POSTCARD, 28 February 2024

Dear friend of La Bagatelle,

Growing up in England it was inevitable that I became a big tea drinker. But with age I have come to appreciate a good café noisette too – one shot of espresso with a touch of full fat milk. I think a cup with a saucer is so much more elegant than a mug, and I never go to a flea market or an antique shop without looking for old cups.

One of the very wonderful things about La Bagatelle is that it is a universe that allows me to dream while playing. And it was that line of thinking that had me starting a conversation with ceramist Franca Christophersen early Autumn. I really wanted to do a La Bagatelle cup: one for tea and one for a noisette. Fairly early on we decided on the shape of the cup that Franca wheel throws, which mean that every single one is made by Franca’s hands. The cup had to be a pleasure to hold and to drink from, and it had to be elegant and scalable so it would work equally well for both cups. However, it was much more difficult to find the right glaze, it took months and quite a few tests to find the final ones. They are poetic, special and unlike any other, the kind of cup you want to keep and drink from forever. 

Lots of love,
Malene Malling