My foray into making slip cast work started really by accident. We were sitting waiting for our coffee in a wonderful cafe in the countryside of Puglia. I ordered an espresso as you do when in Italy! I admired the cup in which it came and when we left I told the waiter what a classic design the cup had and he handed me the cup saying ‘un regalo per lei’ (a present for you). I brought this cup back to England and made a plaster mould out of it and in order not to infringe any copyright rules, every time I slip cast it with porcelain slip I change the shape of the cup in subtle ways, so that it does not bear any resemblance to the original.