I’ve been trying to figure this out. Why does food taste better in your favorite handmade ceramics? I know from talking to my customers that I’m not alone in this experience. A while back I was chatting with my interior designer friend, and when I asked him why he thought his food tasted better in his favorite matte black dinner bowl, he said “I don’t know, but it does!”

Then I came across something written by Dr. Zach Bush and it suddenly made sense. “To be human is to have a tactile experience- a sensory experience. Our entire brain is designed for daily sensory experience with the earth: sight, sound, touch, and taste. When we look at the human brain, we find that it is wired to be a sensory organ. If we are not sensing the world around us, we will be unable to awaken to the deeper feelings of what it means to be alive. If we are not becoming alive every day, we are certainly missing out.”

It must be that adding another layer to our senses while we eat, heightens our enjoyment. Unlike mass-produced dinnerware, handmade pottery has imperfections and irregularities—a quality found more in nature. Once you’ve found your favorite piece, it just feels so good to hold it. Your morning coffee isn’t quite the same if most-loved cup isn’t around. And this drives my husband crazy, but I even have a favorite fork! He’s given up on choosing silverware for me at the dinner table.
I absolutely love that I get to be a part of those little moments in my customer’s day, whether celebratory or comforting. In a weird way, it makes me feel connected to them. If you want to know, my #1 favorite bowl is the dinner bowl pictured above (it comes in 3 colors). There’s just something about it.