Katie Lebel Bolo Brown With Brass Tips

Katie Lebel Warm Compassion Cup

I once knew a woman named Katie who gave me a mug. Not just any mug—a vessel of such aggressive warmth that I felt obligated to drink from it while sitting in a therapist's office, which seemed redundant. This cup, bearing her name and presumably her philosophy, arrives in your life with the kind of gentle insistence of a well-meaning relative who's read one self-help book and won't stop talking about it. It's ceramic, which means it breaks if you're clumsy, and it holds liquid, which is what cups do. The "warm compassion" part is harder to quantify. I assume it works best when you're holding something hot—coffee, tea, or perhaps the realization that you've spent money on a mug with an aspirational name. There's something oddly French about that, isn't there? Naming inanimate objects as though they might develop feelings if we're kind enough to them. Whether you're the sort of person who needs a cup to remind you to be compassionate, or you're simply drawn to the idea of drinking from something that sounds like it was designed by someone who attended a very expensive wellness retreat, this is the mug for you. It sits on your shelf or in your hand, doing exactly what it was made to do, which is more than most of us can say about ourselves.

Katie Lebel Alien Baby Cup

There's a ceramic cup on the shelf, and on it, an alien baby stares back at you with the kind of expression that suggests it knows something you don't. Katie Lebel painted this creature—all enormous eyes and otherworldly charm—onto the outside of a vessel designed for the drinks you actually want to consume. It's the sort of thing that catches your eye in a way most cups don't. Functional, yes. But also strange enough to make you pause. The alien baby doesn't judge your coffee choices or your tendency to refill at odd hours. It just watches, patient and peculiar. This cup works for the person who appreciates a little weirdness in their morning routine, who doesn't mind their dishware having personality. It holds what you pour into it. It survives the dishwasher. And every time you reach for it, there's that small moment of recognition—oh right, the alien baby cup.

Katie Lebel Diva Sunglasses With Stars Cup

You know that feeling when you see something and think, "I would never"? This is that thing. A ceramic cup with a drawing of a woman in oversized sunglasses, surrounded by stars, looking like she's just discovered her own importance and decided to commit to it fully. The kind of cup that sits on your shelf and judges you a little bit, but in a friendly way. Katie Lebel designed this, which means someone actually sat down and thought about what the world needed: a diva in sunglasses, rendered in ceramic form, ready to hold your morning coffee. The cup doesn't apologize for being bold. It doesn't wonder if maybe it should tone things down. There's a lesson in that, I think. We spend so much time trying to fit in, to be the right size, to wear the appropriate accessories. This cup wears sunglasses indoors and surrounds itself with stars anyway. It's the kind of thing you buy for someone who's tired of blending in, or for yourself on a day when you decide that maybe confidence—even the absurd kind—is worth trying on.

Katie Lebel Sculptural Face Planter