A zebra butterfly — bold black and white stripes, landing on a riot of red blooms — doesn't hide a single thing about itself. It shows up exactly as it is, pattern and all, unapologetically occupying its space in the world. Suzie Hightshoe painted that. And called it what it is: Perfectly Imperfect.
We spend so much time covering the parts of ourselves we think are too much, too different, too visible. But what if those were exactly the parts worth showing? This mug is for the ones who are learning — slowly, one morning at a time — to show up like the zebra butterfly. Fully. Boldly. Perfectly imperfect. 🦋💙
Cover Art by Suzie Hightshoe & the Kate Shu Collective
Suzie Hightshoe is an Iowa educator, storyteller, and photographer whose life's work has been built on a single, luminous belief: that if we are quiet enough, we can hear the story the world is trying to tell us.
Born into a family with more than 150 years of combined teaching legacy — her aunts' manuscripts, plays, poems, and sheet music now preserved at the Museum of Education at the University of Northern Iowa — Suzie carried that legacy into 40 years of her own classroom. Along the way she earned the National Social Studies Teacher of the Year award (1996), traveled to Japan as a Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher, and served as an educational ambassador to Russia, bringing cultures together through the universal language of story. Her fifth graders slept under the stars during Iowa's Sesquicentennial. They doused old cemeteries, rode steamboats on the Mississippi, walked alongside wagon trains, and shared Norwegian dinners in Decorah. History was never something Suzie taught from behind a desk.
For Suzie, photography IS storytelling — the camera lens a portal through which she can hear thunder, smell lilies, feel the flutter of a kitten's fur, and taste the first sip of a bold morning coffee. Her art invites you to slow down, look closer, and find meaning in the places and faces most people walk right past.
"Everything and everyone is Art." — Suzie Hightshoe
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
A zebra butterfly — bold black and white stripes, landing on a riot of red blooms — doesn't hide a single thing about itself. It shows up exactly as it is, pattern and all, unapologetically occupying its space in the world. Suzie Hightshoe painted that. And called it what it is: Perfectly Imperfect.
We spend so much time covering the parts of ourselves we think are too much, too different, too visible. But what if those were exactly the parts worth showing? This mug is for the ones who are learning — slowly, one morning at a time — to show up like the zebra butterfly. Fully. Boldly. Perfectly imperfect. 🦋💙
Cover Art by Suzie Hightshoe & the Kate Shu Collective
Suzie Hightshoe is an Iowa educator, storyteller, and photographer whose life's work has been built on a single, luminous belief: that if we are quiet enough, we can hear the story the world is trying to tell us.
Born into a family with more than 150 years of combined teaching legacy — her aunts' manuscripts, plays, poems, and sheet music now preserved at the Museum of Education at the University of Northern Iowa — Suzie carried that legacy into 40 years of her own classroom. Along the way she earned the National Social Studies Teacher of the Year award (1996), traveled to Japan as a Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher, and served as an educational ambassador to Russia, bringing cultures together through the universal language of story. Her fifth graders slept under the stars during Iowa's Sesquicentennial. They doused old cemeteries, rode steamboats on the Mississippi, walked alongside wagon trains, and shared Norwegian dinners in Decorah. History was never something Suzie taught from behind a desk.
For Suzie, photography IS storytelling — the camera lens a portal through which she can hear thunder, smell lilies, feel the flutter of a kitten's fur, and taste the first sip of a bold morning coffee. Her art invites you to slow down, look closer, and find meaning in the places and faces most people walk right past.
"Everything and everyone is Art." — Suzie Hightshoe
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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