Home grown

From jewelry to floor mats, local artists create it all for you

by Leslie Robarge

As advertisers are quick to tell you, diamonds are the gift that says "I love you." What they don't tell you, though, is that giving someone diamonds also says, "I love you so much that I'll refinance my car in order to win your affection." What's another popular holiday item that stores are peddling? Ahh, the candle -- the gift that says, "I had no idea what the hell to buy you, so I'll spend $20 on a pine-scented candle from Pottery Barn."

So, what to do when you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars or give something that, chances are, you'll turn up your nose at when you inevitably receive one yourself from a similarly clueless friend or relation? What's your alternative when there's no time to rip off Martha Stewart's ideas? Here's a thought -- take advantage of someone else's craftiness. Scores of artists and small businesses in and around Boston showcase handmade crafts at local shops and galleries. By buying this work, you'll not only be helping to support an artist, but you'll also be giving a gift that's one of a kind (take that, Pottery Barn). Sure, you won't be able to take advantage of the 30 percent coupon on selected items in Macy's, but you'll avoid the crowds and contribute to a local business's viability. You could actually find a present that its recipient will remember and, if you're lucky, appreciate.

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Mudflat Gallery
Porter Square shopping complex (next to CVS), Cambridge
(617) 491-7976

The Mudflat Gallery is a showcase of clay work from Mudflat Studio faculty, artists, and students. Everything from serving platters to candleholders is available. There's a stunning set of sake cups and a serving pot, in a black-brown matte finish, for $150; clay cups with colorful scribbles and silly caricatures are $10 each. A simple and useful gift is a trivet by Sheila Connelly ($18); each one is made out of a slab of thick red clay and has an abstract glaze design. One of the best-selling items, though, is the clay hanging planter with shiny nylon cords by Tom Joanides ($40). Be warned: the goods move fast, especially this time of year. Chances are, if you wait to buy what you want, it'll be gone by the time you come back.

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The Christmas Store
815 Somerville Avenue (Porter Square), Cambridge
(617) 491-3505

A hop, skip, and a jump from Mudflat is the Christmas Store, a temporary gallery next to Anna's Taqueria that sells the work of local artisans. On the inexpensive side are the homemade vegetable-based and glycerin soaps from Three Sisters Soap Company, based in Maine. Each soap is $7.95 and qualifies as a work of art -- try Kristina's Jasmine, a bright-purple oval bar half-dipped in dried flower petals, or the Body Brownie, a cocoa-butter and almond bar that looks good enough to eat. On the quirkier side are the children's finger puppets by Donna Marbet ($7 each). These tiny Eskimos, alligators, and lions are so colorful, and so silly in expression, that they might have come out of a Jim Henson workshop. Marbet also makes "Puphats," fleece hand puppets that can be worn as winter hats.

Some of the most intriguing pieces at the Christmas Store are Lydia Grey's "story pots" ($110 to $175). Each is hand thrown and fired a matte brown-black. What's unique is that each pot has one or two hand-molded faces peeking through a cracked open portion on the side, kind of like a person looking out a window.

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Women's Educational and Industrial Union
356 Boylston Street, Boston
(617) 536-5651

The Women's Educational and Industrial Union not only showcases items made by female artists or produced by female-run companies, but also mentors these artists and helps them develop their ideas and products. The jewelry sold here is some of the most exquisite and affordable in town -- check out the popcorn pearl earrings ($30) by Abra, with a chunky necklace ($141) to match. There's also a line of bug pins ($12 to $20) that are made from semi-precious stones and silver wire.

Laurie Zallen's hand-painted floor cloths are an update on an old technique: ship captains used to make floor cloths by painting and varnishing a thick canvas because the resulting cloth dried quickly and cleaned easily. Zallen will custom-paint, say, a picture of a family or a new home, for $60 per square foot. Her pre-made canvases are also available for $30 per square foot.

Probably the most elegant gift at WEIU is the Yume scarf -- "dream" in Japanese -- made by Namiko, a Boston-based Japanese artist. The scarves ($135 for a small one and $195 for a larger one) cross gracefully around your neck, one end slipping through a slit in the other. They're made with silk that's dyed in a traditional hand-dipping process and sewn to a richly colored velvet.

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Cambridge Artists' Cooperative
59A Church Street (Harvard Square), Cambridge
(617) 868-4434

This three-level gallery probably contains one of the most diverse selections in town. On the less expensive side are the maple and rosewood chopsticks by David Kressler ($19 a pair), who also uses these woods for his 12-inch cutting boards ($73), some with handles and others with bevels to catch juices. The cooperative also sells a selection of creative table linens, including brightly hand-painted, varnished place mats ($46 for four), matching napkins ($34 for four), and the Fritzi Gallery's rag-woven table runners ($54 per set), place mats ($56 for four), and trivets ($19 for two). If you're planning to frame a picture for someone, you might want to consider Wayne Fuerst's flower-petal mats ($12). The pulpy paper contains various combinations of flowers, from pressed pansies to lemon leaves to hydrangeas; the same paper is available in note cards and envelopes ($18 for five cards). There's also a selection of ornaments, such as Ook Stephney's carved gray stone animals ($7.50) and Loretta Eby's hand-blown glass balls ($14) that look like a Jackson Pollock creation, with drips and splatters of colored glass.

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Stone's Throw Gallery
1389 Beacon Street, Brookline
(617) 731-3773

Lea Cohen's Brookline gallery features a wealth of ceramics -- everything from abstract metallic pieces to cat-inspired designs, all for a range of prices. Some of the funkier selections are those by Marianne Shepardson, who works in fish-patterned, kiln-fired blue glass that has an iridescent metallic glaze (it's food safe, according to Cohen). Serving platters and large salad bowls go for $156; a set of four coasters is $37. For the ice-cream aficionado, Cohen carries Laurie Melton's line of silver-plated scoops ($34), each of which has a wire-wrapped stone affixed to the handle. The same idea carries over to Melton's butter knives ($12), fork-shaped business-card holders ($16), and salt and pepper shakers ($12 each). A nice gift for a woman might be one of Jacqueline Winch's classy purse mirrors ($52), each with a pouch that matches the cloth pattern on the mirror's backing. Stone's Throw also has a selection of original aluminum and copper ornaments, night-lights, and clocks by Milite. They feature cats, dogs, fish, teapots and other designs. Clocks are $46.50; night-lights are $19.