Awesome Ceramic

Artist Micah Sweezie of Ceramic Noodles shows off a full-size car tire they made from clay. It took them weeks to create the 13-part mold from the original tire, and three days to cast the porcelain version. The finished piece is a statement on the dark history of French rubber plantations in Vietnam.

Brass Monkey’s apothecary-style ceramic planters give some smartass sass to mild-mannered houseplants with a trio of snarky messages: “I could really use a drink,” “Into pot,” and “Put it where the direct sun don’t shine.” If your plant dies and you give up, the drip tray becomes a container lid.

At first glance, Calamityware’s blue-and-white bowls look like your antique Chinese pottery. But look more closely, and you’ll see scenes of tiny disasters and monster attacks playing out. They’re great for serving snack foods, cereal, and feeding your good boys. Available in three sizes.

These limited-edition tiki mugs feature fantastically creepy sculpts inspired by Halloween III: Season of the Witch. With a snake winding through their ceramic heads, the jack-o’-lantern, skull, and witch look even more awesome stacked for display. Pre-orders start at 12pm CT 10.26.2021 at Mondo, shipping 5.2022.

West Elm’s ceramic animal planters make a great gift for animal lovers. They add a touch of whimsy and cheer to any space, and designer Rachel Kozlowski’s dapper owl, bunny, and fox remind us of one of our favorite Wes Anderson movies, Fantastic Mr. Fox. They measure appx. 5″ to 6″ high. Sold individually.

Enjoy a journey to the moon every time you take a sip with these cool ceramic coasters. They’re ceramic, so they’re absorbent and feature durable, UV-printed images of the lunar surface. Sold in a set of four. Check out CatchtheBug’s Etsy shop for many more artful coaster designs.

Mondo’s toothy ceramic mug is inspired by the famed shark from Spielberg’s classic Jaws. Enjoy your tiki drinks straight from the mouth of this beast, which holds up to 22 oz. of your drink of choice. This particular version comes painted to match the original Jaws poster and includes a translucent red swimmer swizzle stick.

Perhaps it’s the ritual, but we find that pour-over coffee just tastes better than automatic drip. This clean and minimal set from Hokeki will look great on your kitchen counter. It comes with a 20 oz heat- and cold-resistant glass pot, a high-fired ceramic dripper that regulates drip time, and a stand for putting it all together.

The grinning ghosts in installations by artist Roberto Cambi have won awards for playfully haunting European landmarks. Cambi also makes mini versions as tea light holders to decorate not-so-haunted houses everywhere. Artemest and Pasadena’s Gold Bug sell them in small, medium, and large. No two are alike.

How can you leave your brew standing alone in a world that’s so cold? You need a proper ceramic coffee mug, like this one, inspired by the lyrics of the 1984 Prince hit When Doves Cry, and embellished with a painterly image of the late musician. An exclusive from Ten Ton Titmouse.

It’s-a-mug, Mario! Celebrate your love for caffeine and the Mushroom Kingdom with Paladone’s official Super Mario Bros. mug. The squared off ceramic mug borrows its shape from the classic NES game cartridge, only this time you need to blow on it to cool off your coffee, and not to get the game to load.

Tel Aviv-based ceramic artist Erifyli Tsavdari of Keramiki creates these dramatic, one-of-a-kind, decorative raku mugs featuring the visage of the Dark Lord of the Sith. While the raku version isn’t food-safe, there’s a glazed espresso cup that is.

Having a great day? Then share how you’re really feeling with Fred’s profanity-laden coffee mug. It’s got four-times the F’Yeahs, done up in a spiffy 1970s typeface and color scheme. Holds 16 ounces of your favorite hot stuff, plus it’s microwave and dishwasher safe.

Filling up an actual astronaut’s helmet with hot coffee sounds like a terrible idea. But these ceramic astronaut mugs make a bit more sense for your morning cuppa. Each one looks like a bubble-shaped helmet, complete with a shiny visor and handle in gold, black, or silver.

Handmade by Texas-based Chischilly Pottery, these awesome mugs are based on the drinking vessels called “rhytons”, common in ancient Persia. In addition to dragons, they make lion, wolf, and ram steins (yeah, we said it) among others. We can think of no better way to drink mead at the Renaissance fair.

Here’s a great gift for the artist or designer on your shopping list. This set of official Pantone color bowls comes in an assortment of six vibrant hues. The 4.75″ porcelain bowls are perfect for cereal, ice cream, or soups, and are dishwasher safe. MOMA members get a 20% discount through 11/11/19.

Let’s face it, working for the man sucks. You need the weekend to get here. Best you can do during the workweek is hunker down, grab a cup of coffee and push through it. This set of five stackable ceramic cups helps express your disdain while you nurse your caffeine buzz.

Turn your dinner plate into street art with these whimsical porcelain salt and pepper shakers that look like tiny, dented spray paint cans. Dishwasher safe, and guaranteed not to get you busted for making graffiti!

These playful ceramic tiki mugs are based on General Mills’ spooky cereal mascots Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry (sorry, Frute Brute fans.) They were sold in limited numbers at SDCC 2018, but it looks like another batch is up for pre-order at Entertainment Earth.

We love the minimalist look of the pieces in this chess set from Ceramic Sense. Each pawn, rook, bishop, knight, king and queen is made by hand, and the oak chess board features a cool tribal texture on the black squares. Pieces available without the board for $150.

A ceramic coffee mug inspired by Thor’s mighty hammer. Holds up to 20 oz. of your favorite caffeine buzz, though you might have trouble lifting it to your lips to take a sip unless you were born on Asgard, have a body chiseled by a god, and flowing blonde locks.

A wonderful and whimsical porcelain design which conceals a special treat. Each Maruhi cup and saucer set has a hidden compartment beneath the mug’s base, under which you can stash cookies, candies, or other tiny surprises.

Bulgarian artists KachaktanoMugs present a creepy, yet awesome handmade porcelain mug made in the form of H.P. Lovecraft’s dark creation. Look closely, and you’ll see that its tentacles are wrapped around the skull of a victim of its madness. Holds 18 oz of terror.