If your spirits need lifting - and I'd hazard a guess that they do - let me direct you to a couple of things that had me smiling this week. First off, the new Saatchi gallery in the Duke of York's parade off Sloane Square in Chelsea is simply ravishing. I won't attempt to pass judgment on the contemporary Chinese works - above my pay grade, as Barack Obama might say - but it was extremely arresting. The building, which was the old Ministry of Defence, is airy and brilliantly lit and, best of all, entirely free and open to one and all.

Secondly, I know of few things as uplifting as the wild and wonderful ideas of our young designers and crafts people. A trip to the Fountain Court at Somerset House in London, to which site the old Chelsea Crafts Fair has been transferred, is a joyful experience. Tickets are £8, and concessions £6. You don't have to buy anything, but should, because this is the work of designers (some straight out of college), many of whom seem to be out of touch with economic reality and charge strangely little for original, one-off work.

Remember, everything is made by the people on the stands. Nothing is mass-produced. You can talk to the makers and arrange to visit their studios later if their work takes your fancy. For those who get agitated if all their Christmas presents aren't wrapped by the end of October, Origin, as the fair is now called, seems a pretty good place to start.

Taste levels are guarded, terrier-like, by the Crafts Council (which means no dodgy bits of macramé here) and, while nothing replaces a personal visit, you can also check out the work online by looking up the individual designers at the craftscouncil.org.uk/origin. Many of the designers have their own sites which you can buy from if you can't get to the fair itself.

The best things by far are the wonder- fully innovative and interesting pieces of jewellery, the scarves, glass and pottery. You can find plenty of diverting pieces for under £100, though if you were of a mind to splash out on some startling jewellery or a stunning piece of blown glass you could go up to £4,000 or £5,000.

Here are some of the things I liked best: Wendy Stevens's steel handbags are simply heavenly. They're sleek, small and sculptural. You could get a perfect little evening bag for £200 and nobody would know where it came from (Marc Jacobs eat your heart out). Disa Allsopp's rings are made of oxidised silver or, more expensively, gold, with great irregular chunks of semi-precious stones. The little rough gold rings are adorable. Prices start at £50 for a tiny stone but for a bit of pizzazz you should expect to pay about £150.

Tithi Kutchamuch, from Thailand, has a paper flat-pack from which you punch out and put together 12 different white paper rings, in the shape of flowers. At £35, a terrific stocking present. Sarah Herriot has some chic rings, based on birds' egg shapes, at prices that start at £245 in silver and go up to £2,700 for dramatic gold versions. Annabet Wyndham makes beautiful beaten silver spoons - a terrific christening or wedding anniversary present - at prices that start at £75. Jane Adam had some stunning cuffs in silver and gold.

I loved Etsuko's richly decorative obi-like scarves made from traditional Japanese kimono material. They've come all the way from Japan, are available only this week at the fair (next week another 130 crafts people will take over) and, at £1,250 a time, are not cheap but any one of them could transform any number of otherwise dreary outfits. For another look entirely, Bobbie Kociejowski makes subtle Mis- soni-esque silk and wool scarves for £110.

If functional household things are more your line, Sue Binns has a modern take on traditional blue and white pottery ware, imbuing it with an almost Zen-like serenity. Rachel Dormor has an array of beautifully simple porcelain jugs, salt holders, olive oil dispensers, cups and saucers in lovely creams and aquamarines and you could get a jug, hand-thrown, for £25. Gillies Jones's blown glass bowls are singularly appealing, and a plain glass one can be had for £80. You could also pick up gorgeous notebooks with one-off hand-crafted covers that would make terrific stocking presents. If nobody buys from these youngsters, we risk losing some of these precious craft-based skills. And a world without them would seem a poorer place.

Origin is on at the Fountain Court, Somerset House, London WC2. The first 130 exhibitors show until October 12. The next 130 exhibitors take over from October 14 to 19. For opening times and other details, visit www.somersethouse.org.uk

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