But there’s nothing like a handmade coffee cup

A Veronica Watkins original — beautiful, earthy colors decorate this coffee mug, perfectly sized for a Nespresso machine.

Despite the many, many beautiful, even artistic, lungo cups I’ve posted on this site over the years, nothing beats a thoughtful, handmade ceramic piece of art, insulating a warm cup of coffee. This is my favorite way to drink coffee, and my favorite lungo mug is shown here, at left.

And I’m sorry, but it’s not for sale.

A collection of Veronica Watkins handmade ceramic coffee mugs.

This is one of many handmade cups I’ve purchased from Northwest Missouri State University’s semi-annual art and pottery sale. It’s a wonderful event, a chance to peruse dozens of potential lungo cups, picking each up, inspecting the grip, studying the design, and measuring the height to ensure it will fit under my Essenza spout. (I can usually eyeball this now, but to be sure, I take out a bill of any denomination and fold it in half. Each bill is six inches, and to fit under the spout, it has to clear 3 1/4″.)

I usually don’t post my handmade mugs here because, well, these are one-of-a-kind mugs and not directly for sale on Amazon. But last month, when I purchased this new addition to my collection, I couldn’t keep Veronica Watkin’s work to myself any more. I realized that I’ve collected a number of her pieces, and they just keep getting better and better.

If you look through her work, you’ll see a beautiful collection of bowls and trays that seem to have sprouted from a sunset over the Badlands. The colors and shapes are soothing and pleasing, almost putting me in a trance.

Veronica teaches ceramics — among many other art courses — at Northwest. She has been inspiring students to develop their curiosity and style since 2002. Imagine how many artists are making coffee cups like this today, thanks to Veronica’s gentle guidance!

Thank you, Veronica, for making my morning coffee even better!

[Follow Veronica on Instagram.]