If, like me, you have fallen in love with the folksy needlework trend epitomised by Marc Jacobs and Jovovich-Hawk but are not sure how to get the same sophisticated, handcrafted vibe in your home, the designer and artist Claire Coles is your salvation.

Her stitched ceramic tea cups and handmade wallpapers allow you to indulge your fanciful side, but there is a cool sharpness to the potential chintz. “Claire’s work has a Chloë Sevigny-like charm – pretty, quirky and a bit rock’n’roll,” says Simon Robins, the fashion director of Russian Vogue. And in the flesh, Coles is all that: pixie-pretty, with short, razor-cut hair and a taste for alternative music, courtesy of a music-industry boyfriend.

Coles embodies the shift back to bespoke service, when wallpaper was art painted in situ rather than bought in off-the-shelf rolls. “Designers used to be artists,” she explains. “In 14th-century France, you would commission one to come into your home. Making one-off pieces to suit a specific house is my favourite thing.” To combat mass production and gain contact with her customers, Coles sells direct from her studio. “People come in with a general idea and end up commissioning something tailored to match their home.”

And it isn’t as expensive as you would imagine. Coles will even use a little less of her trademark stitching if it means she can produce a truly original wallpaper without bankrupting a client. Now that’s a good, old-fashioned service attitude that we can all appreciate.

Claire Coles; 020 7242 0836, www.clairecolesdesign.co.uk

On the map

Reworking has become a huge trend – Squint’s use of vintage fabric to reupholster antique furniture says it all. It’s also the ultimate in recycling, and something more of us should try. Pop into the Second Time Around exhibition at the Adventure Ecology gallery for inspiration from Claire Brewster’s old-map artworks and Matt Hazelden and Lisa Burke’s flea-market antiques (chairs, lamps, old screens), which are given to young artists for a modern makeover. Then hit car-boot sales, auction houses (general sales are good for cheap finds) or eBay, and get busy with a spot of DIY. Second Time Around, until August 24, at the Gallery @ Adventure Ecology, 125 Charing Cross Road, WC2; www.adventureecology.com

All fired up

1 The Bristol-based ceramicist Hannah Turner has been on my radar for a while. Her comic ceramic birds mix cute 1950s patterns with bright colours and bags of character, neatly dovetailing the trends for modern shapes and retro patterns. Her Teal Hedge-warbler and Jade Crested Twitter (£30; 07968 200638) are personal favourites. They are highly collectable and inexpensive, so it’s easy to invest in a flock.

2 Based on Love Hearts sweets, Jo Heckett’s bright heart-and star-shaped fridge magnets are embossed with “Superstar”, “Babe Magnet”, “Party Animal” and other such sobriquets you might want to assign yourself – alternatively, ask for the bespoke service and get silly pet names imprinted. £8 each; www.joheckett.com .

3 Lou Rota is a Liberty favourite with her hand-customised vintage and salvage crockery. Kooky traditional tea plates are overprinted with birds, beetles, spiders and flowers – very modern bohemia. They are gorgeous displayed en masse and a gloriously eccentric way to serve up tea-time petits fours. From £20 each, from Liberty.

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