A Mug Inspired By A Beautiful Scottish Castle, and New Art!

by Ness Lockyer

There has been a fair bit going on around here lately. New work coming out of the kilns most days, some work on the farmhouse, and I’ve even had a chance to do some painting again.

One of the new pieces to come out of the kiln, is this new Castle Mug. The inspiration behind this was one of our favourite Scottish castles, Dunnottar Castle. On our last trip, I was so inspired by the restored part of the castle – especially the ceiling details. One of the design elements was a cross, which you can see below.

Dunnottar Castle

Inspiration comes in many forms, and even though the last time I looked at this ceiling was in 2019, that ceiling was still in my mind. I also had a sketch I drew later that day after we left. I have mountains of sketch books with drawings and designs in them, and I am making a real effort this year to get some of those designs into clay.

Another design from my sketch books are these new Branch Tea Cups. I wanted something that wasn’t a heavy botanic design, and to be able to sit alongside the Hare Branch Mugs.

I’ve also managed to get the oils out again to paint some more Gentlemen. This one is “Cornelius”. Named after one of Mics Grandfathers who was from a line of major cordial manufacturers from Ireland, Sheekey Cordials. They that settled in country New South Wales, and there is now a museum in Yass dedicated to them.

Another one I painted was “John Paul”, named after one of my cousins in Scotland. Both of these originals are listed in my store.
It’s been so lovely to sit and paint, and create new works for Marley & Lockyer. Autumn is starting to appear more each day, and these are the days ahead where I feel the most creatively inspired.
I can’t wait to show you more of what I’ve been making!

~ Ness xx

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The Easiest, Most Amazing, Old Fashioned Jam Slice Recipe.

by Ness Lockyer


Our youngest son, Mason, came home from school and made this amazing Jam Slice from an old fashioned recipe I have. He’s always been really interested in baking, and I like to encourage this where I can. This is an easy recipe to make, yet it looks really fancy. You can make it guests are on the way!

The bottom is a biscuit style layer that is soft, not too sweet or heavy, and the top layer is a wonderfully light meringue with a layer of raspberry jam. It makes for a lovely afternoon tea accompaniment, or even could be a dessert with a dollop of heavy cream at the side.

We served it up in the French Everything Bowl with a cup of tea in the new Branch Tea Cups. It was a lovely Autumn afternoon treat.

FANCY JAM SLICE

INGREDIENTS

125gms butter at room temperature

1 cup of caster sugar

2 eggs that are separated

1 1/2 cups of self raising flour

1 cup desiccated coconut

4-6 tablespoons of a good quality Raspberry jam (we use Bonne Maman jam)

METHOD-

Preheat your oven to 180C, and grease and line a slice dish. Using an electric beater, beat the butter and 1/2 of the cup of caster sugar together until light and creamy. Then add your egg yolks one at a time and beat well between each one. Add the flour and coconut and beat on low speed until combined. Press this mixture into your lined slice dish, pressing it down firmly. Spread your jam over the top.

With a clean bowl and clean mixing beaters, whisk up the egg whites until firm peaks form. Then start to add the rest of the caster sugar, one tablespoon at a time, making sure each addition is fully dissolved. Once meringue is thick and glossy, spoon over jam layer and use a spoon to smooth it out and make some patterns.

Bake for around 25 minutes until meringue is crisp and golden. Remove dish from oven, and allow to cool in dish before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Once cooled you can slice up into small slice pieces to serve.

Enjoy ~ Ness x

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Our Favourite, Easy To Make Oat Slice Recipe.

by Ness Lockyer

One thing I love to do when I’m not in the studio is bake. Some music on in the kitchen, and off I go. One of our favourite things to have on hand for school lunch boxes or after studio snacks is this oat slice.
It’s super versatile too. You can use whatever dried, or even fresh fruit you have on hand. If you want to make it gluten free, just change out the flour for almond meal or the like.

Ness’ Oat Bar Recipe

Ingredients

125gms melted butter

1 cup of rolled oats

2/3 cup sultanas

1/2 cup of cranberries (apricots, prunes/dates or any dried fruit will do)

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup self raising flour

1/2 cup of caster sugar (most of the time I leave this out)

1 tablespoon of honey

1 tablespoon of golden syrup or treacle

  1. Pre heat oven to around 170-180C and get out your 23cm slice dish and line with baking paper
  2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.
  3. Press mixture into prepared dish and press down with the back of a spatula or spoon.
  4. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until it starts to turn golden brown. Turn off oven and leave for about 10 minutes before taking out to cool on the bench.
  5. score the slice into bar sized pieces and transfer to the fridge to set.
  6. Break up the bars and put into an airtight container.

I hope you enjoy it.
~ Ness xx

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The Scottish Croft that I love In Ceramic!

by Ness Lockyer

I’ve always loved this particular type of traditional Scottish house (or hoose as it’s pronounced in Scottish), and have been planning for years and years to make them in ceramic. I just never seemed to find a moment to sit down and nut out all of the components to put it together….until last year.

I made this Christmas house below in 2021, which you can find on my Instagram that I absolutely loved, and it set in motion a flurry of design sketches of different house designs I’ll be making over time.

The Wee Hooses in production

So, off I went getting The Wee Hoose made. It was all going without a hitch, until I went to glaze one of the batches….the glaze had an issue, and it ruined the whole batch above! It wasn’t going to deter me, and I tweaked the glaze – success! They worked.

This is the result. The Wee Hoose – the Scottish Croft.
I love them so much, and now I have a little reminder of a hoose and place in Scotland I love the most.

The Hooses are pretty big, and I’ve managed to get 6 tea lights safely inside, but I love them with the little wire battery operated lights. We have a few in our farmhouse, and I’m forever moving them from shelf to shelf and the fireplaces.

This first batch sold out in just over 2 minutes, and I’m currently working on the next batch. Over the year the hoose designs will change as well, and I have some wonderful limited edition pieces coming for Christmas too!
I can’t wait to share more designs with you.
~ Ness x

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The Christmas Eve Candle Origins

by Ness Lockyer

Some of my most favourite childhood memories revolve around Christmas. It’s always been a huge thing in our family, and I’ve tried to carry a lot of our traditions through to share with my own family.

The smells coming out of our kitchen was, and is a huge memory for me. My Mum would always be baking things like Scottish tablet (looks a bit like fudge but totally different), cookies, cakes and puddings.
One of my favourite puddings is Clootie Dumpling. It was something my Gran would often make. It’s a traditional Scottish pudding, kind of like a plum pudding, but a lot more simple….and I think, nicer.
It’s boiled in a “cloot”, or cloth for hours, and gets this amazing soft skin around the outside….which is perfect with homemade custard.

The spices are what hold my memories strong – ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove would always fill the house with warm scent while the fairy lights twinkled away, and Bing Crosby providing the soundtrack.

The Christmas Eve candle is based on these memories.

I’ve handmade each candle vessel to be used again after the candle is finished, and have hand patterned each one with my Hawthorn design (which is named after my Gran).

We’ve been testing the scent throughout the year to get the right one, and it’s been so lovely having the studio filled with this scent.

The first batch sold out super fast yesterday, and I have had loads of messages asking when/if there will be more. Yes, there will be. I have another batch waiting to fire as we speak, and I’ll announce on my Instagram and Facebook page when they are ready.

~ Ness xx

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