In celebration of London Craft Week and Crafted at Sotheby’s, the Story Café has collaborated with Crafts Council to present It Starts with a Cup, a selection of ceramic drinking vessels from the Crafts Council’s Handling Collection.
The pieces on view invite visitors to pause, reflect and reconsider how craft shapes their daily lives, often without them noticing.
Reimagined by Crafts Council, the Story Café at Sotheby’s becomes a place for conversation, observation and shared reflection. Beginning with one of the most familiar objects we encounter each day, the cup, the experience asks visitors to notice, question and revalue the crafted objects that sit quietly at the centre of everyday routines.
It Starts with a Cup is a special collaboration between the Crafts Council and Sotheby’s, presented at the Story Café during London Craft Week 2026. The installation brings together a curated selection of cups and ceramic vessels from the Crafts Council’s Handling Collection, inviting visitors to pause and reflect on one of the most familiar objects in daily life: the cup. By placing these pieces in an accessible, informal setting, the project encourages people to consider how craft shapes everyday experiences — often quietly, subtly, and with deep cultural resonance. The café becomes a space for observation and conversation, where the simple act of holding a cup opens up a wider dialogue about materiality, creativity, and the human stories embedded in handmade objects. Featuring works by contemporary ceramicists alongside iconic pieces from the collection, the installation creates a meaningful exchange between tradition and new interpretations of the everyday.
From the cup in your hand, visitors encounter a curated presentation of contemporary makers, and works from the Crafts Council Collection.
Photo credits: Crafts Council, Mari Balsama Wilson, Sothebys.
