Fabulous textile Christmas stocking stuffer under a fiver? Artisan du Chocolat!

Chocolate is your scribe’s Achilles heel. Never ever ubiquitous cheap chocolate, but always luxury dark chocolate requiring a mindful journey to the byways of Chelsea and Artisan du Chocolat. Founded by artisan chocolatier Gerard Coleman (famous for his creation of liquid salted caramels), Artisan offer a range of handmade chocolates....

Chocolate is your scribe’s Achilles heel. Never ever ubiquitous cheap chocolate, but always luxury dark chocolate requiring a mindful journey to the byways of Chelsea and Artisan du Chocolat. Founded by artisan chocolatier Gerard Coleman (famous for his creation of liquid salted caramels), Artisan offer a range of handmade chocolates. They also understand it’s sinful to sling an exquisite gift into any old wrapping paper. Gifts should be beautifully and thoughtfully wrapped in a bespoke furoshiki. Artisan du Chocolat’s limited edition furoshiki is available only at the Chelsea branch. Designed by Zoe Beck, she was commissioned by Hugo Middleton, founder of Evergreen Wrap on behalf of Artisan.

Artisan du Chocolat “had quite specific ideas” for the furoshiki pattern says Beck, “a map detailing the journey their chocolate takes from source to production to shop”. Inspired by the British Library’s “Magnificent Maps” exhibition, Beck designed a world map featuring countries of origin and destination as well as “some of the key icons I felt represented them”, she says. The design is reminiscent of mid-twentieth century tourist maps and scarves featuring pictograms and shorthand visuals atop country cartography.

Ubiquitous in Japan, furoshiki are reusable textiles used to wrap gifts or to carry objects. Surface designs are traditional or contemporary, and different sizes can be folded and knotted to wrap for example, a bottle of wine, food for a picnic or to make a baby sling. The website of Kyoto Foodie features furoshiki shop Karakusaya. The post explains the history and includes multiple furoshiki video tutorials.

It isn’t just your scribe who loves exquisite chocolate. So too her COVER colleague LU who blogged about Pinaki Studios’ collaboration with Chocolatl. Do chocolate devotees like company of the like minded? Not in this instance. It means the box of chocolates gifted to your scribe by the lovely Anne Weyns, Director of Artisan du Chocolat, must be shared with COVER colleagues at the Christmas lunch next week. “Take one for the team!” your scribe hears her colleagues shouting. And so she will. DJ