When you receive and open a hand-written letter or card, the pleasure is so much more than when reading an email. Somehow the message and the medium (the physical object) combine for a much more powerful experience. It is the same with radio – yes you can listen to ‘radio’ on your phone or laptop, but it is so much more to listen to radio on a radio! There is something about the object itself, its portability and the combination of form and function that is special, and irreplaceable.

I’ve been rediscovering the magic of owning and listening to a radio these past weeks in the form of the Retro Mini from VQ, a very lovely DAB radio, in Emma Bridgewater’s Cobalt and Daisy Spot pattern – one of her seven beautiful designs that the radio comes in – and thinking about what made it special as I looked through the many photographs that I took for this post.

I took a lots of photographs of my new best friend in various locations: at work, where it kept me sane installing the latest art exhibition – perfect as its portability allowed me to move it around the gallery; at home, on my kitchen windowsill with my newly re-potted orchids growing happily along to Classic FM; in the bathroom, as I soaked away the long days to some soothing voices talking about science or business; in the front room while I decorated the Christmas tree. But I’ve decided to show just one:

 

 

This photo of the VQ Retro Mini, sitting in the dark on my kitchen worktop as I prepared my tea, between the eggs and lemons, all reflected in the shiny work surface, reminds me a little of Dutch still life, or vanitas painting, a genre that is all about the beauty and materiality and yet the transience of earthly life. To me, this radio is a modern-day equivalent of the musical instruments in such paintings, signifying the pleasures of the senses and their fleeting nature – the voices so real one minute and next they are gone.

Ok, so I have gone off on a poetic tangent and it’s time to bring this post back to business! You want to know more about the radio itself and I don’t blame you, now that you appreciate its beauty, here are the essential features:

 

— Unbeatable audio quality: backed by British design & engineering with a premium real wood construction to the single 5W ultra-wide premium full range speaker drivers, this sounds as good as it looks.

— DAB, DAB+ and FM radio reception: access to the full range of digital and analogue services across the UK and Europe.

— Connect any smart device: via Bluetooth, to enjoy your favourite tracks from your own music library (or use the 3.5mm aux-in connection).

— Other cable connections: these include a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB charging port so you can charge up your device as you stream.

— Dual alarms: his & hers or week & weekend – set the alarm for whenever you need it.

— Customisable controls: A range of presents or custom controls, via the radio or the app, for bass and treble. Adjust to what you’re listening to, where you’re listening and when you’re listening.

 

And now, back to the beauty. VQ have got it just right in blending sound and style, so you have the full package that makes this radio so special. Its leatherette cover is so tactile, it’s a real joy to touch and carry. And this Emma Bridgewater pattern means it will look beautiful wherever you choose to place it.

This post is to celebrate the range of Emma Bridgewater designs, 7 in total, that the Retro Mini now comes in. Seven lifestyle bloggers, myself included, are each blogging about a different design, and the best bit is that you can win one of these lovely radios yourself:

All you have to do is share this post on Twitter using the hashtag #StyleMyVQ (between now and 14 December  2015) to be in with a chance of winning your very own Retro Mini radio. So cool! Get tweeting right away, there is a button at the bottom of this post to take you straight there 🙂

And don’t forget to visit the  to see the other designs and bloggers posts. They are all very lovely, but mine is the nicest right? 🙂

The VQ Retro Mini costs £79.99 in the Emma Bridgewater patterns. This post is written in collaboration with VQ, who provided the radio in exchange for this post, but all words, thoughts and images are my own and honest.