As you delve ever deeper into the beautiful rolling countryside that surrounds Clementine’s Shop at Compton Marbling, it feels increasingly unlikely that you’re in for a spectacular shopping experience. But you couldn’t be more wrong. Nestled in a courtyard of beautiful converted barns on the border between Wiltshire and Dorset, wandering bantams greet you and set the scene for an altogether different kind of retail.

Clementine herself comes from strong creative stock with a typographer father and a mother who makes exquisite hand marbled paper, hence the name Compton Marbling. Following a spell working in Cath Kidston’s design studio, Clementine opened her beautiful shop, now a treasure trove of unique and wonderful gifts for every occasion.

A somewhat reluctant present shopper myself, with that lethal combination of very high standards and pitifully low stamina, I found a spiritual home at Clementine’s Shop. I was warmly welcomed and then happily left to my own devices as I explored the wealth of intriguing and unusual items on show, feeling altogether at ease. The friendly and approachable team were on hand to help with present dilemmas, and have lots of suggestions, be it for a birthday, wedding or just your hard-to-buy-for brother-in-law. Warning: Compton Marbling may also cause you to self-gift!

Several times a year Clementine organises fantastic fairs at the barns, when a whole host of stallholders descend to share their myriad wares of cashmere, candles, cakes, crafts and more. Contact Clementine to make sure you receive an invitation.

Although a whole world away from real life, Clementine’s Shop is only 2.5 miles from the A303, so makes a perfect pit stop en route to the Westcountry. It is also a mere stone’s throw from charming Tisbury, where more shopping treats are in store.

Photo courtesy of Clementine at Compton Marbling