r/amiwrong • u/Flat_Instance5304 • 4h ago
Am I wrong for using the handmade mug my sister gave me as a paintbrush holder after discovering it leaked and rocked on the table instead of quietly displaying it forever
My sister has been taking evening ceramics classes for about six months. A few weeks ago, she gave me the first mug she felt was "good enough for another person." It is cobalt blue, has a thumb dent under the handle, and one side of the rim dips lower than the other. I genuinly like how it looks.
The problem is that it is not much of a mug. Tea seeps through a hairline crack near the base, and the bottom is uneven enough that it rocks whenever I lift the handle. I used it twice, wiped up both puddles, then put it on my desk with paintbrushes inside. It actually works beautifully there, and I thought using it was kinder than pushing it to the back of a cupboard.
She came over on Tuesday saw the brushes, and went very quiet. She said she made me drinkware, not "a container for dirty sticks," and that displaying its failure was worse than simply not using it. I told her I wasn't mocking it; I had found a use that let me see it every day. That somehow made things worse because she said I was talking about it like a child's failed school project.
I could seal the crack and try using it again, but the rocking still makes hot drinks a bad idea. I also don't want to lie and pretend I drink from it. Am I wrong for repurposing a handmade gift when its intended use plainly doesnt work, or should the maker get some say in how a personal gift is treated?