PACKAGING MATERIALS – Parcel-tape, string, rubber bands, tissue paper, cardboard, all resolutely brown. At LABOUR AND WAIT we spend our days surrounded by these honest-to-goodness materials. ‘Brown paper packages tied up with string’, these are definitely some of ‘our favourite things’!

This year’s calendar pays homage to our favourite colour; brown. We always find ourselves drawn to this colour. Its darker shades have a graphic quality like black, whilst the lighter tones have a warm and natural feel. When we began selecting products for LABOUR AND WAIT over twenty years ago, we soon realised that our proclivity for brown tones could get the better of us and the result would be a completely brown shop. We regularly have to keep ourselves in check to ensure a variety of hues and colours find their way to the shop floor.

JUDGE WARE – Brown enamel beguiles, and these vintage Judge Ware saucepans have stood the test of time. When in situ, these pans look to have come straight out of a William Scott painting. In the past, many manufacturers of enamel chose brown as their signature colour but our favourite has always been this British staple.

This year’s calendar pays homage to our favourite colour; brown. We always find ourselves drawn to this colour. Its darker shades have a graphic quality like black, whilst the lighter tones have a warm and natural feel. When we began selecting products for LABOUR AND WAIT over twenty years ago, we soon realised that our proclivity for brown tones could get the better of us and the result would be a completely brown shop. We regularly have to keep ourselves in check to ensure a variety of hues and colours find their way to the shop floor.

APOTHECARY JARS – There is something enticing and yet curiously circumspect about the amber glass of an old apothecary jar. Maybe it is the mysterious contents it once concealed, or a childhood memory of some foul-tasting remedy administered from a brown glass bottle. Either way, these evocative vessels always capture our imagination.

This year’s calendar pays homage to our favourite colour; brown. We always find ourselves drawn to this colour. Its darker shades have a graphic quality like black, whilst the lighter tones have a warm and natural feel. When we began selecting products for LABOUR AND WAIT over twenty years ago, we soon realised that our proclivity for brown tones could get the better of us and the result would be a completely brown shop. We regularly have to keep ourselves in check to ensure a variety of hues and colours find their way to the shop floor.

SLIPWARE – There is a certain earthiness and naivety about slipware which we are attracted to. The very technique requires an immediacy, which results in an unselfconscious decorative approach. These simple rustic pieces have a timeless quality which we greatly admire. The natural colours of the clay and slip display a range of earthy hues.

This year’s calendar pays homage to our favourite colour; brown. We always find ourselves drawn to this colour. Its darker shades have a graphic quality like black, whilst the lighter tones have a warm and natural feel. When we began selecting products for LABOUR AND WAIT over twenty years ago, we soon realised that our proclivity for brown tones could get the better of us and the result would be a completely brown shop. We regularly have to keep ourselves in check to ensure a variety of hues and colours find their way to the shop floor.

BASKETRY – The traditional craft of the basket-maker never fails to impress. Wickerwork is an ancient technique which has evolved over millennia and is used throughout the world. Originally conceived out of a necessity to contain items, the functional aspect of basketry and the intricacy of the weave are equally appealing.

This year’s calendar pays homage to our favourite colour; brown. We always find ourselves drawn to this colour. Its darker shades have a graphic quality like black, whilst the lighter tones have a warm and natural feel. When we began selecting products for LABOUR AND WAIT over twenty years ago, we soon realised that our proclivity for brown tones could get the better of us and the result would be a completely brown shop. We regularly have to keep ourselves in check to ensure a variety of hues and colours find their way to the shop floor.

BISCUITS – What is a cuppa without a biccie? Being unrelenting tea drinkers, we can’t imagine such a thing! From the plainest Rich Tea or the humble Digestive, to the fancier Bourbon and the even tastier chocolate Hobnob – we’ll dunk them all given half the chance. The rate of biscuit consumption at LABOUR AND WAIT risks us becoming the barrel!

This year’s calendar pays homage to our favourite colour; brown. We always find ourselves drawn to this colour. Its darker shades have a graphic quality like black, whilst the lighter tones have a warm and natural feel. When we began selecting products for LABOUR AND WAIT over twenty years ago, we soon realised that our proclivity for brown tones could get the better of us and the result would be a completely brown shop. We regularly have to keep ourselves in check to ensure a variety of hues and colours find their way to the shop floor.

G.P.O. JUGS – These handsome two-tone stoneware jugs have always intrigued us. For us it is a perpetual hunt for these bulbous beauties. Clearly stamped or printed with ‘G.P.O.’ on the base, they must have originally been produced for this organisation – but why, and what was their purpose? Answers on a postcard please!

This year’s calendar pays homage to our favourite colour; brown. We always find ourselves drawn to this colour. Its darker shades have a graphic quality like black, whilst the lighter tones have a warm and natural feel. When we began selecting products for LABOUR AND WAIT over twenty years ago, we soon realised that our proclivity for brown tones could get the better of us and the result would be a completely brown shop. We regularly have to keep ourselves in check to ensure a variety of hues and colours find their way to the shop floor.

CERAMIC BOTTLES – Stoneware bottles were an everyday commodity in Victorian-times. These ink pots and bottles, which have been dug out of the ground from old dumps, or ‘middens’, hold our fascination. Those from the Midlands are often stamped ‘Bourne Denby’ or ‘Lovatts’; those from the South of England with ‘Doulton’. Today we tend to assume that bottles are made from glass, so these ceramic versions are a curiosity.

This year’s calendar pays homage to our favourite colour; brown. We always find ourselves drawn to this colour. Its darker shades have a graphic quality like black, whilst the lighter tones have a warm and natural feel. When we began selecting products for LABOUR AND WAIT over twenty years ago, we soon realised that our proclivity for brown tones could get the better of us and the result would be a completely brown shop. We regularly have to keep ourselves in check to ensure a variety of hues and colours find their way to the shop floor.

BRUSHES – A hallmark of LABOUR AND WAIT. There seems to have been a brush designed for every task fathomable. Sadly the craft of the brush maker seems to be a dying art. Meanwhile, popularity of the humble brush appears to be on the increase; we would like to think our obsession has played a small part in this.

This year’s calendar pays homage to our favourite colour; brown. We always find ourselves drawn to this colour. Its darker shades have a graphic quality like black, whilst the lighter tones have a warm and natural feel. When we began selecting products for LABOUR AND WAIT over twenty years ago, we soon realised that our proclivity for brown tones could get the better of us and the result would be a completely brown shop. We regularly have to keep ourselves in check to ensure a variety of hues and colours find their way to the shop floor.

BOXES – We have a strange attraction to items in boxes. Everything contained and in its place. In our eyes there is nothing more satisfying than a well-made box.We are particularly partial to the good old brown card variety. We’ve certainly packed and unpacked a fair few of these in the past 21 years!

This year’s calendar pays homage to our favourite colour; brown. We always find ourselves drawn to this colour. Its darker shades have a graphic quality like black, whilst the lighter tones have a warm and natural feel. When we began selecting products for LABOUR AND WAIT over twenty years ago, we soon realised that our proclivity for brown tones could get the better of us and the result would be a completely brown shop. We regularly have to keep ourselves in check to ensure a variety of hues and colours find their way to the shop floor.

LEATHERWORK – Nothing compares to the look, feel and smell of leather. We favour brown leather in all its tones, as it wears and patinates so gracefully. Items made by a skilled leatherworker are beautiful to look at and a joy to use. Each piece becomes unique to its owner, bearing the marks of wear and use, and can gently mark the passage of time.

This year’s calendar pays homage to our favourite colour; brown. We always find ourselves drawn to this colour. Its darker shades have a graphic quality like black, whilst the lighter tones have a warm and natural feel. When we began selecting products for LABOUR AND WAIT over twenty years ago, we soon realised that our proclivity for brown tones could get the better of us and the result would be a completely brown shop.We regularly have to keep ourselves in check to ensure a variety of hues and colours find their way to the shop floor.