Things of Beauty

I have just returned from a trade fair in London, I am bamboozled by the amount of "stuff" on the market that falls under the Home and Gift banner. Visiting the Craft section with stands from a small number of individual creatives, I always discover a new maker whose work we will show in the gallery. However inevitably I am pulled into the sea of colour, light and decoration in the Great Hall below, twinkling night lights, patterned throws and rugs, bright coloured bowls, jugs and mugs (violet is this year's colour apparently). I criss-cross the hall in a sort of delirium, emerging seven hours later with a burden of brochures, over-stimulated and aching not having ordered a thing!

I was staying with an old friend who has had to help empty her friend's house, she is not only dealing with those possessions but those of her friend's parents too. Maybe experiencing the weight of this responsibility and the sheer volume of possessions has caused my reluctance to order at the fair.

I am reminded of the quotation from William Morris, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful," it's a well-worn maxim with which I totally agree. So I have sifted through my post fair literature and with discretion and reflection selected just a few things of beauty to feature in this year's shows.

Botanical vases by Leonora Richardson