Spin

I am preparing to take a quick business trip to the United States. It will be quite the whirlwind tour, with stops along the way to squeeze in some family and personal time. I have to take a number of gifts back, including an engagement present and a house hostess present.

It is hard for me to buy gifts here in China because, well, this country makes a whole lot of crap. Don't get me wrong, there are manufacturers of nice things here too, but most of the quality items are made for export only. It is difficult to find something that is representationally "Chinese," high quality and not commercial.

That said, I do have one very favorite store here in Beijing (now in Shanghai too) called Spin ceramics. This shop sells pottery that is very clean, very modern and very Chinese. The items are all exceedingly simple and well designed. Usually they are finished with a subtle celadon glaze, but they also make some stunning red glazed pieces as well. The teapot on the left is a piece that Chris and I bought for ourselves.

The only bad thing about Spin gifts is that they are not so easy to pack. I will probably be dragging these guys through several airports before the trip is over. That's ok. Sometimes the perfect gift is worth the trouble.