You may already know that I have a ceramics obsession, so I was excited to visit Pleased Pottery in Chester. This adorable shop is the studio of Harper Jensen, and her sculptural white wares are right up my alley. Using a combination of throwing and hand-building, she crafts vases and oversized bowls, with applied decoration here and subtle pinching there, that make for a fabulous centerpiece. I should know! I bought one. I also loved her smaller bud vases that will be my go-to gift this holiday season.

But that’s not nearly all. Harper’s vision includes a retail space stocked with a bright and happy assortment of unusual goodies and oddities. Her concept revolves around “treat yourself” (or a friend), offering an array of colorful silk scarves for $16, teas, chocolates (hot buttered rum, yes please) and cocktail mixes, little flower presses, guidebooks for collaging and crocheting, striped carryalls, and tiny boxes for collecting four-leaf clovers and other “specimens”.

I couldn’t resist an old-fashioned metal ice tray, but this one makes those fun giant cocktail cubes, a chic dark red silk bandana, along with one of her pedestal bowls. I’m already starting to stock up for the holidays! It’s a delightful and imaginative shop, as is the owner, Harper Jensen.
Open weekends: Saturday 10 – 5 and Sunday 10 – 2, and by chance.
instagram.com/pleased.pottery/