A CUPPA WITH ALEX MILES YOUNGER

photo made by Alex

Alex Miles Younger is a book designer, artist and maker of things. We've only hung out a handful of times while I'm visiting Brooklyn, but those moments have been fun and full. Alex has a magical touch in all the books he designs, catering mostly to authors who are publishing on their own and want their work to sing off the page. Alex authors a thoughtful blog too, his posts always touch on issues I find myself navigating -- working for yourself, being an artist for hire, trying to go big, motivation and following dreams. Alex's dream tea party takes the cake for most epic, off the hook ridiculous, swagger filled, imaginative, dopelaicious swaray ever.
 
What is your favorite type of tea and how do you take it? Peppermint, hot and straight up.

How does tea punctuate your day? I wake up with a cup of green tea, fall asleep with a pot of an herbal blend, and use the cup on my desk to schedule my breaks from work. When that cup on my desk runs dry, I know it's time to get up from my computer, boil water, make tea, and take a couple minutes away from the problem I'm trying to solve.

My tea accompaniment of choice is: peanut butter on a toasted English muffin.

Rdio.com . . .  is on when I'm having tea.

I first started drinking tea when . . .  my parents introduced me to Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger.

My dream tea party would include . . .  It would be preceded by an hour and a half of yoga in a studio overlooking a forest, and would commence (picnic style) on the rooftop of the building from which you could see the ocean, or a large placid body of water. During the tea party Ray Bradbury's ghost would tell stories, and Anne Bogart would talk with Banksy and Macklemore about making art. Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua Bell would underscore the conversation. Each cup of tea would be different than the one before it. Somehow this would take place on a train (you said it's a dream, right?) as it travels along the coast of a country that I was visiting for the first time.

When I sip from my tea cup, I . . .  try to remember to be here, now.