By Matt RadlerThe Daily Northwestern
For this Mother’s Day, Carryn Christianson did more than peruse the supermarket’s card aisle. She made her mom a mug.
The mug Christianson, a SESP sophomore, will send is personalized, with “Mom” written in flowers and the names of each of her family members written on a pastel rim. She designed it as part of a Mother’s Day promotional event that ends Friday at ARTica Studios in Norris University Center. The holiday is observed Sunday.
In addition to mug designing – which ended Wednesday – ARTica gives students the chance to decorate picture frames, which cost $2, through its “Mom’s the Word” event.
“Moms around the world really appreciate personalized gifts,” Christianson said. “Besides, I thought it’d be fun so I grabbed my (former) roommate and we went.”
Debra Blade, assistant director for building services and marketing at Norris, said gifts such as mugs that involve a little creativity are as satisfying for the giver as for the recipient.
“When they come on Friday and pick them up, they’ll get to see how it all turned out, and people enjoy that,” she said. “That’s the fun with ceramics: seeing the colors. It’s like Christmas.”
Jasmin Chang, an ARTica attendant and DAILY staffer, said the appeal for students lies in having a personal stake in the gift.
“It’s a cheap way to make something for their mothers,” the Medill sophomore said. “People come by with their friends for a few hours and just hang out.”
Mug designers began by drawing a design using pencil, and then tracing over their work with glaze.
ARTica employees then cover the mugs in two to three layers of glaze and fire them in a kiln.
This year’s batch went into the kiln Wednesday night to be ready to send out on Friday.
Blade said this year’s program attracted seven times as many students as last year’s, with 35 students making mugs or picture frames. This Mother’s Day has even brought in more student gift-makers than ARTica’s Valentine’s Day event.
“We’ve sold more mugs than any event (in the past),” she said. “It’s been very popular over the last week.”
Blade also said that she has noticed an increase in the number of male patrons.
“I guess this time of year, mothers rate a bit higher,” she said.
Weinberg sophomore Jessica Santana, who came to ARTica with Christianson, said she designed a mug because she prefers making gifts to buying them.
“I have no artistic ability whatsoever,” she said. “But when Carryn asked me, I said ‘Why not? I’ll be the favorite child now.'”
On her mug, Santana drew three pairs of two female stick figures, one in each pair tall, the other shorter.
“It’s me and my mother growing up together,” she said.
Reach Matt Radler at [email protected].
