Cup of Ceremony used all five senses to bring the culture, experience and tradition of Japanese tea ceremonies to Silicon Valley—without the tea. With ice cream, scented candles and analog emptiness, we left space to be filled. In that space, we invented a world of imperfection, allowing people to look inward and find layers within themselves they didn’t know were there. Based on the ancient aesthetic of wabi sabi, we made broken cracks visible. We created emptiness. The concrete counter was broken and unique. The stationary was ripped. Even the logo featured a large void. Because when something is broken it reveals layers within and leaves room for growth. Using these elements and a selection of poems, we dramatized childhood memories with strong contrast—tradition + modernity, marble + concrete, warm candles + cold ice cream. The pop up was in Dogpatch, San Francisco, a digital wasteland in search of analog experiences. But it resonated worldwide. On a tiny budget, we created branding, storytelling, product and package design, and the interior of a pop up space that allowed people to find layers underneath they didn’t know were there.