Mugging for the Camera

New Mugs!Our trio of new Knit Picks mugs are here and I’m so thrilled with how they turned out! It was a long process to turn them from ideas and sketches into actual objects but ultimately very satisfying. Turns out it’s really cool to drink coffee out of a mug you had a hand in designing, who knew? And it’s always awesome to add some crafty love to everyday objects. I wanted to give you all a little peek into our process for designing these mugs.

When Alison, Heidi and I started discussing this project,  we knew right away we wanted to do several mugs, each with a different design, one cute, one design-y, and one with our Handmade is Love logo.

sheep_kitten_mugHeidi, whose ability to draw adorable animals is rivaled only by her love of kombucha, sketched the most endearing scene of two friends knitting and sharing their love of yarn. I love the delicate lines and the little details, like the steaming cup of tea and the small mouse who’s sweating as she’s valiantly trying to hold that yarn ball high.

lace_mug

For the design-y mug, I was inspired by all of the charts I see on a regular basis. Often the symbols form a really beautiful pattern, as they’re elegant and minimal. I knew that if the grid wasn’t there a chart would read as an attractive pattern to the average non-knitter, but a knitter would know the secret language behind these symbols and pick up on the hidden meaning. I chose YO, k2tog, purl, and ssk symbols as they’re classic and there’s a lot of contrast between the static circles and the dynamic diagonal lines.

handmade_is_love_mug

Handmade is Love is of course our guiding philosophy here at Knit Picks, so we just had to highlight it on a mug. I originally had it in red on a white background, similar to the tote, but ultimately felt that a white logo on a soft blue background was more intriguing. It’s also different from the other two mugs, which do have white backgrounds. As for the shape of the mugs, we just wanted a classic 12 oz mug with straight sides to really put the focus on the artwork.

Now that we have these great mugs, I’m really looking forward to curling up with some Earl Grey tea and a warm, woolly project while the rain comes down outside. What about you- what’s your favorite hot beverage to drink while crafting?


4 comments

  1. Judy L / October 5, 2014

    I see myself with darjeling tea and two knit-o-graph sweaters for the granddaughters – a duck and an elephant. Both on pink, of course!

  2. theresa calter / September 23, 2014

    looks ready for a cup of stash Meyer lemon tea and my latest cardigan!!

  3. Valerie / September 22, 2014

    I wonder if the design on these mugs has been printed on both sides or only one. If, in fact, the design shows only when the handle is to the left as pictured, you will NOT have a ” mug that will bring a smile to your face as you sip your hot drink and think of knitting” if you are right handed. The design will be visible to the person sitting across from you, but you will not see it. It seems that my older mugs were printed on both sides, but manufacturers today unfortunately seem to be printing only on one side. Love the designs!

    • Emily G / September 25, 2014

      Hi Valerie, I’m glad you like them! The lace chart design goes around the mug, so it’s visible from any angle. The other two designs are just on one side with our logo on the other side, as size constraints meant the images were too large to fit easily on both sides.