Times are strange. Lustfully wandering is off the table – for now. As we shelter in one place and every day begins to feel like a copy of a copy of a copy – the mind is forgiving – the stillness daydreams itself to other countries, cities, unknowable faces, and foreign ways of being.

A remedy I’ve found to quell this pervasive ache to seek the edges of the earth is staring hungrily at transportive objects, at things I can hold – paintings, postcards, photographs, and other handmade wares. One I came upon recently is SVEN Ceramics' mountain range and bay fog coffee mug. The handiwork of the thrower feels intimate and expansive. They’re pretty to look at – a welcome distraction from the news cycle.

This San Francisco native’s work dropped me right into my first Pride celebration in front of City Hall. Has me rummaging through vintage shops and people watching off Haight-Ashbury. I can smell the salty air, see the gulls circling, and hear the rubbery seals crooning from their sun-kissed rocks.

And for a moment, I’ve left these four walls. And something as simple as morning coffee becomes transportive again because of its container.

SVEN Ceramics Waves Mug ($40)