Our first love and what inspired us to start the Artisan Merchants are the handmade wooden decorations and ornaments produced in the Erzgebirge region of Germany.
The quality and craftsmanship are outstanding, and most companies are still small and family run. There are so many beautiful and charming pieces that we struggle to choose which ones to procure.
This year we decided to expand our selection to include all year-round pieces from Spring and Easter items to Summer and beyond.
Each year we eagerly anticipate spring, here in Cornwall we are lucky to see the spring flowers earlier than other parts of the UK and as soon as the bright gold of the daffodils start to appear we are keen to create our Easter tree.
As well as eggs (of course!) we have a few wooden decorations that we love to use and this year we have some available on our website as well.
Ben’s favourite is the little white chicken with tiny eggs as this reminds him of his chicken “chicky” (full name Miss Chick Filet). We have used some bright green dogwood pieces (cut from the garden) for the tree display and the vases are filled with washed gravel, which is easily and affordably available from any garden centre . Sometimes the dogwood also roots – so you get more plants for free! We have created a woodland scene for the Toadstool Incense smoker using twigs and lichen foraged from our garden and after high winds found on the ground when we walk our dog, Piglit.
My love is for all the wild birds we are fortunate to have visit our garden, my favourite being the very cheeky little blue tit that has more to say than anyone else. Here he is with his friends nestled amongst the branches.
Finally, we both adore the woodpeckers. We are not lucky to have them visit our garden, but we have seen them out and about (and certainly heard them). Each one has a small dowel which can be used to attach them to a log or trunk indoors. Below we found a lovely piece of wood and drilled a small hole for the dowel to slot into.
