Guides
Gift ideas from Latvia and the knowledge behind our materials: how to tell real amber, care for linen, use black ceramics and keep a hand-forged knife sharp.
Handmade gift ideas from Latvia
The best handmade gifts from Latvia, by budget and by person: Baltic amber jewellery, linen, black ceramics, willow baskets and hand-forged knives, shipped across Europe.
Handmade Christmas gift ideas from the Baltics
Handmade Christmas gifts from Latvian workshops: linen for the festive table, amber jewellery, black ceramics, willow and hand-forged knives, plus the Latvian Christmas traditions behind them.
How to tell real Baltic amber from fake
How to recognise genuine Baltic amber: weight, warmth, the salt-water test, UV light, smell and static, what pressed amber and copal are, and what a seller should tell you.
Baltic amber colours explained
What gives Baltic amber its colour: honey, cognac and lemon amber, opaque milky and butterscotch amber, rare royal white, and how heat treatment creates cherry and green.
Linen tablecloth size guide
Which tablecloth size fits your table: a size chart for round, square and rectangular tables, how much drop to allow, plus runner and napkin sizes for a linen table.
How to wash and care for linen
How to wash, dry, iron and store linen tablecloths, napkins, towels and scarves so they last for decades, plus how to remove stains from linen.
Latvian black ceramics: how smoke-fired pottery is made
What Latvian black ceramics (melnā keramika) is, how smoke firing turns clay silver-black, how to use and care for it, and where it is still made by hand.
Why foragers use a willow mushroom basket
Why a willow basket is the best way to carry mushrooms, which size to choose, how to pick and carry mushrooms so they stay fresh, and how to care for the basket.
Caring for a hand-forged knife
How to care for a hand-forged hunting or kitchen knife: damascus, Sandvik 12C27 and Böhler N690 steel explained, cleaning, oiling, sharpening, and antler, bog oak and leather care.
End-grain cutting boards: why and how
What an end-grain cutting board is, why it is gentler on knives than edge grain, and how to clean and oil a wooden board so it lasts for decades.