Overview
If you're a regular coffee drinker, no doubt you've been caught up in the recent push towards recyclable or reusable coffee cups. And for many of us, drinking the sweet nectar from a one-use, environmentally-unfriendly takeaway cup is just not the same as a weighty, handmade ceramic cafe cup. But who has the time to stop and sip? Where can you find a fusion of both?
Thanks to a talented Queensland couple, you can now have your ceramic-bound coffee and drink it (on the go) too. Queensland potter Renton Bishopric and partner Clare Botfield have recently launched Pottery for the Planet — a series of limited edition pottery pieces that raise money and awareness of environmental issues.
"If we want to continue living in a beautiful clean country and world, we have to make some serious changes and that starts with the choices of each individual," says Bishopric.
In an effort to make this choice a little more design-savvy, the duo has begun making what customers have dubbed 'Planet Cups', bespoke ceramic coffee cups that reduce paper cup wastage, one coffee at a time. Bishopric and Botfield make each 8oz or 12oz cup by hand on the pottery wheel, drying and firing them in the kiln before glazing in a selection of colours. The intricate process by which they are made means each Planet Cup is unique.
"With a handmade product there are so many variables starting with the hands of the person that threw the pot, down to the firing environment in the kiln. So no matter what, each cup is unique from its brothers and sisters," says Bishopric.
Each Planet Cup comes with a silicone lid and the option of a heat band so extra hot coffee drinkers can protect their fingers.
Due to the incredible popularity of the Planet Cups, an online shop is set to be launched soon. In the meantime, the colourful creations can be purchased through the pair's Sunshine Coast retail store, Cinnabar Soul. You can also check out the Pottery for the Planet website for a list of local stockists.
If you live in Hobart, you're going to need one very soon.
Image: Renton Bishopric Ceramics.