Who doesn't have a favorite tea or coffee mug? Maybe it's used daily, on the weekends or only for special occasions. One of my favorites was handmade/wheel-thrown by my friend Frank. It crashed to the floor while working on my small sewing desk, now used as my computer station, where I misjudged the cup while placing it on the desk. The mug broke into several pieces, crushing my heart that my favorite mug for the past five years was no longer in service.
Never fear. Frank is a prolific amateur potter that continues to make his famous-to-me mugs and other vessels. He is also a prolific quilter (another story!). Frank is a generous retired engineer soul who keeps himself busy with these two disciplines, fixing up his home and taking care of his daughter’s horses (she lives next door).
About an hour after I broke the mug, I called Frank. I asked him if he still had a few mugs lying around the house and if he'd be willing to let a few go for this damsel in distress. Indeed he did! Hubby Bill and I drove off to Frank’s house later in the afternoon to hunt for a new mug with that right feel-in-my-hand kind of mug, hoping I'd find one that would feel like the one I had broken earlier that morning.
Of course, I have other suitable mugs that could be considered a favorite, but they are not Frank's. Isn’t it funny how we get used to something so fiercely — even a doggone mug?
But Frank doesn’t make any run-of-the-mill mugs; he crafts them so that your hand wraps around its curved handle and thumb rest for multiple ahh moments while sipping a hot cup of tea or Joe. I had to try on the 20 or so he had sprawled over his kitchen table to find that perfect hand-to-mug fit.
We left with four mugs, two apiece. I couldn’t decide between the two that felt similar to the broken one, so Frank suggested I take them both. Since Bill is left-handed, and Frank’s mugs cater to right-handed folks, he chose two without handles. Bill didn't care one bit. His hands can caress the entire vessel for warmth whenever he decides to make a hot cup of coffee—often daily.
I've been sipping my tea with my new favorite mug for the last few days. It will take a little while for me to get that certain feel with how my hand wraps around the handle and thumb rest, but I’m in for the long haul and better table placement when setting it down on any surface from now on!
bSoleille!
Terri
