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Leaving Vincents home we headed to back towards Qimen town.  I had been here last year in the search for quality organic Keemun tea >> read more here >> so why was I back? Well at Comins quality and provenance are both key.  When we visited last year the season was in mid flow.  At this time I have now learned [the hard way] that you simply cannot start to make specifications about what you want/don't want.  Its too late.  The leaves are ready and time is ticking, they need to be picked and processed as soon as possible.  We were in...

Early morning and Vincent came running across the road with his usual enthusiasm to greet me.  He has called me Michael ever since we first met in Qimen town last year [see picture below] and even though he has since discovered I am in fact Michelle the name has stuck - to Vincent I am forever Michael and every time I get a voice message from him it makes me smile.  Vincent has a beautiful energy one that only comes from working in a job you love - one you have chosen [or that has chosen you] rather than one you have...

On my first trip around Taoxichuan last year I came across Yu Xinrong and his wife Kiki. I was really struck by their style and the pieces that Yu Xinrong made so this year I headed back to see them and learn more.  I arranged to meet Kiki at Taoxichuan which is a pretty magical place - old industrial government ceramic factories turned into workshops and small shops.  There is always a calm air here as you wander around - a far cry from the crazy streets outside.   We found each other quickly [thank goodness for WeChat!] and jumped in...

And so onwards to Jingdezhen to meet with contacts made last year and continue conversations.  First stop was to see YangYang Li whose work I had first seen at the night market last year.  Since then we had stayed in touch and collaborated on a number of pieces including our really popular pouring pots.  First we needed to eat and YangYang had prepared a wonderful vegan feast including the most incredible soup with sweetcorn and various fungi and some 'fruit wine' which at 60% was enough to almost knock me out after jet lag and additional travel!  'Its just like...

China 2018 Day 1 & 2 | Shanghai | Chance encounters lead to firm friendships Towards the end of my trip last year I met Chuanchuan in Shanghai.  We spent just a few moments together but those moments were enough to ignite a curiosity in me around her and the community she is part of in Shanghai.  I took her details and on returning to the hotel felt compelled to message her and ask if I could return for tea the following day.  Her answer was yes and so I travelled across town to visit her again.  A few hours...