Inside Stylists Loves: Cornish Wares
Would you permit me a little luxuary this week and allow me to share some of the amazing finds we came across on our short summer holiday to Porthleven, Cornwall this year?
If you’ve ever been to Cornwall, you know that it is literally streaming with artists’ shops with all styles of art, little curiosity gifts shops full of knick-knacks to temp you and loads of places to get really, really good food – like pasties the size of your head and enough flavours of fudge to keep you going for years!
Since I don’t like fudge, and the veggie Cornish Pasty I had the day we arrived filled me up for many, many hours, I am going to share some of the gorgeousness we saw in the little harbour town with you. They are mostly available online or you can contact them via Instagram so you don’t have to spend 6 hours in a car to get them – although I would HIGHLY recommend a visit. We loved it in Porthleven. It has something for everyone. Harbour views, cute shops, two fab pubs to eat and drink (let me tell you the smoked mackerel paté at The Habour Inn was so good we went back a second time. (Book a table, it fills up fast!), a lovely beach, Paddleboard hires, incredible sunsets and a harbour wall to jump off if you’re feeling brave enough (read to the end for more on this!)
So, let me share the finds we saw, loved and bought.
The Customs House Gallery
We were staying in the harbour and passed by The Customs House Gallery every day. Each time I stood to look at this beautiful painting by David Beatson. Is there anything more Cornish than a Cornishware jug filled with flowers that we saw all over the clifftops? This is the piece I will be dreaming about!
The gallery is full of incredible art of the local area that really set the scene for Cornish walks along the coast, swims in the sea and life in a fishing village. I should also mention that the lady in the gallery could not have been more friendly.
Albatross Gallery
This super cute gallery had loads of prints at more affordable, everyday prices. There were cards too. I love to buy cards to frame so I can take a slice of my holiday home. It also had mugs, jewellery, art, soaps – one of which I bought because Rose Geranium is one of my favourite scents, and it now sits in my downstairs loo making it smell divine.
This gallery is in a really old building. I loved the tiny original fireplace in the back room. They had some really fun art in there. The oil paintings of St Michael’s Mount and Porthleven Harbour by Laura Grace really stood out to me.
Just Lily
Okay, for all you girlie girls out there (like me) THIS is the shop to spend all your cash. There are so many pretty jewellery pieces, I just couldn’t choose. Well, I say I couldn’t choose, but actually there were tons of homewares and we went home with a Cornish Wool Blanket that I have sat under while watching TV every night since we got home. I last about 10 minutes before I snooze my way through whatever we’re watching because its soooo cosy.
Yemaya Collections
This is probably the thing I most regret not buying. Bracelets made from old fishing nets. Each one comes on a card that shows where the net originated, and as they had sold out of Porthleven I didn’t get one. Silly because I love Cornwall, and it really didn’t need to be from where we were staying. Oh well, at least I can order on line here or go back again.
Bishart
When I saw this stall in the harbour and read “Cornish Jade”, I was intrigued. It is in fact gillnets that are almost invisible in the sea and once damaged are useless. Bishart collects rubbish from the South West beaches and turns it into art, and that includes the nets, which are turned into a solid form and made into earrings and jewellery. Clever eh?
Liz Dickenson
You know that feeling you get when you see a piece of art and you can immediately imagine where in your home it would look great? That’s what I felt when we popped into the Porthleven Harbour Market and saw Steel Works and Liz Dickenson’s paintings. The blues and orange colours were exactly the shades I had just painted the dresser in our living room.
When we returned to the market (after I couldn’t get them out of my mind) we’d got a coffee and cake and sat on the benches that run down the centre of the market – just outside Liz’s shop. I decided that I wanted three cards that I could frame. There weren’t three the same size in the paintings I liked, so I went inside to see if I could find more – spotted the prints and spent a lot more than I originally planned- in under a minute!
The three prints are now waiting to be framed, and even just in their cellophane, all propped up, they look fantastic. I can’t wait to get them on the wall.
The Butcher’s Bakehouse
No sooner did Mr MT and I have a conversation about how “when we get home we are going to eat healthier” than I had one of these HUGE mandarin cream croissants in my gob! I don’t even like croissants- or mandarins but let me tell you – I ate the lot!
At the beginning of the day this bakery inside Porthleven Harbour Market was filled to the brim, and just a few hours later the cupboard was almost bare. Well worth a visit.
Hand and Palm
This cute little shop is in what looks like a shed, and if it didn’t have “This is a shop” written on it, we might have walked straight past. There were cute prints and caps – one of which had a croissant embroidered on it – which MrMT said he should have. They also had one of those little vending machines where you get a small piece of art from it. I got a sticker with “Hold your horses” on it. It’s taking up pride of place on my laptop as a permanent Porthleven reminder. Watch below.
https://youtube.com/shorts/C14U3OXCmIM?feature=share
The Salt Cellar Workshops
As we walked down Salt Cellar Hill towards the harbour, there was a little door to a building where seven artists and makers work on the top two floors. It’s one of those places where you don’t know where to look first for all the creative pieces surrounding you. They don’t all have websites, but you can contact them via Instagram or the Salt Cellars Workshop Website
A few that stood out were…
MorReden
MorReden is a pottery artist who’s words literally stopped me in my tracks. Lots of laughter here. I loved their earrings too
Anna Pope Design
Anna’s basketware really caught my eye. She does workshops and creates beautiful, unique jewellery too.
If you got to the end of this little walk around Porthleven Harbour you deserve a little laugh. This is me jumping off the Porthleven Harbour wall with all the kids. I would like to share that I was scared to pieces of this big leap. My husband can be heard laughing at me, and it went semi-viral (for me at least) when I shared it on Instagram. This dear friends is Porthleven.
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I hope you enjoyed this whistle stop tour of the Porthleven harbour. You can tell that we totally fell in love with the place and would highly recommend it to anyone. It has something for everyone.
