I've got a lot of Petr's teaware, starting with a kyusu, a shiboridashi, and a pair of tea cups from the TeaChat special offer.
Because I helped with a mailing mixup, Petr thanked me with a gorgeous chawan. I liked them all so well--their aesthetics really speak to me, but equally important is their functionality, whether as matcha chawan, shibo, kyusu, or simpler teacup....and very occasionally, as a flower display:
And sadness over that first chawan not being used for matcha as intended inspired me to learn to
enjoy matcha at last
I like them so much that I've continued to pick up pieces from various retailers and directly from Petr, even buying a holiday gift for myself of a hohin and teacup at the same time as I was thinning the tea shelves with donations for the
TeaForum fundraiser, because I've learned that I have to jump fast to get his pieces--so often I've found his offerings sold out before I am aware that they are up.
My everyday tea setup at home and at my primary office are on Mirka's tea trays. This kyusu is my go-to for morning sencha and many other green teas
I adore this cup so much that I christened it the Flower of Forgetfulness, and I first posted this on TeaChat when I got this bowl:
"I saw this cup in Petr's available now listing, but for many days there was only the one photo, with no additional information. I did follow several of the '
Rules for Buying Teapots' including particularly 'Don't buy now'--I waited days, maybe even weeks, before I fired off an e-mail to ask Petr about it; and 'Only buy things you love..... Only buy something that absolutely looks amazing.'
The snowflake glaze gives an amazing texture
It reminds me of the 'Flower of Forgetfulness' from the Heinlein story, 'We also walk dogs'--described as a Ming bowl of great beauty and subtlety, that one could lose oneself in contemplating, so much so that it drove a considerable part of the plot of the story.
"
I love how it has aged as the crackles have developed
I've also shared a few pieces with tea-friends at the office. Counting those at the office from memory, and those at home which fill their own teaware shelf, I've now got about 2 dozen pieces altogether, shino and black magda and nuka and snowflake and treebark and ash-only unglazed pieces; chawans, cups, shinos, back and side handled kyusu, yuzamashi, tea trays; and several different clays.
And I just picked up my holiday present from me to my yesterday: a hohin and a cup via
Klasek Tea. The hohin is lovely and functional, and will go to work as a perfect size for tea for one through a quiet evening. The cup is even lovelier in person than it was in the photos, and I think it's going to rival the flower of forgetfulness in my affections, but being a bit smaller, it will not really 'compete' with that larger bowl for use. Petr describes this as a 'bluish-white glaze' but it needs a better name, particularly with the unglazed accents:
