Welcome To Our Site Here at The House of Portia we pride ourselves on the ability to provide fantastic gift products from leading manufacturers. Together with both current and discontinued collectables from most of the UK's major china houses, we believe that we can offer a service which can satisfy the needs of most individuals. Please browse the online shop for some idea of our current stock. Please remember that many of the discontinued collectables never reach the on-line shop as we also run a finders service for all of our customers. We buy and sell daily, on-line, through mail order and direct to and from customers through personal contact. If there is something you want and cannot find it give us a call or drop us an email so that we will have your interests at the fore when viewing the many collections that are offered to us for sale. Take your time in coming to a decision before buying but we guarantee that we provide a service second to none through the medium of our secure on-line server and our dedicated staff which takes all the hassle out of parking and shopping in major shopping centres. Votivo Candles have been identified in several magazines as the favourite of many celebrities including Oprah, Madonna and Bruce Willis. Votivo aromatic fragrances are also available as a reed diffuser, incense stick, soap and room spray. Many of which we have in stock. Votivo aromatic candles feature fragrances developed by Votivo for richness and depth. Hand poured in the US using the finest wax, they are presented in a unique gift box. The full-bodied aroma of Votivo candles will fill your home with a lingering bouquet. Blended with the finest wax and rich fragrances, this aromatic candle will burn for more than 50 hours. Most of the items can be purchased for less then the price of a good bunch of flowers so they make the perfect gift for a hostess or for yourself. They will create that lasting aroma in any room. The House of Portia is pleased to associated with this supreme product and we are one of the only gift shops in the United Kingdom to stock Votivo products. Delivery Schedule We offer next working day delivery to most parts of mainland UK as standard. Some parts of Northern Scotland and the Highlands take two days. Interlink Express are one of our retained couriers and we will normally be able to get your orders to them for delivery to our next day delivery area providing your order is received by us before 4pm. If you have any queries over delivery please speak to any member of our staff on 020 8500 3505 who will be happy to discuss your requirements. Bananagrams The game that is slowly taking over the world. Play it anywhere play it with any numbers up to 8. Even play it on your own. Age differences do not make a difference as you play your own bunch Instructions are simple.Place all 144 tiles face down on center of table. These tiles are referred to as the "BUNCH". For games of 2-4 people, each player takes 21 letters from the bunch, keeping them face down. For 5-6 players, 15 letters are taken. For 7-8 (or more) players, 11 letters are taken. NOW THE GAME BEGINS!!! Any one player says "SPLIT" whereupon all players turn their own tiles face up and proceed to form their OWN collection of connecting and intersecting words. The words may be horizontal or vertical, reading left to right or top to bottom. Each player may rearrange his/her own words as often as desired. Players DO NOT take turns, but play independently of each other and at the same time. When a player has none of his/her original letters left, that player says "PEEL" and takes a tile from the bunch. At this point ALL OF THE OTHER PLAYERS MUST ALSO TAKE A TILE FROM THE BUNCH and add it to their collection of letters. At any time, and as often as desired during play, any player may return a difficult-to-use letter back to the center of the BUNCH, face down, but MUST TAKE THREE LETTERS IN RETURN. The player must declare this action to the other players by saying "DUMP". This exchange does not affect the other players. Play continues until there are fewer tiles in the BUNCH than there are players. The first player with no remaining letters shouts "BANANAS" and is the winner of that hand. The other players may now inspect the winning hand for misspelled or incorrect words. Proper nouns are not acceptable. Any available dictionary may be used. If all words are acceptable, that player is the WINNER OF THAT HAND. If any word in the "winning" hand is found to be unacceptable, that player becomes the Rotten Banana and is out, and must return his/her letters, face down to the center bunch and the game now resumes for the remaining players. Keel Toys Brand new to the House of Portia we are very pleased to be able to supply the range of Keel Toys. Established back in 1947 Keel Toys has always been known for its beautiful soft toys and consistency of manufacture we feel that all their toys blend our to dedication to quality and value with cutting edge design, creating a mix of familiar favourites and exciting new soft toy creations!. Therefore all toys conform to all applicable legislation and where stated some of the toys are suitable from birth making them excellent presents. Click here to see our current stock. Gift Selection / Gift Wrapping We are slowly adding Gift Ideas to the categories on the left of the shop but everybody has there own individual idea as to what will be suitable for the intended receipient. We have recently added Luxury Home Accessories under the Gifts for Home section, Gifts for Baby and Gifts for Hen Parties. We are now able to offer exclusive gifts from famous names such as Peugeot, Zak! Designs, Bombay Duck, Votivo, Madbags, Willow Tree, Northern Lights, Keel Toys, Onyx-Art, Elegant Baby, Trumpettes and Pecksniffs Fragrances. We also offer, a totaly free gift wrapping service and we will send direct to the receipient should you require. If you cannot see what you are looking for please call us 020 8500 3505 and discuss your needs with our experienced staff. John Beswick Animals We are proud to stock The John Beswick collection of ceramic animal sculptures. With a heritage stretching back to 1894 the hand crafted studies emulate the authentic style of the celebrated originals. Every piece is hand painted to reflect the natural glory of our favourite animals, with collections featuring horses, farm animals birds, wildlife and cats and dogs. They make great gifts and last longer then flowers. Click here to see our current stock Special Commissions If you are looking for that unique gift, that something different or that lasting memory, you may wish to consider our special commission service. Using long forged contacts and long term contracts we have negotiated an almost unique service where we can have any picture fired onto a variety of products which can then be given as a treasured memory. We can also do small numbers of similar items for use as prizes, corporate gifts or individual presents. All very reasonably priced and fast turn around of the items. Click here to see the full range