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It's a perfect sunny day - cold but clear - and after the unending rain, wind and snow it feels as if spring is finally on the way. And what better way to celebrate that with a bunch of yellow tulips in a favorite vase - here a treasured piece by the British designer Jane Willingale of Loudware.

I first knew Jane as a textile designer, but she soon turned her pattern making talents to creating spectacular, dramatically decorative ceramics called Loudware - quickly snapped up by Bergdorf Goodman, Barney's and Henri Bendel in New York (and by collectors such as the designer Zandra Rhodes - and me). But, sad to say, Jane's success was also her undoing for her bold, unmistakable designs were quickly copied at mass market prices. It became no longer worth making the real thing.

But if you have a hand painted, hand thrown original such as this you have a treasure beyond price