A Cuppa Coffee with Laurel Burch

Laurel Burch passed away on 9/16/07 at 61. In the ‘60’s Ms. Burch made jewelry at her kitchen table in the Haight-Ashbury district of SF and sold it on the street from tackle boxes. Her designs struck a chord and it seemed like every hippie in SF was wearing her stuff. It must have gone especially well with long, straight, ironed hair because local stores started stocking her creations. She soon went national and, with a trip to China in 1972, international. To this day she is a merchandising dream and, although it was her earrings with a feline motif that mostly carried the day, her designs appear on everything you can imagine, including fabric, clothing, tote bags and greeting cards. You name it; her cats (and other creatures) are on it. Her stuff is still licensed to a dozen companies who make and distribute it around the world. Her designs (not cats) are on two coffee cups I treasure and after reading her obituary I sought them out and still marvel at their artistry and ingenuity. They are the perfect size for a robust cuppa coffee and I use them often; and they are dishwasher safe.