Rachel mugs

My daughter-in-law Rachel is an artist.  She makes beautiful pots out of clay, glazes them and then puts the perfect ones (only the perfect ones!) up for sale.  She sells at several arts and crafts shows in the St. Louis area, and she also has an Etsy shop.

At the end of this post, I’ll send you to her Etsy shop, because once you see my pictures, you’re going to want to buy some for yourself.

Now I’m an avid thrift-store and garage-sale devotee, as you probably know, if you’ve known me for any time at all.  I love finding treasures in out-of-the-way shops for little money.  But I love (even more) building up a collection of Rachel ware. I have my own mug:  aren’t I lucky?

This is the mug I drink my morning coffee out of every morning.

Little Mack has his own mug:

It’s little and cute, just like him.  I would commandeer it for myself, except it doesn’t hold enough for me.  Plus, it’s just the right size for Mack.

Amalia has her own mug:

Amalia can be a bit . . . possessive about this mug. Don’t even look like you want to borrow it. Just sayin’.

Bryan has a manly mug that I bought for him:

See? Big. Beautiful. Manly.

And we just recently bought two droolingly-beautiful bowls that we fight over.  Good-naturedly, naturellement.

Here’s the gleaming inside of one of them. Doesn’t it just make you happy to look at it?

And here’s the outside. I love that crackly glaze. I know there’s a pottery-techie term for it which I don’t remember.  I just know that I love to touch it and to look at it.

We all really treasure our special Rachel mugs and cups.  In fact, one day Bethie had a friend over, and Amalia and I spotted the two of them walking by, holding cups of steaming hot tea.  I won’t divulge who the Friend was, so as not to embarrass.  Amalia and I noticed at the same time that Bethie had made her friend’s tea in my special mug.  “Mom–“ Amalia hissed, in alarm.  “Bethie let–her friend–use your Rachel mug!”  I was surprised at how possessive I felt at that moment about my Rachel mug, and even more surprised at how possessive Amalia felt about my Rachel mug.  I use it every morning for my morning coffee, and then I wash it (by hand) and put it away for tomorrow’s morning coffee.  Later that morning, Amalia cleaned out a small cabinet in the kitchen, lined it with clean paper towels, and carefully put our Rachel mugs in there.  Including mine (after carefully washing it, natch.)  For safekeeping.  I love that girl.

Here’s our collection of Rachelware.  They all get along fine together.

If such a simple thing as a special mug or a beautiful bowl (which, it must be noted, will probably outlast me) can enrich our lives so completely, why not buy a few for yourself?  Just a suggestion.  Or at least treat yourself to admiring them.

Once again, this is where you find them.

Here’s the cup I’m saving up for.  Check out that green glaze inside, and the winsome buttons.

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