250 Vases and Counting: The Story Behind the Lota Oak Vase
I never expected it to become the piece people kept coming back for. When I turned the first Lota Oak Vase, it was really just an experiment — a way of seeing what a small piece of foraged oak could become in the hands. That was a while ago now. This week, we passed 250 made. I thought it deserved a proper moment.
Part of the Star Light Collection — Constellation Orion
The Lota Oak Vase sits within the Star Light collection, under Constellation Orion. The Star Light name is one I reserve for pieces I feel particularly proud of — work that has something a little extra to it. A quality of light, a moment in the making where everything just clicked. Orion felt right for the Lota. It's a constellation that's been a guide for people across centuries, and in its own quiet way, so has this shape.
Where the Name Comes From
The Lota is named after the traditional Indian water vessel — that beautiful, bulbous, functional form that's been around for thousands of years. When I was shaping the first one on the lathe and that rounded belly started to emerge from the oak, the connection felt immediate. It's a shape that just works. Timeless, really.
The Wood — Collected in the Frost
Every Lota starts with foraged oak, and the wood behind many of this year's vases has a story of its own. It was collected during one of the hardest frosts of last winter — the kind of morning where the ground is iron-solid and your breath hangs in the air. There's something about gathering wood in conditions like that which stays with you. You feel the effort of it in every piece that comes off the lathe afterwards.
Oak is a wood I keep coming back to. It's honest. It has weight and warmth, and the grain tells you exactly where it's been. No two pieces of handcrafted oak are ever quite the same, which means no two Lotas are either. The wood was left to rest properly before I touched it — rushing that stage is a shortcut I've never been willing to take.
The Making
The Lota is turned entirely by hand. The bore — 18mm wide, 63mm deep — is sized to hold dried flower stems just right, without being so wide that a single stem looks lost. Getting that balance took a few attempts early on. Now it's second nature.
Each vase comes out slightly different. The diameter varies a little, the markings are always unique, and occasionally the grain does something unexpected that makes a particular piece feel especially special. That's the nature of working with natural materials, and honestly, it's one of my favourite things about it.
The finish is kept simple — hand-rubbed to let the oak speak for itself. The result is a piece of rustic home decor that feels genuinely alive in the hand.
250 Made. Still Handmade.
Passing 250 feels significant, but what I'm most proud of is that the 250th vase was made exactly the same way as the first — by hand, one at a time, with the same care. There's no production line here. Every single one is a one-off piece of handmade UK craft.
If you've got one of the early Lotas, thank you — you're part of the reason this piece has become what it is.
Get Yours
The Lota Oak Vase is £26, postage included to mainland UK. With only a handful currently in stock, now's a good time if you've been thinking about it.
As always, if you'd like something a little different — a commission, a different size, or a specific piece of wood — just get in touch.
— Owen