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Mugs
     Handle Exploration
The modern mug handle directs the hand to hold only the handle rather than allowing the hand to wrap around the mug. There is a disconnect between the form of the mug, the beverage it contains, and the hand holding it. This lack of natural communication has led us astray from the ritual of enjoying beverages.


The form of the mug body works in conjunction with the  handles.

You must hold the mug, the handle  can only act as a support,  instructions for how to grasp it.

You deserve to feel the warmth of your drink.

Taking into consideration the history and implications of the inventions of additional handles with regards to western taste, adding additional steps to drinking tea, alongside the addition of the saucer, the teapot shown above adds even more steps. Viewing this design from a neutral standpoint, our current time calls for more innovation of the sorts.Handles of mugs will be the focus of my redesign, as our pace of life mostly calls for uses of the mug without a saucer/plate. With support from research of living through covid, and post-covid interiors, people are spending more and more time at home. Mugs provide a standard home good everyone owns. I have yet to see much innovation with their handle design that puts practicality at the forefront. The classic handle is perfect, but our brains and senses crave more stimulation.

I will be exploring forms that do not fit the standards for ceramics that value longevity, though indeed all made ceramics should be held to the standard of “not breaking easily”, but sculpture does not. I think of the rise in decorated hands, the extent to which nails have been bedazzled seems higher than ever, but the ritual of decorating ones nails dates back. A mug becomes an extension of the hand that holds it, and how intimate it is to put your mouth to this object. A mug that expects extra care may be a way to slow down in actions, ritualistic the way liquids served in mugs are meant to be drank. Tea was sipped slowly, as was coffee.   


The modern mug handle directs the hand to hold only the handle rather than having the hand wrapped around the mug. There is a disconnect between the form of the mug (and hence the beverage it contains and the hand holding it. This doesn’t allow for the communication of the temperature of the drink to be felt by the hand, and in fact, is designed for that sole purpose at the beginning. 

The reason we feel all this is not due to post-covid, it has been happening long before this, since the globalization of the internet, the world has been changing in intense ways ever since. We can only try to solve small parts of it, all together. 


The kitchen is where the day is started. To grab water, make coffee, clean up from the night before– the kitchen is a space that serves the functions needed to start ones day. A place of intersection between roomates, the feelings of this space are important. 


Storage does not need to hide objects, the act of such then classifies these objects as “clutter”, the objects you have in your house are and should be a part of your visual identity. You buy objects you enjoy interacting with, why put them away just to then buy more? Like keychains and trinkets you own to signify your identity, all home goods should be viewed under the same lens. Your mugs, beautiful and personal, stored away from use, can still be visible.