Blow Pokers

Also known as a fire pipe, a blowpoke, a fire blower, a Puffing Billy (or Puffin Billie). We first came across this simple, ingenious tool in the Ardeche region of France, where it is known as a ‘Bouffadou’ and is made from a hollowed-out stick.

It is a sort of human bellows and a poker all in one. Ours, which is made in Lockerbie from forged steel, also works as a toasting fork. You blow down the forged steel tube which channels your puff to jump-start or rekindle the fire. Afterwards use it as a poker. It looks good beside a traditional fireplace because of the use of time-honoured material but the simple, clean lines of its design are easy to incorporate into a modern setting.

And at almost a yard long, there is no risk of singeing your eyebrows if you need to blow life into a bonfire!