Journal

Bekya Fayoum pottery centerpiece bowls

The 7,000-year story of Fayoum pottery

Long before the Pyramids, before the Pharaohs, before writing itself, the farmers of Fayoum were shaping the wet clay of the lake into bowls. A short history of the world's...

The 7,000-year story of Fayoum pottery

Long before the Pyramids, before the Pharaohs, before writing itself, the farmers of Fayoum were shaping the wet clay of the lake into bowls. A short history of the world's...

The quiet glow: lighting a room with alabaster

The quiet glow: lighting a room with alabaster

Why a single alabaster lamp does more for the atmosphere of a room than any overhead light. A short essay on the slowest, oldest, most flattering form of indoor lighting.

The quiet glow: lighting a room with alabaster

Why a single alabaster lamp does more for the atmosphere of a room than any overhead light. A short essay on the slowest, oldest, most flattering form of indoor lighting.

Coloured glass at the table: how to layer hand-blown tumblers

Coloured glass at the table: how to layer hand-...

On the small, generous pleasure of mixing turquoise, indigo, green and clear hand-blown glass on the same table — and the surprising effect it has on a room.

Coloured glass at the table: how to layer hand-...

On the small, generous pleasure of mixing turquoise, indigo, green and clear hand-blown glass on the same table — and the surprising effect it has on a room.

How to care for hand-painted ceramics, alabaster and hand-blown glass

How to care for hand-painted ceramics, alabaste...

A short, practical guide to looking after the pieces you have bought — so that they go on improving for thirty or forty years rather than becoming damaged in the...

How to care for hand-painted ceramics, alabaste...

A short, practical guide to looking after the pieces you have bought — so that they go on improving for thirty or forty years rather than becoming damaged in the...

Setting a Mediterranean table with hand-painted ceramics

Setting a Mediterranean table with hand-painted...

How to lay a table in the slow, generous tradition of the eastern Mediterranean — with hand-painted ceramics, mismatched glassware, linen and bread. A guide for everyday lunches and longer...

Setting a Mediterranean table with hand-painted...

How to lay a table in the slow, generous tradition of the eastern Mediterranean — with hand-painted ceramics, mismatched glassware, linen and bread. A guide for everyday lunches and longer...

How an alabaster lamp is hand-carved

How an alabaster lamp is hand-carved

It takes a week, sometimes two, to turn a block of Egyptian alabaster into a finished lamp. A visit to the carvers of Luxor, where the stone has been worked...

How an alabaster lamp is hand-carved

It takes a week, sometimes two, to turn a block of Egyptian alabaster into a finished lamp. A visit to the carvers of Luxor, where the stone has been worked...