About Artisan Homeware

About Artisan Homeware

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Artisan Homeware was established in 2013. We are an independent ethical homeware business based in Bristol, UK and we source beautiful, handcrafted ceramics and textiles from around the world.

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We stock one of the finest selections of traditional handmade Polish Pottery in the UK, including many patterns which you can find only in our online shop. We are an official sales partner of Ceramika Artystyczna, one of the oldest and most highly respected stoneware producers in the pottery town of Boleslawiec in Poland. 

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From textiles to ceramics, the common threads running through all our products are their traditional craftsmanship, vibrant colour and stunning pattern-work.

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Everything you find in our store is high quality and built to last. We believe homewares should be beautiful and durable. This is a part of our commitment to doing business in a way which does not cost the earth.

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We encourage our customers to hold in mind the maxim:

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Buy wisely: buy beautiful, durable, functional things

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For our part, we do our best to source products that meet these standards, that are both practical and beautiful, and can be a much-loved part of your daily life for many years to come.

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Everything we sell is made using environmentally and worker friendly production processes, and holds Fairtrade certification where appropriate.

 

Find out more about our collections, where they're from, and the history behind their production, below: 

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Boleslawiec Stoneware (Traditional Polish Pottery)

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The first range of homewares that we ever sold - and whose artistry and durability have earned it a place at the core of our business - was Boleslawiec Stoneware from Poland. 

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The town of Boleslawiec in Southwestern Poland has an incredible natural resource: clay with a mineral content and structure that makes the strongest and finest stoneware possible. Pottery has been made here for hundreds of years; in the local Ceramic museum you can find pots dating from the 14th century and the earliest evidence of ceramic work in Boleslawiec dates to over a thousand years ago. 

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As early as the seventeenth century the local potters came together to form a guild and share their knowledge, developing a distinctive local style of form and decoration. The Boleslawiec Stoneware that is made today is the result of the skills and techniques developed by generations of master craftsmen over hundreds of years, from the casting and form-making to the glazing and pattern design.

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The outcome is stoneware that combines great durability with stunning, intricate pattern-making.

Boleslawiec Stoneware is the perfect example of a rich and deep-rooted regional tradition, the culmination of centuries of artisans working with the exceptional raw materials of their locality to create items that stand out for their beauty and quality whatsoever in the world you put them beside.

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There are several historically important potteries in the town of Boleslawiec, and we sell a large collection from Ceramika Artyztyczna. It is a co-operative business with a long, rich history of innovation and creativity, with a great emphasis on skills-training and on maintaining the highest levels of quality in production.  

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We also stock Unikat pieces. Unikat has long been an integral part of the stoneware tradition in Boleslawiec, and every ceramic producer in the town has master artists who produce signed ‘Unikat’ pieces which are a chance for these highly skilled and incredibly experienced surface-pattern artists to express their own creative ideas, often using free-hand brushwork, and can take hours to decorate. These are collectable, heirloom pieces (and make a simple cup of tea about as good as it gets).    

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Textiles

All our textiles are made in Portugal, and meet the Oeko-tex standard, a globally recognised standard of sustainable, environmentally friendly and non-toxic textile production. They are fantastic quality, durable, with beautiful, colourful woven patternwork.

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Kashmiri Christmas Decorations

Our beautiful hanging birds, stars and baubles are made from wood and papier mache and hand-painted in Kashmir. They have fairtrade certification, which means the workers who make them have healthy working conditions and earn a fair wage for their beautiful work.

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East End Press Decorations

Hand-made, unusual and always sourced with a commitment to environmentally friendly materials, East End Press Decorations are made by hand in Glasgow.