It's beginning to look a bit like...

... the month before you can start thinking about Christmas. But certainly wintery and festive, thanks to issue six of Wrap magazine with its 'Nordic Lights' theme.

Cover art by Rjorn Rune Lie

Darling Clementine

Lotta Nieminen

Riikka Sormunen

Wrap Magazine

A couple of weeks ago I saw Wrap magazine mentioned on Hazel Nicholl's blog and went off on an intrepid search to locate a copy. (Okay... down the road... to Regent Street... to Anthropologie... There were a lot of vicious and wild tourists around though.)

In their own words, Wrap is a magazine that celebrates the very best in illustration, design and creative culture, and each issue comes with five double-sided pull-out sheets of unique wrapping paper. 

Although if, like me, wrapping paper usually means something carefully recycled, flattened and de-selloptaped and which originally cost £2 for three rolls anyway, I don't think you'll be using the beautifully printed sheets in here to wrap up any disappointing bubble bath sets...

So, Wrap is lovely because it's matte, not shiny, has no adverts and just a double page like this...

... of things you might want to buy (and I like most of these particular things.)

It has big full pages of illustrations, like this...

Ella Cohen (and my ubiquitous mug)

 ...and lots of contributions from different, interesting people.

At £10.50 per issue, it's not cheap but it certainly feels better quality than a bog-standard magazine. It'd also look good on your coffee table, and bear repeat flickings-through.