Artist Kate Shu | Jessica Forever White Coffee Mug

from $16.00
Kate considers the birth of her sister Jessica a miracle, a blessing, and a treasure to love forever. Their parents were told they couldn't have biological children — news that was devastating, but simultaneously became Kate's best day ever. Just four years after arriving from South Korea, she learned she was going to be a big sister. This mug is for that person in your life — the miracle you didn't see coming, the one who changed everything just by arriving. Who has played that irreplaceable role for you? Hold this mug and think of them. Kate Shu is a South Korean-born, Iowa-raised artist, entrepreneur, and creative force whose life has been shaped by music, nature, resilience, and an unshakeable belief in the power of art to transform lives. Abandoned at birth and adopted at seven months old, Kate arrived in Minneapolis into the arms of a family who became her greatest champions — and set her on a path of extraordinary creative discovery. By fourteen, Kate was performing with professional big bands across the Midwest. By sixteen, she had explored nearly every national park in the United States, often alongside her father — a landscape architecture professor and published author — cataloging the trees, vines, and shrubs of North America. Over the next three decades, her creative life expanded to encompass theatre, painting, design, calligraphy, pottery, culinary art, textiles, and clothing design, alongside a lifelong love of music. The heart behind the Kate Shu Collective lives in her grandmother, Alda Mae Zahner Hightshoe, who began every single day by reciting a list of things that were "sooo beautiful" — and who, despite being awarded an art scholarship, gave up her dream during WWII to become Rosie the Riveter. It is in Alda's honor, and in the spirit of every artist who was ever told their dream wasn't practical, that Kate built the Collective — to give talented creative people another way, another chance, and another reason to keep going. "The hardest work is the HeART work — and it's always worth it." — Kate Shu A Kate Shu Collective exclusive, available only at the Monarch Shoppe. About this Mug: • Available in 11 oz, 15 oz, and 20 oz • Premium white gloss finish • Printed using dye sublimation technology — the image is fused directly into the ceramic surface for vivid, true-to-life color that won't fade, crack, or peel. Ever. • Handle stays cool even when your water is boiling • Microwave and dishwasher safe • Print quality is exceptional — exactly as pictured
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Kate considers the birth of her sister Jessica a miracle, a blessing, and a treasure to love forever. Their parents were told they couldn't have biological children — news that was devastating, but simultaneously became Kate's best day ever. Just four years after arriving from South Korea, she learned she was going to be a big sister. This mug is for that person in your life — the miracle you didn't see coming, the one who changed everything just by arriving. Who has played that irreplaceable role for you? Hold this mug and think of them. Kate Shu is a South Korean-born, Iowa-raised artist, entrepreneur, and creative force whose life has been shaped by music, nature, resilience, and an unshakeable belief in the power of art to transform lives. Abandoned at birth and adopted at seven months old, Kate arrived in Minneapolis into the arms of a family who became her greatest champions — and set her on a path of extraordinary creative discovery. By fourteen, Kate was performing with professional big bands across the Midwest. By sixteen, she had explored nearly every national park in the United States, often alongside her father — a landscape architecture professor and published author — cataloging the trees, vines, and shrubs of North America. Over the next three decades, her creative life expanded to encompass theatre, painting, design, calligraphy, pottery, culinary art, textiles, and clothing design, alongside a lifelong love of music. The heart behind the Kate Shu Collective lives in her grandmother, Alda Mae Zahner Hightshoe, who began every single day by reciting a list of things that were "sooo beautiful" — and who, despite being awarded an art scholarship, gave up her dream during WWII to become Rosie the Riveter. It is in Alda's honor, and in the spirit of every artist who was ever told their dream wasn't practical, that Kate built the Collective — to give talented creative people another way, another chance, and another reason to keep going. "The hardest work is the HeART work — and it's always worth it." — Kate Shu A Kate Shu Collective exclusive, available only at the Monarch Shoppe. About this Mug: • Available in 11 oz, 15 oz, and 20 oz • Premium white gloss finish • Printed using dye sublimation technology — the image is fused directly into the ceramic surface for vivid, true-to-life color that won't fade, crack, or peel. Ever. • Handle stays cool even when your water is boiling • Microwave and dishwasher safe • Print quality is exceptional — exactly as pictured