Handmade Housewarming Gifts from a Potter

A new home has empty shelves, bare benches and a windowsill with nothing on it. That's what makes a housewarming gift easy to get right: almost anything handmade becomes the first thing in the house that has a story. Here's how I'd choose, as someone who makes ceramics for a living, with ideas at every budget.

What makes a good housewarming gift

The best housewarming gifts get used. A mug that becomes someone's morning mug, a bowl that's on the table every week, a planter that finally gives the monstera a home. Decorative things are lovely, but a new house already has a lot of decisions to make, and a gift that does a job is a relief.

Handmade pottery suits the occasion for another reason: it's one of a kind. Every piece I make is brush-glazed by hand in my studio in Bellambi, near Wollongong, so no two are the same. The person you're buying for ends up with something nobody else has, which is a nicer thing to say in a card than "I saw this at the shops".

Ideas by budget

Under $50

• Espresso cups from $21. A pair makes a gift on its own, and they suit the coffee lover who's about to set up a new kitchen.
• Bud vases from $45. A single stem from the new garden, or from a florist on moving day, and the windowsill is sorted.
• Side plates from $35, for toast, cake and the first dinner party.
• Small bowls from $45, for olives, dips, keys by the door.

$50 to $150

• Mugs from $65. Two different colours is the classic housewarming pair, and they're dishwasher and microwave safe, so they'll be used every day.
• Planters with saucers from $85. A new house always needs more plants, and a glazed planter with its own saucer is ready for the shelf or the floor.
• Smoosh vases from $70, stacked forms that hold a proper bunch of flowers.
• Pasta bowls from $70 each. Two bowls is the start of a dinner set that can grow with every birthday.

The big gift

• Oyster platters from $208. A ruffled platter is the centrepiece of the first long lunch in the new place.
• Large planters from $180, for the fiddle-leaf fig that moved house with them.
• Table lamps from $520. A handmade ceramic lamp is the gift for a couple or a group of friends chipping in together, and it's the one thing in a new house that gets switched on every single night.

Housewarming gifts for a couple

Buying for two people is easier than it sounds: give something they'll use together. A pair of mugs in two colours, two pasta bowls, or a platter for the table. If you're part of a group, a sculptural vase or a lamp is the kind of gift that would be too much from one person and just right from four.

Pick a colour they'll live with

A housewarming gift sits in someone else's house, so think about their colours, not yours. If you've seen the place, match the kitchen or go for a contrast that will stand out on a white bench. If you haven't, the safe choices are the softer palettes, like Marshmallow or Sugared Almond, which sit happily in most rooms. All my glazes are my own, mixed and brushed on by hand, and the photos on each listing show the real piece.

Sending it straight to the new address

Everything ships Australia-wide. Shipping is a flat $15, and free on orders over $190. If you'd like a note included, add your message in the order notes at checkout and I'll write it out by hand and pack it with the order. Each piece is wrapped individually, so it arrives ready to open.

If you'd rather they choose

A gift card from $20 lets them pick once the boxes are unpacked and they know what the house needs. It's emailed to the address you enter at checkout and never expires.

Rhiannon

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