Love This #62: A Christmas tree Turkey from Fine Cell

November 9, 2015

This is another post from my visit to MADE London, and this time it's about the one thing that I bought that evening. Yes, I bought a turkey!

Last night at MADE London, I bought a turkey...

A photo posted by Stephanie Robinson (@lifeat139a) on Oct 23, 2015 at 12:30am PDT

And despite the comments that it wouldn't feed many, I do think it's rather cute. There were plenty to choose from and in the end I went for the one above with the tweed body. I want to tell you about the organisation that's behind this and much more.

"Fine Cell Work is a social enterprise that teaches needlework to prison inmates, enabling them to learn a useful skill, make beautiful objects and re-enter society with the independence they need to stop re-offending."

The text above is from their website and it was interesting to hear more about their work that evening. It seems odd to encourage crafts like this, but I know just how calming I find crafts so I can see why this would be a good thing in this type of environment, for all inmates. And I can't help but think it's more conducive to a calmer prison life than other activities, knives and hot, steamy and potentially fraught kitchens spring to mind.

As well as the turkey ornaments I fell for, there were christmas puddings and acorns. And that wasn't all; the SWAG bags raised a smile and the cushions were just beautiful.

This takes place in prisons all across the UK. Inmates are taught and supported by volunteers from the Embroiderers and Quilters Guild and the creative needlework is undertaken in the long hours spent in their cells, and aims to foster hope, discipline and self-esteem.

The prisoners are paid for their work, which is sold around the world. Some like those I saw at MADE London are perfect for unique handmade gifts, others are pieces for interior design commissions and others heritage pieces for organisations such as the V&A, English Heritage and Tate Modern amongst others.

This year I'll be proudly hanging my turkey on my tree.

3 Ceramicists at MADE London

November 4, 2015

In my MADE London post last week I said there'd be more, and today there is. I also admitted a weakness for ceramics, so when I realised there were another three ceramicists and their fabulous makes to share, I thought perhaps I should get on with it. So here they are.

1. Ramp Ceramics

Ramp stands for Roop and Al Make Pots, and they started this just down the road from me in Deptford before moving to Devon, in fact not that far away from where we visited at the start of the month. Roop generally makes the pots and Al decorates them, and they make a range of functional and one-off decorative work in earthenware & porcelain.

I'll admit it was the size of the pots that caught my eye, and then when I got closer I was hooked on the detailed designs with their dark colours. The detail is amazing.

The earthenware pot below was my favourite. Isn't it fab? You can see more of their lovely designs on their website - RAMP Ceramics.

2. Elizabeth Renton

Elizabeth's ceramics were completely different, although they too are beautiful, contemporary and functional tableware. Elizabeth too is based in London, this time West London but was born and brought up in Yorkshire. Each of her pieces is made by hand and therefore completely unique, on her website she says "I throw simple forms on the wheel then alter and decorate when leather hard. I use Sgraffito, incised lines and grooves."

It was the natural colours that drew my attention and the artful display, and those tea pots on that shelf - just beautiful. You can see more of Elizabeth's work on her website - Elizabeth Renton.

3. Sue Pryke

The final of the three ceramicists I'm sharing today is Sue Pryke and her designs are different once again. It seems I don't have a style of ceramics that I like, I just like them all! For me it's the simplicity of Sue's designs that I liked, and the muted blue and grey colours. The shapes too, they're simple but very functional.

On her website Sue says "I wanted to create a my own collection of objects that sit comfortably in the home, that aren't awkward, audacious or tricky to use or care for, but are familiar, have fluency and sit effortlessly." Job done, I say.

Aren't they great? And the shelf - MOH was very taken with that well Sue's husband makes those. You can see more of Sue's designs on her website - Sue Pryke.

I liked each of these makers and their designs and it was great to speak to each of them. So for me the MADE London show confirmed that I have a ceramics weakness, and if you made me choose I think I'd just have to have them all! Which would you choose?

Disclaimer: I was given free entry to the MADE London show in return for this review, however all words and opinions are my own.

Tea and coffee with Alessi

November 2, 2015

Back in July I was invited to Alessi's press preview for their Autumn-Winter range at the Ily cafe in London's Regent Street. I walked into a full blown Christmas, which wasn't quite what I was expecting and must have been an unusual sight for the cafe's regular coffee drinkers.

I should warn you now, there's plenty of Christmassy things to follow, so if you have an aversion to Christmas as this time of year then you should look away now, as they say on the television.

There's been lots of research into making the perfect coffee pot and the Pulcina espresso coffee maker is the result of that research. To me it looks as if it's got a little beak and that's a design feature too - it's designed to be drip free, and if it works I'm sure it'll be welcomed by many.

I did like this “Quattro muri e due case” tray made of bamboo wood. It looked comfortable to carry and the perfect way to display Santa's note.

Would you believe the design for the kettle below is thirty years old? It was designed by Michael Graves in 1985 (hey - how is this thirty years ago?) and to mark this anniversary he's redesigned the whistle changing the iconic little bird to a Tea Rex - ahem. That's a reference to Chinese culture where these beings symbolise strength and fortune. It looks great and is a bit of fun too.

This lamp made of plastic looks stylish and would be good on a table or as a bedside lamp. It's called Lady Shy because the light source is at once visible and hidden, and is protected by the lamp structure that resembles a skirt blowing in the wind. But whatever, I think it's stylish and pretty minimalist.

You might have already guessed but the tea infuser above is designed by the same designer as the Tea Rex kettle. And below is a pretty holder for your bottles, a very pretty way to stop them leaving a mark on your tablecloth,

Each year the Alessi release a Christmas ornament which I'm sure become highly collectible. This year's ornament is by Italian Laura Polinoro. If I'm honest it's not really my thing, but I can see how they could become collectable and something that collectors would want to add to their collection, but not me.

The last item I'm going to share was easily my favourite, and it's one I will buy at some point. It's polished chrome, looks like jewellery but is for use in the kitchen. I was bemused as to what it was, but once it was explained it was a trivet I was fascinated and I could see just how useful it would be. And super stylish too - but it still reminded me of jacks I used to play growing up.

The stars (or jacks) can be arranged to suit any size dish, large or small and then when it's done it can be hung on a hook or left on display. Great isn't it? At £29 it's a more expensive than other trivets I've bought, but then again this is something entirely different altogether, don't you think?

So there was lots to see at this event, and lots more that I can see will be added to the Design Classics of the future. Thanks to Alessi for inviting me along, it was great to see these products up close.

* This is a collaborative post but all words and opinions are my own