Artful Parlour is a small design studio that produces hand-decorated toleware (metal) cachepots in a variety of traditional and contemporary styles.

Most are painted in the Heritage range colours from Farrow & Ball, and others in dramatic shades from Craig & Rose. Various techniques are used to apply the designs, incorporating decoupage, lifted transfers and hand-painting. Some are crackle-glazed and then lacquered but all are finished to a high standard.

The containers are intended to be used as a cachepot - "to hide a pot"- and so are suitable for herbs on a window sill, potted plants and silk floral displays. A simple plastic dish or saucer will prevent any problems from water damage and often something commonplace like an empty plastic carton will do the trick.

The pots are also very popular as a desk or kitchen tidy - somewhere to put all those bits and pieces - or a pretty mini oval container that will hold 18 lipsticks if you need to, and a quirky container for your eggs. The coasters need no explanation, but will happily take your olive oil bottle, sticky honey jar as well as a bottle of wine or water at the table.

Where appropriate, designs can be done on different shapes and colour background to suit your preference.

It isn't possible to show all the patterns/colours/shapes here, but there is a display of cachepots within Runcton Furniture's Warehouse on the B2166 between Chichester and Bognor Regis at the Manor Nurseryin West Sussex,
If you ever happen to be in this area.