For some unknown reason I’ve always had a passion for packaging. When friends were stocking up on shoes I’d swoon over an usually packaged kitchen gadget, often giving the unopened box pride of place on my bookcase. Once I was utterly thrilled when my significant other handed over a book outlining 101 ways to create weird shaped boxes … seriously. At least now I can hide this quirk away as a necessary part of my job.
 |
|
© The Ponder Room
|
Last month I was fortunate to be invited to a seminar put on by an international guru in creativity, David Engwicht. I’m sure you can imagine my delight.
The focus was on Creating Creative Communities, that is making our neighbourhoods more inviting and exciting. Looking beyond the wooden park bench and clipped shrubbery. See link for more details.
On entering the seminar room I was confronted with a full size tiger, ringmaster top hat, and a whip … okaaay!?
 |
|
© The Ponder Room
|
Our table contained the usual coffee and mints, but also a range of glasses that suggested Elton John and Dame Edna might have met on more intimate terms. Clearly this wasn’t going to be your average seminar. Unfortunately I’d missed the first day so had no idea what the props were for.
 |
|
© The Ponder Room
|
So I waited.
You can imagine my disappointment then, when at the end of the seminar we were reminded to take home our mugs as a memento. I’d spied the black mugs on the table earlier and thought they’d been provided by the hotel for afternoon tea.
I also remember pondering how could the guru have slipped up … what a missed opportunity. The cup design was a tad disappointing, something you’d find hanging off a plastic hook in Target or Woolies, not in the arsenal of a creative genius. To be fair we also had our photo taken with the tiger, but still.
And so the mundane black mug has sat languishing on my kitchen shelf, vying for attention with various other mugs collected at conferences or gifted my way … a fine bone china pussycat cup, butting up against a Little Britian Mug, and a favourite that says ‘In dog years I’d be dead’ given to me by a past employee.
Recently I’ve gone back to using a teapot, inspired I think after my Mothers Day afternoon tea see post. So today I filled my glass teapot, picked up the mug closest to hand … the black mug … and settled in to read the Sunday Times.
Engrossed I casually filled the cup without really looking at what I was doing.
About five minutes later I looked over and ….
 |
|
© The Ponder Room
|
The reaction left me pondering …. never judge a book, a person or indeed a black coffee mug by its the cover. A nice reminder.
