Teatime specials

These tiny teapots won't take a lot of tea, but they are gorgeous to look at and buying them will help impoverished families …

These tiny teapots won't take a lot of tea, but they are gorgeous to look at and buying them will help impoverished families in China and Thailand. The enamelled teapots are hand-painted with images of famous paintings, such as Klimt's The Kiss and Picasso's Dream Woman. The artists? Ninety villagers who have been taught enamelling skills by a master craftsman who was trained at the Imperial Palace. The pots are enamelled and fired up to seven times, and each bears a number and a signature. A small consignment of them has made its way to the Guinness Gallery in Foxrock where they are priced at £25 each.

Smaller still is the selection of flower and cabbage teapots which can be bought from Oxfam. These tiny porcelain pots are made in a remote village in Thailand, then hand-painted in vibrant colours. Tulip and rose teapots come in red or pink, there's a red apple with a slice taken out to reveal the core, and green and red cabbage teapots, all no more than two inches high. The spouts work perfectly, making them ideal for a dolls' tea party. They cost £4.99 or £6.25.