by Gordon Harrison
By Uig Pottery
Much as it might shock you to read this, I admit it, in spite of my great love of Scotland I am not a great appreciator of tartan (ah, but tweed is another thing altogether). Of course minor exceptions exist – such as Royal Stewart as a luxurious sweep of silk as accompaniment Christmas and Hogmanay celebrations. But why should my prejudice against biscuit tins and the kitsch of The Royal Mail stand in the way of offering tartan through Thistle & Broom? Well, a quick search for ‘tartan + shopping’ provides over 1.5 million reasons in under a second. So if we were going to offer something tartan it would have to be very special indeed. It would have to be tartan that looked like someone speaking Gaelic sounds. It would have to be tartan that reminds you of a sun bleached day, the scents of grasses and wild flowers filling the air whilst water gurgles at your feet on a moss lined bank of a Highland burn (stream), to the extent that holding a mug of tea can remind you of all that then Uig Pottery's Tartanware certainly has that power and it’s certainly earned the exception status granted.
Alan and Margaret Freestone’s Tartanware is hand made with their own unique clay recipe, hand thrown and decorated entirely by hand the tartan design applied with a roller and brush to represent the blue of the sea, lochs and sky, the green of undulating glens and the pinks of thistle, foxglove and heather clad hills of Scotland. The teapot comes in three sizes with such a lovely pour you'll find yourself reaching for this treasure even if only for a single mug of tea -- just to use it. The mug is perhaps the most perfectly shaped you have ever held, tea, hot chocolate, café au lait everything tastes better in this and warms your chilled hands as your palm surrounds the bowled shape. The companion pieces, sugar, creamer, milk jug so equally perfect we’d like to suggest this collection as wedding gifts, house warming gifts and gifts especially for lovers of Scotland and tartan wherever they might live.
Given the hand crafted nature of Uig Pottery’s Tartanware each piece will vary, photo for representational purposes only.
8% of your purchase of any of Uig Pottery's Tartanware will benefit Fèisean nan Gàidheal.
