Back in 2016 I had a blog where the first sentence written was “It is just leaves and water, but tea makes sense of all facets of my life.” (You can still see the adventure here.) It is interesting to see how that one sentence still unveils itself today. It feels like I have been on a journey back to a past that I have never quite left.

Back then I had just stepped out of the institutionalized art world, having unknowingly burnt-out. Four years at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and working multiple types of art related jobs to make ends will do that to you. I was also about to embark on a 3-month informal residency learning how to make wood fired teapots in the mountains in Taiwan before I went to central Illinois to get an MBA.

I had wanted to open a tea shop then, but felt that my bank account and personal identity needed some firming up before I could make that transition. So I found work in corporate America, luckily working in tea ingredients and big beverages. At The Coca-Cola Company I learned the ins-and-outs of brand building, marketings, and scaling innovations. I didn’t expect to stay there for nearly 7 years. I’m grateful for the people I’ve met and the lessons learned during my time. I was also able to travel and hone my pottery without the pressure to perform, which brings me to today.

Today, I’m a recently-moved Vancouver based artist focused on teaware and tea artistry. I’ve started little t 小 t as a way to share gong-fu and gong-fu adjacent tea in an approachable way. I hope to share tea with you soon.