Founded in 1890 by the De Sanctis family, the shop offers a small but diverse selection of handmade ceramics from all over Italy, including both traditional and modern pieces, such as the whimsical work of the popular Sicilian ceramicist De Simone (pictured).

Known as one of the greatest Italian ceramic artists, De Simone has created durable ceramics for many decades, marrying style and elegance with the decor of the rustic landscapes of Sicily. 

The double baking method for creating permanent imprints on ceramics and the famous De Simone red color (awarded several international prizes and recognitions) ensure that these masterpieces will last a lifetime, while preserving their natural, unleaded colours.

The shop also stocks traditional Sicilian Caltagirone (meaning ‘pottery rock’) ceramics, which are manufactured using 4000 year-old techniques and embody a  fusion between Roman, Greek, Spanish and Arab traditions.

Some are well-kept secrets of the true devotees, others have been opened with absolute beginners in mind. But all are relaxing and inspiring spaces designed to get your creative juices flowing. Here are a few of our favourites.

All The Fun of the Fair

The West End is a surprising place to find a shop specialising in handmade goods, but ATFOTF in Kingly Court has proven to be a huge hit with shoppers, tourists and crafy types alike. Selling a variety of top quality handmade items alongside yarn, knitting needles and other tools, it’s worth checking out whether you want to buy someone else’s handiwork or have a go at making your own.

Fabrications

This wonderfully ramshackle shop and studio has been hidden away in East London’s Broadway Market for over a decade, run by artist and committed green Barley Massey. The shop has established itself as a focal point for the local community and there are plenty of workshops and classes here, in a studio kitted out with all sorts of unusual bits of equipment. So if you’d like to try your hand at giant knitting or rosette-making, Fabrications is the place to be!

Prick your Finger

Think cosy living room crossed with the White Cube: Prick your Finger is a hip gallery and knitters’ haven rolled into one, with some of the most amazing sculptural yarn forms you’ll ever see, including a fully three-dimensional toilet and sink. You can buy top quality yarn and equipment here – and keep an eye out for visiting exhibitions – they’re well worth it.

Make Lounge

In stark contrast to the organized chaos provided by many similar establishments, the Make Lounge offers a clean and shiny slate in the form of a smart Islington townhouse for you to mess up to your heart’s content. With loads of exciting workshops to choose from, you can learn how to make cool, contemporary costume jewellery, underwear and accessories that you’ll be proud to wear long after the event, or book the space for your own private craft party.

I knit London

I Knit is a collective, a shop and a work space. Knitters of all levels are welcome to join the group at any stage, and there are regular meetups in pubs, cafes and events. The shop itself, which is based at Lower Marsh, Waterloo, is a real sanctuary for knitters with a drinks licence and late night opening. This is the best time to come if you want to meet other knitters over a few glasses of plonk, but drop in during the day for a great selection of yarns.

Image: Stevendepolo

So I’ve currently been on the hunt for the right kind of stationery, which is where I came across Rifle Paper Co., a boutique stationery brand and design studio based in Winter Park, Florida created by Anna Bond together with her husband Nathan.

Anna and Nathan offer a range of prints and bespoke calling cards with unique, whimsical designs, which include hand-painted illustrations and lettering to compose a style that feels both nostalgic and timeless.

I particularly love the monogrammed notes, which are customized with your monogram and full name in your choice of font and colour.

If you want to go a bit further than just your name or initial, you could opt for the illustrated calling card, which includes your portrait painted in your likeness by Anna herself.

The cards are printed on soft, heavyweight paper stock and all stationery products are coupled with classic pointed shaped envelopes.

As Anna and Nathan explain: “We take great care in choosing all of our stocks and printing methods to ensure our designs come to life in a way that’s elegant, durable, and beautiful. We strongly believe life’s personal stories and moments are best told through the gift of a hand-written card or note.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Having experienced a chocolate tasting event myself a few years ago with Parisian born chocolatier Bertrand Espouy, chocolate is as much a specialist flavour from the utilised cocoa beans’ origin as those that can be found in a wine glass by sommeliers or a shot of espresso by baristas.

To pleasure the true taste of chocolate, Scotland’s capital Edinburgh is an unlikely location. Yet, it hosts one of the finest artisan chocolate shops. In the heart of Bruntsfield, Coco Chocolat is an organic chocolatier withan enchanting sense of stepping back in time. Enjoy the moment as you taste unique chocolate with carefully selected muscats, liqueurs, Italian Massimo coffee and loose leaf teas that complement the flavour.

Visually, you can discover the art and effort that has gone into each individual chocolate, which are hand-tempered on marble slabs, mixed withfruits, spices and peppers, before being delicately decorated by hand with edible paint. There are interesting combinations, from milk chocolate with caramel, pine nut and sea salt to dark chocolate with tobacco.

Specific selections have been inspired by historic design, such as the retro, burlesque themed Tattoo Love that pays homage to Betty Page. Each gift box is presented in standard jewellery box size and ‘designed to keep for longevity’.

Coco Chocolat has a divine offer to experience chocolate with refined taste buds, providing  the chance to become a certified chocolate connoisseur where you can taste rare, single origin chocolates and understand the slow, considered process from bean to bar.

Chocolate tasting evenings begin in-store from 15 January, costing £20 for an hour’s most pleasurable education. If you wish to hand-temper chocolate on marble yourself, or create decadent rose creams with pure 100% organic rose oil topped with crystallised rose petals, then you may enroll in the one-day chocolate school, with classes of four to ensure individual attention, costing £145.

Time passes, but there are certain things that remain the same: bread is a fundamental aspect of our life, acting as nourishing human fuel across the world. The former US President Woodrow Wilson, who founded the predecessor to the United Nations, once pointed out that bread was mentioned in the Lord’s prayer as the first petition. Without it in our bellies, he argued, we couldn’t “love thy neighbour”.

Wild yeast for breadmaking has been around for centuries, a live culture that is most popular in sourdough making.  You can create your own by following an easy no-frills recipe.

Having wild yeast in your home is much like a pet, adding routine to your week as it needs to be constantly fed and regularly used so that it doesn’t die. It provides a moment of mindfulness, as each new bubble emerges.

Forget sliced bread which, I might add, is not the greatest invention, real bread is the good life. It has nothing to hide and is a recipe of remarkably simple components: flour, water, yeast, and occasionally salt. With no artificial additives, preservatives or processing aids, it lasts until its natural end. This not only supports neighbourhood artisan bakeries amidst automated, centralised production, it is a far healthier option to white loaves, full of nutritional content. This is exactly what British-based The Real Bread Campaign promotes, providing regular news and inspiration and a Real Bread finder to help you find your nearest outlet.

For a wood fired approach to baking bread, then discover Poilâne, with its principled bread making across London and Paris. The longstanding artisan bakery utilises what it calls retro-innovation, combining the best of old techniques while incorporating the best of new techniques.

If you prefer to get your hands doughy then there are plenty of attractive workshops and courses where you can understand the fermentation process and artisanal quality of bread.

The Slow Bread workshops, run by Manna from Devon Cooking School, are run over two days to show you how long fermentation processes can naturally aid good flavour, digestibility, long life and better nutritional qualities and provides some all-important texture in our lives. You can learn to make various breads including 100% rye, blackbread with caraway and ciabatta. This is a lifelong skill, well worth the £160 price tag (which, I might add, includes lunch and recipes packs).

For longer practical lessons, you can discover Artisan Breadmaking Fundamentals at The School of Artisan Food, from expert baker Carl Shavitz. It offers five day courses deep in Nottinghamshire’s renowned Sherwood Forest, where you can learn bakery success secrets with specialities such as foccacia, fruit loaves, baguettes and bagels for £585.

Bon appetit.

Photo 1: jytyl
Photo 2: The School of Artisan Food