Melissa Johnson is an animation producer and former New Yorker who moved out to Los Angeles five years ago. Striving to do something creative, she came up with an idea to combine class and sass.
Johnson had the clever idea of combining high society with everyday sarcasm by crafting lovely, antique teacups with delightfully sarcastic phrases.
Johnson said her fascination with antiques came from her grandmother who was an antiques dealer — which meant she grew up going to auctions and garage sales.
Her work is featured on her website Miss Havisham's Curiosities and her various social mediaaccounts. She said she mostly showcases her work at tea parties and literary salons, but plans to expand in the future and work more closely with writers and artists.
In terms of the process, she looks for saucers and teacups with patterns she loves, and customizes them with her personal sense of humor.
For the phrases, she doesn't have to look far to get inspired. "The inspiration for the insults came from the need to speak one's mind — especially these days."
She said that the china really resonates with people, and the reactions are mostly positive. If they do rub people the wrong way, she explains to them that context and intention are everything.
"The older I get, the less I suffer fools despite being a pretty nice broad overall," she added.
Love them or hate them, there is no doubt these pieces are certainly unique.
Johnson went on to say that she loves the contrasting nature of the pieces. "I love the juxtaposition of the delicate ladylike teacups and the harsh sentiments contained inside them."
