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Our pottery studio doors open onto the garden, the leaves have started to turn, each day the evenings seem to be drawing in earlier. Our busy season is creeping up on us as we prepare for Christmas and the festive season. Autumn is definitely one of my favourite seasons with Spring close at its heels. With both of these seasons my heart is filled with hope, an opportunity for new starts and growth. Autumns Earthy warm palette of rusty harvested apples, bundles of cut golden wheat, freshly dug mustard yellow squashes and copper Beech leaves makes my heart sing. I love woodland walks especially the smell of the woodland floor as you crunch over the fallen leaves, the fresh crisp air leaving a healthy glow on your cheeks. Once home you light the log burner, and a candle and pour a cup of tea and snuggle up in your favourite chair. As a maker autumn is typically a busy time as I prepare for the Christmas period. Wholesale orders for shops have started dropping in. Organised customers have already started on their Christmas shopping, spreading the cost and allowing time for their made to order pieces. In the studio we are attempting to build some stock of our popular items such as mugs and wax burners. We have been running our business now for 18 months, last Christmas we purely made to order, due to not being in the position to have stock in place ahead of the season. It went well, but was extremely busy and the last couple of weeks before Christmas were so stressful as if you know anything about the ceramic process you will know that it can be a challenging process! Most things take us 2-3 weeks depending of what we have waiting to make, the process of ceramics is a lengthy one without much wiggle room for rushing through orders. Everything we make in our studio is made by forming the clay in our hands and shaping it, nothing is made with the wheel or slip cast, so everything is very much a unique piece, making it all that much more special. You can hear about our shop updates and get access to VIP discounts including a 10% discount in your first order by signing up to our newsletters and following us on Instagram or Facebook This year we hope to reduce the festive stress even if just a bit! We plan to have at least a day off a week, when you are doing a job you love and have the orders there waiting its hard to step away, but this year we are going to. We also plan to adjust our working hours slightly so we go for a dog walk in daylight and work later instead. It's so important for me to be with nature, to slow down, to notice the changes around me, to practice gratitude and being outside helps so much with that. We mostly start and finish the day with meditation and we are determined that when its gets busy we prioritise this as starting and finishing the day well helps with maintaining our strength and longevity in creativity. We love cooking and cook from scratch most days, we enjoy doing this together, but when its gets so busy it can be easy to not eat well and that in turn makes you feel run down. So we are going to go to the local farmers market to collect our vegetables and batch cook our stews, soups and sauces to make evening meals more convenient once we are in from the studio. We are gradually adding pieces to our website shop and have many items in stock or available as made to order. We will be adding new lines in addition to our current lines including our popular Winters Night Starry Mug. As well as on our website shop you can also shop with us online at Etsy and Not On The High Street. In store at The St. Ives Company, St Ives, Cornwall. Pebble & Salt, Fowey, Cornwall. Artyzan, Redruth, Cornwall.

I love the feeling when someone gives me a gift that is handmade, I know then they saw the item and straight away thought of me, handmade allows me to connect with the maker and the process through the item. I also know that I am not the only one benefitting from this gift; that the maker and their family are too. The joy I feel is the same joy the maker feels when they sell the item. As a maker myself I still get so excited when I make a sale. I still refer to my orders as presents when I wrap them to go on their way! It's just the excitement and the love that has gone into each item and can't wait to share that feeling with someone else. I thought I would share with you some of my current favourite makers and also share some of my Christmas range with you. www.sparrowsnestceramics.com https://www.instagram.com/sparrows_nest_ceramics/ Of Land and Sea Handmade recycled silver jewellery. Inspired by nature, lore and life in the Southwest of England https://www.instagram.com/oflandandseastudio/ www.oflandandsea.com Helen Round Designs Hand printed linen products, Cornwall. https://www.instagram.com/helenrounddesigns/ www.helenround.com Lou Tonkin Artist Print-maker, Cornwall https://www.instagram.com/loutonkin/ www.loutonkin.com Kettle and Birch Hand-bound Journals and Books, London https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KETTLEandBIRCH Old Green Furnishings Handmade Candles poured into repurposed glass bottles, South West England. www.oldgreen.co.uk The Whispering Wild Sculptor, illustrator, writer, Fairytale Maker www.thewhisperingwild.co.uk Hope you appreciate the talent of the makers I have shared, some of the products are just so beautiful. I have loved preparing my Christmas range this year. I hope you enjoy them as much too. Hand formed ceramics, Cornwall. Christmas range includes luxury mug, tea light holder, candle holders, match striker/holder, tree decorations, and other seasonal pieces. https://www.instagram.com/sparrows_nest_ceramics/ www.sparrowsnestceramics.com

Cara Fitzmaurice ‘To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow’ Audrey Hepburn I often dream of having my own secret garden, a walled garden with a green wooden door with the heaviest rustiest old hinges and latch. The walls lined with rambling roses their scent filling the air, old wise apple and pear trees taking main stage, with plum and greengages close behind. A big old wheelbarrow parked up full of produce from the vegetable patch. Birdsong the and the warm hum of busy bees providing me with a pleasant and inviting soundtrack. I’ve always had a fascination with the garden, I think of times gone by, of summers spent in my papas garden, watching him potter about in the vegetable patch, the petrol lawnmower chugging left to right; right to left (with at least one line straying off at the wrong angle!). My garden I like to refer to as a ‘natural’ garden, don’t get me wrong we have to put in time and effort, but we have planted many native English garden plants, flowers and trees, we don’t tend to get too involved after planting (mainly as we don’t always have the time to do so), but nature does its magic and most things thrive and are now well established. We try to leave it as natural as possible to allow the wildlife to thrive too, we avoid pesticides and welcome the bugs and birdies. I don’t know about you, but I do find I can lose myself in just ‘being’ when I’m in the garden, I drift just watching and listening to its life. I love nothing more than sitting out with a tea and quietly and respectfully being present. I am grateful I have an outdoor space, I recognise this isn’t something everyone has. But equally just being out in a park or even on a walk you can connect in that same way. I am noticing more and more friends are creating outdoor spaces by renting allotments. Lockdown has proven to me along with many others to have been a time when people have not only reconnected to nature but also realised that they are actually indeed part of it. What I am finding is that everyone I speak to about spending time in their gardens or allotments, whether they have been doing the hard groundwork stuff, or much lighter gardening or simply being in a garden or outdoor space says things that indicate it’s great for them in so many ways. Ways such as helping with positive mental health, helping with fitness and lifestyle, connecting with others and generally being good for the soul. So maybe gardening isn’t just about nurturing other living organisms but maybe it’s also about nurturing you

Bloom Among the wildflowers oh, how she bloomed. This workshop invites you to deeper your connection to nature, to pause in a busy world, to notice the beauty of the world around us. To ground and connect with the Earth through clay and experience its therapeutic benefits as you get lost in the process of creating something truly beautiful through hand forming clay (no wheel just hands). Forage to find flowers, herbs, leaves and weeds that you feel drawn to to help create your ceramic piece. This workshop is perfect for those with no ceramic experience, full support will be given thorough the course. The workshop is held in our barn studio and the gardens and woodlands of our home, near Chacewater, Cornwall. We welcome you to join us for a half day or full day session. The half day is 2 hours (you will get to make one piece) £45 per person The full day is 5 hours (you will get the make more than one piece, i.e a large plate and a jug/vase/mug). £90 per person 25% non refundable deposit at time of booking. Email to book: carafitzmaurice@icloud.com or message through website, Instagram or Facebook. Message to arrange a date or choose from: April 10-12am or 2-4 pm Sat 8th Wed 12th Sun 16th Tues 18th Sun 30th Perfect for hen dos, workplace parties, birthday experiences and family/friend groups and well deserved time out of the everyday. ​ View my instagram reels for a feel of the workshops 'Cara was so supportive, enthusiastic, a calm and inspirational tutor, she helped me feel confident about my pieces, I don’t feel I’m creative but Cara has helped me realise I am’ '| enjoyed the calmness of the workshop, so laid back its a great environment to learn new skills' After the day your piece will be left to dry for about a week, then bisque fired to 1040 degrees Celsius over several hours, then I shall add a glaze of your choice over your piece and over any underglaze colours you have decorated with, your piece will be fired to 1225 degrees Celsius. I will then message you for collection arrangements or postage can be arranged at additional cost. Adding Leaf Detail to Hand Built Bowl

CUSTOMER CARE I’m a customer care section. I’m a great place to write a long text about your company and your services, and, most importantly, how to contact your store with queries. Writing a detailed Customer Care policy is a great way to build trust and reassure your customers that they can buy with confidence. I'm the second paragraph in your customer care section. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add details about your policy and make changes to the font. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you. PRIVACY & SAFETY I’m a Privacy & Safety policy section. I’m a great place to inform your customers about how you use, store, and protect their personal information. Add details such as how you use third-party banking to verify payment, the way you collect data or when will you contact users after their purchase was completed successfully. ​ I'm the second paragraph in your privacy & safety policy. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add details about your policy and make changes to the font. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you. WHOLESALE INQUIRIES I’m a wholesale inquiries section. I’m a great place to inform other retailers about how they can sell your stunning products. Use plain language and give as much information as possible in order to promote your business and take it to the next level! ​ I'm the second paragraph in your wholesale inquiries policy. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add details about your policy and make changes to the font. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you. PAYMENT METHODS - Credit / Debit Cards - PAYPAL - Offline Payments Payment Methods Contact

Serenity Serenity: 'the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled.' This workshop invites you to tune into your calm self, be still, connect with clay which is essentially is the earth in your hands. Using techniques of potters of the past, primitive hand building methods of pinching and coiling clay you will create a large vessel such a jug, bowl or vase. Learn your creative rhythm and let your fingers dance across the clay. This workshop is perfect for those with no ceramic experience, full support will be given thorough the course. The workshop is held by Cara in our barn studio and the gardens and woodlands of our home, near Chacewater, Cornwall. We welcome you to join us for a full day session. The full day is 5 hours £125 per person 25% non refundable deposit at time of booking. Email to book: carafitzmaurice@icloud.com or message through website, Instagram or Facebook. Perfect for hen dos, workplace parties, birthday experiences and family/friend groups and well deserved time out of the everyday. 2023 Saturday 20th May 10-3 Saturday 17th June 10-3 plus optional communal firing (see further down page) date to be arranged following course dates. 'Cara was so supportive, enthusiastic, a calm and inspirational tutor, she helped me feel confident about my pieces, I don’t feel I’m creative but Cara has helped me realise I am’ '| enjoyed the calmness of the workshop, so laid back its a great environment to learn new skills' After the day your piece will be left to dry for about a week maybe more depending on the size of the piece, then bisque fired to 1040 degrees Celsius over several hours, then I shall add a glaze of your choice over your piece, your vessel will be fired to 1225 degrees Celsius. I will then message you for collection arrangements or postage can be arranged at additional cost. On the day you will have the option to make a couple of pinch pots in a clay that will be more tolerant to outdoor firing, and to return on a later date following the workshops for a communal outdoor firing with natural dried materials at an additional cost of £10 per person.