January. Oh January. The biting cold, misty moorland walks, the mud caked boots, one veeery damp dog. And the gearing up for the year ahead - plans to be made, meetings to be had, and this year a new workshop to set up. We began moving ourselves in at the beginning of the month and we're probably halfway there, as we've had to stop moving to start making. Setting up temporary workbenches and drying racks until we can see how best to use the space, where best to cast and where best to glaze. The workshop was previously home only to vats of (very good) cider vinegar (it's on a working cider farm), so it is requiring some TLC (and heft) to transform it into a workable space. And by TLC, I mean a lick of paint and some windows and doors to keep the icy wind out. Oh, and electrics. And water. And stairs...
So we're nearly there! Below is a picture of the upstairs space as it is now, beautiful Victorian rafters all intact & waiting for roof insulation, and beneath some current pictures of the downstairs workshop, already in full (makeshift) swing.
FORTNUM & MASON
We are over the moon to say that our 22k Gold fine bone china collection can now be found in Fortnum & Mason, as part of their 'Handmade in Britain' exhibition. We've even done an exclusive teapot, with totally golden lid. It's a place I've long associated with wonder and magic, no doubt in part due to their incredible Christmas windows, and never imagined I'd one day make something they would sell. Delighted.
As a side, Fortnum's will also forever remind me of my brother and Granny, who would go for lunch after taking in an exhibition at the Royal Academy opposite. The first time they went, my Granny ordered Welsh Rarebit, but my brother didn't know what that was and so determined it must be very fancy, so he ordered some very fancy fish dish (that he didn't particularly want) to keep up appearances (he was seven).
And then cheese on toast arrived for Granny.
THE PASTA BOWL
We mainly eat pasta. Jeremy thinks he must actually be a little bit Italian, because he loves it so. His dream: to travel around Italy learning pasta dishes from Nonnas. He'd eat it for all meals, every day if he could. I think he mentions this little pasta place in Rome just by the Spanish Steps at least once a week... So, it was only natural that we'd make a pasta bowl as part of our first tableware collection. It is large and shallow, with a deep cobalt hand-painted banding. And a dimpled finish to ensure it sits snugly in the hands, for when your bowl of pasta has to be eaten in front of a box set because every spare minute is devoted to watching all six seasons of The Americans...
