The Pieces I Didn't Expect to Keep
There is a shelf in my studio that doesn't have a name. It isn't the shelf for finished orders, or the shelf for glaze tests, or the shelf for things waiting to be photographed. It's the shelf for pieces that came out of the kiln almost right — a rim that warped a little, a glaze that pooled somewhere I didn't plan, a shape that turned out shorter than I meant it to be.
For years I quietly set those pieces aside, half-embarrassed by them, like a rough draft I didn't want anyone to read. But I've started noticing something: the pieces on that shelf are often the ones I like best. Not despite the flaw. Because of it. A slightly warped rim is proof a human hand was actually there.
I think that's true of more than pottery. The things we make with our hands — a meal, a garden bed, a letter, a first attempt at anything — are rarely perfect, and that's exactly what makes them belong to us. Perfection is a little bit anonymous. It could have come from anywhere. A flaw has a story attached to it.
A slightly warped rim is proof a human hand was actually there.
Once a year, I clear that shelf properly — not because the pieces aren't good, but because they deserve to be somewhere other than a corner of my studio. This year that day is coming soon. If you've ever wanted a piece with a little history already built into it, I'll be sharing that shelf with you very shortly, at a rare price, because I'd rather it go to a home than sit here waiting for a photograph that never quite happens.
These pieces are ready to ship now, exactly as they are — no waiting, no made-to-order timeline.
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Is there something in your own home you love more because of its flaw, not in spite of it? I'd love to hear about it — just hit reply.