Perhaps it’s a little comical to admit that Nara Smith inspired my desire to take up ceramics, but that is indeed the truth. Allow me to explain: My first foray into TikTok’s favorite Mormon tradwife was an old video of her enjoying a late-night snack. “It’s just whipped cream with blackberries and raspberries on top and some coconut sugar,” Smith said while showing off her sweet treat. Though it looked delicious, her bougie berries and cream were the least of my concerns. I was fixated on her choice of tableware: a cream-colored bubble plate.
“Have you ever craved something you’ve never had before, but it sounds so good in your mind?” Smith asked in a separate video that has since become its own meme. For me, it was the bubble plate, which had become a newfound need rather than a want. I fantasized about eating an array of bubble plate-friendly foods: crudités, scoops of vanilla ice cream drizzled in olive oil and elaborate yogurt bowls topped with fancy granola, cut-up fruit and cacao nibs. Eating wouldn’t just feel good, it would look good too. And in our digital era — where taking photos of our food before actually eating it is now a major phenomenon across social media — my phone would be booked and busy, always “eating first,” as the popular internet saying goes.
