There's nothing so sweet – and so fleeting – as when local berries are in season. Honour the most perfect produce by serving it in one of these unique, handmade vessels. Okay, perhaps these ultra-dear works of art are better suited to displaying your priceless collection of Fabergé eggs or moon rocks, but a berry-lover can dream, right?
Sweetness and light
With all these lovely little holes to cast a magical light, Atlanta, Ga.-based designer Julie Ann Travis says her Perforated Porcelain Bowls can be used as lanterns as well as for berries. The interior is finished in clear satin glaze; the outside is unglazed vitrified porcelain. In two sizes; $154/$182 (U.S.) from goldseedcraft.com
Rare fruit
Artist, nurse and homesteader, Isabelle Abramson clearly has the patience of a saint, the steady hand of a brain surgeon and, we dare say, nerves of steel. Working from her Westminster, Vt., studio, it takes between 30 and 40 hours over two to three weeks for Abramson to hand cut her intricate patterns into leather-hard porcelain, and she loses up to half of them midway to breakage. Netted Fruit Bowl; glossy glaze, $7,500 (U.S.) from isabelleabramson.com
Golden felicious
From RabLabs in New York, Anna Rabinowicz has drawn on sea fan coral for her Espera Fruit Bowl. Each gorgeous, 24-karat gold-plated fruit bowl is made to order with 3-D scanning and lost-wax casting, so each has its own minor variations. Two sizes – large is perfect for fresh peaches and small is just right for summer berries; $330 and $1,220 (U.S.) from ahalife.com