I meet tea cosy artist Rosy Hardress over a (virtual) cup of tea.

In a different timeline, the 2020 Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival would have taken place in late May. Instead, the biennial event was an early casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions with the committee reluctantly cancelling the in-person gathering but choosing to go ahead with the cosy competition in an online format, knowing that “tea cosies were already knitted, crocheted, felted, embroidered and constructed in many other creative ways” and not wanting that effort to go to waste.

Artist Rosy Hardress, who hails from Talbot in central Victoria, took home first prize in the Exuberant Whimsy category with ‘Curly Top’, a mixed media piece made of wool, acrylic, plastic, wire, recycled poly stuffing and bamboo.

“I’ve made tea cosies over the years for friends and relatives but more recently I’ve made them full time for shops and galleries,” she says of turning into a professional cosy-maker. “My advice to anyone wanting to make a tea cosy is to select an easy ribbed pattern and a standard round four-cup teapot.”

Her first professional piece was in 2012 for a high tea theme at the Art of Elegance Fair and since then she has developed a reputation for her vivacious creations, including her favourite bonsai trees. “I am challenged by unusually shaped teapots as I write my own patterns. Trying to maintain function and practicality can also be tricky.”

Despite the renown of the Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival, Hardress says it was only at the urging of others – and the lockdown – that she decided to enter. “Many people have suggested that I enter and this year I took advantage of isolation conditions and entered the online exhibition. It was an honour to win.”

On a personal note, it was actually the honourable mention in Exuberant Whimsy, ‘Grey Earl’ – a latex and felt number by Moya O’Brien – that she “fell in love with”.

And although the creative process is satisfying, Hardress says she enjoys hearing from clients the most. “I love my clients’ reactions and the stories they tell of tea with grandma or tea parties as children. The sentimentality and memories that we have about tea and teapots is very strong.”

Underneath the cosy, keeping warm in Hardress’ teapot, is either a brew from Australian brand Nerada or her local tea purveyors Bliss Blend Organics.

“I love tea! So many beautiful products to choose from,” she enthuses. And in this ritual it’s more than what’s beneath the cosy that’s important. “I’m particularly fussy about the vessels I use – bone china for black tea and my favourite chai cups handmade by Felix Ceramics Pottery.”

See the entrants to the virtual 2020 Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival e-Cosy Exhibition.

This article originally appeared in AUSTCS enews 7 July 2020. Mailchimp no longer allows external links to the original newsletter.