something about swirls

One of my customers, Leanne, forwarded the above image to me. Leanne created beautiful swirl napkins to match her set of gleena swirl plates. They look fantastic. I love how graphic the napkins are when they are folded. Thank you, Leanne, for this incredible photo!

script dessert plates

A commission of pink dessert plates with antique calligraphy running along the rim.

a wedding gift serving bowl

The largest of the gourd bowl series, personalized for a couple with a quote from their invitation:

I love the idea of this bowl being used at family dinners, reminding the couple of their wedding day, and of their vows.

jennifer & matt, sipping tea and eating cake every new year's day for their anniversary

What a fun commission for a couple married on Jan 1, 2011.

a summery table setting to warm up the holidays

I love this custom table setting with eight white platters, large organic bowls in mustard, and small organic bowls in pale green. Each bowl has a different summer image in the bottom: either a grasshopper, moth, butterfly, shell or flower. All together the set creates a summery atmosphere, even in the cold of winter.

wee t's: popular for the holidays

wee t’s being fired in the Big T kiln

all these are custom orders! fun!

gleena and Harney & Sons

I have been an admirer of Harney & Sons Fine Teas for a long long time. I was first drawn to their exquisite packaging, and then got hooked on the superb tea. For a few years I have been wanting to send Harney & Sons my wee teas, thinking that the two belong together. How serendipitous it was that I met the Harney family at The NY Gift Fair? And here is the result of our meeting: a Harney & Sons wee tea alphabet, with the names of the teas Harney & Sons carries. The perfect blend of my graphic design experience and my ceramic inclination. My favorite project to date (and a dream come true).

To see the cups in person, visit the Harney & Sons Tea Tasting Room on Main Street, The Railroad Plaza, Millerton, NY.

for baby

A set of three gourd bowls commissioned for a new baby in the family, with the full name, date, and time of birth. I can see this set being used for every birthday the child will have.

monogrammed wedding set

A wedding gift with the couple’s initials on the two larger bowls, and their daughter’s initials on the smallest.

dishes for su

My very good friend Su and I designed dishes together that match Su’s new house as well as Su’s personality. Su is an elegant woman with sophisticated taste and a love of fashion. She also has a great sense of humor and a very casual, playful attitude to life. The set combines all aspects of Su’s persona by using white, a lovely warm gray and a joyful yellow, with a mix of polka dots. Plus fun sayings of foods Su loves and illustrations of shoes.

The table place setting has a formal white platter, an elegant warm gray salad plate, a happy yellow dessert plate with a shoe illustration on it, a fun polka dotted soup bowl, and a tea cup imprinted with letters that stand for things like "hot sauce" and "mom’s macaroni and cheese".

I love the way the soup/cereal/yogurt/oatmeal bowls stack up. They immediately put me in a good mood. We made these more casual so they can be used for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Su is a big fan of shoes, think Carrie on Sex and the City. We found fun sketches of different shoes on istock, and purchased them for one time use.

The tea cups (or ice cream cups) are for after dinner conversations, and are inscribed with pieces of information not commonly known about Su. One saying "D is for sticky ‘date’ cake" is a good conversation starter. I don’t even know the full story behind that one.

The serving dishes are gray on the inside and white on the outside.

Chloe is Su’s Maltese and Yorkshire mix, and has her own dishes to match the set. One for water, the other for food.

I love the combination of Su’s style and gleena aesthetic that this set embodies, creating a one of a kind collection.

coleman and gigi

This past weekend, I took care of my neighbors’ cats, Coleman and Gigi, and was inspired to make them personalized food bowls. Now they know exactly which bowl to eat out of...

wee teas for everyone

Finally sent off a commission for a family in Calgary, with beautiful names like Antoinette and Ruby and Owen.

The pink is pooling at the bottom edge of the glaze, creating a little skirt. It has to do something with the chemical make up of the colorant I use. Apparently, the pooling is tough to achieve without the glaze running all the way to the bottom, mine was a happy accident. It adds an extra dimension to the cup.

dessert plates for Deb

A set of twelve dessert plates for Deb, to share lots of sweet times with loved ones.

cup and saucer

I created a custom cup for a friend who liked the idea of "xo" appearing at the bottom of a cup of hot chocolate. The saucer just begged to go with the cup, and now all are happy on her kitchen shelf.

Photograph by Ayesha Patel

bread plates and goblets

Bread plates and goblets are finished to add to the set of twelve swirl plates commissioned by a friend. Each one stamped with a number from my set of Caslon 540 lead type. I love the way glaze pools in the numbers.