the comfort of things HANDMADE HOME
There are certain things in your home that are like old friends: they always cheer you up. We feel the love for a house filled with handcrafted things
Pouring your morning coffee into a mug that fits your hand perfectly is a little moment of pleasure that sets you up nicely for the day ahead. The handle may be a little wonky and the glaze slightly patchy but that’s all part of the delight. And the reason this mug is such a bringer of happiness? Unlike other mugs sitting in the cupboard that are all exactly the same shape and printed with some generic design, this mug has been handmade.
Handmade things, whether they be ceramic tableware, woven blankets or hand-blown glass, have the power to make the everyday special. Knowing that one person created the bowl you eat your cornflakes from, or the teapot from which you pour your afternoon cup of tea, and did so with skill, care and consideration, takes it beyond the humdrum. The increase in the number of handcrafted items being produced by designer-makers is a welcome antidote to the lifeless and the massproduced objects for sale elsewhere. These have their place, of course – an entire handmade dinner service does not come cheap, whereas a starter set from Ikea does – but the two can co-exist quite happily. A couple of hand-thrown side plates or a hand-woven napkin or two will sit quite comfortably beside a basic white dinner plate.
The place to head to see a good selection of handmade items is one of many craft fairs that have sprung up in recent years. Not only do you get to hold many desirable things in your hands to see how they feel before you buy one ( handmade stuff is very tactile), but you get to meet the person who made it. Meeting the creator gives an ordinary object its own story and character. Even a simple egg cup becomes more interesting when you have met the person who made it and they have told you why they chose that particular glaze. It elevates breakfast beyond the mundane, and that’s no bad thing in our book.
“Knowing who made your egg cup elevates it beyond the humdrum”