexpected. Because you certainly won’t find any of these “gifts you never knew you needed” in Hamleys. From Invisible Jen to Misfortune Cookies and Targets for shit archers, there are lots of unexpected pleasures in the Elsewhere Trading Co.’s quirky collection.
It was the football connection – and this inimitable poster – that caught my attention. Just the idea of “The ancient Newcastle art of Tyne Chi” is enough to have any self-respecting football fan – let alone native Geordies – in fits of giggles. Then you look closely at the poster and see the images of the Geordie fans, dressed in the finest black and white of legend, doing their Tyne Chi poses, and, well, don’t be surprised if you spill your beer. Talking of which, I love the limited edition poster that’s “printed with ink infused with Newcastle Brown Ale on paper colour-matched to parts of a Greggs sausage roll.” Brilliant.
Irreverent? Certainly. Quirky? Definitely. Unexpected? Unquestionably.