Bespoke Stories: Issue 05

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September 28, 2025 4:00am EDT

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A Truly Magical Gift

As the founder of bespoke ceramics brand Josephine Dessine, Josephine Fauchier spends a lot of time creating bespoke gifts for others. Here, she shares how it feels to receive a pitch-perfect bespoke gift herself.

SHOP THE STORY

I was seven when I had my first Harry Potter birthday. Then, this year, I had this big, silly, dorky, mad Harry Potter-themed 30th: a turning of the page into ‘proper adulthood’ – whatever that means. The party was at Euridge Manor [in the Cotswolds, UK] with my family, extended family and friends – people of all ages and languages who just adore each other. It had my favourite vibe: “end-of-wedding silliness”. We are all massive fans of dressing-up, it is a big culture in my circle… going all-out, crafty, silly and niche: deciding a costume becomes an important part of the celebration itself. I dressed as “Dumblewhore”. I created a character, imagining him nowadays, discovering drag and queerness and living his best life – I went all-out.

One of my presents, from a very dear friend, was the Anya Hindmarch Envelope Passport Holder: written on the front was my long-awaited acceptance letter to Hogwarts! It tickled all of my ten-year-old fantasies and made my heart feel really warm. Its inscription has my name and address “under the stairs” with little stamps, each one relating to a Hogwarts house. This was a very thoughtful way of getting into the Harry Potter mood.

Every part of the inscription references Harry Potter, both in the movie and the books. The accuracy and delicacy of the references made it perfect to me. What I especially love is how it was adapted to be black rather than cream like the original letter: this makes it a piece that I can carry every day, since I wear a lot of black. It is key to be able to get that blend between what the item is saying, and my own personal taste.

“We live in a world where we can buy so much stuff… I personally try to buy less and buy higher quality items that I know I'm always going to love.”

I am all about bespoke items. I run a business illustrating bespoke tableware for clients, and so my whole life is capturing beautiful details and meaningful moments onto objects that will be cherished forever. So I was absolutely delighted to be able to receive a bespoke gift, for once. I always think that gifts which say something and demonstrate so much thought and care are the ones that we end up adoring forever.

We live in a world where we can buy so much stuff… I personally try to buy less and buy higher quality items that I know I'm always going to love. My clients come to me because they want their gift to demonstrate the care and thought that they have for the relationship to the recipient. I think it's a beautifully simple way to say “I love you”.