size cork in the top of the mug. It was an exact fit and then the potter said,“ Now it’ s perfect.” That was“ my” coffee mug for the next thirty-seven years until I found myself back in that same pottery. The original proprietor had passed away, but his wife still turned out excellent wares. One of them was a muted blue-green glazed mug of perfect proportions. I picked it up and noticed the exquisite curvature of the handle. It felt custom made for me.
This new mug was based on the same design as“ my” coffee mug. It was round but with a more sensuous roundness and its perfectly formed rim invited my lips in a way that“ my” coffee mug didn’ t anymore. And once again I found myself with a new coffee mug. But, what about my other mugs, you ask?
Well, I still have them. I couldn’ t part with them; who else could possibly appreciate them the way I have? They are displayed in my office where I can commune with them and reminisce about our shared history. While the story of my coffee mug relationships is not the purpose of this essay, it is a good illustration of how one can fall into collecting things.
I think that there is something about collecting that may be hardwired in our brains from times in history when we just didn’ t have enough or at least the right things to make life better. I also think that we all have an ability to appreciate form, color, practicality, and good workmanship. These things are the basics of craftsmanship.
I have spent several hundred words talking about“ my” coffee mug but when I look around the kitchen, I see a hand-made cutting board and hand-carved spoons and ladles, and other items that were fashioned by hands that cared about the material and the process they worked with. There is a special aura possessed by wellmade craft items that calls to us not just in their use but in our perception of the esthetics of them.
That is why I collect things, to be in a relationship with those things that have somehow called to me. And most of those things I have found and collected have been created by the talented artisans of Brown County. •
Two Shops in the same Complex
Hand-Poured Soy Candles Wax Melts Incense & Essential Oils
Hand-Made Home Decor Boutique Clothing Jewelry & Gifts
Located in the Redbud Terrace Shoppes 146 East Main Street in Nashville
May / June 2021 • Our Brown County 39