It’s Official: Our New Gardenista Book Is Here

Above: We’re excited to announce that our new book, Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces, arrives in bookstores today. Order the book here.

We’re thrilled to hear what reviewers are saying:

“The most gorgeous gardening book I’ve seen in ages.” —The Bookseller (U.K.)

“Aided by 480 color photographs, this beautiful book showcases innovative gardening concepts based upon real homes, highlighting details—the placement of beeswax tea candles, tablecloth clamps, and butterfly chairs—in harmony with shade trees, hedge shrubs, and stone walls. The end result is a display of outdoor living space that integrates plants, color, balance, design, and also functionality.” —Publishers Weekly

“If you love Gardenista.com, sister site to Remodelista.com, you’ll be as happy as I am to have a photo-rich look-book for modernist gardens in hand. The focus is international, with up-to-the minute planting ideas, including lots of tempting DIY projects.” —Seattle Times

“A big bouquet of ideas that you can digest over the winter and use to inspire your own outdoor space come spring.”—Toronto Star

Above: Read more about the book and (and tour Gardenista editor Michelle Slatalla’s garden) in The New York Times. Photograph by Aya Brackett.

Table of Contents: 21st Century Gardens

What defines a garden? Or a gardener? These days hydroponic countertop greenhouses make it easy for apartment dwellers to grow food indoors. A growing collection of __garden podcasts offers how-to tips on everything from slug removal to rare hybrid roses. And Silicon Valley startups build edible gardens for employees to tend.  Join us for a week of the best ideas the 21st century has to offer (so far):

Above: This week photographer Britt Willoughby Dyer takes us on a walk through London as the magnolias come into bloom. See her own spring __garden in the Cotswolds in garden Visit: The Tulips of Hawthorn Cottage.

Monday

Above: One does not live by code alone. In this week’s Garden Visit, we head to Paypal’s headquarters in Silicon Valley to see what the employees are growing in the company’s organic garden. Photograph courtesy of Start Organic.

Above: Apartment dwellers, take note. No soil, sunlight, or outdoor space necessary to grow edibles. See more in this week’s Indoor Gardens post.

Tuesday

Above: The urban gardener’s challenge: city smog, traffic exhaust, and high lead levels from old paint. Is it safe to grow edibles in an apartment window box? Meredith tests her soil in this week’s installment of The Novice Gardener. Photograph by Liesa Johannssen for Gardenista.

Wednesday

Above: We round up and review our favorite gardening podcasts in this week’s Garden Tech post. Photograph by Michelle Slatalla.

Thursday

Above: Photograph by Susan Teare courtesy of JMMDS.

In this week’s Hardscaping 101 post, we explain everything you ever wanted to know about solar panels but were afraid to ask.

Friday

Above: Photograph by Kendra Wilson. For more of Beth Chatto’s garden, see Beth Chatto’s 5 Favorite Flowers for a Gravel Garden.

From Claude Monet to Beth Chatto, learn lessons from 40 great gardeners in this week’s Required Reading post.

Current Obsessions: A View from Above

From enticing tree houses to a wintry recipe, here’s a look at what we’ve been coveting and admiring this week.

Above: We enjoyed taking a look inside the homes and botanically driven minds of Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff, based in Munich and outside of Paris respectively. The two bloggers look at plants for more than their Instagram-worthy characteristics. “Plants should be an integral part of the home, making it not only nicer but also a better and healthier place to live,” says de Graaff. Image courtesy of Freunde von Freunden.

• Garden envy: a Hamptons horticultural haven.
• Our next destination: a ski lodge for Scandi design fanatics.
• Dior’s enchanted forest.
• London, meet Tillandsia. 

Above: A Mexican getaway fit for the botany lover: the Treehouse, a new project created by Papaya Playa. Located in Tulum, Mexico, the lofty escape is an “exceptional exercise in eco-design and sustainability cocooned by the verdant jungle.” The treehouse is made of indigenous materials and was built using ancient Mayan construction techniques. Photograph courtesy of Papaya Playa Project.

• The birch tree inspires a new capsule collection.
• Stay amid the leaves: A soaring addition to Sweden’s Treehotel.
• To make: Wintery Spring Rolls.

Instagram Inspiration

Above: We’re admiring the ethos and work of Copenhagen-based @slow_signevoltelen and @slow_mariehertz. The garden-to-table events at their collaborative greenhouse in Frederiksberg have a loyal following. Photograph via @madaboutcopenhagen.

If you’re like us you’re always on the hunt for new __garden finds and inspiration. For more fodder, visit our recent posts:

• Shopper’s Diary: The Little Shop of Flowers in Tokyo.
• A __garden Inspired by Japan, in Westchester County, New York.
• Current Obsessions: The New Zen.

Why is Tesco buying Booker and what does it mean for shoppers?

Tesco is to buy wholesaler Booker for £3.7bn, in a deal it claims will create "the UK's leading food business". 

The deal has stunned the grocery sector, but was welcomed by investors in both Tesco and Booker, sending their shares higher. 

What does the tie-up mean and how will affect the shopper on the high street?

What is Booker?

Booker is a cash-and-carry wholesaler that supplies food to 120,000 independent retailers nationwide. It has 172 depots, plus 30 under the Makro brand, where small business owners can buy goods in bulk.

It also owns the Londis, Budgens and Premier brands, which operate on a franchise basis. This means the shops are independently owned by small business people, who pay Booker for the branding, access to certain products and deals, as well as IT and logistical support. Being part of a buying group keeps costs down for independent retailers.

Booker boss Charles Wilson (left) and Tesco chief Dave Lewis

Booker also has a large food service arm, which supplies high-street chains such as Wagamama as well as pubs, caterers and Rick Stein’s restaurants.

It’s no slouch in the digital department, either: it generated roughly £1bn of its £5bn annual sales from its Booker Direct online service, which counts most of the major cinemas and even Marks & Spencer among its customers.

Why is Tesco buying Booker?

The deal means Tesco can expand even more quickly in the convenience market, which has been the fastest growing part of the grocery sector for a number of years. The tie-up with Booker would add 5,400 stores to Tesco’s existing network of 2,900 small shops, which operate under the Tesco Express, Metro and One Stop brands.

Booker owns the Londis brand

Buying Booker also gives it a route into the food service business - a new area for Tesco, but one that accounts for around a third of Booker’s sales.

It believes the deal will help it save £200m a year and boost annual profits by £25m after three years.

Tesco claims the tie-up is a win-win for everyone: it believes it will give its suppliers more customers to sell to, while giving independent retailers more choice. It also thinks it can cut down on food waste by making the supply chain from farm to retailer more efficient.

Why might the competition watchdog get involved?

If the deal goes through, Tesco’s share of the convenience retail market will jump from around 17pc to 28pc, according to Euromonitor. Its share of the total UK grocery market could rise by another 2pc; Tesco is already by far and away the biggest player in the industry. This could form the crux of any investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority, which would be concerned that Tesco has become far too dominant.

Tesco share price

Although the CMA hasn't said whether it will scrutinise the deal, it is almost certain to take an interest. If so, it will invite responses from any interested parties. Expect the likes of the Co-op, Spar, Nisa and Costcutter to have some strong opinions.

For its part, Tesco says it is not "adding" any stores, because they are independently owned and operated, so it doesn't believe there is a competition problem.

What is the ‘out of home’ market?

Tesco is using Booker to get a bigger slice of the £85bn “out-of-home” market, which it sees as growing faster than so-called “in-home” eating. Eating out will continue to rise, while delivery and convenience will be “key customer requirements”. 

More people are eating out - and Tesco wants a part of it

What will happen if stores overlap?

Retail property agents have suggested that Tesco will try to sell some stores where there are a number in the same location. One agent pointed out that it makes no sense to supply multiple stores in the same place, suggesting that Tesco would be "cannibalising" itself. Instead, it is likely to watch shoppers' habits over the next few months, and jettison the worst performing stores. While it can’t sell off franchised stores that it does not own, it could choose not to renew agreements with retailers.

What is the upshot for consumers?

If Tesco is true to its word, shoppers will have more choice when they visit their local convenience stores; Booker boss Charles Wilson pointed to the potential offered by the former’s “unbelievable” fresh food offer. The combined business will also have a network of 8,000 click and collect points, making it more convenient than ever to have someone else pick and pack your groceries. It remains to be seen whether the “synergies” promised by the deal will keep a lid on price rises, or whether the takeover will in fact give independent retailers less choice in who supplies their goods - and hand yet more power to Tesco.

In depth | Tesco gets a foothold in the restaurant business

No, £146 per patient is not enough: it’s time for GPs to charge fees

Like all GPs, I want to provide the best care for my patients. But this is becoming increasingly difficult. Over the past 10 years, the number of times per year that the average patient sees their GP has doubled. Yet the funding that practices receive to deal with that demand has barely risen.

Unlike hospital doctors, GPs are usually not employed by the NHS – their practice works like a small business, receiving a sum of money per patient which is then used to pay for the premises, staff and other costs. What is left is what the GPs pay themselves. As costs rise, salaries diminish, so fewer junior doctors now want to train as GPs and many older GPs are leaving prematurely. The Government claims that there will be 5,000 more GPs by 2020 – nobody within the profession believes this is remotely possible. 

How much do we get per patient per year? The average is about £146, far less in “affluent” areas. Think about it. That’s the price of two tanks of fuel for a family car, or maybe six months’ Sky subscriptions. Yet we are expected to provide unlimited care for a year.

It’s simply not enough. Funding has been cut or stopped entirely in some fields, such as minor surgery for non-serious conditions. In the past, GPs were given a small payment for removing skin warts, skin tags etc; now, they receive no payment, so they either do the work for free or the patient doesn’t get the treatment. 

Watch | The NHS by numbers

01:07

But surely the patient can pay the GP for this non-NHS work? Well, no. There is a clause in GP contracts that expressly forbids GPs receiving payment for most items of work from their own patients. They can provide such services to people not registered with them, but not to their own patients. These restrictions are not in the interests of GPs, or of patients. So naturally, many GPs are now looking at mechanisms to get around this rule.

The system is incapable of meeting demand. Whenever new money is announced, it always comes with extra work – the existing work remains hugely underfunded. And quite often, when announcing the “new” money, the Government fails to mention that it has stopped funding other work, but now requires GPs to do it for free.

Every businessman will understand the triad of quality, convenience and cost: you can only ever control two of them. If you want a high-quality, highly convenient service, it costs a great deal. If you have to live within a fixed budget, you have to compromise on quality or convenience. General practice is the same. To expect everything, all the time, for £146 is absurd. If patients want other services such as minor surgery for non-urgent problems, this needs to be paid for.

We have had a winter of hospitals on red alert, and A&E departments overloaded. General practice is effectively on “red alert” all the time. The service is terrifyingly close to collapse. If the Government won’t fund it properly, we urgently need to look at how to fund it ourselves.

NHS budget 

Gardening offers and deals from Telegraph Garden Shop

Three eager spring-flowering Pulsatillas chosen by plant hunter Lark Hanham

A member of the Ranunuculaceae family, the commonly known Meadow Anemone originates from mainland Europe and southern England, where it inhabits open, sunny meadows and coniferous woodlands. These gorgeous flowers once commonly featured in Mother’s Day bouquets as the flowering often coincides with this annual date. However, I have seen them pop up as early as mid-January, triumphantly appearing through melting snow. Perfect at the front of a semi-shaded border, they possess attractive similarities to both Meconopsis and Hellebores; their goblet-shaped, sumptuous blooms nod innocently in the spring garden. Height and spread 40cm.

vulgaris Pinwheel blue

Vulgaris Pinwheel blue

Appearing in a myriad of shades – from violet to powder blue – above a rosette of lacy leaves, this variety flowers from March to April and is one of the more free-flowering varieties. Its large upright-facing blooms are followed by large fluffy seed heads, which are dispersed by the wind and make a fascinating silhouette.

• Shop now

vulgaris rubra AGM

Vulgaris rubra Credit: ©Garden World Images/MAP/Frederic Tournay

Its delicate downy foliage provides an interesting silver lustre to its deeply divided leaves. As they emerge, the tactile downy hairs pop off the opulent maroon-red blooms and provide extra contrast. Appearing in neat herbaceous clumps, it resents being moved after initial planting.

• Shop now

vulgaris alba

Vulgaris alba Credit: ©Garden World Images/John Martin

Boasting large eye-catching blooms, this gorgeous flower has petals that are pinned with masses of fluffy egg-yolk yellow stamens. Alba is ideal for drawing the eye, but must be planted with lots of grit to ensure this timeless beauty thrives.

• Shop now

How to buy 

Lark’s eager spring-flowering Pulsatillas

• Buy one for £6.99, three for £13.98 or the mixof nine for only £36 (save £26.91). Plus p&p £4.95
  
• Supplied in 9cm pots in 14 days*
  
• Order at gardenshop.telegraph.co.uk/pulsa or call 0333 772 0325. Contract for supply of goods is with Hayloft Plants Ltd. 
  
• *Offers subject to availability

Offer closing date is February 21, 2017

Plant of the week

Rheum x hybridum (Rhubarb) Timperley Early

Rheum x hybridum (Rhubarb) Timperley Early- AGM

Why

Supplied at the optimum time to plant, while the soil is still cold and plant is still dormant, the award-winning Timperley Early is the UK’s bestselling rhubarb. It offers a reliable __garden performance and remains a much-loved staple for the __garden and the plate.

Where

Enjoying a sunny location in deep, rich soil, rhubarbs are greedy plants and benefit from ample organic matter and regular feeds. The soil must also be well-drained.

How

As the name suggests, Timperley Early is great for forcing. This can be done with fit-for-purpose rhubarb forcer, or an old chimney pot with a lid on its top to stop any light exposure. Don’t harvest leaves in the first season after planting.

Works well with…

The best edible plant to go alongside Timperley Early is Pyrus Bambinella – a miniature pear that makes the most ravishing and unique winter crumble. Harvest Feb-May. Height 60cm and spread 1.1m.

How to buy

Buy it here first as it’s not yet available from garden centres

• Buy one bare root for £4.50 or five for only £11.25 (half price). Plus £4.95 p&p
• Supplied as bare root crowns in 21 days*
  
• Order at gardenshop.telegraph.co.ukor call 0333 772 0325. Contract for supply of goods is with Hayloft PlantsLtd. 
  
• *Offers subject to availability

Shop now

 Supplied as four-year-old ready-to-plant specimens in 2L pots in 14
days*.

Offer closing date February 21, 2017

Food suppliers fear fresh pressure as Tesco swoops on Booker

A tie-up between Tesco and Booker could give the enlarged group even greater powers to squeeze its suppliers on price, the food industry has warned.

Tesco announced today it was to buy wholesaler Booker for £3.7bn - adding the FTSE 250 company's network of cash & carry depots as well its convenience store brands and food service business.

Tesco is already one of the country’s most powerful buyers because of its size, and the added heft of Booker could mean the combined group is able to drive even harder bargains that cut the profits of food and drink companies, as well farmers and other grocery providers.

Tesco share price

The supermarket is known for its relentless focus on reducing suppliers’ prices and demanding discounts in return for stocking their products.

One influential source in the two companies’ supply chains said: “There is certainly a danger that we could get squeezed if the two merge: they would be too big to fight.”

National Farmers' Union president Meurig Raymond said the body would be keeping a close eye in the deal, with his members having faced intense pressure from supermarkets in the past.

In the past farmers have complained of being paid less for milk than the cost of producing it after supermarkets pressured them on price.

Tesco Booker

"We will be examining the details of this proposed merger and the further concentration of retail power it creates within the food supply chain to see what kind of affect it will have on farmer suppliers," Mr Meurig said.

Companies were reluctant to speak out publicly for fear of angering such major customers, but one well placed figure in food and drink manufacturing said a combined Tesco and Booker could boost suppliers.

“Such a concentration of buying power might seem a worry, but it could work out well,” he said. “With raw material prices rising because of the uncertainty from the weaker pound, suppliers could be willing to exchange some margin for much bigger and longer contracts.”

The source also raised doubts about the prospect of Tesco and Booker’s individual buying teams being combined. “I’m not sure they would merge them,” he said. “There’s quite a bit of specialisation in each and the two businesses do have some to have quite different requirements.”

Keeping them separate would also help ward off interest from the Competition and Markets Authority, although the watchdog has said it is too early to comment on the deal. However, it is understood the CMA will be taking a close interest in the deal because of both companies' sizes.

Dairy farmers have complained of being squeezed by retailers

Tesco has previously run into trouble for its treatment of suppliers. Last year an investigation by the Grocery Code Adjudicator ruled the company had seriously breached the industry code of conduct by unreasonably delaying payments to suppliers. The adjudicator did not have powers at the time to fine Tesco, but the supermarket was forced to pay £1m to cover the costs of the investigation.

The ombudsman’s verdict sprang from the discovery of a £263m black hole in Tesco’s accounts over how it paid suppliers, holding on to payments to boost its balance sheet and booking income from them early.

Tesco announced it had found a “serious issue” with its accounts in 2014, and the ensuing scandal wiped off a fifth of the company’s value. It also triggered a Serious Fraud Office probe into the supermarket’s book-keeping, which has resulted in ongoing prosecutions related false accounting.

Property Doctors: what is the best way to become a property investor?

Renovations & DIY

Q Our back __garden is reached by steps and the grass held in place by a 4ft-high brick wall, running the width of the garden.

We have four small grandchildren who could easily fall off the end of the garden, with a 4ft drop onto a concrete patio.

People have suggested putting a picket fence along the edge of the garden, but we wondered if there was something we could put up that was secure but not a permanent structure. Or can you suggest any other kind of fence protection?

RY, Marlborough

A Due to the nature of what you are trying to achieve, I think most options will be of a permanent or semi-permanent nature.

As I am sure you would agree, we don’t want to be taking any chances when it comes to the children’s safety, so it’s important to ensure the solution will last and has no chance of failing.

Other possible types of fencing to consider would be pre-assembled fence...

Top 10 potatoes to grow for flavour

'Red Duke of York’  (First early)

First found in a Dutch crop of 'Duke of York’ and superior both in flavour and vigour. A handsome potato with lavish foliage, this chef’s favourite is best steamed.

'Nicola’  (Second early)

A tasty salad potato with yellow-fleshed oval tubers. A benchmark variety for assessing others.

'Jazzy’  (Second early)

Produces numerous small, creamy early tubers; waxy and full of flavour. It’s popular commercially as it can be cooked any way and eaten cold or hot. Late in the ground, a good all-rounder.

'Maxine’  (Second early/early maincrop) 

An attractive red variety, popular on the show bench for its firm, white, waxy flesh and smooth skin.

Seed potatoes are often chitted (allowed to sprout) before planting Credit: Gary K Smith/Alamy

'Melody’  (Early maincrop)

From the same breeder as 'Jazzy’, with oval, light-yellow tubers with bright, smooth skins. Good disease resistance.

'Record’  (Early maincrop)

Mainstay of the crisp industry; oval yellow-skinned tubers with light-yellow flesh. Favourite of Lawrence Hills, the famous organic gardener. Good mashed, steamed, fried or roasted.

'Lady Rosetta’  (Early maincrop)

Another one for the crisp makers, but the rounded red tubers can be fried, roasted or boiled. Recently nominated as one of the tastiest potatoes.

'Roseval’  (Early maincrop)

'Roseval' salad potato Credit: PhotoAlto / Alamy

A red salad potato with long oval tubers. Popular in France. Seed potatoes can be difficult to find in Britain, however.

'Arran Victory’  (Late maincrop)

Potato 'Arran Victory' Credit: Graham Uney/Alamy

Vivid blue-purple tubers with probably the whitest flesh of all, according to Morrice. It’s best mashed or steamed.

'Cara’  (Late maincrop)

A stalwart of the allotment, as it resists blight to a large degree and its foliage suppresses weeds. The large tubers have a red eye; flavour is good when baked or mashed. 'Red Cara’ is a sport found in 1976.

Best outdoor Christmas lights and decorations

Tesco to buy wholesaler Booker in £3.9bn deal to create 'UK's leading food business'

Tesco has brushed aside concerns that the competition watchdog could scupper the supermarket’s shock £3.9bn takeover of wholesaler Booker, as the grocery industry faces its biggest shake-up since the financial crisis.

In a surprise announcement this morning, the companies revealed that Tesco would buy the FTSE 250 operator to create what they described as “the UK’s leading food business”.

The deal is likely to be closely examined by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) because it will mean Tesco’s share of the convenience market jumping from 17pc to around 28pc including franchisees, according to data from Euro­monitor. Booker owns the Londis, Budgens, Premier Foods and Family Shopper shop brands, and supplies goods to around 120,000 cash-and-carry customers.

While the authority declined to comment on potential investigations, retail analysts said it was certain to intervene, adding that rival brands will be “gnashing their teeth”.

Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis dubbed the move a “low-risk” merger, saying there would be no acquisition of any new stores, because the Londis, Budgens and Premier Foods stores were all franchised businesses.

Tesco share price

“Obviously we did our own due diligence on potential competition issues,” said Mr Lewis. “It’s very important that we understand the difference between a retail operation and a wholesale operation. The customers that Booker serves are independent entrepreneurs that own their own business, that have a contract with Booker, and have absolute free opportunity to engage in the marketplace.”

Retail analysts, however, were less convinced. Shore Capital’s Clive Black said: “I would imagine many independent wholesalers, symbol groups and suppliers are harbouring a lot of apoplexy. There will be a lot of groups like Spar gnashing their teeth.

“To say it’s not adding stores is a bit of a red herring. The fact that they are franchises is utterly irrelevant.”

Tesco, whose rapid expansion in the convenience market has been blamed for putting independent retailers under threat, may now end up supplying many of those small businesses.

Charles Wilson (left) and Dave Lewis seal the deal

James Lowman, chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores, admitted that some shops “might not like the idea of working in partnership with Tesco”, while others were hopeful it could lead to greater buying power.

Tesco also admitted today that the Booker deal was the reason for the shock resignation of senior independent director Richard Cousins earlier this month. Mr Cousins, chief executive of catering group Compass, stood down after expressing “a different view about it”, Mr Lewis said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Booker investors will receive 0.861 Tesco shares and 42.6p in cash per Booker share, worth 220.4p a share at today’s close, giving them around 16pc of the combined company.   Shares in Tesco soared 9.3pc to 206.6p, while shares in Booker, led by Charles Wilson, closed up 15.9pc at 212.3p.

The executives, who have known each other for some time, said the deal had been in the works for almost a year.

Surely competition watchdog will be all over deal, as Booker do retail + wholesale. Back to days of talking of Tesco dominance #Throwback

— Alex Lawson (@MrAlexLawson) January 27, 2017

Mr Wilson will join the board and executive committee of the combined group and swap his 6pc holding in Booker into Tesco shares, with a commitment not to sell them for five years.

As well as independent convenie­nce stores, Booker supplies pubs, nursing homes, workplaces and restaurant chains such as Wagamama and Byron, and operates cash-and-carry depots.

The deal is expected to provide synergies of £200m a year for Tesco, with at least £25m from revenues .

Trevor Green, the head of UK equities at Aviva, and a top shareholder in Booker, said: “From a Tesco point of view, this a very easy sell to their shareholders with obvious cost and revenue synergies .”

Tesco merging with Booker has knocked me sideways. That's a game changer for grocery, particularly convenience

— Kevin Scott (@KevinScottHT) January 27, 2017

The deal marks a return to Tesco’s expansionist ways after years of losing market share. Since battling an accounting scandal in 2014, the company has sold off international operations and cut loss-making divisions.

Mr Lewis said that the move would not see brands such as Londis switching over to become Tesco stores, adding that there is “no intention of taking Tesco brands into stores that we do not own”. He added: “This is not about job cuts,” he added.

Tesco also announced the recommencement next year of its dividend payments  thanks to improving performance –  the first time it will have paid out since it became embroiled in an accounting scandal in 2014.

Tesco buy Booker graphic

English sparkling wine gets royal seal of approval

What to call English sparkling wine has been a subject of much debate and the Duchess of Cornwall pitched in this week when she made a speech at Clarence House at a reception to mark the 50^th anniversary of the UK Vineyard Association (UKVA).

“British Fizz?” she said, referring to the name touted last week as being a potential new marketing term for sparkling wine made in the British Isles. “I’m not sure about it. Champagne is such a good name. We don’t want to let the French beat us so I think we should all go back and have a little think.”

The Duchess has been President of the UKVA since 2011 and went on to tell the assembled wine producers and wine critics that it had not been a difficult decision to give her support to British wine growers.

Exton Park Vineyard

“I love wine. My father was a wine merchant. My grandfather was a wine writer. I was brought up as a child drinking water and wine like the French....

Meet the makers: Collect craft fair preview

The word craft has not always had high-end associations. Collect, the Craft Council’s blockbuster annual fair, was established in 2003 to showcase the upscale end of contemporary craft, from museum-quality pieces in ceramic, glass and wood to conceptual work by emerging designers. This year, it returns to the Saatchi Gallery in Kensington from February 2 to 6 with a special focus on modern works and boundary-pushing techniques. 

Elenor Lakelin, Sarah Myerscough Gallery 

At first glance, the material from which Eleanor Lakelin makes her sculptural vessels is not immediately obvious. Some scorched to a dramatic, lustrous black, others bleached to white, their delicate, textural quality can resemble porcelain, bone or stone.

Voided Vessel, 2015, horse-chestnut burr planted in 1710

They are, in fact, wood. With over 20 years’ experience working in wood, Lakelin is particularly drawn to burr wood – a rounded growth with a circular grain, formed if  a tree is injured in some way, by external damage, insect infestation or disease.

‘I find it fascinating that this actually exists in nature, that it can  be formed by the tree reacting to something,’  she says. ‘It’s a way of healing.’

To create her vessels, Lakelin works with green, or recently cut, wood, hollowing it out and removing the bark using ‘a mixture of traditional tools, modern methods and whatever works’, which could be a lathe, a chisel or a dental pick. Her aim is to work with the natural shape of the burr, stripping its outer layers to uncover what  lies beneath.

Voided Vessel IV, 2015, ebonised horse-chestnut burr planted in 1710

‘I pare it back to skeleton form,’  she says. ‘Up until quite close to the end I’m working in the dark, going by what I can read from the bark. Then there’s a moment when  it reveals its secret, this landscape that is untouched and never before seen.’

At Collect, Lakelin will be exhibiting a collection of bleached vessels made from horse-chestnut burr, with a tactile, alabaster quality. ‘My work  is about our relationship with the natural world,’  she says. ‘I’ve always been drawn to generous curves that you want to touch.’

Watch | Collect Fair 2017 Highlights

02:33

Lauren Nauman, Flow Gallery 

Lines, 2016, porcelain and brass  

A large part of the excitement of Collect is discovering new talent. One such is RCA graduate Lauren Nauman, whose fragile vessels, made of thin, undulating ribbons of porcelain, almost defy explanation. In fact, there is a certain element of the unknown in making the pieces.

Nauman’s  cage-like designs were originally intended as  a surface decoration with which she was experimenting while studying for her Masters  in ceramics and glass, before she realised that they could stand as vessels in their own right. Working with the traditional industrial method  of slip casting using plaster moulds, she  makes straight cages of wet clay, which bend  and curve into an entirely new incarnation when they are fired in the kiln.

Lauren Nauman at work  Credit: Dominic Tschudin

‘I don’t really decide  on the final shape,’ she admits. ‘The form  of each piece stems from minute details in the making, but mostly depends on chance.’

Working initially in black and white, Nauman has since added in pastel pink and sage grey.  She then adds strips of brass to some vessels, after they have been fired, juxtaposing the reflective metal with the smooth, matt  strips of porcelain. 

Vases, 2016 

Other pieces in Nauman’s repertoire include  a minimalist tea set and tilting olive bowls,  which can be seen in the new restaurant at Tate Modern’s Switch House. For now, however, she  is focusing on her porcelain vessels.

‘I get a lot  of flaws, so I make a lot but only select a few,’  she says. ’This collection is very new; I still never really know what’s going to happen.’

Tim Rawlinson, London Glassblowing 

Tim Rawlinson was studying architecture when he visited a glass exhibition in Brighton, ‘got the bug’ and switched to a glass and ceramics course at the Bucks New University in High Wycombe. Rawlinson exhibited work at the New Designers graduate show in 2011, which caught the eye of Peter Layton of London Glassblowing, who invited him to do some work experience at the gallery.

Icosphere, 2016, free blown glass with cane inclusions Credit: Ester Segarra 

Over five years on, the large-scale sculptures Rawlinson produces bear witness to both his glassblowing prowess and architectural training.  Latterly, he has been experimenting with the  old Venetian technique of reticello, which loosely translates as ‘small network’: a mesh of coloured glass suspended within clear glass.

To create  this effect, Rawlinson makes coloured glass canes, which he twists in opposite directions to produce a lattice that he layers within clear glass, working at a temperature of 800C. Once the  glass has cooled, he then cuts and polishes  it, creating different angles, or lenses, through  which to view the network within.

Parallax, 2015 Credit: Ester Segarra 

‘I like to  exploit the optics of the glass and the fact that  it’s a transparent medium,’ he says. ‘Thanks  to the refractions of light, it’s never static; it’s constantly fluid. When you move around the piece, you get a completely different viewpoint.’

Recent works have been inspired by the interplay of light and water – and specifically, following a trip to Osaka in Japan, the reflections  of neon light on the river that runs through the centre of the city. He works in primary colours but, exploiting the transparency of his material, is able to create the illusion of a rainbow of different hues.

Tim Rawlinson at work 

‘I’m effectively mixing colour with light,’ he explains. ‘You see the individual colours, but also the effect when they cross over. I call it echoes of light.’

A first look at Collect: the International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects

Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London, February 2-6 2017  (craftscouncil.org.uk/collect)