Ever wonder how some of the stuff we use every day came to be? I think about it sometimes when I’m at the stove with my favorite sauté pan, with its perfect trifecta of size, weight and performance.

A teacup from Taipei; a teapot inspired by Van Gogh: Art can be yours at home. | Credit: Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images That Van Gogh has to stay on the gallery wall. But there is a ...