Collect will be missed! That's got to be the first and most important thing to say about Collect 2008. With an agreement for only five shows at the V&A Collect 2008 was the last to be scheduled at the V&A. Given the range and quality of work shown this year, the sheer number of visitors, and the opportunity to chat to so many artists in one place for collectors it would be a mistake of monumental significance if something is not organised for a similar show next year. With such a strong showing this year I can't imagine the crafts council will sit idly by and not try to renew the agreement with the V&A but we'll have to just see I guess.

The show itself this year was a slightly more mixed bag than last. I would I think have summed it up by saying while the best work there was excellent, nay have even better than last year, there were some galleries showing work that at best did not really come up to scratch. I suspect some of the problem may be artists only being willing to be represented by one gallery (although like most things there were exceptions) so some galleries, that I know in general have a very high quality of work normally, came across as distinctly average this year. If this wasn't the case then I must wonder why some galleries even bothered to turn up. I won't be naming names though...

The best work at the show this year belonged to Yufuku - a Japanese gallery based in Tokyo. This was the first year they had come to Collect and range and quality of work shown was breathtaking. From elegant stoneware by Mihara Ken through to the most wonderful metal work it was no surprise that by the Saturday almost all the pieces shown had been sold. Personally I was very tempted to commission a work from them and had their terms been more realistic I might have taken things further. It also opened my eyes to the craft world beyond Europe and the States. Clearly there is much excellent work going on in Asia and beyond and it must be high on my list of things to do to start to learn more.

Other highlights for me this year included Gallerie Marianne Heller showing Pippen Drysdale and Rupert Spira. These works complemented each other spectacularly with Pippens work having a wonderful swathes of colour whereas Ruperts, as usual, stuck to monochromatic work with simple scraffito and raised poems. Although many of Ruperts forms I've seen before he is always experimenting with new, and harder I suspect to throw, bowls as well as introducing new scraffito patterns and occasionally new glazes. I think it would be best described as a gradual transition but its great to see the gradual evolution over time. So many artists seem to get almost stuck with the one idea on which they rest their laurels while others move and evolve and I'm happy to add Rupert to the latter not former list.

Adrian Sassoon, or more technically Claire Beck was back at Collect this year also. They were showing one of the highlights of the show, a series of monumental pots by Julian Stair, Spira (again) and Felicity Aylieff. While very impressive I was somewhat under whelmed by them. Julian's pots, which were actually bought as part of the art fund available for Collect, resembled to me little more than garden planters and Ruperts while huge didn't for me represent anything more than an extension of his usual work. Certainly you would have needed huge garden and and even bigger bank balance to take much of a fancy to them! The other work on Claires stand was the usual Fritsch - repeated forms ad nauseam - Kate Malone whose work seems to be getting more press and a lot of glass work by various artists.

Moving on we pass the Scottish Gallery represented by Catrina Jansen who I had the pleasure of meeting earlier this year. The Scottish galleries showing this year was strong with some superb Stair teasets and Bodil Manz cylinders.

Moving away from ceramics it is definitely worth saying that other disciplines were equally well represented. Sarah Mysersclough showed some excellent work working, the Ruthin crafts centre some great furniture by David Colwell and we had the pleasure of seeing the most expensive wardrobe I've ever seen - a John Makepeice creation at a staggering £100,000.

Well that concludes my shorter than expected review. Was a great pleasure to meet so many people there and I hope a venue is sorted for next year as soon as possible.