Fab Find of the Week: C.Atherley Red Zonal bags

We were JUST starting to begin to maybe think about Christmas (yikes) when these landed on the desk – the latest design from C.Atherley, Cath Kidston Padgham MBE’s geranium-inspired collection, which goes by the name of ‘Red Zonal’ (that’s the type of pelargonium – the cheery ones you always see in hot Mediterranean villages, for instance).

Make that several collections – and counting – because there are now No.1 (based on Pelargonium radens, which smells of rose, lemon, mint and cedar), No.2 (Pelargonium tomentosum, the slightly minty one – and Jo’s favourite of all), and the most recently launched, No.3, whose scent inspiration is the sherbet lemony Mabel Grey geraniuim.

And we were looking at these bags – lovely in their own right, lined with a light waterproof fabric to make them suitable for cosmetics – and thinking: you could equally turn them into Christmas wrapping, for a sort of double-whammy gift.

They feature the prettiest tiny red and green flower repeat (because of course Cath’s background is fabric design) – and we had the idea that you could tuck something else inside, maybe tie a lovely red ribbon around them, and pop ’em straight under the tree. A paperback would work, in the smaller bag. Sweets, in the big one (what our mums used to call a ‘Dorothy bag’! Or scented goodies, of course…

Indeed, if you were looking for something to pop inside – or are in the market for a new candle – we can thoroughly recommend this one, in the No.3 range. The burn is fantastic – no tunnelling, and burns evenly right to the end – and when it’s flickered its last, you’re left with a cute little green container, as a vase or for pens (or whatever).

Note: we are trying to head s-l-o-w-l-y into Christmas this year, feeling that all this advent calendar and have-you-bought-your-mince-pies frenzy is stretching things out a little far, time-wise. So you could completely ignore our ‘gift wrapping’ selection and buy one for yourself because they’re just so, so pretty (and practical with it).

Red Zonal Quilted Drawstring Bucket Bag/£35 – buy here

Red Zonal Quilted Mini Zip Purse/£20 – buy here

C.Atherley Geranium No.3 Candle/£50 for 240g – buy here

Plus: a shout-out for the other design in this collection: Cath kindly gave Jo a Pellymania Garden Tool Bag, which has proved perfect for the rather more prosaic task of clearing her filing cabinet of ancient pieces of paper, because files fit perfectly inside, for sorting! Price £40 – buy here