Can you tell us a bit about Pops & Piaf?
Creating collections for Pops & Piaf is always rooted in the changing of the seasons in the Scottish countryside and creating a home that is deeply personal, warm and welcoming throughout the year. Inspired by rose tinted nostalgia and the art, films and books that give us a small glimpse into a world where even the most practical objects are beautiful. We lean into the time honoured tradition that the items that surround us should become heirlooms and that anything we need can be carefully collected, mended or made using the skills we have spent a lifetime learning.

Where do you usually source your vintage and antique items from?
Over the years, I’ve narrowed down a few favourite places near my home - a small collection of charity shops that always seem to have good finds. When I’m looking for something specific or a bit older, I love to visit The Barras in Glasgow - a treasure trove of weird and wonderful old things. But most of the time, I just get an idea in my head of something I would like to start collecting and I patiently wait for it to pop up on eBay.

You use a lot of Falcon enamelware in and around your home. What’s your favourite product and what do you use it for?
I’m afraid I can’t narrow it down to just one. My most used items are definitely the collection of blue rimmed pie dishes I’ve had since moving into my first home. I don’t think a week goes by without a few of them going in and out of the oven.

The item that brings me the most joy is definitely my pillar box red teapot. The colour is the most wonderful poppy red and it’s always a joyful moment when tea is about to be brewed.

I also love my little collection of tumblers. They are just so versatile. I use them as drinking tumblers, vases for freshly cut stems from the garden, toothbrush holders, paint brush pots... and I love that they stack so they don't take up too much room in my kitchen cabinet.

Do you have any tips for mixing the old with the new?
My favourite way to mix old and new is to mix vintage florals with utilitarian items, especially if the utilitarian items were designed around the same time as the vintage pieces - they tend to sit so well together but adding in these hard wearing pieces ensures things don’t start to look too old fashioned and delicate. Instead it helps it look timeless and practical. My favourite items to mix on my kitchen shelves are old hardy, floral printed sponge ware and enamelware in seasonal colours. I then add in little pops of brass, glass and terracotta to help it feel homely and warm.

Do you have a most treasured possession?
Oh that’s a tough one! I’m someone who puts sentiment on almost everything I own. Especially if I’ve been given it as a gift.

I’d say my favourite items are the ones that have been hand made and given to me as a gift. I’m very lucky to have a few artists in my family, such as paintings by my mum and grandpa, along with my husband's collection of sketchbooks. A quilt made for us by my mother-in-law as a wedding present. A framed paper aeroplane my dad gave to me when I was a child. An engraved watch and a necklace I inherited from my gran that has since gained many new charms, each one from a member of my family.

(I’m definitely a bit too sentimental)

What do you love about Scotland at this time of year?
Oh everything! Just like everywhere else in the UK, it just feels like the world is starting to wake up again.

It’s such a wonderful time of year to reacquaint yourself with nature, to stop for a cup of tea on a fallen tree, to see the first of the snowdrops pop up in the woods and to still have the joy of coming home to warm up by the fire.

It’s also a wonderful time of year to try and catch as many sunrises as possible and a great time to be taking very atmospheric photos, things I’ll no doubt miss in the height of summer.

Pastry chef Ana Rusu will teach bakers of any skill level to make standout tarts, pies, cakes, cookies and more, going above and beyond the classics. Ana, who is an artist...