It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
Here at Court Barn we are preparing to open our annual Christmas shop. We are delighted to offer a diverse range of beautiful handcrafted products made by British artisans, carefully selected to bring you joy.
Discover some of our artists and what inspires their work.
Anna Davenport – Silver Nutshell Jewellery
Since launching in 2019, I’ve challenged myself to find new ways to reconnect with nature and the beautiful Cotswold landscape that I live in. I’ve foraged for daisies, leaves, collected pieces of fallen bark and made silver rings and delicate daisy pendants using natural textures.
I design and create my pieces using real shells, leaves, fossils and seedpods to make beautiful, handmade jewellery. And, my passion for nature doesn’t stop there. As a new brand, I am highly sensitive to our impact on the planet so sustainability and responsible sourcing is at the heart of everything that I do. I use recycled sterling silver and all my packaging is eco-friendly.
I create landscape artworks inspired by the stunning Oxfordshire countryside where I live and seascapes from my travels. My Paintings are often enhanced by my creative imagination.
I experiment with all types of different mediums including ink, acrylic, oil, watercolour, and textures. Working in a spontaneous manner I am exhilarated by the unpredictable nature of the media I combine, so each piece is bespoke and individual.
I also teach in and around Oxfordshire holding my own lessons and guest teaching at local art groups, spreading my painting tips and creativity.
More information can be found on my website www.cj-art.co.uk
Claire Wainwright – Glass Decorations
I have been working with glass for over 20 years starting to learn at an Adult Education class and then taking further courses to learn about glass fusing, acid etching, screen printing and incorporating images into and onto glass.
Generally, I make pieces of Tiffany (copper foiled) stained glass which can be hung in a window, in the garden or placed on a window sill. I am continually developing the range of products I make and I love to experiment with new techniques and add inclusions to my work such as shells and glass nuggets.
I also design and make a range of fused dichroic glass jewellery and more recently a range of fused glass Christmas decorations.
Clare Brierley – Wood art and items
Claire is a self-taught artist working from her home studio in Stratford-upon-Avon, where her creativity knows no bounds. Using driftwood, recycled materials and found objects she creates unique 2D and 3D works of art hand painted with bold bright acrylics.
Her imagery is informed by her joyous observation of the world around her and is inspired by nature, the countryside and the coast.
Since retiring from the world of business five years ago, Col has followed his childhood passion – to go to art college and work in the creative arts.
Based in Chesterton and operating as Col’s Glass, he designs and creates a range of stained-glass decorations, primarily using the copper foil technique.
Pieces include sun-catchers, tea-light holders, garden sculptures and seasonal decorations. Bespoke pieces can also be commissioned.
Ella Daniel-Lowe – Ceramic bird sculptures
Ella Daniel-Lowe is a Gloucestershire-based artist whose practice centres on creating lifelike bird and wildlife sculptures. Working primarily in ceramics, alongside mixed materials, she explores the relationship between the natural world and human society. Through her work, she seeks to evoke awe and curiosity, inspiring deeper engagement with and appreciation for nature.
Esme Griffiths – paper goods
Kate Robinson (Joyce) – Children’s paper goods
Traditional, hand-painted watercolour illustrations that are designed to spark joy! Created by Kate Robinson, a Cotswolds based illustrator, mum and primary school teacher. Find her on instagram at @joyillustration for more information about her work.
Throughout my childhood I would scavenge the family home, explore the beautiful countryside and pounce on a creative project.
I take inspiration from visits to many wonderful places in the UK. My art celebrates what excites me most about what I see around me. A means to capture and share my moment of elation. I take lots and lots of photos where ever I go for use as source material.
I am proud to have worked at the Arts and Crafts Cottage of Stoneywell in Leicestershire, as a National Trust volunteer gardener. I found much inspiration for my work there.
I create my original designs using art marker pens for their tone and vibrancy. I delight in colour and how it interplays in nature and on the page. Introducing the simple beauty of line in my work first, to give form and a place for the colour to come alive.
Jo Bosley – ceramics
I originally studied textile design at West Surrey College of Art and Design, Farnham and from there I produced printed, dyed and hand painted fabrics which I sold at markets and craft fairs. In 1993 I joined a weekly pottery evening class in East Hendred, Oxfordshire run by Pauline Thompson, by then an elderly but still active and talented potter. She encouraged her students to develop their own style of ceramics but also to experiment with different techniques and clays and to look at examples of pottery, from recent and ancient history.
My interest in ceramics has increased over the years and I am now working full time with my friend and fellow potter Lyn Harrison as part of Steventon Green Pottery. I work in stoneware crank clay, a strong, gritty clay which has a grainy, rustic appearance. I use hand building methods, mainly coiling and slab work and I finish the pieces with slips and glazes before firing to 1240 degrees. The strength of the stonework clay and the high firing temperature make the finished pots frost proof. My subjects are domestic, the birds in the garden, hens and geese, cats and wild animals. I try to make pots that have a function and I have developed the ‘bird bowls’ with this in mind, but other pieces are purely decorative.
Judy Haslam Jones – Ceramic angels
Maggie Powel (Natty Deco) – winter hanging decorations
Natty Deco Hand Painted Birchwood Flowers, Paper – Cut Cards, and Seasonal Decorations are all designed, laser cut, and hand painted by me, Maggie Powell here in my Somerset studio.
I have a background in Surface Design and for many years ran the Digital Textile Design Lab at a local university before setting up my own dedicated studio. I make each decoration myself, individually, and with great attention to detail. Working solely with natural materials, I use responsibly sourced timbers to produce my popular range of Hand Painted Flowers; the beautifully textured Somerset Paper I use to make the card range is produced locally just a few miles away at St Cuthbert’s Mill, City of Wells.
Inspiration comes from our precious, natural world, I appreciate living in a beautiful county with many woodland walks, country estates, and wildflower meadows. I also have a love of the Arts and Crafts Movement which gently informs my own contemporary designs.
Hello! I am Nicky Kelsey, the maker behind NCK Jewellery. I live in Worcestershire on the edge of the Cotswolds and I design and make unique, contemporary jewellery with lots of texture, mostly out of repurposed sterling silver, and harnessing traditional, age old techniques,
I have always loved making things and I am endlessly fascinated by the alchemy of making something beautiful from a lump of metal. My designs are all made using recycled silver and the odd delicious semi-precious gemstone, and where I can, I reclaim and upcycle old and broken silver items like old jewellery, old spoons, hair brushes and scrap silver, using elements of their past existence to forge them into a new life, with a dusting of the old.
I am inspired by the imperfect, the weathered and wonky, the worn and irregular, and I am drawn to organic, and uneven shapes, both natural and manmade. I truly believe that beauty is all around us if we know how to look for it, even in the things that are broken or discarded. My pieces incorporate hammering, melting and other various processes to develop texture and shape. Each piece is unique, and I like to embrace the handmade wonkiness that gives it its character.
Penny Gosling – Hive Craft – ceramic propagation pots
Hive Craft is a small independent design studio creating handcrafted propagation stations, single-stem vases, and botanical displays from natural woods including oak, maple, beech, walnut, and cherry.
Founded by Penny, a designer and maker with a background in Design & Technology education, Hive Craft grew from a love of design, craftsmanship, and nature. Each piece is thoughtfully designed and made in the UK, celebrating the beauty of natural materials and simple, functional design.
Each piece is made to feel calm, honest, and connected to nature — simple designs that complement the plants they hold. Every item is made by hand, using sustainably sourced wood, and finished to bring out the grain and warmth of the material.
Penny has been developing the technique of paper collage for still life and nature studies in recent years. Magazines and newspaper destined for the recycling bin provide the ideal medium.
The picture is built up by tearing and manipulating torn pieces to make a unique composition each time using paper alone.
The result is much like a painting. She often referenced post-Impressionism with soft definitions and bold planes of colour.
She lives and works here in Chipping Campden, so there’s plenty of inspiring subject matter:
Robyn is a knit designer, natural dyer and maker based in Oxford. His knitted products and knitting patterns are inspired by a love of craft, materials, and tradition.
His products are knitted using yarns made from sustainable and natural fibres along with naturally dyed yarn.
I am a stained-glass designer and maker based in the West of England, creating windows, panels and hangings which are often inspired by nature, including the local Cotswold and wetlands landscapes. With over 20 years experience, I enjoy working with traditional and modern techniques to make colourful glass art to delight my clients.
Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 4pm
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Closed on Mondays (excluding Bank Holiday)
