Handcrafted porcelain treasures are near at Downtown's Far4

The word "farfor" is Russian for porcelain. Ergo, Far4 is a shop in downtown Seattle that carries porcelain from Russia.

Five years ago, porcelain collectors Igor and Yelena Klimenkoff opened Porcelain Studio Klimenkoff in Moscow in order to continue the centuries-old techniques used to create pristine porcelain. The Seattle-based couple, along with their daughter Jenny, opened their urbane stateside retail store this past April.

Far4 carries designs from their own studio, as well as pieces from many major European porcelain companies, such as Meissen in Germany (in operation since the 1700s) and Qubus Designs in the Czech Republic.

Meissen's hand-painted Ming Dragon tableware ($115-$1,700) lends bold sophistication to any dinner table, while Qubus Designs' Little Joseph baby head candle holders ($135) give a wonderfully weird nod to contemporary style.

The artisans of Porcelain Studio Klimenkoff have created incredibly intricate hand-carved flowers ($115), and white bisque fruits and vegetables (from $35) with touches of gold that are astonishingly delicate. The garlic, pickles, pears, artichokes, pea pods and pineapples in this series are ironic and whimsical, and make for unique gifts.

Some pieces at Far4 are museum quality, including the porcelain packing peanuts from France's Sevres (call for pricing), which continue to blow my mind days after first seeing them. I had to look really closely to determine whether they were made out of Styrofoam or porcelain. One single gold peanut sits atop the pile of white ones, giving it away.

Far4 also carries beautiful light-as-air glassware, including monogrammed drinking glasses ($165 each) from Vienna's venerable Lobmeyr, which made candelabras for the Viennese Imperial Court in 1835.

Far4 offers custom orders and a gift registry, and whether your taste runs to traditional or modern, the First Avenue shop is likely to have something that will captivate you.

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