These simple pods by Sophie Cook will add a touch of style to any table, ledge or corner. Her pods and bottles range in colour from white and pale grey to bolder olive and aubergine. The porcelain from which they are made gives them a beautiful, lustrous sheen.

Since graduating from Camberwell School of Arts in 1997, Sophie’s work has featured in a number of permanent exhibitions. Her work sells worldwide.

For further information and to view the Sophie Cook collections, please visit www.sophiecook.com.

It’s so difficult to buy clothes right now. Officially it’s spring and therefore I’m inclined to cast out all those winter layers but it’s still so cold. And snow in March! Luckily I came across this gorgeous shrug by We Are Scarves. It’ll keep you warm and it’s glamorous enough to wear in the evenings. It’ll take you right through spring and into those long summer evenings.

Have a look at the We Are Scarves website at www.wearescarves.co.uk. They also make hats, bags, handmade cards, knitting accessories and jewellery.

I came across Hana’s site a few weeks ago when I was looking for birthday presents. She makes the sweetest badges from vintage storybook pictures, fabric scans, funky vintage prints, wrapping paper and other bits and pieces. She’s also about to add a greeting card collection to her range.

I couldn’t resist a cute cat print badge.

To view the She Loves Stars collections, go to www.shelovesstars.co.uk.

Brighten up your coffee table with these cheerful coasters from Purple Pink and Orange. You can choose from a number of styles including pretty blossom petals and cute scrabble tiles (shown above).

Purple Pink and Orange are a craft collective based in the States. Made up a community of individuals who spend their free time making beautiful handmade items, their online shop is chock full of goodies including jewellery, accessories, bags, paper goods and things for the home. All items are made as part of a small run to guarantee quality and uniqueness.

Purple Pink and Orange deliver internationally and they’re definitely worth a click. Go to www.purplepinkandorange.com.

With Spring allegedly just around the corner but with winter still clinging on (it snowed here last week!), you’ll need something to take the chill off.

Funky Dooraye have just the thing. Their stylish new collection of hats have been lovingly handmade in pure Noro wool and finished with pretty vintage buttons and embellishments. There are a number of designs to choose from in contemporary and vintage styles. And, because of the way Noro wool is dyed creating different colour combinations, each hat is unique.

Funky Dooraye hats can be purchased online from www.aurorabloom.com.

‘There’s just something special about a product, whether a cookie or a tote bag, made by someones careful and deliberate hands,’ says Rebecca from Bake Sale Designs. We agree.

Rebacca is constantly on the look out for new and salvaged fabrics which she whips up into beautiful and quirky bags and accessories for her online shop. Take the Party Girl Tote for example. This is made from soft jersey fabric, with a middle panel of paper dolls dressing up. There are only two available and so it’s highly unlikely you’ll bump into anyone else with the same thing.

Bake Sale Designs can be found at www.bakesaledesigns.com.

Have you heard about SeekIndie? It’s a fun new competition - a bit like an online scavenger hunt. Here’s how it works. Participating indie businesses each donate a prize or prizes and hide a banner somewhere on their website. The gals at SeekIndie add the prizes to SeekIndie with a link back to the participants. And then the fun begins! The lucky customers must then find 5 banners from participating sites and submit their entry to win a fab indie prize.

So far 35 businesses have donated prizes, in time for the next competition which will run from 17 April to 1 May. To get involved visit www.seekindie.com. (The competition is open to anyone who is over 18 years of age and resides in the US or Canada.)