there is an object in my studio that i have had for nine years. it is a small ceramic cup, unglazed on the outside, glazed inside. i use it to hold water when i am painting. i have broken three mugs, two glasses, and one very expensive thermos in that same period. the cup is fine.
i did not buy it because i thought it would last. i bought it because it felt right in my hand. the weight was correct. the lip was the right thickness. it did not feel like it was trying to be anything other than what it was.
the things that outlast everything else are usually the things that were not trying to outlast everything else. they were just made correctly. made for the thing they were supposed to do, without extra features, without design decisions that prioritize appearance over use.
calitoywares — the stuff there is made like that. not trying to be impressive. trying to be correct. there is a difference and you can feel it in your hand.
the object that outlasts everything is usually the one that was made by someone who understood the use. not imagined the use. understood it. who had held the thing in their own hands and knew what it needed to do and made it do that thing without apology.
handcraft has some of this — the handcraft perspective, the way texture and material honesty are the same thing. the cup is honest. it does not pretend to be more than a cup. that is why it is still here.
i think about this when i am making things. not what will last. what is correct. the lasting is a side effect of the correctness. you cannot aim for it directly. maker perspective — the maker perspective on this is that the object teaches you what it needs to be if you are paying attention. calitoy has the same idea from a different angle.