How Nicola Spring’s Hand-Printed Crockery Can Transform Your Home Into a Temple of Relaxation and Retreat
Sounds ridiculous, right? Hear me out.
The art of the “mindful home” has become big business over the last few years, in reaction to our increasingly frantic and stressful modern world. Natural temptation, when battling words like “intense”, “full-on” or “too much” is to aim for the complete opposite - a cursory glance on Instagram or Pinterest will show no shortage of interiors stripped bare of all but the most basic of necessities - but what if your home, or indeed your taste, doesn’t lend itself to that hardcore minimalist aesthetic? Can you still achieve some of that same serenity without going the full Marie Kondo?
Personally, I think you can - and the reason, actually, is not too great a distance from Netflix’s finest; we just need to turn the clock back a thousand years or so!
Nothing lasts. Nothing is finished. Nothing is perfect.
When doing research for this article, almost every site I came across made the same joke. So here it is: No, wabi-sabi is not that spicy green stuff that goes on sushi. Ha.
Actually, wabi-sabi is an ancient Buddhist way of thinking that centres on recognizing beauty in imperfection, and of accepting that imperfection as part of the natural cycle of growth and decay.
Think of your favourite book: its pages creased, its cover scuffed and partially faded from countless reading sessions beneath the sun. By definition, each of these is an imperfection - yet we don’t consider them flaws. Rather, we consider them signs of a life well lived; a reminder of all the joy and warmth and happiness that book has brought us through the years. That is wabi-sabi in a nutshell: a celebration of life in all its flawed, rough-around-the-edges glory.
The Buddhist monks who developed the concept saw wabi-sabi as a means to achieve enlightenment in their daily lives. By shifting one’s focus away from an endless, impossible pursuit of “perfection” towards the acceptance of things as they are now, one finds it far easier to be content with what they have. In a modern world that is always moving, always changing and always demanding more, better, bigger, newer, wabi-sabi allows us to stop, to sit, to take a deep breath and think, “this is fine.”
So, I hear you ask, what does this have to do with Nicola Spring Crockery?
Well, just like the teapots and cups used in those Buddhist ceremonies centuries ago, all of the crockery in our range has been printed by hand, resulting in a finish that is 100% unique to every single piece. No, it’s not perfect, but like those enlightened monks before us, we think each little quirk and rough patch is exactly what gives these pieces their personality - a warmer, more romantic departure from the standard practice of cold, homogeneous mass-production.
Those prints comprise a selection of four patterns, each rooted in and inspired by traditional Japanese depictions of the natural world - another key buzzword when it comes to creating tranquility in the home. Choose from leaves or flower petals, the scales of a koi carp, or a vibrant, swirling effigy of the sun. The soft pastel colours - joyful and bright yet charmingly understated - are certain to pair beautifully with a wide range of dining room decor styles, from the raw, rustic timbers of the industrial and Scandi styles to the vibrant eclecticism of the Bohemian.
Whatever your taste, we’re confident that - just like that old book - our Nicola Spring Hand-Printed Crockery is something you’ll come to love and cherish for many years to come. Check out the collection and bring a little wabi-sabi style to your home today!
Have you tried our Nicola Spring Hand-Printed Crockery? Let us see your home creations by tagging us on Instagram (@rinkithome)!