Ceramic Perfection

Check out this glorious handcrafted ceramics business on Etsy: CircaCeramics. I've book-marked it for my Birthday and Christmas shopping list this year. Lovely bold colours and line-drawn graphics. There is something for everyone here and my mug cupboard is looking a little shabby these days.

On the 21st Day of Christmas...

I'm trying to find things that you can also find on the high street now since most of the Christmas postage deadlines are now either upon us or past. How about this Set of 4 Mini Dishes £16.80 by Sophie Conran for Portmeirion. My love affair with this range of crockery and glassware began four years ago when I chose it as my wedding china and I use every piece of it. My mother gave me these bowls last year to further the collection. They are so diddy measuring 3.5cm x 9cm and yet so versatile. I use them when cooking to house prepared ingredients. I have one by the range with rock salt and pepper in it for seasoning cooking. They've been out a parties with snacks in and used at dinner parties for condiments. Made in a style that makes them appear hand thrown they come packaged in Christmas green paper and Sophie Conran's distinctive mint green, spotty boxes, they are a lovely present. In fact, unlike a lot of crockery ranges, most of the items in the range stand by themselves as things of beauty.  I found them on County China & Glass the but range is also available at John Lewis and stockists countrywide. 

On the 20th Day of Christmas...

Here's a nice surprise! I found this Mrs. Beeton Jelly Mould £15.00 in Tesco this afternoon. It's a very decent reproduction of the ceramic traditional Victorian types and comes really nicely packaged. Normally I get a bit fed up with all the big stores doing mass produced wash bags, manicure kits and novelty mug sets for the present desperate at Christmas-time so this was a really refreshing find. I never make jelly but I would love to put this on a shelf in my kitchen along with my collection of traditional stoneware kitchen crocks. I think it would look right at home. Perhaps you know someone similar.