Frog and Gnome is very much a small family business. We are Rob and Naomi.

This is Naomi...

This is Rob...

Here we are with the froglets enjoying a little wild camping trip in the Pentland Hills...

This is Mabel...

This is Peggy...

This is the place we call home...

WHERE IT ALL STARTED... In the summer of 2011 Rob and Naomi were having the time of their lives exploring the West Coast of Scotland. One day their plan to go on a boat trip to see puffins fell through, so they found themselves sat quietly drinking coffee dreaming of the future… these little Scottish isles seemed the perfect place to raise children one day, but would it be possible to make life work in such a remote location? What would they do for work? Well, since they were dreaming, why not think out of the box - how about a café?! But not just any café, some kind of hybrid between a café, a gift shop and an art gallery. They would make create art inspired by the landscape. Rob could turn his photographs into prints and postcards. Naomi could concoct...

...the most mouth-watering menu. They could design hundreds of lovely and quirky greetings cards ready to pair with beautiful gifts sourced from other local artists and small businesses. It would be busy through the summer tourist season, and in the quiet winter months they could fulfil their shared dream of writing and illustrating children’s stories, which they could self-publish and also sell in the shop. It seemed like they had a perfect plan! The only problem they could see on that day amidst the giddiness of having had such a masterful idea, was ‘what on earth to call such a marvellous café-giftshop-gallery?’ They wanted a name that was fun and memorable, and also one that could work for publishing children’s books. In the end they thought it might be fun...

...to adopt the common practice in Britain of naming pubs as the ‘something’ and ‘so and so’ (e.g. Rob used to live above a pub called ‘The Lamb and Flag’, which was opposite another pub called ‘The Eagle and Child’). But the two things needed to be more fun and family friendly than the usual pairings used for pubs, and it needed to relate to them somehow… Naomi had been called ‘Gnomes’ by many of her friends for years, so they quickly thought of Gnome for one half of the name; but Rob wasn’t cool enough to have had a nickname. Later in the day they were talking about their grandparents and Naomi remembered her grandfather had been an avid collector of garden gnomes, which was funny because Rob’s grandfather was also a collector - not of gnomes, but of frogs...

...(not live ones - soft toys, ceramic, ornaments etc). Frogs. There it was - Frog and Gnome. They had a dream, and it had a name...

Section 5 text - The idea of Frog and Gnome was dreamt up one rainy afternoon on the Isle of Skye in the summer of 2011.

Section 6 text - The idea of Frog and Gnome was dreamt up one rainy afternoon on the Isle of Skye in the summer of 2011.

Section 7 text - The idea of Frog and Gnome was dreamt up one rainy afternoon on the Isle of Skye in the summer of 2011.

OUR GOAL

We do live a wonderful amazing world, alongside a whole lot of wonderful amazing people; but nonetheless life can be dark, complicated, confusing and troubled at times. We all need people who can lift us up, set us straight and journey with us. Here at Frog and Gnome, our big goal is very simply to be those kind of people ourselves, and to try to help others as they seek to hold out a bit of light, joy and hope to their loved ones.

Just one small but significant way people can do this is by sending a card or text which so often is a ray of sunshine cutting through the gloom. We have always loved sending and receiving these ourselves, and that is why our goal is to be one of the best places on the internet to come and find those little rays of sunshine to share with others.

For that reason, our focus is and will continue to be primarily on our ever growing range of card designs. But we also want to continue to offer small but special gifts because sometimes we do want to send a gift as well! We produce some gift items ourselves, but we also source lovely gifts from other small businesses.

We originally planned for Frog and Gnome to be a Hebridean café-gallery-giftshop that would be a treasure trove of joy that would support our family into the future. In reality the way life has panned out, we have found our home in a wonderful community in a different part of Scotland, and the little corner of the internet that we have here at Frog and Gnome allows us to bring all the best parts of that original vision to a much bigger audience. The only part missing is the excellent tea and coffee and delicious cakes - but please in the comfort of your own home, as your browse our site, do feel free to settle down with your own cuppa and wee sweet treat!

PROJECTS

Where are we going - text section 3.

There is a set of values which go right to the core of what As we thought about what values navigate We decided that marriage, family, business These are not just the values that we are building our business on, but our family and our whole lives.

1. SELFLESS SERVICE

Business. Marriage, family, scotland. People First, Servant hearted. / Lifting Others./ Over deliver. / When they win, we win. Grace. Gentleness. People over profit. People over projects. Society / Social / Community / Family [foot washing]

2. SPREAD SUNSHINE

Business. Marriage, family, scotland. BE LIGHT. FOR THE SOUL - Be light, allow light everywhere. Let everything be uplifting. Make someone’s day. Share the joy & hope we have. Meaning. Real. Genuine. Drawing on what’s bigger than ourselves. Bigging up the small guys. / Teamwork / Virtual Staffroom. A smile is enough - some things we do just to bring a smile. Fun. Silly. Knowledge, wisdom, humour, beauty, Just beautiful. Quirky. [sunshine]

a very simple vector illustration conveying the idea of spreading sunshine; the concept is really about the fact that there is goodness that is bigger than ourselves - beauty, knowledge, wisdom, humour, love, etc - which can bring all of us hope, joy and meaning when life is hard, but we all need people who will spread that 'sunshine', bringing the light to bear upon our own situation.

3. SHINE BRIGHT

Business. Marriage, family, scotland. SHINE BRIGHT DEAR SOUL… choose joy, go high, as individuals, as a company - Be the best / striving to be and do our best true selves… simplicity / find your voice/strengths/ give your all/ excellent / quality / all in / Head, Heart, Hands / Do one thing really well / DIY / Simplicity. Live. Take risks. Set sail. [HEART]

4. STEWARD THE SOIL

Business. Marriage, family, scotland. Creation Care / Stewardship / Love of Nature/Environment / Draw Inspo / Listen / Soil

5. SQUARE UP TO SHORTCOMINGS

Business. Marriage, family, scotland. admit, acknowledge, take responsibility. Apologise. Own your failings. A fraud. A work in progress. A growing sapling; from seeds grow might oaks. Honestly. Integrity.

6. SET STRUCTURES

6.Business. Marriage, family, scotland. Space (and grace) to grow - rule of life - trellis for the vine to grow - schedule/structure/support/space/sustainable growth

7. SEMPER REFERANDUM

7.Business. Marriage, family, scotland. SEMPER REFERANDUM… - Accrual of Marginal Gains / Incremental change. Not perfect, but ever improving. Continuous Learning. Always improving/growing/evolving. Play. Better and better products, processes, people, service. No stone unturned.