bamboo LUST

(teapot by Gary Rith--I was actually thinking typical British Brown Betty shaped teapot, like in the top photo, but with a cane handle instead))
I put this teapot together this week when it came outta the kiln.  I was SUPER dooper excited.  As you have seen, I make most of my handles from clay, but cane or bamboo is pretty and gives you a handle that remains cool when the teapot has hot liquid. I keep a box full of teapot handles, different size and shape and styles, so that I can try them out for size when the teapot is ready.  Typical cane handles (not this one, this is bamboo) are soaked and stretched to fit, sort of like a basket piece.  But the bamboo handles are my favorite, and they have a TOUGH metal wire to bend and attach...I would say nail grade.  I have a covered pair of pliers to gently bend the wire if I can't bend them into place by hand.

ANYWAY, my box of handles has some nearly 20 years old, they are so pretty! Not, um, too pretty to use, but it would be a flippin' AMAZING teapot to get such special handles.

For a long time I could not find the bamboo handles, but lately Aftosa has them and they sent me notice Tuesday of a sale and I thought I would buy one or 2....but, well, I was shopping with laptop in one hand and martini in the other and huzzah! 81 bucks worth of bamboo handles jumped into my cart.... good thing, too, because I made a teapot Tuesday that will need one!