Merrilyn's last batch • In 4 active carts right now • Only 187 left
Merrilyn's Watermelon Fruit Bowl
Merrilyn's Watermelon Fruit Bowl
Dispatched within 1–2 business days
90-day money-back guarantee
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Merrilyn's Watermelon Fruit Bowl
Thrown & painted by hand on the Murray, Robinvale · The last batch
The fruit bowl the grandkids actually reach into.
187 bowls left · the shed closes 30 November“Six points, six forks, six grandkids. Each one got a colour.”
For twenty years, Merrilyn Haddow cut up fruit for her six grandkids and watched it go soft in a plastic container at the back of the fridge. After her husband Lindsay, who grew watermelons on the Murray outside Robinvale for 46 summers, passed away, she threw a little bowl on her wheel and painted it like one of his melons, with six coloured forks tucked into the zigzag rim. On Christmas Day 2024 the grandkids emptied it before the prawns were on the table.
At 73, she has decided this spring’s firing is her last. What’s left of it is all there will be.
From The Craftsman’s Review
What arrives at your door
- One hand-thrown, hand-painted ceramic watermelon bowl in the melon you choose: Crimson Red or Golden Yellow
- Six stainless steel fruit picks with coloured ball handles (lilac, sky blue, lemon, orange, cherry and pink), already set in the six points of the rim
- Wrapped by hand in paper and packed in a sturdy box
- Merrilyn’s 90-day money-back guarantee
The fruit is not included. Merrilyn says the grandkids ate it.
Two kinds of melon
Crimson Red
Painted like the red melons Lindsay trucked to Melbourne every January. Lime-green striped rind, a thin white band at the edge and a red inside with little black seeds.
Golden Yellow
For “the secret row,” the yellow-fleshed melons Lindsay grew only for the grandkids. Same green rind and white band, with a sunny yellow inside and black seeds.
Every stripe is painted freehand, so no two bowls are exactly alike. The stripes land a little differently on each one, and the seeds are never in the same places twice.
Why it works better than a plastic container
Fruit where people see it
It belongs on the bench or the table, not behind the pickles. What people can see is what gets eaten.
The forks come with it
Six stainless picks live in the rim. Pull one, eat, slide it back. No drawer, no sticky fingers.
Everybody has a colour
Kids claim their colour and keep it. At parties, everyone keeps their own pick, so nobody double-dips.
Looks like a melon
Nobody ever walked past a watermelon. The bowl looks like something you want to reach into.
Real ceramic, fired twice
Thrown on the wheel, painted, glazed and fired again. Solid enough that it doesn’t tip when a pick is pulled.
Snack size, on purpose
One good serving at a time, eaten fresh. Then you fill it again instead of a big bowl going brown.
How to use it
- Fill it. Cut fruit into bite-size pieces: watermelon, mango, cherries, strawberries, grapes, whatever is in season.
- Put it out. On the kitchen bench after school, on the table at tea, out on the verandah when the cricket is on.
- Pull a fork. Everybody takes a ball, spears a piece and keeps their pick until the bowl is empty.
- Rinse and refill. Rinse the bowl and the picks, slide the picks back into the points, and it’s ready for tomorrow.
Grown-ups use it, too: cheese cubes and olives for visitors, cherries at a barbie, or a little bowl of strawberries next to the reading chair.
A plastic container vs. Merrilyn’s bowl
| Plastic container in the fridge | Merrilyn’s watermelon bowl | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Behind the leftovers | On the bench, in plain sight |
| Forks | Somewhere in a drawer | Six, stored in the rim |
| Who eats from it | Whoever remembers it’s there | Everybody with a colour |
| At a party | Fingers and toothpicks | One pick per guest |
| Made | By a machine, by the million | By hand, 187 left |
Made by hand on the Murray
Merrilyn married Lindsay Haddow in 1972. Six years later they planted their first melons on the sandy river country outside Robinvale, on a bend of the Murray where the long hot summers suit melons. Every summer for 46 years, one row was yellow and kept for the grandkids.
Merrilyn has thrown pots for more than twenty years, on a second-hand wheel Lindsay gave her for their thirtieth anniversary. After he passed in 2024, she moved the wheel and her little kiln into his empty melon packing shed. That December she made the first watermelon bowl, cutting the zigzag rim with his old paring knife.
Every bowl since has been thrown, cut, pierced, painted and fired by her. Her granddaughter Brooke runs the little online shop from her kitchen table in Mildura and takes the parcels to the post office.
On 30 November, Merrilyn closes the shed. What came out of the last firing is all there is.
Merrilyn Haddow
Robinvale, on the Murray, Victoria
What a school canteen veteran says
“I ran a primary school canteen for 26 years. Fruit cups on a tray went in the bin. Fruit in a bowl on the bench, cut up and easy to grab, disappeared. Kids eat what they can see and reach, and they love anything that’s theirs. A fork in their own colour is exactly that.”
Robyn Treloar, retired canteen manager, Mildura, VIC
Perfect for
Questions people asked at the show
How big is it?
About 17.5 centimetres across and 9.5 centimetres tall. It’s a snack bowl, not a salad bowl: a good bunch of grapes, or a mango and a handful of cherries cut up.
Are the picks safe for kids?
They’re small stainless steel forks with two pointed tines, so they’re made for big kids and grown-ups. Merrilyn wouldn’t give one to a toddler, and neither should you.
Do the picks fall out?
No. Each pick slides snugly into its own hole in a point of the rim, so they stay put when the bowl is carried. Pull gently and they come right out.
Is every bowl the same?
The shape is the same. The stripes and seeds are painted by hand, so each one is a little different.
Will there be more?
No. This spring’s firing was the last big one. When these 187 are gone, there won’t be another batch.
Merrilyn’s promise
“If the kids won’t touch it, send it back. I’d rather it sat on the bench of somebody who’ll use it.”
Every order comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee. No questions asked. Every bowl is wrapped by hand and dispatched within 1 to 2 business days.
Care & use
Rinse the bowl and the picks under warm water with a little dish soap and let them dry. Treat it like any good ceramic dish: a hard knock on stone or tile can chip it. Small differences in the painting and the glaze are part of hand-made work, not a flaw.
Product details
| Size | approx. 17.5 cm across × 9.5 cm tall (6.9 × 3.7 in) |
| Picks | 6 stainless steel picks, approx. 8.7 cm, coloured ball handles |
| Material | Glazed ceramic, fired twice |
| Melons | Crimson Red · Golden Yellow |
| Made | Thrown and painted by hand, Robinvale, Victoria |
| Shipping | Dispatched within 1–2 business days |
| Guarantee | 90-day money-back guarantee |
The Final Series
The Final Series
A message from Merrilyn:
For 46 summers my husband Lindsay grew watermelons on the Murray outside Robinvale, and for twenty of them I put cut fruit in the fridge for our grandkids and watched it go soft. The first watermelon bowl I made for them, on Christmas Day 2024, was empty before the prawns were on the table. Every bowl since has been thrown on my wheel, cut, painted and fired twice in Lindsay’s old melon shed with my own two hands. Those hands are 73 now, the arthritis has reached the one that holds the brush, and this spring’s firing is my last. These 187 bowls are what’s left.
On 30 November 2026 I close the shed. After that, Brooke keeps posting until the very last bowl is gone.
When they’re gone, they’re gone.
Free Shipping
Free Shipping
Free shipping Australia-wide
- Dispatched within 1–2 business days with Australia Post, with tracking
- Insured: every parcel is fully insured
- Wrapped by hand in paper, with the six picks in place, so the ceramic arrives safely
- Approx. 17.5 cm across, 9.5 cm tall, six stainless steel picks of approx. 8.7 cm
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Brooke personally replies to every single email – as fast as she possibly can. Whether you have a question about your order or just want to say g’day to Merrilyn, we're here.
You can reach us:
- Mon – Fri: 9am – 5pm (AEDT)
- Saturday: 10am – 3pm (AEDT)
Email: info@backroad-goods.com
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Of course. We stand behind everything in our shop 100%. If the watermelon bowl doesn't win you over, just shoot us an email within 90 days and we'll make it right – no hassle, no headaches.