BOB BIELK/Staff Photographer) Kathaleen Iskrzycki of Howell advocates the importance of etiquette and a good cup of tea.

NAME: Kathaleen Iskrzycki, Howell

OCCUPATION: Tea and etiquette consultant; owner of five-year-old company, Emagein Tea

WHAT SHE DOES: "To my close friends and family, I'm known as Lady Tea. My e-mail address is ladytea@emagein.com. As a tea and etiquette consultant, I offer classes for children and adults on tea and general etiquette. I feel, especially with children, that there is a need for children of today to learn proper manners that seem to have been lost.

"I host bridal teas, baby-shower teas, engagement teas and also business and corporate teas. My favorite teas to host are the children's dress-up birthday teas. I incorporate manners, story time and a craft project, along with the taking of tea and cookies. The craft project is usually where I get straw hats for everyone and they get to decorate their hat before they wear it to tea. I also bring things like long beads and gloves, and we put these one before I start with the manners.

"I have met a lot of mothers who really want their children to learn manners, and you're never too young to start. Young children do very well in etiquette classes. They're like sponges. They want to learn. I make it fun. And, it's something new to them that they've never experienced before."

STARTING OUT: "I've loved tea since I was a little girl when my grandmother, Arma, would make my sister, Margaret, and myself tea. Of course, then it was mostly milk. What made it a special time was the taking of tea and the bonding and conversation and her warm cookies right from the oven. My love of tea continued throughout the years. You might even say it was steeped with fascination. Since then I've read every book I could find on the subject of tea."Over the years, I've had so many people to my home for tea -- friends, family -- and it was such a good thing to do instead of having heavy foods and drinking and all of that. I like to offer a light tea instead -- finger sandwiches and scones and, of course, little sweets. Some of the ladies in my development would have a craft night and we would have tea with the crafts."

DAILY REGIMEN: "I have tea every day. I work full time as a paraprofessional or assistant teacher at Howell Middle School South. But at tea time, I do the whole thing -- tea, scones, the works -- right after school. I go home, relax and have tea. If I'm not at home, I go somewhere and have tea at tea time. I drink tea all the time. I start out the morning with a cup of tea. I go to school and I put a cup of tea on my desk in a fine china cup and saucer, and I sip tea throughout the day."

TEA PREFERENCES: "I have a huge collection of teapots and tea services. I have all sorts of cups that have come from palaces in England, Ireland, Australia. People bring me teapots because they know I collect them and I find them in antique stores, too. I have one I just bought in Cape May that's enormous. It's really just for display but it can hold 3 gallons.

"As for the tea itself, loose tea is the best. If you use tea bags, you've got to get something good. I get my tea from Canada. It's a black tea but a very fine grade. I'm also growing three tea plants this year, and I'm in the process of talking with a company about blending my own brand of tea."

BUSINESS GOALS: "Within the next two years I want to open a tea room that will serve tea and where I can host tea parties, have tea and etiquette classes and sell accoutrements such as tea services. My Web site is under construction and should be up and running by February (www.emagein.com).

WORDS TO LIVE BY: "I like to say a woman is like a tea bag: You never know how strong she gets until she's in hot water."