Stain: The Tea Cup That Improves With Use
Tea cups and teapots
Stain is a unique tea cup created by Bethan Laura Wood, a designer from the UK. At first, the cup looks like any other cup, but the natural staining that comes from using the cup reveals a hidden pattern.
Bethan writes: “This project examines the assumption that use is damaging to a product (For example, scratches on an iPod).”
The cups are selling for £35. Contact Bethan if you’re interested.
Craig wrote on December 18th, 2008 at 2:04 am
That’s a really intelligent design; well executed too by the looks of it.
Ian Hutchinson wrote on January 17th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Great idea!
I think this kind of thing would be great if applied to electronics. I’m not sure how that would work, but it would give an extra sense of value to the product even after a bit of use.
Eric wrote on January 18th, 2009 at 3:02 am
Novel idea Ian. Certainly would be a break from the current tradition, where electronics wear out after a couple years of use.
Quick Link « Bryan’s Design Blog wrote on January 18th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
[...] http://teafinelybrewed.com/stain-the-tea-cup-that-improves-with-use [...]
Curtis wrote on January 20th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Turning nasty inevitable decay into secret beauty – awesome.
racy_rick wrote on January 21st, 2009 at 10:32 am
that is absolutely brilliant.
I know an old coworker that wouldn’t scrub out his cup because of his ‘beautiful patina’. I laughed for days about that.
Erik wrote on January 21st, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Reminds me of how some glass pipes start showing intricate patterns after use.
Cynic wrote on January 21st, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Bacteria much?
m wrote on January 21st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
its not bacteria cups stain over time no matter how much you wash and sterilise them.
Stain’d. | wrote on January 22nd, 2009 at 1:18 am
[...] [Via TeaFinelyBrewed] .gallery { margin: auto; } .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } .gallery img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } [...]
yurigoul wrote on January 22nd, 2009 at 8:15 am
The same could be applied to electronics in some way, just change the casing. Old radios got their deep. warm, wooden exteriors from a special treatment. But since we wear our ipods and telephones in our pockets together with coins and keys and gum and – oops sorry, spilled some beer on you.
I think that is one of the interesting aspects of steampunk case mods: just change the casing and it is a new machine.
ryan wrote on January 22nd, 2009 at 9:06 pm
great idea, but why don’t they just make the whole inside of the cup out of the surface that doesn’t stain?
Eric wrote on January 23rd, 2009 at 12:17 am
Ryan, I think that would sort of defeat the purpose. The coolness factor lies in how the pattern emerges. Of course you’d hope your average tea cup would be made with a surface that doesn’t stain as easily. I’d hazard a guess that some cup manufacturers may have already thought of this:)
Publisher wrote on January 24th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
It’s amazing how we can keep reinventing things that have been around for thousands of years. I guess that a cup is never just a cup!
jeff wrote on January 24th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
You can probably do this yourself by grinding away the shiny layer on the cup. I’ve been thinking about it.
Zlimp wrote on January 29th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
wow this is awesome man! i wanna buy this!! gives me an incentive to drink more yay!
Deindae wrote on January 29th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Am’ I the onl one who can see the design in the very first picture when the cup is “Clean?” Because it really defeats the point.
bollywood fun wrote on February 1st, 2009 at 5:39 am
how can i purchase these tea cups online?
Eric wrote on February 1st, 2009 at 5:20 pm
@bollywood fun you can contact Bethan about buying one via her website: http://www.woodlondon.co.uk/wood_pages/contact.html
Ben wrote on February 7th, 2009 at 1:04 am
I always thought this would be a cool idea to do with Shoes, white shoes where a design appears as they get dirty.
emoscene wrote on February 16th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
pretty cool wonder if it would work with tea then it would look way cooler with like pink and green and other awesome colors
Stain: The Tea Cup That Improves With Use | Tea Finely Brewed « dinofizz wrote on February 23rd, 2009 at 4:04 am
[...] Stain: The Tea Cup That Improves With Use | Tea Finely Brewed. [...]
Cyclonus wrote on March 10th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Thats a nice idea. You can even do Pro Sports Logos. Or even comic book images. Wouldn’t mind looking in a cup and seeing a Batman or Green Lantern logo.
Chimica wrote on March 11th, 2009 at 9:57 am
I drink tea everyday.. these cups are very cool
Home Decor wrote on March 12th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Very neat idea and looks like it works pretty well.
Calvin wrote on April 6th, 2009 at 8:37 am
I think this idea could be applied to electronics. what if the shiny silver colored steal backs to your iPods were made of copper? copper patinas over time and becomes old looking and beautiful.
sam_khrap wrote on April 14th, 2009 at 3:10 am
i wonder what they are using. thats just so amazing !
The Daily Dairy: Calcium Fortified News And Junk wrote on June 23rd, 2009 at 12:15 pm
[...] [via TeaFinelyBrewed] [...]
Cucina & Design: la bellezza delle tazze usurate - Ginger & Tomato wrote on July 4th, 2009 at 6:01 am
[...] viene in soccorso il sito tea finely brewed, curioso blog che seguo da un po’, dedicato a tutti i té addicted. Peculiarità del sito è [...]
cafeXperiment » la bellezza delle tazze usurate wrote on July 20th, 2009 at 4:09 am
[...] viene in soccorso il sito tea finely brewed, curioso blog che seguo da un po’, dedicato a tutti i té addicted. Peculiarità del sito è [...]
Savory Tv wrote on August 17th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
I adore these, hoping I can hunt them down in the States!
Patina. « Communion Of Dreams wrote on December 5th, 2009 at 10:53 am
[...] morning a friend sent me a link to a blog post nearly a year old. It contained these [...]