Stay Awhile: Coffee and Conversation, Handmade Pottery and Making Time to Connect
There is something about sitting down with a cup of coffee that changes the pace.
Maybe it is the warmth of the mug in your hands. Maybe it is having a reason to stay in one place for a little while. Or maybe coffee has simply become one of the ways we say, sit down, stay awhile.
Some of my favorite conversations have happened that way. Nothing planned. Nothing particularly important to accomplish. Just coffee, a little time and someone sitting across from me.
Staying in Touch Is Not Always the Same as Connecting
We have more ways than ever to keep up with people.
We see their pictures. We send a quick text. We react to a post. We know where they went on vacation and what their kids are doing.
But knowing what someone is doing is not always the same as sitting across from them and really talking.
Sometimes we need a reason to put everything else down for a while and make room for another person.
There Is a Reason We Meet for Coffee
“Want to grab coffee?” is such a simple invitation.
It can mean I miss you. I want to hear what is going on. I have something to tell you. I would like to know you better. Or simply, I have some time and I would like to spend it with you.
Coffee gives us something to do with our hands and somewhere to be without needing much of an agenda.
And sometimes that is exactly what a good conversation needs.
The Mug Becomes Part of It
I make functional pottery because I love the idea that something handcrafted can become part of an ordinary day.
A favorite mug does not have to sit on a shelf waiting for a special occasion.
It can be the one you reach for every morning. The mug you carry onto the porch. The one sitting beside you while you catch up with a friend. The one somebody recognizes as yours because you use it all the time.
The things we use every day quietly become part of our routines and our memories.
Handmade Pottery Has Its Own Pace
Pottery does not happen quickly.
Clay is formed, dried, trimmed, fired, glazed and fired again. There is waiting built into almost every part of the process.
You cannot rush clay through the steps just because you would like to be finished sooner.
Some things are simply better when they are given the time they need.
Maybe conversation is a little like that too.
Slowing Down Does Not Have to Mean Changing Your Whole Life
Making more room for connection does not require a weekend away or a perfectly cleared calendar.
Sometimes it is much smaller.
Call the friend you have been meaning to catch up with. Invite someone you have always wanted to talk to for coffee. Pick a favorite mug and sit on the porch together. Take a walk. Order dessert. Make a pot of coffee at home and put the phones somewhere else for a while.
It does not have to be complicated or particularly profound.
Sometimes you just need a reason to sit down together and see where the conversation goes.
And that is exactly where the idea for Cups of Connections started.
Cups of Connections
On September 24, ChickaBee Pottery and Flight Crew Coffee are bringing that idea to life with Cups of Connections in Manhattan.
And this is where it gets fun.
I’m making handcrafted mugs in matching pairs especially for the evening. When you arrive, you’ll choose the mug that speaks to you without knowing where its match is.
Then we’ll reveal the pairs and you’ll find the person holding the other one.
That mug is yours to keep.
From there, grab something good to drink from Flight Crew’s curated menu and enjoy meeting someone you might never have crossed paths with otherwise.
This is not a singles event and it is not networking.
It is much simpler than that.
Just show up as yourself, grab something good to drink and enjoy meeting someone you might never have crossed paths with otherwise.
Cups of Connections will be held September 24 from 6–8 PM at Flight Crew Coffee in Manhattan, Kansas. Tickets are live now.
Not in Manhattan?
We wish you could be here too, but you can still join us in the part that matters most.
Pick a favorite mug. Grab someone you like, someone you miss, someone you have always wanted to talk to, or someone you have been meaning to spend more time with.
Meet for coffee. Take a walk. Sit on the porch. Order dessert. Make a pot at home.
Then tell us what you did. I would love to see Cups of Connections happening well beyond one evening in Manhattan.
Because sometimes connection really can start with something as simple as a cup of coffee and someone willing to stay awhile.
