This week, we're launching a line of coffee mugs and pour-overs by adopted Kentuckian, Mike Rozzi. Sold in matching sets designed around and inspired by the Kentucky Coffee Tree, we're proud to offer 25 limited-edition sets perfect for coffee drinkers who want to brew one cup at a time. Each mug and pour-over is hand-thrown, hand-detailed and glazed by Rozzi in his home studio, which is located in Lexington, Kentucky. Available on our website this Friday, September 26th at 10:00am.
A native Pennsylvanian who fell in love with Kentucky, Rozzi has found a creative wellspring in Lexington, the place he now calls home. As he explains, "I grew up in New Castle, Pennsylvania, just North of Pittsburgh. I moved to Kentucky a while back simply because it was a small town that looked charming. The city itself gives me all I need. Long introspective walks through historic parts of downtown have roused my most creative self. I definitely feel apart of the creative community. I feel creative. And lots of my friends are creative too."
As his naturalistic pottery indicates, Rozzi finds visual inspiration in the landscapes of the Commonwealth, often wandering in the great outdoors in order to clear his head. He explains his process, "Raven Run Nature Preserve is one of my favorite places in Kentucky. Any free time I can spare throughout the week, I go there to clear my head, collect my thoughts, or have some fun with friends. It's beautiful and inspiring and only down the road a bit." As devout fans of the natural wonders of our state, we have to agree that Rozzi's muse is our own.
In addition to the physical landscape of Lexington, Rozzi cites his friends and the greater Lexington community as distinct sources of energy. He feels that there are more possibilities here in central Kentucky than in other parts of the world, and it is this mentality that informs his own creative endeavors. A heightened sense of potential is part of Rozzi's vision of the city, which in turn generates a continual flow of new projects.
"So many of my friends and other people are achieving things in this town that couldn't be done most places. Lexington is a growing small city, the people have the hustle and the community has the support. There is room to move. I feel if someone has an idea in Lexington, they can do it. Also, Kentuckians have the most encouraging, powerful sense of pride for their state, makes me wish I was born here."
The son of a potter and part of an artistic family, Mike inherited his wheel from his father after graduating with a BFA from West Virginia University.
Words by Hannah Legris, Photos and video by Stanley Sievers, Coffee Beans from Cup Of Commonwealth