There are two kinds of people in the world—or, at least, in my house: those who think you can never have too many adorable mugs waiting to brighten your morning (or afternoon, or evening), and those who think enough is enough. I am firmly in the former camp. I don’t often identify as a maximalist, but when it comes to great mugs, I’m always happy to make room for one more.
I care deeply about the shape and feel of my mugs: I want it to hold the right amount for the occasion and feel good in my hand. I also care deeply about looks, because why pass up an opportunity for a bit of quotidian joy? Is it beautiful, does it make me smile, does it call to mind a happy memory or inside joke? Of my favorite mugs, the answer is always YES.
My cabinets hold mugs I’ve purchased in all sorts of places: I’ve gotten the best mugs at major retail sites and stores like Anthropologie and at small independent boutiques. I’ve bought them as souvenirs from hotels and cafés and department stores. I’ve found unique mugs at garden centers and bookshops to be irresistible. (Seriously, bookshops are the best places to get unique mugs you can’t find anywhere else, especially if you love mugs that are literary themed. When you find a great mug at an independent bookstore you get to support that indie right now, and enjoy the mug on many future mornings.)
I love starting my day by flinging open my kitchen cabinet to choose the perfect mug for my morning coffee. When I do I see beautiful designs I chose because they called to me (hello every floral mug in my cabinet), or mugs representing happy memories because I picked them up on my travels, or those I received as thoughtful gifts from friends who know me well.
I use at least one mug every single day, year-round. But as the weather begins to cool, and we move toward Serious Cozy Drink Season, I’ll be reaching for my favorites even more often. I thought this would be a wonderful time to share my favorite mugs, and invite you to share yours as well in the comments section.
Sugarboo
Sugarboo is a favorite online stop for gifts and paper products. I love their entire line of XO mugsbut I especially love this Dolly one; it was a BIG HIT when I gave it as a gift last year. (Do I need to get my college kids the Mother one? I think yes.)
Coffee Mug Company
Calling all Gilmore Girls fans: this Luke’s Diner mug from the Etsy was another big hit when I gave it as a gift several years ago. (Psst—when you give gifts to your family members, the mugs stay in your cabinet!)
Penguin Classics mugs
If you’ve been around here for a while, you know I collect Penguin Classics, so how could I resist the rainbow spines on this mug? You can’t go wrong with a mug of one of the individual book covers; someone gave me the Pride & Prejudice mug as a gift and I love using it. The shipping for all the online options I could find is unfortunately pretty steep, so keep your eyes out for great options at your local bookstores and gift shops.
Seltzer Goods
Keep your eyes out for these! I bought the Austen-tacious mug from the same line from Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA and reach for it frequently because I love the shape and heft; you might need similar serendipity to get your own Seltzer Goods mug. The diner mugs are difficult to find online but so worth buying if you stumble across one in a store. This Read Like the Dickinson mug will give you a good idea of the design.
Rifle Paper Co.
Surprising no one, Rifle Paper Co. makes amazing mugs. As a floral lover, I have several, and especially like You Got This, Marguerite, and this travel-themed mug.
Plant Lady
A friend once gave me an awesome Plant Lady mug from Pen & Paint. They’re no longer making mugs so this isn’t the exact design but it’s pretty close. I can confirm it makes a great gift for the plant lover in your life.
Anthropologie
Anthropologie often has great options, including regularly updated monogram mugs at great prices (I have quite a few in various styles). They also have enticing seasonal offerings, if you’re the sort who likes to swap out your mugs when the seasons change. This Halloween Magic mug might be a fun choice for fall, and I can’t get over how cute these floral pumpkin mugs are!
Overthinking
A lot of overthinking merch has come into my life since I wrote Don’t Overthink It and I never overthink those purchases. Obviously this campfire mug is a must. I impulse-bought mine at a little boutique in downtown Tulsa in 2019 and have enjoyed using it ever since.
Uncommon Goods
Uncommon Goods has great lifestyle stuff for book lovers and their mugs are no exception! These kissing mugs are darling, this adulting merit badge one cracks me up, and when I stumbled upon this spreadsheet mug, I immediately sent one to my favorite spreadsheet fanatic.
Do you reach for the same mug each day? Are you a person who believes there’s no such thing as too many fantastic mugs? Where do you get your favorites? Please tell us in the comments section!
P.S. 9 tasty teas to warm up your winter days and 45 sources for great decaf coffee.
33 comments
Oh my goodness! Love some if your mugs, especially the Penguin Classics.
I too collect mugs, mostly pottery ones so I’m supporting a local artist wherever I find them- as mementos. Colour calls to me as does how it feels in my hand. I could go on and on… mugs and books, great things to collect.
Ooh, I like these! I definitely have a lot of mugs and use at least one a day, regardless of the season. Any time I visit a new place, I like to get a mug as a memento. I’m only picky about shape. The “Read Like the Dickinson” mug is my favorite mug shape for coffee, but I like a bigger mug like the “Let me overthink it..” one for tea or soup.
I use mugs everyday. Some are for coffee and some for tea. I need to like the feel of them. My new favorite is from East Fork pottery. It is beautiful and it feels good in my hands.
Oh My! I just bought a bunch of mugs from Sugerboo! Sending the Mom one to my son in college! Christmas gifts for co workers purchased too! Thank you!
My favorite mug came from a YARN website, with a quote from Jane Austen:
“She taught me to knit, which has been a great amusement.” As a knitter and a reader, this mug brings me all sorts of joy. Alas, it is no longer available.
I love pottery mugs my favourite right now is a beautiful hand-made one from a friend. My previous favourite was by potter Darrel Hancock, and I’m putting it on my wishlist after this reminder of how lovely it is to use a mug you love!
I have that one too, though the black is flaking off. From KnitPicks! I have a lot of their mugs, including “All you knit is love.” All limited editions.
Let’s connect on Ravelry! I’m deeni.
I started collecting the Penguin classics after staying at The Laslett in Notting Hill. They put a few in each room and I found it so eclectic and charming.
My favorite mug is from https://www.eastfork.com…seriously the best mug ever. Perfectly fits with an aeropress, just the right amount of weight, handle is perfect and the colors are stunning. Be forewarned, you will want this every single day so just buy two right out of the gate.
Thought I love fun designs on my mug, one of my favorite functional mugs is the Wareham Mug from Rookwood Pottery! It’s perfect for cozy days and just fits right in your hand.
I tend to rotate my mugs with the seasons. I particularly love all of my pumpkin mugs right now.
I want to comment on your 9/11 story, as well. That fated day in 2001 was my 40th birthday, and I had planned a very self-indulgent day. Needless to say, plans changed. Since then, I reflect on how grateful I am for living the life I have been blessed with. Yes, I still celebrate with family and friends, but on that day I gained deeper perspective about what is important. Age is not important. What I do each day to embrace life is important.
And now, back to sipping my first cup of coffee from a simple green mug I picked up from Dollar Tree years ago…
I like to rotate my mugs with the seasons, too!
My self heating Ember mug has spoiled me and I find it difficult to use any other. When I do, it’s the one with pictures of my granddaughter. Made through Shutterfly, I think. Love that sweet little face!!
Ooh…I have an Ember mug, too! It’s fantastic!
I, too, am a collector of mugs. My favorite mugs are made by Deneen Pottery in MN.
https://deneenpotterymugs.com/
I purchased my first one from the Read Aloud Revival online store, and since then, I collect them whenever I find them, usually at national parks. Besides Read Aloud Revival, I have Deneen Pottery mugs from:
Rocky Mountain National Park
Pearl Harbor
Betty’s Pies in MN
Gooseberry Falls State Park in MN
I also love hand painted mugs made by myself and/or my kids at our local DIY ceramic shop.
I so love this post! I too am a mug collector and am particular about the shape and feel and amount of liquid it can hold. I do like to get mugs from vacations as a usable souvenir. I also like pottery mugs (just purchased one from our local farmer’s market and it can go in the dishwasher – BONUS!). I also have mugs that have my kids’ art printed on them which is a fun way to preserve their work. And I agree, Anne, that it’s so fun each morning to figure out which mug I’ll use for my coffee and which mug I’ll use during the day for my tea!
Well, that helped me buy one early Christmas present! Daughter #2 still watches episodes of Gilmore Girl. Thanks!
I love my Rifle thermal mug for keeping my tea hot and being beautiful. I can’t wait to check out the pumpkin mugs at Anthropology!
These are adorable! I’ve gotta give a plug for my husband’s handmade mugs: http://www.formanpottery.com. Fun fact: he listens to hours upon hours of audiobooks while he works at the wheel, and is currently listening to The Covenant of Water 😍
Love these! I just bought one!
I am picky about mugs. They need to be made by a potter, have a handle that I can easily slip 3 fingers into and if I’m lucky, it has a little daub of clay at the top of the handle for my thumb to rest on. I bought my first one at the Vermont Open Studio craft event years ago. She had one mug left that clearly was meant for me. I bought it and then spent a lot of time trying to remember the name of the potter and purchase more! (I was successful!)
My family jokes that my veins are full of Barry’s Irish Breakfast tea (available at World Market and via Amazon for those outside of Ireland) and I love adorable mugs. However, because having my tea stay piping hot matters most to me, I pass all the cute mugs and grab my ember mug. It’s the best gift my husband ever gave me and our home is no longer littered with half-finished cups of tea I abandoned because they grew cold. For second or third cup, I’ll reach for a cute one–if the ember needs to recharge!
They are expensive but a game changer: https://amzn.to/463HJau
My favorite mug is my Don’t Overthink It mug from your book release! It’s the perfect, slightly oversized mug for my morning coffee.
Oh these are so fun! Anne, I’m glad to know the “Let Me Overthink About It” mug was one you impulse bought, and not one you thought about too much ahead of time! 😉
My XO mug is my favourite because of its weight, it’s heavy, feels good in the hands and retains heat better than my porcelain mugs. I’m always afraid to handle it. I have to reach up high to get it and I’m short and afraid I’ll drop it and I won’t be able to replace it because I bought mine in Santa Barbara many moons ago. Good to know they’re available online. Mine is the Bob Marley one that reads “don’t worry about a thing because every little thing is gonna be all right. XO, Bob”. I used this one a lot when I was teaching from home during Covid.
I love a good mug, and some of my favorites come from Canada’s answer to Barnes and Noble, a bookstore chain called Chapters/Indigo. I have a whole bunch from them and they never fail to bring me joy. I’m currently eyeing this one https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/literary-weekend-mug/882709745433.html
and trying to decide if I can really justify another reading themed mug in my life 🙂
I LOVE mugs! I’m sure my hubby thinks I have way too many, but there’s something so satisfying and cozy about picking out the right mug for your mood. I love mugs from 2232 Ceramics—they’re hand thrown, so you have to either preorder or wait until she does a website restock, but they’re so worth it! https://2232ceramics.com/collections/all
And for any witch and wizard lovers, these mugs are fantastic! They periodically do new designs: https://magicalbornsisters.com/collections/mugs
I have a favorite mug that was a thank-you gift from an organization I belong to. It has my first name and a ladybug on it (our emblem). I favor it because I can put it in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes and the handle doesn’t get too hot to handle. That’s important! I also have two sets of beautiful hand painted mugs that were made by a china-painting teacher/friend of my family. They are smaller than most mugs but a friend likes them because her coffee doesn’t get cold before she can drink it. We all have our reasons, don’t we?
A shout out to a local pottery store in Winchester, KY! Dirty South Pottery makes the cutest one of a kind coffee mugs. I received one as a gift years ago and was thrilled to see they were located right down the road from me! I have since gifted mugs to dear friends and coffee lovers in my life. Check them out!
Great article with great timing…I have a summer mug blue with sea shells on it that I love and a mug from my college. Both are large and with wide handles making them comfortable to hold. Fall is my favorite season and I was just thinking the other night that I need a Fall theme mug, and wondering where I might go shopping for one. Comfort is important and I want to be able to hold it before it before I buy it.
I found my favorite mug when searching for a tea I had in Iceland last year. It’s a Stash tea- Elderflower Citrus, but doesn’t seem to be carried in any stores local to me so I had to order it. This amazing Mara mug with a dragonfly fell into my cart and I’ve purchased one for a gift. Thinking it’s time to add another to the collection. It’s huge, weighty and perfect.
https://www.stashtea.com/products/dragonfly-mara-mug?variant=10631310787&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&adpos=&scid=scplpshopify_US_3674790211_10631310787&sc_intid=shopify_US_3674790211_10631310787&gclid=CjwKCAjwu4WoBhBkEiwAojNdXssO-xoFH8uPU4imW7hHmZ56L3FnCjFY6kfwU9jdKsZhgVXDhyeCNBoCh9sQAvD_BwE
My favorite mug was one from Caribou Coffee. It was lime green and wording was “ya sure!” Something I say a lot. I’m Scandinavian and Minnesotan. I dropped on cement accidentally. But recently if found one from a local potter. I love a cup I can cuddle! This one fits perfectly in my hands and has the perfect size handle!
I really want that Austen-tacious mug now!! I’d love to find it somewhere!!