I'm no professional scholar of Rikyu and the Japanese tea ceremony, but I certainly see your point futurebird.
On one hand, the Japanese wabi aesthetic that Rikyu helped to define has been cultivated to the point where
seemingly simple and humble items can be valued at very highly. On the other hand, this highly cultivated aesthetic is almost on the verge of becoming stale in my mind. I know I'm inviting flack for that comment, but here is my reasoning... From my understanding, Rikyu was great at finding the beauty inherent in special
everyday items, such as Korean rice bowls in the case of the Ido style chawans. To keep that tradition alive, it makes more sense to me that each of us should go out and discover the beauty in special items around us too. Where is the art in purchasing a $500 tea scoop that someone else has deemed special? That doesn't require a refined appreciation for wabi aesthetic, it just requires having lots of available income. Sure, it has collector and impress-your-guests value, but if I went to carve my own scoop I think I'd have a more personal connection and appreciation for it.
But I digress... the rikyucha.com is pretty great.
