Looking after it.

Wash by hand in warm water with a little dish soap, and dry with a soft cloth rather than leaving them to drip. Scouring pads and powders will dull a matte glaze permanently — anything stubborn comes off with a soak instead.

Hand-painted pieces, metallic glazes and gold or silver banding should not go in a dishwasher or a microwave: the heat and the detergent lift the finish, and no amount of care afterwards brings it back. Let a piece come back to room temperature before you put anything hot in it; a cold vase filled from a kettle can crack.

A vase used with fresh stems will build a water line. Half-fill it with warm water, add a spoonful of bicarbonate of soda, leave it overnight, and it rinses away.

Take the cover off the pad first — the zip runs along the lower edge. Wash it inside out, by hand or on a cold delicate cycle in a mesh bag, with a mild detergent and no bleach or fabric softener. Cotton-linen grounds soften beautifully with washing; they also shrink slightly in heat, so keep the water cold.

Anything with beadwork, sequins, appliqué or metallic thread is happier being spot-cleaned than washed. Press a damp cloth onto the mark rather than rubbing, and let it dry flat and out of direct sun, which fades dyes faster than anything else in a room.

Iron on the reverse, on a cool setting, and never directly over raised embroidery or French knots — the stitches flatten and the texture is the point.

Wipe with a barely damp cloth and dry it straight away. No solvents, no alcohol wipes, no furniture polish: they strip the surface coating and it goes tacky. A velvet lining is best cleaned with a soft brush or a quick pass of a vacuum nozzle.

Keep it out of direct sunlight and away from a radiator. Prolonged heat is what makes faux leather crack along the fold lines, and that is the one thing that cannot be undone.

Dust with a dry soft brush or a microfibre cloth. If something needs more, use a barely damp cloth and dry it immediately — resin itself does not mind water, but hand-painted detail and gold finishes do.

They are heavier than they look and the thin parts are the fragile ones. Lift a figurine by its body or its base, never by an outstretched arm or a neck.

Dust is the whole job. A hairdryer on its coolest setting, held well back, clears the leaves faster than wiping them one by one. For anything greasier — a kitchen windowsill, say — wipe each leaf with a damp cloth and let it dry before putting the stems back upright.

Wired stems and branches are meant to be bent. Reshape them with your hands when they arrive and whenever the arrangement starts to look flat; they hold whatever position you leave them in. Keep them out of strong direct sun, which fades the colour over months.

A bathroom is the hardest room on a finish. Rinse soap residue off ceramic rather than letting it dry on, and dry chrome and brushed-metal pumps after use — water spots on metal become limescale, and limescale pits the plating.

Do not stand a ceramic tumbler or dish in bleach. If a tray has gathered a film, warm water with a splash of white vinegar lifts it without touching the glaze.

Hand-finished pieces vary. A glaze pools a little differently, an embroidered stem sits a millimetre off, a resin casting takes paint in its own way. That is not a fault, and it is the reason two of the same piece never look identical on a shelf.