We have a saying at the Tearoom: we become what we love. What we love shapes us. More often than we realize, we make decisions based on the desires of our hearts, based on what we want—and usually, we want what we love. When something is done excellently, we often describe it as “made with love.”

Recently, I read about Victor Hugo. His novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame was one of his earliest works and became a sensation. Hugo adored Gothic architecture—its upward aspirations, spires, steeples, pointed arches, dramatic contrasts of light and shadow, and intricate stained glass. He intended this book not only as a masterpiece of literature but also as a call for historic preservation, driven by his deep love for the ancient cathedral. Don’t we all wish we could “bottle” and preserve everything dear to us?

Do you have something you love—something worth preserving?

“We must, if it be possible, inspire the nation with a love of its national architecture,” Hugo wrote in the introduction. David McCullough, in his book The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, revealed that Hugo especially loved the view from the top of Notre-Dame’s tower. He devoted one of the most appealing chapters of his novel to this view as it might have appeared in the 15th century. This inspired countless readers, then and now, to climb the tower and see it for themselves.

I was deeply moved by this—a testament to the great power of love: its ability to inspire people to strive for something greater, something meaningful and beautiful, and something larger than themselves.

How can we inspire people with love? What can we inspire in others through what we love?

Here at the Tearoom, we hope to inspire a love of our five Aspirations: Grace, Beauty, Civility, Gentility, and Excellence. These are the things we cherish, along with tea! We believe that tea is a way to exhibit and encourage these wonderful qualities. What might you love? What can you inspire in someone today with what you love?

Yours for the return of Grace, Civility, Beauty, Gentility, and Excellence,

Nataliya Higbie

“The things we truly love stay with us always, locked in our hearts as long as life remains.” –Josephine Baker