Tea things from Speyer, Germany 2008

This amazing lidded tea cup with ceramic inset and removable strainer I bought in Paris a few years ago for 5euros. This trip we recently made to Europe was also exciting because we found these lovely ceramic tea strainers and strainer-based cup in Speyer in Germany in a fantastic boo shop near the cathedral.

As I cannot speak German, the lovely woman selling me these items juggled a few slightly emnglish words with some sign language to tell me the strainer in the last pics with the four larger holes is for herbal teas (leafy things)!

They're just such lovely objects...I'm not really sure how to use the strainer-based cup though! Anyone have any ideas on this??

Amazing Tea Cosy Purse thing!

Wow! My gorgeous friend Gwena just emailed me these images of a purse-like tea cosy a friend of hers in New South Wales has and which kept the tea pot toasty warm during Gwena's last visit to her friends' place.

Its a really fascinating and eminently practical solution to the tea cosy design question...and I must admit its just the inspirational direction I've been looking for with my tea cosy works...somehow to inject some high glamour and historical/social narrative into my tea cosy form and designs!

So there are going to be some interesting and hopefully quite glamorous tea cosy handbag-purses parading forth from my studio during the coming (wintery Tasmanian) months! Oooooh, can't wait...and thank you so much for these images Gwena, you're a treasure!

FABULOUS TEA THINGS in Speyer, Germany

woops! these are the coffee filter photos...i have to take some pics of the ceramic tea strainers i got at this little shop in germany....next post...