Journal

Our new Bowl will be launched this Thursday at 6pm.

If you are on the mailing list, look out for the special invitation.........

This spring, the Hazel Catkins have been spectacular, with thousands of blooms swaying in the breeze along the roadsides and hedgerows of the North York Moors. Catkins are the male flowers of the hazel tree, and each tail is made up of hundreds of tiny individual flowers, bursting with yellow pollen.

Since insects are scarce at this time of year, the hazel tree relies on the wind to pollinate its flowers, carrying pollen on the breeze to help produce those wonderful hazelnuts in autumn.

The name Catkin comes from the Dutch word katteken, meaning "kitten," as the flowers resemble fluffy kitten tails. They’re also known as lamb’s tails, a name more closely linked to the arrival of spring.

The flowers of the wild garlic are delightful and very busy, like a firework bust of white petals and delicate yellow stamen a top a sturdy stem. The wind has been cold and strong and the stems withstand the worst the weather throws at them.

The colour I've chosen  for the body of the bowl is very subtle, which I hope brings out the delicate nature of these blooms, and the rim is a nod to the sea of green leaves from whence the blooms rise... like stars in a night sky.

I've been patiently waiting for this flower to open. The buds remain tightly closed as the weather remains cold up here in Rosedale.

Just this weekend a few brave blooms appeared and work has begun to transcribe their form and physical essence onto a bowl.

Their 'other' essence is much lauded by chefs and in many recipes... I am surprised that even the pollen packs a generous aromatic punch.

Bringing holly indoors for Christmas is believed to ensure a year of good luck!

Ilex Verticillata or Winterberry is a species of holly, native to Canada and the US.

The bare branches covered in berries make irresistible floral arrangements and our studio is brightened by them over the Christmas period.

It’s the one time of year when a lot of us still practice a few folk customs.

To profit from the power of holly, Celts would hang sprigs in their windows and over the door to keep witches and evil spirits away.

Since it was well known that only good people could enter a house protected that way, it became a symbol of hospitality.

In days gone by a bunch of holly was placed in the stable or cow shed on Christmas Eve to bring luck and favour the animals; custom has it that cattle will thrive and sheep produce twins if holly is hung where they can see it.

This year the hedgerows of the wet, acid soil in the Dale beam with colour and it seems appropriate to celebrate this abundance.

Our fourth limited edition of 2023.

We launched our new design yesterday, the day when the significant tree - Sycamore Gap tree was inexplicably cut down.

Strange times. This bowl is a celebration of the beauty and wonder of the humble Sycamore.....

There is a magnificent sycamore in the middle of the village green in Rosedale Abbey, planted in 1911 on the coronation of George V.

The double samara, or keys, of the sycamore form a symmetrical wing like cluster and hang like golden jewels from her autumnal branches. Thousands are formed every year and disperse by spinning away from the parent and on to the ground, ready to become new trees.

The sycamore was introduced to the UK either by the Romans, or from central and Southern Europe in the 15th Century and, while not universally loved as they create dense stands in the shade of the parent tree, they are now accepted as native and feature in our literature and art.

Shakespeare wrote in Love’s Labour’s Lost in 1598: 'Under the coole shade of a Siccamore/ I thought to close mine eyes some halfe an houre'.

'The tree is indeed beautiful at all times of year and even the black blotches of rhytisma fungus on falling leaves have a weird charm. A tree of good luck, bad luck and creativity, it is now a part of us. As the little seed drones twizzle through the grey winter air, their keys are tuning the locks of the future.' Dr Paul Evans.

The beautiful wildflower will be the subject of our next limited, edition engraved bowl.

Please join our mailing list if you would like to see the new design on the launch at the end of July.

This beautiful, abundant bloom is unusual in that no two plants are alike, they cannot agree on a colour – and will show blue, pink or lilac.

We have chosen our colours for the bowl carefully in the hope to capture the essence of this beautiful and interesting flower.