The first coffee of the day is poured before the first invite lands. Somewhere between the kettle and the desk, a calendar fills up with quick syncs, a thread gets circled back to and someone asks to touch base before lunch. This mug states the house rules before any of that begins.
The artwork is a rule sheet in the language of public signage. Three prohibition signs in a row, each a ring and a slash over a simple icon (a looping arrow, two hands pressing a small base, a lightning bolt), with three rules set beneath in tall, heavy capitals: No circling back. No touching base. No quick syncs. The icons are knocked out of the discs, so the ceramic itself shows through like a real enamel sign.
The design wraps both sides, so it reads whichever way you pick it up.
It goes to the coworker who has heard every one of these phrases before nine, the partner who fields your calls from the next room, or the friend who keeps a mental list of banned meeting words. Bought for yourself first, then for the desk opposite.
Policy takes effect immediately.
