Devon


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/Laura-119_1.jpg" alt="Laura Stoddart illustrator " class="wp-image-61496" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/Laura-119_1.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/Laura-119_1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/Laura-119_1-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/Laura-119_1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/Laura-119_1-525x525.jpg 525w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/Laura-119_1-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Muddy has been stalking Laura Stoddart since her Crabtree &amp; Evelyn days when, fresh out of art college, she designed the gorgeous prints to decorate C&amp;E&#8217;s Gardener&#8217;s Range. Now they&#8217;re practically iconic &#8211; those elegant, elongated ladies and gents holding oversized blooms which evoke English grandeur and the posh yew &#8211; as opposed to non-yew &#8211; lifestyle.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1151" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/teatowel.jpg" alt="Laura Stoddart tea towel " class="wp-image-61340" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/teatowel.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/teatowel-695x800.jpg 695w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/teatowel-869x1000.jpg 869w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/teatowel-768x884.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/teatowel-456x525.jpg 456w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption><a href="https://laurastoddart.com/products/happy-christmas-christmas-cards-holly-and-mistletoe">Holly and Mistletoe Christmas Cards</a>,£8.50 for pack of 10 </figcaption></figure>



<p>She&#8217;s barely put down her paintbrush since then &#8211; going on to create popular ranges for the Royal Horticultural Society, Kate Spade and Portmerion Pottery. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/christmas-card.jpg" alt="Laura Stoddart Christmas Card" class="wp-image-61341" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/christmas-card.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/christmas-card-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/christmas-card-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/christmas-card-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/christmas-card-525x525.jpg 525w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/christmas-card-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>In 2016, she set up her own <a href="https://laurastoddart.com">Laura Stoddart </a>lifestyle range which you can bag up online and from her beautiful stand when she exhibits at the annual RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May which is where I met her earlier this year.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/GC_Christmas_Holly_1500x.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61338" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/GC_Christmas_Holly_1500x.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/GC_Christmas_Holly_1500x-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/GC_Christmas_Holly_1500x-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/GC_Christmas_Holly_1500x-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/GC_Christmas_Holly_1500x-525x525.jpg 525w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/GC_Christmas_Holly_1500x-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption><a href="https://laurastoddart.com/products/happy-christmas-wrapping-paper-christmas-trees">Laura Stoddart Christmas Gift Wrap</a>, £2.50 50cm x&nbsp;70cm</figcaption></figure>



<p>Turns out, although her business is based in Somerset, Laura lives in the tiny village of Clayhanger where she&#8217;s been creating her whimsically wintery Christmas cards, which benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, plus beautiful gift wrap, tags and homeware. She&#8217;s also designed two fabulous new large <a href="https://laurastoddart.com/products/christmas-large-bone-china-bauble-holly">bone china baubles</a>, and a range of prettily packed <a href="https://laurastoddart.com/products/matches-christmas-candy-cane">Christmas matches</a>, created in partnership with Hester and Cook.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="988" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/baubles.jpg" alt="Laura Stoddart Christmas baubles " class="wp-image-61339" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/baubles.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/baubles-800x790.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/baubles-768x759.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/baubles-531x525.jpg 531w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption>Laura Stoddart Christmas baubles, £25</figcaption></figure>



<p>I lured Laura away from her box of paints to find out more about her home of Clayhanger in Devon, and where else she finds inspo in our locale.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Clayhanger</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/Laura_Stoddart-184.jpg" alt="Laura Stoddart drawing at her desk " class="wp-image-61329" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/Laura_Stoddart-184.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/Laura_Stoddart-184-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/Laura_Stoddart-184-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/Laura_Stoddart-184-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/Laura_Stoddart-184-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>My village is tiny, just a mile and half into Devon with an early church dating back to the Knights Templar. I&#8217;m forever split between Somerset (I used to live in Brompton Ralph) and Devon, and it always amazes me to see the little &#8216;Welcome to Devon&#8217; sign on such a tiny lane, where there are only about 22 houses, if that. We moved here originally for the children&#8217;s school, but also because we loved the property, an old rectory. I&#8217;m so fortunate to live here.</p>



<p>One of the best things about living here is the Women&#8217;s Institute &#8211; not something I ever thought I&#8217;d say! The hall is WI-owned, one of a few, so we have to keep it going or we&#8217;d love the hall for all the other village events. When I moved here, it was just nine elderly ladies and me. We&#8217;d sing <em>Jam and Jerusalem</em> &#8211; quite an eye-opening experience. Now it&#8217;s quite radical. We no longer sing, and I&#8217;m no longer the youngest by a long shot. We&#8217;re shameless &#8211; anyone who comes within a whiff of the village is roped in to join &#8211; we&#8217;re up to fourteen members.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Topsham</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/pebblebed.jpg" alt="Topsham Wine Cellar " class="wp-image-61328" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/pebblebed.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/pebblebed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/pebblebed-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/pebblebed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/pebblebed-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>My husband (the artist <a href="https://www.purdyhicks.com/artists/54-jonathan-delafield-cook/works/">Jonathan Delafield Cook</a>) is restoring my uncle&#8217;s Cornish crabber at the boatyard. I&#8217;m forever hanging around the quay and the <a href="https://www.quayantiques.com">antiques centre</a> on the quayside. It&#8217;s three floors of rummaging, but you can find some real pearls in there. Afterwards we might go to <a href="https://www.passagehouseinntopsham.co.uk">The Passage House Inn</a>, where you can enjoy a glass by the estuary, and I love Pebblebed, <a href="https://www.topshamcellar.co.uk">Topsham Wine Cellar,</a> (above) for supper.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.lostkitchen.co.uk">The Lost Kitchen</a>, Chettiscombe</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="741" height="988" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/lost-k1.jpg" alt="The Lost Kitchen Chettiscombe " class="wp-image-50836" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/lost-k1.jpg 741w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/lost-k1-600x800.jpg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/lost-k1-394x525.jpg 394w" sizes="(max-width: 741px) 100vw, 741px" /></figure>



<p>This wood-fired restaurant close to Tiverton is one of my absolute favourite places to go. The owner George is a friend and he has one of my husband&#8217;s artworks of a bull above the bar. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/lost-kitchen.jpg" alt="lost kitchen chettiscombe " class="wp-image-61321" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/lost-kitchen.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/lost-kitchen-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/lost-kitchen-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/lost-kitchen-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/lost-kitchen-525x525.jpg 525w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/lost-kitchen-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Jan Boddington of Blue Shed Flowers is doing a workshop there this December and I can&#8217;t go. I really wish I could! Jan makes the most amazing <a href="https://thelostkitchen.touchtakeaway.net/menu/EVENT-TICKETS">Christmas wreaths</a>. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Bampton</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1250" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/corks-cur.jpg" alt="Corks &amp; Cru, Bampton " class="wp-image-61322" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/corks-cur.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/corks-cur-640x800.jpg 640w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/corks-cur-800x1000.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/corks-cur-768x960.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/corks-cur-420x525.jpg 420w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Bampton (one of <a href="https://devon.muddystilettos.co.uk/best-places-to-live/bampton-devon/">Muddy&#8217;s Best Places to Live 2024</a>) is surrounded by hills on the edge of Exmoor, and feels really nestled into the landscape. The houses are lovely and for such a small town, it has brilliant shops, including a fabulous grocers, a jolly good butchers, and there&#8217;s a wine shop (<a href="https://corksandcru.co.uk">Corks &amp; Cru</a>, above), very novel for the area as it&#8217;s mostly Co-op&#8217;s Finest and lots of Spa shops. It also has the best <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bamptonpharmacydevon/photos">pharmacy</a> in the area, in an original old building with high wooden shelves. It&#8217;s really special. There&#8217;s a walk we do, where you park outside town and end up at the old Iron Age fort from where the views are spectacular.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rhs-garden-rosemoor-great-torrington"><a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor">RHS Garden Rosemoor</a>, Great Torrington </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/rhs-rose.jpg" alt="RHS Rosemoor in winter " class="wp-image-61324" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/rhs-rose.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/rhs-rose-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/rhs-rose-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/rhs-rose-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/11/rhs-rose-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>I&#8217;m ashamed to say I wasn&#8217;t expecting to like the planting at Rosemoor, thinking it would all be about Royal Horticultural Society knowledge and skill, rather than aesthetics but I was blown away by it. I do love a tall, green hedge! I also love the gardens at <a href="https://www.cothaymanor.co.uk">Cothay Manor</a> in Somerset &#8211; such beautiful yew hedges. It&#8217;s no longer open to the public but I think they still have the occasional open day.</p>



<p><em><strong>10% of the proceeds of Laura&#8217;s Christmas Collection 2023 go to the <a href="https://laurastoddart.com/pages/cystic-fibrosis">Cystic Fibrosis Trust</a></strong></em>. <strong><em>Find out more about Laura&#8217;s niece, India, who was born with the life-limiting genetic condition in 2016 <a href="https://laurastoddart.com/pages/cystic-fibrosis">here</a>.</em></strong></p>


My Favourite Places: Laura Stoddart

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