Yesterday was a "book homework" day for me, one in which I sat at my computer, participated in a marketing webinar recommended by my publisher, and generally worked on the behind-the-scenes stuff that is required of authors these days. Necessary but not particularly fun stuff, in other words. You know what makes it better? A new tea mug! Downstairs, I generally sip out of bone china. But upstairs in my office, where desk space is valuable real estate, I don't need a saucer taking up space and instead use tea mugs. I found a new one (or perhaps a new "old" one) over the weekend at Goodwill.
I couldn't quibble with the price. And hasn't Goodwill gotten fancy with their stickers! I just realized that I bought this tea mug the very day it is dated, so perhaps I got to it just before someone else did.
The two-piece set caught my eye immediately, and I love both the pretty seafoam-green color and the crackling, which I'm guessing is a design feature and not necessarily the result of age. And isn't that handle pretty? I love a handle like this because one finger can comfortably grip the inside while another perches on that little curve beneath it.
The infuser appeared to be in great shape, and when I got it home and untaped the set, I was happy to find the infuser intact, since I always wonder whether the tape and stickers might be covering some flaw. I made a cup of oolong tea in this new mug and enjoyed several steepings of it thanks to the mug, which did a fine job of steeping my tea and made my day of work much more enjoyable than it might have otherwise been.
Do you suppose this is a Chinese or Japanese character? I have no idea, but I'd sure love to know who made my pretty and efficient little tea mug!
Very nice! And you can't beat the price. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a clever idea! I've never seen one like that, and what a lovely color. Hope you find out who made it, and let us all know. Great find!
ReplyDeleteThat really is a very nice mug with infuser! Unfortunately I can't read Chinese or Japanese, so I don't know what it says on the bottom. But once again, your sharp eye found a treasure at Goodwill!
ReplyDeleteGreat deal!
ReplyDeleteYes! It's Asian for sure. I have a platter, serving bowl, and salt & pepper set in this style, a little more greenish than yours, purchased in Japan, but produced in southeast Asia. The Chinese character,if I'm not correct, is Lin, but is pronounced Hayashi in Japanese. So from a linguistic standpoint it could be from either country. I can't speak to the pottery production process. Absolutely beautiful! And perfect for a desk. I love the detail of the flowers, and also the beautiful handle.
ReplyDeleteThanks, J, for the great information! I appreciate it!
DeleteYou always find the best stuff! This is so pretty... and particularly useful with its own infuser... such a soft color... and the touch of flowers is delightful... and the handle attractive. I would have snatched this up in an instant!
ReplyDeleteMy niece is fluent in Japanese after teaching there for 4 years, so I showed her the characters. She said the Japanese & Chinese characters can be similar sometimes. It is written in an unusual way as the first characters are from the children's alphabet and the second set from the adult alphabet. She said it basically translates as "white grove".
ReplyDeleteSusan K.
Oh, thank you so much for investigating, Susan! I appreciate this so much!!!
DeleteLove the new mug!
ReplyDelete