Wish list
How do you decide what to buy? Everything you see and read about here has been chosen from the hundreds of products we see, test and try out. Only the most useful, most beautiful and best value for money make the final cut
BY EDITOR KAREN BARNES
WORKS OF ART
Helen Beard’s ceramics are unique and special, each item hand-painted on slip-cast porcelain, the designs inspired by nature and the characters she sees out and about near her London studio. Prices range from ￡12 for an egg cup and ￡30 for a mug, up to over ￡2,000 for one-off bowls and plates. Read Helen’s story over the page.
MEET THE ARTIST
”I find humour in what I do – but when things go wrong it’s devastating”
HELEN BEARD is an inspired potter and illustrator and works from her studio in Islington, north London
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN An important part of my training was my friendship with the renowned ceramicist and author Edmund de Waal (he wrote The Hare With Amber Eyes). Initially I trained in jewellery-making but jumped to ceramics at the last minute. Edmund taught me everything about working in porcelain and throwing on the wheel. Working in clay is laborious and when things go wrong it’s devastating. But it is a labour of love.