Shino glaze embodies the nature of wabi-sabi - finding beauty in imperfection. Think of a worn-in leather chair with marks and scuffs, or a statues sharp edges softened by rain over centuries, or the gnarled and meandering branches of an old oak tree. These flaws give life, personality, feeling. They tell a story.

What story?

The small circle marks at the bottom tell where my fingers held the piece as I’ve dipped it in glaze. The horizontal ridges show where my hands have gently brought the clay up while it spun on the wheel. The drips in the glaze give a glimpse of the movement that was once there. When you hold it in your hands, you can feel that it was made by another set of hands, my set of hands.

That cup, or mug, or bowl starts to weave into your life, your days, your mornings like a mending thread through the elbow of a well-loved sweater. Slowly, that cup becomes the cup you reach for on sleepy weekend mornings, or when the sun finally comes through the window after a long winter. It becomes something more than just a cup.

It becomes part of your story.