ABOVE: This mini bud vase set from Orange, California–based Sara Paloma Pottery includes five wheel-thrown, dark brown clay vessels dipped in white crater glaze. With their rippled, angular forms, these squat pots, from 4 to 5.5 in. tall, combine a midcentury aesthetic with a rustic finish. / $430
Best Buds
A collection of fresh bud vases for spring blooms.
Encountering the first flowers to emerge in spring can feel like meeting up with delightful old friends. We offer this selection of bud vases as a way to showcase spring’s tulips and daffodils, a simple bloom picked off a neighbor’s bush (we won’t tell!), or even a favorite dried flower that has sat by the radiator all winter keeping you company.
By Shivaun Watchorn
April 26, 2023
Photo by Thomas J. Story
Douglas Molinas Lawrence starts almost every day with a 6-by-6-by-2 in. block of wood—ranging from ash to zebrawood— from which he carves, chisels, and scorches a unique sculptural bud vase. The Knoxville, Tennessee, woodworker started with a goal of 50 vases, but has since eclipsed 100 and shows no sign of stopping. / $160
Photo by Douglas Molinas Lawrence
At 11 by 7 in., the bag vase from Danté Germain Glass holds more than just a bud, but a single flower emphasizes the casual simplicity and shape of this glass vessel. Germain, who lives and works in western Wisconsin, offers this statement vase in five colors. / $220
Photo by Mackenzie Serwa
When Behnaz Sharifian of Chaargoush Ceramics in Redmond, Washington, returned to school to study ceramics, she became fascinated with the seams and creases inherent in hand-building. The vase pictured here is from a recent series of delicate porcelain and stoneware vessels that celebrate the edges and folds in flower and leaf forms. / $280
etsy.com/shop/Chaargoush | @chaargoush
Shivaun Watchorn is associate editor of American Craft.
Photo by Behnaz Sharifian
Douglas Molina Lawrence was featured in The Queue.
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