Commissioning a TeaChat and/or ITD item?

[scruffmcgruff]

On a couple other forums I read/lurk, the members get together and commission companies to make special edition items for the forum (shaving brushes, straight razors, pens, inks, etc.). Would anyone be interested in doing something similar for ITD or TeaChat? I'm thinking ITD would probably be more feasible, at least for a trial run, but I digress.

I don't know *what* we would make, though. A teapot would probably be too expensive, and we would probably have a hard time getting a farmer to make a special tea blend for us. The only idea I had that sounded like it might even have some potential is a cup made by some Japanese potter (with "TeaChat" or somesuch cut into the clay, maybe in Japanese, I dunno), as we might be able to make use of our influence with Toru of Artistic Nippon.

So... does anyone have any other ideas? I guess more importantly, is this even something people would be interested in doing?

[tenuki]

I've been meaning to make a 'Gong Fu Up!' teashirt for a while, but still in the multiple sketch ideas that aren't doing it for me stage. I'll let you know when I make progress.

[Ed]

A TeaThong!

A T-Shirt?

I'm down with this if it goes in a deep green direction.

[hop_goblin]

I've been meaning to make a 'Gong Fu Up!' teashirt for a while, but still in the multiple sketch ideas that aren't doing it for me stage. I'll let you know when I make progress.

That would be a cool Tshirt! We should start a thread and post our creative slogans and then vote... eithere way we will have a list of slogans we can use if we decide to do this

[joelbct]

i think a teashirt would be cool... we could have an ITD logo-design contest.

Of course, no explanation of what ITD actually is. That must remain forever a mystery to the non-elect

[scruffmcgruff]

I think a TeaShirt would be pretty cool, and definitely doable!

I also think, and this is where I was originally going with the thread (not that the tshirt thing is a bad idea, I like it), that it would be pretty cool to get an item we could actually use as part of our little hobby.

[ABx]

Maybe get something printed on a tea tin?

[Chip]

We have talked about this before...this time I hope we can do it.

TeaChat T-shirts, denim shirts, the Tea/tin...all good ideas.

I am betting that adagio would be willing to get involved on the shirt. A few Mods I know will be talking to adagio very soon. So, it would be a good time to present a proposal

The tea idea does have some problems since not everyone likes the same tea. Possibly a TeaChat line including one of each type.

Just thinking out loud.

[fencerdenoctum]

Adagio has needed stickers for the longest time. True story.

I'm not artistically inclined so you won't get much out of me there. I look forward to see how this goes!

Anticipating the pretentious ITD gear,
Fence

[chamekke]

Whatever the item (be it earrings or a tea-shirt), it should have an exoteric and obvious design but with the letters I T D cleverly and esoterically hidden within its lines.

For example, the way that the cartoonist and caricaturist Al Hirschfeld used to conceal the name of his daughter ("Nina") in his drawings.

Well, not necessarily. Just a thought

[Chip]

I was thinking general population, broader appeal and lower cost. adagio is more likely to be involved if more are involved. But even if it was for anyone, ITD could be secretly woven into the design.

[Mary R]

I'm down with whatever we end up doing. I secretly like the idea of teawares, though. I think it is something that could be done more easily than we think...we'd just need a little research.

[tenuki]

I agree on the commissioning some sort of teaware, I've already commissioned a chawan from an etsy potter, and the whole process was as easy as sending her an email asking for the specifics (size, shape, etc). etsy even has a feature were you can put an idea out to bid and entertain bids from multiple people.

However - I'm well aware of the Japanese fetish most ITDers seem to have. I don't know how easy arranging something like that would be over there, but western artists have a very long tradition of accepting commissions. My personal interest right now is actually more slanted to American crafters - our tradition is interesting to me and besides I don't like paying for 9 generations, shipping via rare monk blessed golden carrier pigeon and a special cloth...

On a somewhat unrelated topic - I used to have a friend here in Seattle I've fallen out of contact with that made beautiful turned wood bowls and small containers (think natsume) out of PNW woods that he then did exotic, subtle and lovely lacquer work on. I remember him telling me about the japanese lacquer teqniques (caves, aged beetle juice, etc) and being amazed. He used to show at all the major galleries downtown and was fairly well known when I used to hang with him. Unfortunately I've forgotten his last name. I've been meaning to get in touch with him again and now that I'm looking for a natsume I'll definitely be putting in the effort. I know he did commissions, which was my point to this paragraph. lol.

[Mary R]

Yeah, I was thinking of Etsy too, actually. I think it might be pretty easy to get an American craftsman to replicate Asian ware, and we could probably work better with an American to develop perhaps a related set of, say, Japanese chawans and Chinese gongfu cups.

It's good food for thought, IMO.

[ABx]

I guess the thing I like about the idea of tea tins is that it's something that everyone on this site can use, from newbies to ITD'ers and regardless of their tastes.

I even came up with a site that has double-lidded tins, exactly like Tao of Tea's, with custom logos from a quick Google search - http://www.customtins.biz/48109-48110.html