About The Brooklyn Teacup
The Brooklyn Teacup is a woman-owned small business dedicated to giving new life to vintage china. We believe that the "good china," like all things that add beauty and connection to our lives, should be used and enjoyed—not hidden away for holidays or special events.
Through a process we refer to as upcycling, we transform nearly every piece in a standard china set, from dishes to teacups and even gravy boats, into practical and stylish decor that's suitable for any room or occasion.
We're not everyone's cup of tea
Our unique pieces, which range from tiered trays to bird feeders, have been known to raise a few eyebrows.
Our Story
Ariel started upcycling china in the Spring of 2018 after discovering a pile of beautiful plates, bowls and teacups that had been put out on the sidewalk on trash night. Not knowing what she would do with them, Ariel rescued the stacks of dishware and brought them home to her Brooklyn apartment.
Later that week, inspired by a three tier cake stand she spotted on her sister’s wedding registry, Ariel decided she would call around to local workshops, makerspaces and artist residencies to get holes drilled into the plates. After countless calls and email inquiries and no luck finding someone willing/able to provide a drilling service, Ariel decided to figure out how to DIY...do it herself.
Ariel's one-bedroom apartment did not lend itself to the large drill press equipment needed to get started. So, Ariel brought the dishware out to her parents’ garage in New Jersey where she taught herself to drill through all types of porcelain and ceramic dinnerware.
In the following months, while commuting back and forth from Brooklyn to New Jersey to work on her wares, The Brooklyn Teacup was born.
Since the start, The Brooklyn Teacup has upcycled formal dinnerware into a variety of practical and stylish decor for customers across the country. We've become experts in working with all types of china and, in the process, have also become shipping pros, safely sending creations to customers in places as far away as Australia.
The Story Behind our Brooklyn Studio
A few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Ariel and her husband moved to a larger Brooklyn apartment in Park Slope where she was able to set up a workshop, home office and storage space for inventory.
Ariel never intended for The Brooklyn Teacup to have a physical location and never would have guessed that her space would become a popular shop or showroom. But after an interview with Joelle Garguilo of NBC 4 New York aired during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Brooklyn Teacup began receiving numerous inquiries about visiting the studio.
In response, Ariel made (masked) visits available by appointment... and the rest is history!
Upcycling Granny's Wedding China
In 2019, Ruth "Granny" Davis, Ariel's grandmother, turned 100. For the party celebrating this milestone, Granny asked Ariel to upcycle her 1940's wedding china so that each guest could take home a piece they could use and think of her. Ariel turned around 75 individual teacups, bowls, plates and saucers into serving and display pieces for the occasion.
To this day, guests still send Ariel pictures of their upcycled party favors in use and thank her for sharing these meaningful keepsakes of Granny Ruth.