Tranquil ceramics: Paula Valentim

Sometimes form really is more important than function and sometimes, just sometimes, you stumble across an artist that manages to combine both in one item. Enter Portuguese potter Paula Valentim, stage right. Paula creates elegant and pretty "pebble" vases ($12) that can be hung on the wall. There's something about them that makes you want to reach out and stroke them. That discovery led me to take a closer look at her relatively new Otchipotchi brand. I have a particular fondness for people that suddenly discover they're talented during the course of everyday life. Paula took a ceramics workshop when she was living in London and working as a librarian and developed a love for making the pretty traditional ceramic Portuguese swallows ($14). However, whilst the swallows are usually brightly coloured or patterned, hers are perfectly white, lending them an air of serenity. The other items that I really found visually arresting were her "Crochet stones" ($16), which are hand pressed on moulds she made from real stones. They'd make lovely paperweights. Everything you see here can be purchased at her shop and her blog is worth a look too. Buy now before this talented lady gets discovered by the wider world!