August 19, 2005

At Your Service

Improved Crockery by Esther Derkx

Dear Alice,

Props to you for leaving that weird tea party in Wonderland. Who could listen to the March Hare’s wisecracks for another minute? And that Dormouse? Snoozeville.

But, honestly, Alice, that party was much better than the last one my family threw. All I saw there was Aunt Mildred talking with strawberry scone stuck in her dentures.

Sincerely,

Sick of Earl Gray

Sounds like Sick needs to give teatime a kick and break out Improved Crockery. Dutch designer Esther Derkx takes vintage teapots, cups, creamers, and the like and decorates them with screen-printed images of dancers and athletes. Classic English roses and leaf motifs join kitschy leaping girls in bikinis and briefs-clad guys doing yoga.

Because Derkx scours flea markets for original pieces, the entire line is one of a kinds. And the porcelain and bone china she favors come from far-flung locales like the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, and Bavaria, so you’re acquiring a piece of history in the process.

Now if you could just get your mitts on some treacle and clotted cream.

Available at I.D., 3341 North Clark Street, between Roscoe Street and Buckingham Place (773-755-IDID).