The same clay can become a keepsake or an ordinary place for keys.

Material does not decide status. The same lump becomes a wedding gift kept in tissue paper or a dish by the door that catches keys and loose change for fifteen years, and nothing about the clay chose between them. What separates the two is use and story, both applied afterwards by people.

Look at what you treat as too good to use and ask why. Sometimes the answer is fine, and sometimes an object has been promoted out of the life it was made for. Bringing one precious thing into daily service is usually more of a tribute than the shelf was.