Working from home requires an adjustment, a change of pace. We have a Mocca Master for filter coffee, much like the one at the gallery. But for now I’m leaning on my faithful old friend—the kettle⁠—for comfort. It provides a rhythm to my day. Sometimes a peppermint tea before bed or the kawakawa leaf from the backyard combined with raw ginger and honey, or a rooibos chai with powdered cinnamon; all very grounding. 

This period of isolation has made my closest friends my kettle, cups and dishes, a little like the original Beauty and the Beast film. But instead of Lumière, Cogsworth, Chip, Mrs. Potts and Babette, I’ve got Fiona Jack, Kirsten Dryburgh, Elena Renker, Tim Grocott (Taus Ceramics) and Katherine Smyth to carry me through this time.

 I take pleasure in simple daily rituals like selecting the cup to drink from each morning as the kettle goes off, and waiting as my tea steeps, taking a moment for myself in my new daily routine. There’s always time to fit in a cup of tea.