made for earth
Isn’t it interesting how summer really makes you feel like you’ve got your shit together? Or, maybe that’s just me... but when I remember the sunscreen, the snacks, the cooler- when everyone has their shoes on, it feels like a win. And a few weekends ago, we packed up the kids, the cooler, the snacks, the shoes, and everything in between, and headed to the coast with the kids for what would be their first camping trip.
And because one camping trip certainly wouldn’t have been enough for the kids to determine whether or not they were actually campers, we did back-to-back weekend camping trips. First to the coast. Then to the mountains. And luckily, here in the PNW (that means Pacific Northwest to us PNW’ers) we have no shortage of places to go.
Well, it turns out, the kids are campers. They loved every single second of it, and got to have two very different, but equally amazing experiences. Both weekends, we camped in the Jeep, and while I was unsure about how that would play out in real life, it was just as cool as Pinterest made it out to be! I love it when that happens.
But there was something even more unexpected that we realized while we were out there… Bringing ceramic pieces with us made the whole experience feel more natural. More Grounded. And in a way, closer to the whole experience of being out in the woods or on the coast, sipping something warm or refreshing from a vessel that originally came from the earth. Clay in the outdoors- why have we not been doing this all along?
Everything about the vessels that we brought- the texture, the weight, the imperfect edges that fit perfectly into the landscapes that surrounded us just felt right. We started with cold wine on arrival and sat on the beach as the kids swam and made driftwood houses. We ended the day with hot chocolate before tucking in (the kids also had a little hot chocolate with their marshmallows.) During the day, our vessels were filled with water or probiotic sodas in between. But I have to say, that for me, starting the day with a warm vessel from the earth filled with coffee, warming my hands in the early morning fog as I sat at the base of the mountain, sipping slowly and taking it all in, reminded me of why we started Cerra in the first place…
We made beautiful memories as a family. We watched our kids sleep with hot chocolate smiles, their little sleepy heads poking out of the sleeping bag as they dreamed. We slowed down. We took it in. We did it the Cerra way.
Next week, school begins again and we head back into the busy season. The season of somehow forgetting 101 things as we rush out the door. The shoes will hopefully be on. The snacks will hopefully be packed. And the studio will be hard at work in between all of it, bringing that grounded feeling of the salty air, the gentle wind in the pines, and the dirt under our feet into everything we create, finding a sense of calm in the vessels that we put out. That’s the Cerra way.
Cheers.
Cold hands. Warm mug.
