Whitethorn is the old word for hawthorn.
It was the hedge you planted to mark a boundary, and the tree you left standing when you cleared everything else, because pulling one up was thought to bring bad luck on the house. Willow was the other one people kept close — planted by water, cut for baskets, and left alone when it got old.
We liked that a piece of garden could carry a bit of superstition with it. That is where the name came from.
What we make
Two things, really. Small bronzes for indoors — animals sized for a desk, a shelf or a windowsill, most of them no bigger than a matchbox. And a smaller range of weatherproof pieces for outside: companions that hook over the rim of a pot, and statues that sit in a border and weather down over a season or two.
Everything is cast and then finished by hand, which is why the patina varies from one piece to the next. Two of the same animal will not match exactly. We think that is the point of them.
How we think about it
The pieces we like best are the ones you find rather than the ones you display. Tucked behind a pot. Half-covered by whatever has grown over it by August. Spotted on a shelf by someone who has been in the room twenty times and never noticed it.
Nothing here is meant to dominate a room or a border. If a piece makes someone stop for a second on their way past, it has done its job.
Where we ship
Canada, in Canadian dollars, with all import charges included in the price you pay. There is nothing further to pay when your parcel arrives — no customs bill, no brokerage fee at the door.
Getting in touch
Email hello@whitethornandwillow.com and a person will answer, usually within two business days. If it is about an order, include your order number and we will get to it faster.