About Us

Last updated: October 31, 2026

Mug Mellow is a small online shop for personalised drinkware. Most of what we sell is ceramic mugs with a name, a photo, a date or a short line printed on them; alongside the mugs you will find travel mugs, insulated tumblers and kids cups made the same way. This page explains what we make, how a mug goes from your order notes to your kitchen counter, and what you can count on from us once you have placed an order. Everything here is written to be checked: if a sentence on this page ever stops being true, we change the page.

1. Why a mug, and why a name on it

The mug is the most used object in most kitchens. It is the first thing many people hold in the morning and often the last thing they rinse at night. That is why a name on a mug lasts longer as a gift than most things bought for an occasion: it gets used, every day, by the person it was made for. A tumbler on a desk or a straw cup in a lunch box works the same way, just further from home.

We keep our designs calm on purpose. A name in a readable serif or an easy script, a photo with room to breathe, a list of family names set in a tidy column. Nothing shouts. The idea is that the mug should still look right on an ordinary Tuesday, long after the birthday or holiday it was bought for. If you like the slow first cup of the day, that is the feeling we try to put on the shelf.

2. What you will find on our shelves

We call our categories shelves, because that is how we picture them. Mugs come first; tumblers and travel mugs are a second shelf rather than the main event.

There are also shelves arranged by person rather than by shape: For Family, For Pet People, Work & Job Gifts and Holiday Mugs. The same mug can sit on two shelves; a Mama mug with the children’s names is both a family mug and a Mother’s Day mug, for example. If you are not sure where to start, the full shop shows everything at once.

3. How personalising works here

We do not use an upload tool or a design editor. That was a deliberate choice: editors can be slow on a phone, and many people simply want to type a name and be done. So the whole process fits into the normal checkout.

1. Pick the design. On the product page, choose the size, the colour or the month where the design has one, and add it to your cart.
2. Type your text. At checkout there is a box called Order notes. Write the name, names, date or short line exactly as you want them printed: capitals, spacing, accents, punctuation.
3. Send a photo if the design uses one. After you order, you receive a confirmation email. Reply to it with your photo attached, the original file rather than a screenshot.
4. We print what you wrote. There is no proof or mockup step. Your note is the final word, which is why we ask you to read it twice.

Ordering several mugs with different names? List the names in your note in the same order as the items in your cart: “Mug 1, Nana; mug 2, Grandpa Joe; mug 3, Aunt Lou.” That small habit avoids almost every mix-up we could imagine. If you spot a mistake after ordering, such as “Katherine” written when you meant “Catherine”, email us within 24 hours of placing the order and we will change it. The full rules are on Cancel or Change an Order.

4. Mugs, tumblers and the small facts that matter

Shoppers compare a handful of things before they choose a mug, and we try to answer each one plainly on every product page.

Capacity

Every size we list is a capacity, not a height. An 11 oz mug holds about 325 ml when filled to the brim, which in practice is one generous cup of coffee with room for milk. A 15 oz mug holds about 444 ml; it gives long names and family lists more space, and it suits people who would rather not refill. Our Size Guide lists every capacity in the shop, from the 8 oz kids cocoa mug to the 40 oz handle tumbler, with millilitre conversions.

Material

Ceramic mugs are white ceramic with a C-handle. Two-tone mugs add a coloured glaze inside and on the handle. Travel mugs, tumblers and most kids cups are double-wall stainless steel with lids. The specialty shelf adds glass and enamel-coated steel. Product pages name the material for each item.

Care

We recommend hand washing for everything we sell, because it keeps prints and finishes looking fresh for longer. Stainless steel must never go in a microwave. Heat-reveal mugs are hand wash only. Glass should not jump between very cold and very hot. These notes are on each product page as well.

5. Where your order goes and how long it takes

Orders are processed in 1-3 business days. Photo orders start once your photo arrives by email. After processing, your parcel ships from the USA, free of charge, to addresses in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Transit is estimated at 7-14 business days for all four countries. We do not ship to other countries at the moment.

Because holidays and school terms do not move, we encourage people to order early before a fixed date. Carriers are busier in late November and December, and estimated transit times are estimates rather than guarantees. You can follow your parcel from the Order Tracking page, and the Shipping & Delivery page covers addresses, gift orders sent straight to the recipient, and what to do if a parcel seems stuck. Import duties and taxes for Canada, Australia and New Zealand depend on the destination country’s rules; if you are unsure what applies to you, write to us before ordering.

6. What we promise after you order

A personalised mug is still something you should be able to send back. That is why our return rules treat personalised items like everything else.

If a mug arrives chipped, a glass can arrives cracked, or the print does not match what you typed in your note, email us with your order number and a photo of the item and its box. We will help you put it right, whether that means a replacement or a refund. The details are on the returns page.

7. How we keep things honest

There are a few things you will not find on this site, and that is on purpose. We do not show star ratings or review counts, because we only want to show reviews from real buyers and the shop is new. We do not show “only 3 left” messages or “12 people are looking at this” counters, because personalised mugs are made for your order rather than taken from a dwindling pile. We do not display payment logos for payment services that are not yet connected to the checkout. And we say only what we can stand behind about origin: our orders ship from the USA.

Product photos on the site are being prepared and may be replaced as the range grows. Colours on screens can look slightly different from a glazed handle in daylight; if a colour surprises you, the 60-day return window is there for exactly that.

8. Gifts we see most often

Some patterns appear again and again, and they shaped how the shelves are arranged.

• Grandparent mugs: a “Nana” mug with six grandchildren’s names in little hearts, often ordered by one grandchild on behalf of all the cousins.
• Teacher thank-yous: a class parent ordering eight mugs reading “Ms Rivera, Grade 3” and friends, one per teacher, at the end of the school year.
• Pet portraits: a golden retriever called Biscuit on a white mug, bought for a sister who has just adopted him.
• Couples: a “Mr & Mrs Alvarez, est. 2026” set for a wedding gift table.
• Kids: a 12 oz straw cup with “Eli” on it, so it comes home from daycare every Friday.
• Families far apart: a Christmas mug for “The Okafors, est. 2014”, shipped to Auckland in early November so it arrives in good time.

If your idea does not quite fit one of our designs, write to us before ordering. We will tell you honestly whether one of the existing layouts can carry it.

9. The business behind the shop

Mug Mellow is the trading name used on this website. Our business address is:

Mug Mellow
8 Willard Drive
Uxbridge, MA 01569
United States

We handle support by email only, which lets us keep a written record of every name, date and photo you send us. The address above is our business address for correspondence; please do not send returns there unless we have given you a return label that names it. Returns always start with an email so that we can send you the free label.

Prices on the site are in US dollars. The store does not collect sales tax at checkout. The legal side of buying from us, including governing law (Massachusetts), is set out in our Terms of Service, and how we handle your details is in the Privacy Policy.

10. Say hello, or ask before you order

Most questions we receive come before an order rather than after it: whether a long name fits on an 11 oz mug, whether a photo is bright enough, whether a tumbler fits a particular car cup holder, or whether a mug will arrive before a specific date. All of these are good questions to ask first. Email support@mugmellow.shop and a reply will reach you within 24 hours on business days.

You can also browse the FAQs, look through the Help Center for orders, delivery and returns, or open a support request from the Submit a Ticket page. Thank you for spending part of your morning with us.