Shop local at Eucalypt Homewares

Meet Melanie – artist, maker and jazz lover. 

Melanie Sharpam starts preparing for Christmas early to make sure Eucalypt Homewares is well stocked for the festive rush. A quick glance at her range of crafted pieces makes it easy to understand why Eucalypt would easily be at risk of selling out. In short, it’s all good. Really good.

For Melanie, Christmas is about community. She tells us that her business has received lots of support from the locals in Kensington, especially the clay workshops that she runs regularly. We asked what some of her popular Christmas items are for this year and how we can get our hands on them.

“I am a private artist studio without a shopfront, so you can’t walk-in for your Christmas shopping. But you can shop online and I do have an open studio sale coming up on Sunday 10 December. It’s great if you want to see and touch the new range in person and everyone is welcome,” Melanie said.

We love the fact that Melanie offers workshops to the local community where you can learn the tricks of her trade and have a great time doing it. She told us:

“I also offer vouchers for my clay workshops, which are a really popular Christmas gift. It’s nice to give something meaningful where people can create a piece of art and make fantastic memories.”

Melanie’s Christmas day go-to is a big family production.

“We have a huge long table for Christmas dinner at my house. There are usually 20 to 25 of us so we go all out–two whole turkeys and a ham on the barbeque, roast potatoes, and lots of salad. Mum makes her famous Christmas pudding, flambé and all! By Boxing Day, I usually fall in a heap,” she said.

When it comes to Christmas songs, Melanie can’t go without old school jazz.

“I love me some old classical or jazz Christmas hymns. Ella Fitzgerald albums get a serious workout each year at my place,” she said.

If you’d like to discover the Christmas gifts on offer at Eucalypt Homewares this year, head to the website: Eucalypt Homewares Handmade Ceramics.