These Two Hands

These Two Hands Handcrafted homewares, gifts and accessories inspired by nature and made from natural, sustainable m

I am so proud of this Makers Market that I started just a couple of months ago. It has already become such a lovely warm...
04/09/2026

I am so proud of this Makers Market that I started just a couple of months ago. It has already become such a lovely warm friendly event that people have sent me such great messages about. I love the fact that people come every month to just sit with friends and coffee and soak in the buzz of it. I love that every month I get to raise money for local charities that matter to me. I love seeing the conversations between visitors and makers. I love how many brilliant makers have been up for taking part in a brand new event and how much they have supported eachother at the markets. I love seeing peoples reactions to the beautiful bright church space it takes place in, a space that lies empty most of the month and comes alive with conversation and laughter every market. I love watching kids crafting and recognising so many familiar faces from the shop every month. 

I have always loved markets and spent nearly every weekend going to markets when I lived in London. I loved opposite Camden Market as it was my favourite place to spend time. Even on holiday a few weeks ago in Croyde, I found myself wandering around Croyde Craft fair and falling in love with a beautiful mug which I suspect may be wrapped on the table for my birthday in a few weeks.

I love the fact that you find something special and unique every time you visit a market and you know who made it. You get to chat to the maker and the things you choose remind you of that person and place. I am so grateful to everyone that has made this new market such a wonderful place to spend time and I hope to keep on creating this place to gather, connect and celebrate crafts and creativity for many more months to come.

Come and explore it yourself tomorrow from 10am till 3pm at St Cuthbert's Church on Sandy Park Road in BS4. We are raising money for the Soil Association and there will be cake!

Happy September, my favourite month and season. Autumn is slowly starting to autumn with bracken and golden light, crisp...
01/09/2026

Happy September, my favourite month and season. Autumn is slowly starting to autumn with bracken and golden light, crisper mornings, chillier evenings and an earthiness I love. I started These Two Hands in Autumn and it's the season when I think the shop comes alive the most. Pumpkins, hedgehogs, autumn leaves, candles, wood, autumnal ceramics, apples, blackberries... so many of my favourite designs inspired by so many of my favourite things. My first ever photo shoot was Autumn 2020 with Gem Hicks and all my favourite shoots since have been in autumn. Photographing my collections outside in the season and environment they are connected to just makes them make sense. 

This season makes me want to celebrate being alive and the abundance of nature all around me. As I approach half a century (??!!) it feels even more important than ever to celebrate all of these little things and all of the joy. It's my new year. It's time to start a new notebook, fill it with plans and dreams for the coming months and reflections on the year so far. Time to get under a blanket and read, get to bed earlier, light candles every day. Harvest fruit, make chutney and jam, dry flowers, save seeds. I wait till the equinox to really go fully into autumn but I can feel the shift. Are you an autumn lover or are you holding on to summer? Or maybe a bit of both....

What is a shop actually for? I have had so many posts in my head that I haven't managed to share over summer, but I real...
31/08/2026

What is a shop actually for?

I have had so many posts in my head that I haven't managed to share over summer, but I really wanted to share some words I loved recently in a brilliant email newsletter from Lynne Franks . I was lucky enough to meet Lynn recently at the Wake The Valley event and I am hopefully going to be working with her more next year. This email came just as I was asking myself these questions about why I was so determined to keep my shop open despite how hard it is. Why I feel so passionately about my community and helping the whole street to thrive that I have started a new monthly market, which is a huge amount of work but has already brought so much more life to the area and created a place to gather and connect. 

Small independent shops bring so much to communities, so much more than just selling things. I have copied some of my favourite bits from her email below and I really recommend signing up for her Friday 'Words of Wisdom' emails. 

"What is a shop actually for?
..if the answer is simply “to sell us things”, we have a problem. We don’t really need shops for that any more.

We can sit at home, press a button and have almost anything we want delivered to our front door. It is extraordinarily convenient and, like everyone else, I use it. But convenience always comes with a trade-off. We may have gained convenience. But perhaps we didn’t notice everything we lost along the way.

The person who knows your name. The conversation you didn’t plan to have. The elderly person who has a reason to leave the house. The teenager getting their first Saturday job... The shopkeeper who notices that someone hasn’t been in for a while. The chance encounter that leads to an idea, a friendship, an introduction or simply a better day.

None of these things appears on a retail balance sheet but they have huge value.

A reason to go out. A familiar face. A conversation. A smile. A sense that we know where we are and that somebody knows who we are.

Perhaps the most important thing our High Streets can give us was never really for sale in the first place. A sense of belonging. "

I'm running a Bank Holiday weekend sale online and in the shop with the very last of a few beautiful designs reduced. I ...
28/08/2026

I'm running a Bank Holiday weekend sale online and in the shop with the very last of a few beautiful designs reduced. I need to make room literally and mentally for Autumn stock to arrive. This time of year makes me feel the need to clear things out and prepare for the shift in seasons. Maybe it's some engrained back to school habit from childhood or just a way to feel a bit more in control amidst the chaos of summer.

Do you like to have a clear out in August and start afresh in September?

Enjoy the sale and the long bank holiday weekend.

☀️

Tomorrow is Saturday 1st August, also known as Lammas. It’s the celebration of harvest and the midway point between Summ...
31/07/2026

Tomorrow is Saturday 1st August, also known as Lammas. It’s the celebration of harvest and the midway point between Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox. For me, this time feels like a strange in limbo period between the 2 seasons. I am a huge autumn lover but don’t want to wish away summer. I love camping and swimming, but I find it hard to leave work behind and enjoy these things and I rarely feel like I am fully in either world. I am trying to accept the pace of nature and slow down.

Also known as Loaf Mass Day or Lughnasadh, 1st August is traditionally observed by baking bread from the first harvested crops, feasting with loved ones, and giving thanks for the earth's abundance. To celebrate this, I’m offering 20% off one of my favourite and most used things from my shop - these beautiful linen bread bags by Helen Round - for this weekend.

I can’t recommend these enough! We have two - one for home and one that comes on holiday with us to keep bread fresh. They really do keep it fresher for around 4 to 5 days longer than if you leave it in plastic or a bread bin. They are especially good in hot weather like now. There is no need to enter an offer code, the 20% discount is already displayed on the product pages from now until midnight on Sunday 2nd August.

There is a new Meet The Maker interview blog on my website with Stroud illustrator  . Freya's bold and beautiful botanic...
21/07/2026

There is a new Meet The Maker interview blog on my website with Stroud illustrator . Freya's bold and beautiful botanical designs have been brightening up my shop for a few years now and I keep adding more. This Dark Carrots design has been the most popular. I wish I could grow these rainbow carrots but I have never succeeded, so I will have to bring them into my life through these lovely homewares instead.

I loved reading Freya's answers to these questiona. A fellow autumn lover, and all round lovely human. I am proud to stock her work.

I am excited to share the brilliant makers taking part in the 2nd ever BS4 Makers Market in a couple weeks.on Saturday 1...
19/07/2026

I am excited to share the brilliant makers taking part in the 2nd ever BS4 Makers Market in a couple weeks.on Saturday 1st August from 10 till 3 at St Cuthberts Church on Sandy Park Road. My aim for this monthly market is to create a lovely, friendly creative space to gather and spend time. A place to eat and drink with friends and family and for children to enjoy free crafts. And to raise money for good causes at the same time. Browse 20 stalls, make hot air balloon mobiles with Lou and raise money for Bristol Childrens Hospital .

There are sweet treats from , and . Lots of lovely plants from . Preserves, ceramics, art, jewellery and accessoriea, soaps and balms, woodcraft and more. Save the date and come and support all these lovely local makers and artists and more tagged here:

When was the last time you sat and looked at bees in flowers? I've been doing that the past few mornings, to calm my fra...
14/07/2026

When was the last time you sat and looked at bees in flowers? I've been doing that the past few mornings, to calm my frazzled brain. You can't beat just watching the joy of a big fat bumblebee stuck right inside a courgette flower or a group of bees on my echinops. Busy doing what they are meant to do and what their life's purpose is. That is what I want to be - busy doing what I love and what I feel I'm meant to do. And it's so hard to do that and not get sucked into the shoulds. I should be sorting my website SEO out, should be getting more people on my email list, should be showing up more on social media, should be looking for another job. Should is just could with shame - someone said that on a podcast I was listening to and I wrote it down to use at some point because it's so true! There is so much shame for me in my business not doing well and in not getting orders, that I sit for hours at my laptop trying to fix it and make up for what fees like failure. And then I go to the allotment and look at everything I have managed to grow and remember that success can be measured in so many different ways. 

What I could do and what I want to do is play with flowers and create new dried flower designs. I want to commission some beautiful exclusive designs for autumn. I want to curate more lovely community events and spend more time with lovely creative people. I want to grow more flowers and attract more bees and butterflies. I want to raise more money for people doing great work to help fix some of damage we have done to the planet.  I want to be present more in the present, rather than worrying so much about the future. I don't post often, because I'd rather be watching bees and living life. I trust that the people who love my shop will stick around and will understand that I need to be watching bees. I will keep writing my emails as I love doing that, so if you want to read my musings on nature and the seasons as well as see some of the new designs I add every season, sign up to my email. I hope you can spend some time jusy sitting outside without any shoulds getting in the way! X

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to support the first BS4 Makers Market last Saturday! It was such a lovely day...
10/07/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to support the first BS4 Makers Market last Saturday! It was such a lovely day and I'm excited for the next one. Discover the work of 18 great local makers, enjoy a free kids craft workshop by Colourful Minds from 1 till 3 and there's cake. The August market has a bit of a Bristol inspired designs theme and we are raising money for Bristol Children's Hospital Wallace & Gromit's Grand Appeal. Save the date - Saturday 1st August, 10 till 3, at St Cuthbert's Church on Sandy Park Road.

Address

83 Sandy Park Road
Bristol
BS43PG

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 3pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

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