About a Teapot
I spent nearly two hours last evening scouring the internet for a new teapot. I don’t know if web search is inherently broken now, but I didn’t come across much of anything not made in China. I found a handful of teapots that purported to be available from the UK, but none of the dusty old websites claiming to sell them actually worked. A few high-end places were pitching products from Japan, France, England, and even Australia, but I didn’t like the styles available. The posh places were asking $225 to $1,700 or more for a single teapot. That’s too rich for my blood. I looked around Etsy a little, too. There, I saw many vintage and antique teapots that were made in the USA not so long ago. While quite lovely to look at, they also featured chips, cracks, and enough wear on the paint to put me off the idea of using them to make tea.
Eventually, I settled for something they claim is made by hand at a small ceramic studio in America. I’m not telling anyone where I ordered it from yet, so I won’t then be forced to write a follow-up post badmouthing the place if their teapot turns out not to be great. I’ll just quietly never speak of it again because I’d rather someone carry on making inferior teapots in peace than find myself trapped in a world where AMZN.CN is our only choice. I’m not saying AMZN.CN shouldn’t be an option, but we’re getting dangerously close to it being the only option. It grows monotonous.