Black Bough

Black Bough Online shop selling vintage watches, homewares, ceramics, stationery, gifts & more.

24/07/2026

Evening walk. Hares, cattle, itchy legs.

21/07/2026

Yesterday was my mother’s funeral.

It was a bright, sunshine filled day where we (my sister, dad and I) were supported by family friends and neighbours.

The blue plaque design we used for the cover of her Orders of Service wasn’t just acknowledgment of her life; her father (after a career in industrial ceramics at Armitage Shanks) was the man who made those plaques, in his garage, for English Heritage in the mid 1980s.

Rachel, dad and I all spoke at her church memorial service - all of us had something to say! My tribute ended like this …

On mum’s final morning Rachel and I took her on an imaginary tour of some of the beaches and coves of West Cornwall; places she loved and knew thoroughly. The landscape of Penwith is one that is etched into our collective family memories owing to annual holidays at the home of Dick & Vivien Kent, teaching friends from Coventry and Rachel’s godparents. The names of those beaches and harbours feature like an alternate Shipping Forecast roll call in our family, each of them imbued with memory. We took mum on this imagined journey, heading forever West. From Perranuthnoe and Marazion, from Long Rock and Penzance from there to Newlyn for a mandatory stop at Jelberts ice cream shop, we continued our imaginary tour west via Mousehole, Lamorna, St Loys and Penberth. We got as far as Porthcurno together, but in the following minutes mum made it three coves further west, all the way to Land’s End!

My mum. Aileen Withington. Complex, caring, creative, community spirited, compassionate, intelligent, thoughtful, infuriating, loving and loved had reached the end of her coastal path.”

Coffin flowers done by me incorporating flowers from her garden, my sisters garden and mine, as well as extras from

16/07/2026

If you want to be quick on the draw, I’d always recommend signing up to receive my twice weekly newsletters! They’re fascinating … honestly!

Yesterday’s one was about the selection of monochrome vintage ceramics that I had added to the website.

15/07/2026

3 x Sylvac white swans and 1 x Dartmouth Pottery black swan now online.

All of which were probably made in the 1950s, the Sylvac ones have (just about legible) model reference numbers.

If I hadn’t soundtracked this with Swan Lake I’d have sought out Swans by Prefab Sprout - take that as a recommendation!

If you want to enter your local agricultural show - as depicted in this new patterned paper by - then you could boost y...
05/07/2026

If you want to enter your local agricultural show - as depicted in this new patterned paper by - then you could boost your chances with the organic plant feeds by The Shropshire Seaweed Company

We have the liquid feed, the houseplant food and the flower food in stock; all certified organic.

Diane au Bain de pieds by Charles Saint-George (1907-1962)Or, Diana of the footbath as I like to call it. Lovely, charac...
01/07/2026

Diane au Bain de pieds by Charles Saint-George (1907-1962)

Or, Diana of the footbath as I like to call it. Lovely, characterful painting. Probably made in the 1950s, but undated.

Three new matchbox designs. The usual caveats apply … don’t leave burning flames unattended and don’t set wildfires off!...
30/06/2026

Three new matchbox designs.

The usual caveats apply … don’t leave burning flames unattended and don’t set wildfires off!

21/06/2026

Basil head hair, the herb related Wedgwood game you never knew you needed.

Richard Guyatt designed a whole sequence of these mugs for Wedgwood from the 1950s right through to the 2000s. He had a brilliant eye for the efficiency of line, so all the swags, flounces and garlands in his work have a certain economy to them.

17/06/2026

Lazy cat bath towel by and guest appearance by uncharacteristically not lazy cat Dudley.

Linked product is the hand towel because for some god damn reason the bath towel won’t show!

Anyway, if lazy cats are your thing, there are hand towels, bath towels and bath sheets

02/06/2026

Our warehouse visitors are normally confined to customers collecting orders, delivery drivers and people … who have gone the wrong way! But this morning a pigeon flew in.

It swiftly flew out again, but I thought I’d take the prompt and give you a tour of different sections of our warehouse.

Day 1. Tour 1. Greetings cards.

Address

10 Portcullis Lane
Ludlow
SY81PZ

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+441584877948

Website

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