Looking for gift ideas for the serious textile artist? That can sometimes be tricky, but here are some objects that we’ve chosen for beauty and functionality and we hope will be enjoyed for many years. We spent the better part of last year searching for these items and discovered them in all sorts of unlikely places. They are handmade and one of a kind, and available only online.
We love these richly colored mortar and pestles hand carved from granadillo or macawood. The mortar is weighty with a beautiful grain and the pestle is hand carved from matching wood. They are a nice size for pulverizing leaves and crushing dried cochineal. Color variations range from a dark ebony with a purplish undertone to a red with golden brown highlights.
We have a small number of these very special hand carved scoops from China. The handles are figured dragon’s heads, fish, insects or mice and all bear the kanji signature of their maker. The craftsmanship is excellent: the dragon head scoops all have tiny glass inlaid eyes and impressive fangs. The fish are small, curving and detailed with scales and intricately carved fins. The underside of the mouse scoop is a leaf complete with veining and the mouse has its paw resting possessively on a morsel of food. We are also carrying an elegant Japanese black lacquer scoop and an ultra-simple hand carved Chinese bamboo scoop.
We also fell hard for these bamboo timber boxes. Each is handcrafted from fast growing large bamboo and is perfect for the collections of tiny things that we love: beach pebbles or scarlet runner beans, thread holders and needle packs, buttons and our marble collection. We carry two sizes and they keep your smallest treasures neat, tidy and secure.