ceramics for crockery

I had made friends with this Indonesian lady at KBF few weeks back, who warmly welcomed me. When she found out I was new and had just moved to my own place, asked if I needed anything.

Little did I know that when I casually told her I was looking for some crockery, she would introduce me to her Japanese friend who attends ceramic classes. All these while I've been collecting plastic containers from take out food, and recycling them.

Initially I hardly cooked as I was taking my time looking for suitable kitchen utensils and cutleries. Of course using plastic containers to eat isn't very presentable, but I try to make do with what I have.

I didn't expect much when Ida introduced me to her friends Kyo-san and Tak-san, who could have passed off as an elderly couple. Both are actually siblings, and have divorced their spouses respectively, so decided to live together to save costs. They live in the suburbs so they have quite a nice place with lots of plants in the balcony.

I was really surprised that Kyo had laid out all these crockeries on the table, and asked us to choose whatever we liked! It's like being given a trolley in the supermarket and going on a shopping spree. I was a bit shy at first as I didn't know her at first, and was not sure if I should even take any.

While we looked at the plates, she served us some green tea and mochi. It was a pleasant afternoon snack. As we started talking, I found out that she had been making lots of ceramic from her classes. Since she already had so many, she didn't mind giving them away. I tried to offer to pay, but she said her plates were not that expensive.

I'm hoping to return the favour soon. My cup overflows.

I really liked these nature-inspired pieces. I've been quite intrigued with Japanese pottery since my Tokyo days when I was involved in an e-commerce site selling Japanese traditional gifts. The fact that they do not look perfect is what makes them unique.

The ones I took have flower prints and seemed to be from the same set. There were some others, but didn't have enough pieces to form a proper set like this.

I was so happy with the treat that I didn't mind they were so heavy as I walked back to the station with 2 paper bags of these. Then I realised, I might not even have a proper table to use all these if I wanted to! Maybe I could use the large flat bowl as a flower pot instead >.<