Handmade Coffee In a Handmade Mug

29 May 2012

Posted by Starbucks

Written by: Emma Bridgewater

Well.  ‘Handmade coffee in a handmade mug’… Now that sounds like a pretty perfect combination! I’ve spent nearly three decades championing the virtues of handmade ceramics and I’ve spent even longer sampling the delights of my favourite drink - real coffee. So when Kris Engskov called me to ask if I would be interested in designing a handmade mug for Starbucks, I didn’t need to stop and think about it even for one second. 

My ambition was to create something which Starbucks fans and Emma Bridgewater followers alike would really love, and which would celebrate all that is best about both companies and this very special and eventful year. We all seem to have been caught up in the excitement of the great British events of 2012 as we celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics, which are sure to bring countless visitors to GB.   London is buzzing with excitement, and the atmosphere of anticipation is spreading!

So, when I sat down in the studio to design the mug I started to work out how all of these elements could be brought together in a celebratory way. I took ‘handmade coffee in a handmade mug’ as the slogan (ooh, I love writing slogans and straplines, it’s so satisfying when you find the right phrase to capture an idea!) and I developed the patriotic red, white and blue theme, intended to invoke a sheet of stamps.  I worked with a sponged image of the British Isles, treating the silhouette as an icon which really pleased me, as I love repeating designs - for me this is the essence and the charm of old sponged designs.  The postal service, which used to be known as The Royal Mail, (Oh, how I wish it still was!) has been challenged by the advent of electronic communications; personally I still love to write letters by hand and post them in a post box!  I hope you agree that the result is strong and effective, and perfectly complements your favourite Starbucks drink. 

As it says on the backstamp on the base of every single EB piece, this product is totally handmade.  Our factory is in the Staffordshire Potteries – Stoke-on-Trent – and every piece is not only made by hand, but also decorated by skilled craftswomen who work by hand in traditional ways to create a unique piece of very British pottery. We at Emma Bridgewater are proud to keep these skills alive in our lively and colourful Victorian factory; we feel passionately committed to maintaining an important part of the region’s rich heritage of world-class ceramic manufacture.  In much the same way that Starbucks is an advocate of fair trade, we too believe that our business contributes to a fair society – we encourage creative talent, and we support the vibrant manufacturing heritage of our country whilst creating lovely things right here that people want to own and keep.

We have loved working with the Starbucks team and know that together we have created something that will be a real collector’s item and which celebrates the spirit of both our companies. 

Emma Bridgewater 

Win £200 and more with Starbucks and Emma Bridgewater

To celebrate the launch of this great and British mug, Emma Bridgewater are giving you the chance to win £200 worth of their pieces. Also, ten runners - up will win their very own Starbucks mug with a £5 Starbucks card, too. To enter, visit: http://www.emmabridgewater.co.uk/page/starbucks

The special edition Emma Bridgewater mug will be available in the following stores:

Stratford - The Broadway, Westfield Stratford – London, Heathrow Airport, T5 Airside, Heathrow - T3 Airside, Heathrow Airport - Airside TS, Heathrow Terminal 4 – Airside, Stansted Airport-Airside, Departure, Lambeth Road, Vauxhall – London, Kings Cross St Pancras International Station, Paddington Station, Victoria Station, Kings Cross - Pentonville Road – London, South Bank - County Hall, Oxford Street, New Oxford Street, Covent Garden - Long Acre, 55-56 Oxford Street – Selfridges, Conduit Street, South Bank - Shad Thames, London Bridge - Hays Galleria, Neal Street, Strand, Great Marlborough Street, Covent Garden - Russell Street, Embankment, South Bank - Hopton Street, 16 Piccadilly, 84 Piccadilly, 425 Oxford Street, Princes Street – London, Vigo St – London, 55/56 Oxford Street, South Bank - Clink Street, Strand, 171 Piccadilly, 99 St Martins Lane – London, Villiers Street, 60 Wardour Street, Trocadero, 17 Broadway, 44-48 Brompton Road - Knightsbridge, Victoria - Buckingham Palace Road, 27 Victoria Street, Knightsbridge - Harrods, Staff Entr, 137 Victoria Street, Victoria - Wilton Road, Southampton Row, Great Russell Street, 197 Kensington High Street, 3-4 Great Marlborough Street – London, South Molton Street, Westfield London, Oxford Street - New Look, Bayswater – Queensway, Kensington – 83 Gloucester Road, Notting Hill - Pembridge Road, Kensington High Street, Notting Hill - Portobello Road, South Kensington, 19 Brompton Road, Bath – 13/14 High Street, East Building - 3 Tower Place, Edinburgh-Royal Mile, Camden -Lock Keeper's Cottage, T5C Heathrow Airport, Juxon House-St.Paul's Church, Oxford - Cornmarket Street, Birmingham - The Bullring, Manchester-Trafford Centre, Edinburgh - Princes Street, Bicester Village 2, Manchester - St. Ann's Square, Edinburgh – 30A George Street, Baker Street, York-Coney Street, Bluewater, Basingstoke Festival Place, Chester - Northgate Street, Nottingham - Clumber Street, Lakeside, Cambridge Market Street, Leeds - Albion Street, Southampton, Cheltenham - The Promenade, Windsor - Thames Street, York-Coppergate, Canterbury – Burgate, Southhampton - West Quay S.C, 10 Wimbledon Hill Road, Gateshead - Metro Centre, York-Stonegate, Golders Green, Hanley - The Potteries, Stoke-on-Trent.