Development Process
I recieved an order from a local used bookstore who is opening up a coffee house and pastry shop in conjunction with their “Fine Books” collectibles, first editions, etc.. They want 16 oz, 12 oz, 8 oz, 6 oz, and 3 oz cups and mugs with a saucer that will work with all sizes. The three largest sizes are no problem since I already make cups in those sizes but the smaller two require developing a new product. The first to be designed is the 6 oz cappuccino cups (traditional size) and I researched to see what is traditional.
My personal goal in this exercise (order) is to demonstrate that hand made pottery can be as refined and elegant as manufactured china ware. Often people do not believe I am hand throwing my pots because of the consistency and thinness of the work, somewhere along the line they have been led to believe that handmade pottery is heavy and a little coarse by nature. The fact of the matter is that the chinese were throwing pots paper thin a long, long time ago, pots where half of the thickness is the glaze. A practical reason for making pottery thick in times gone by was to avoid losses during shipping, this was a time when shipping costs were low and there was no such thing as bubble wrap or air ride trucks. I digress, back to my goal.
I determined that the right size wet (clay shrinks up to 15% during drying and firing) would be aboutn 4 1/2″ wide and 3″ tall. Next I needed to determine how much clay it would take to make a cup that size. Knowing that I use 340 grams for an 8 oz cup I decided to use 228 grams for these. The cups are more wide open like bowl and allow for presentation effects in the foam to be showcased. The thinness and delicacy add to the feeling of a special event when drinking from this type of cup (think tea party). The handles had to be thinner and smaller than my normal cup handle to stay in proportion and to keep the delicate feel of the piece.
Now for the saucers, I determined that I could make a raised ring in the middle of the saucer that would allow the cappuccino cups to fit inside the ring and the other, larger cups the foot ring would go outside the raised ring. This kept both sizes from sliding around on the saucer.
I am going to post a picture of the cup and saucer in the “green” state, unfired clay, and later will post pictures of the completed glazed pieces. The order was for 25 but I made around 50 of these (once the size and weight was determined I can throw 50 of these cups in about 90 minutes and the saucers even faster). I use a reference marker that swings out of the way to set the height and width for consistency. The saucers are made using a plaster bat shaped like the inside of the saucer and a slab of clay is pressed down while the wheel is spinning.