Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Shades of Celadon

 Celadon Ceramic Box from Dogwood Hill Gifts
Celadon Ceramic Box


The greens and blues of celadon ceramics are absolutely beautiful.  With seemingly infinite shades to explore, artisans continue to work with celadon, building on two thousand years of history. 

Celadon is both a glaze and a type of stoneware (stoneware is pottery fired at very high temperatures, making it non-porous).  The earliest celadon, called Yue ware, originated in China during the Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE), and the glaze at that time was actually a brownish green.  It is the high levels of iron in the celadon slip that turn the pottery various shades of green and blue during firing.

Over time celadon stoneware was exported to India, Persia, and Egypt, then later to Asia.  Since the 900's artisans in Korea, Thailand and Japan have developed their own styles and techniques, working with color, form, decorative motifs, and the distinctive cracking of the fired glaze.
 Celadon Ceramic Box from Dogwood Hill Gifts,  glaze detail
Celadon Glaze Detail


The celadon boxes in our collection are from Thailand, from wonderfully different artisans carrying on the tradition of celadon ceramics - looking to the past while adding their own perspectives.
 Celadon Owl Box from Dogwood Hill Gifts
Celadon Owl Box
 Celadon Ceramic Box from Dogwood Hill Gifts
Celadon Ceramic Box, Top Detail





Friday, February 6, 2015

Tissue Box Covers - A Different Kind of Box








What happens when we come across artisans handcrafting fantastic decorative boxes that just happen to be tissue box covers?

We add them to our collection of decorative boxes.
A tissue box cover is just a different kind of box, we reason.

And these folks are putting it all together just the way we like it: handmade, full of tradition, useful but interesting.


These tissue box covers have all the elements we love, and they look amazing in the home and the office.

Why put up with that naked cardboard box when you can cover it with a unique, artisan-made creation?

Add color, add design, add interest, and add personality.


Just like our decorative boxes, we have an eclectic collection of tissue box covers.  We strive to represent various countries and craft traditions.


Learning about and appreciating craft traditions and the process of handcrafting is exciting for us, and what we're all about, really.

So, among others, we have hand-hammered copper from Mexico, American folk art, woven bamboo from Thailand, and tinwork from New Mexico.

These tissue box covers (just like our decorative boxes) represent artisans who are hard at work keeping the traditions of their families and regions alive, and continuing to think that handcrafted means something that's worth preserving.
We love that!


You can see our tissue box cover collection here:
Dogwood Box - Tissue Box Covers