Since founding her eponymous brand in 2018, the Milan-based, Colombia-born designer Natalia Criado has been developing a body of work that reads as both functional object and sculpture. Known for her tableware wrought in silver-plated metal – often articulated through uncanny, surrealist gestures, such as a pair of teapots conjoined at the spout – she creates pieces that carry a palpable symbolic charge, at times drawing on themes as disparate as personal memory or her research into pre-Columbian ceramics and objects.

To pair that esoteric sensibility with a house like Laboratorio Paravicini – the Milanese ceramics brand run by Costanza Paravicini and her three daughters, Benedetta, Margherita and Bona, known for their deftly hand-illustrated ceramics – feels like a bridge across dimensions. 'I had been aware of their work for some time, and what drew me in was not only the craftsmanship, but the structure behind it, a family-run studio largely composed of women,' Criado says.

The collaboration has resulted in a new tableware collection, ‘Metalia’, which brings Criado’s metalwork into dialogue with Paravicini’s craft-led practice. Their joint presentation, titled ‘The Invisible Table’, runs from 21-26 April 2026 at Laboratorio Paravicini’s via Nerino workshop. Wallpaper* sat down with Criado to discuss her collaboration with Laboratorio Paravicini, her evolving relationship with ceramics,and what she’s most excited to experience during Milan Design Week 2026.

Salone del Mobile 2026: in conversation with Natalia Criado

Wallpaper*: Laboratorio Paravicini’s work is deeply rooted in a Milanese sensibility – the studio is based in the city's medieval centre, where Costanza Paravicini also raised her family. How did you engage with that context?

Natalia Criado: Milan has this duality, it’s extremely fast, very industrial, but at the same time deeply rooted in tradition and craft. Working with Paravicini allowed me to engage with that slower, more intimate side of the city. It felt like stepping into a lineage rather than starting from zero. As someone who has adopted Milan as home, it became less about referencing the city, and more about participating in it.

W*: In the past, you’ve worked largely with metal – how did you approach translating that practice into Laboratorio Paravicini’s ceramic language?

NC: My relationship to ceramics actually precedes my work in metal, so there’s always been a certain sensitivity there. Ceramics carry an inherent fragility, both physical and symbolic. Rather than translating my metal practice directly, I approached it as a dialogue. The metal elements became almost protective, structures that hold, frame, or even shield the ceramic pieces. It was less about imposing one material onto another, and more about creating a balance between strength and delicacy.

W*: Can you walk us through the different pieces in the collection?

NC: The collection is composed of a series of ceramic plates by Laboratorio Paravicini, developed in dialogue with my design language, alongside metal elements that I created. The metal works almost as a protective structure, encasing and framing the ceramics, responding to their inherent fragility. At the same time, it doesn’t conceal them; it accentuates their delicacy and surface. There’s a tension between the two materials, strength and vulnerability, where each piece exists both as a functional object and as a sculptural composition.

W*: The collection will be presented as part of an installation titled ‘The Invisible Table’. What can visitors expect to encounter?

NC: The installation is not meant to present a table in the traditional sense. It’s more of an atmosphere, something slightly disorienting, where the idea of the table is suggested but never fully defined. Objects appear almost suspended, disconnected from a fixed structure. It invites visitors to question what a table really is, whether it’s a physical object, or something constructed through interaction, memory, and ritual.

W*: Tableware is inherently tied to ritual and gathering. Did you imagine a specific kind of table or moment while designing these pieces?

NC: I wasn’t thinking of a specific table, but more of a condition. Something slightly suspended, almost intangible, a table that exists more as a psychological or emotional space than a physical one. The pieces were designed with that tension in mind: between presence and absence, use and contemplation.

W*: Do you see this collaboration as a one-off exploration or the beginning of a longer dialogue with ceramic work?

NC: I see it more as an opening than a conclusion. Ceramics is a language that I feel very connected to, and this collaboration allowed me to re-engage with it in a new way. I don’t think it ends here, it feels more like the beginning of a longer conversation.

W*: Aside from your own projects, what are you most excited to see during Milan Design Week?

NC: What I look forward to most is how alive the city becomes. It turns into a point of encounter, something that is work, of course, but also something much more human. There’s a convergence of people who are deeply engaged and curious, and that energy is always incredibly inspiring. I’m especially drawn to the unexpected, smaller exhibitions, conversations, moments that aren’t necessarily on the main stage but feel more intimate and real

Laboratorio Paravicini, Via Nerino 8

Opening Hours
Monday-Sunday: 10am-6pm
Wednesday: 10am-10pm

A common misconception about minimalism is that it is about absence – a lack or emptiness. In truth, minimalism is not defined by what is missing, but by what remains. It is the deliberate removal of the unnecessary to bring essential form and function into focus – doing more with less, in other words.

Minimalist tableware, then, is not about plain crockery or unadorned cutlery. It is about pieces that are refined in proportion, purposeful in detail and confident in their restraint. Each piece listed below embodies this philosophy: simple yet impeccably formed.

At Paris Design Week, Hermès presented their new porcelain table service: dubbed Natures Marines, the 34-piece collection made its debut inside an old carpentry workshop on a tidal landscape formed of sand on the cement floor.

For this tableware collection, Hermès’ Artistic Directors of Home Universe Charlotte Macaux Perelman and Alexis Fabry turned to Brighton-trained and London-based illustrator Katie Scott, who imagined a marine landscapes beneath the sea.

Discover Hermès' Natures Marines

Four years in the making, the original brief was broadly referencing marine life, but the artist narrowed the focus down to only sea plants, after visiting the marine herbarium at London’s Natural History Museum – a collection dating back to the 17th century of more than 60,000 dried marine algae specimens. It was there that Scott got to study algae, seaweeds and other marine life, pressed into books like flowers, and the way some seaweed samples were ‘as long as a room’ once unfolded from the books, inspired the way Scott drew them and eventually placed them on the porcelain shapes.

Working originally with pen on paper, Scott’s sketches were then scanned and digitally coloured. Each of the 34 pieces is decorated with up to five individual elements, such as sea algae, wakame, kallymenia, samphire and sea fans, and not one is repeated. Dinner plates, dessert plates and bread plates come with between two and four decors each, so you can have fun setting the table as no two pieces are the same.

Even though the collection revolves around just three main colours (pink, green and sand), to achieve the same depth of tone found in the original pressed samples, the full palette includes about 30 different shades. Scott credits the collaborative nature of working with Perelman and Fabry for this perfect translation onto the porcelain. ‘We wanted to remain true to the original drawings, and the plates end up as close to the possible original drawing,’ say Perelman and Fabry.

No stranger to Hermès, Scott's collaboration began in 2018 with her first scarf design, and she has also created blankets, beach towels and some fashion accessories. Perelman and Fabry were attracted to Scott’s ‘very rigorous approach, where the figurative becomes very geometrical’ as well as the ‘right degree of formality and the right approach to composition’.

Natures Marines is a departure from the recent services like A Walk in the Garden by Nigel Peake and Hippomobile by Gianpaolo Pagni, which are decidedly more graphic. Although the pair are less ‘comfortable’ with the figurative, they felt safe in Scott’s hands thanks to ‘her rigorous composition, good eye for colour as well as how the elements are laid out in a kind of geometry’.

The service was used to serve dishes by Arles-based chef Céline Pham who prepared tarts, pickles and translucent rice rolls, all made of delicate layers of coloured root vegetables, bitter leaves and nasturtiums.

Breakfast is known to be the most important meal of the day, and French-American designer Sophie Lou Jacobsen agrees. Her new collection comprises glass and silver-plated tableware inspired by the rituals of a classic European continental breakfast.

The ‘Continental Collection’ is a playful and elegant series of nine items, reinterpreted through Jacobsen’s sculptural view. Along with classic hotel breakfast sets, the New York-based designer referenced Egyptian glass ewers, cobalt glass antiques, and 20th-century Italian glassware.

As fitting for a leisurely morning brunch or a dinner party, the designs, like Jacobsen’s work in general, are rooted in the idea that objects should have a power to enhance their user’s mood through form and function. The focus is on simple objects and rituals and how these can elevate daily life.

Among the collection are a tea or coffee pot, a milk jug, mugs and cups, a preserves jar, a fruit bowl and a toast rack. An apple-shaped sugar pot is a recreation of an item from the designer’s childhood.

‘Breakfast for me, is one of the most important moments of the day, a soothing cup of tea or coffee, a sweet bite of toast with jam or honey, a gentle transition from sleep to wakefulness’, shares Jacobsen. ‘Growing up, my father always set the table the night before, and that small act of preparation became a comforting ritual of home, habit, and safety. I wanted to create objects that could encourage similar habits, objects that help us make memories.’

The Continental Collection is available at SophieLouJacobsen.com

‘Tis the season for hosting – and, in our view, the secret to a design-forward table lies in the details. Yes, invest in the right cutlery and crockery, but the true joy comes from the unsung heroes of tableware: the butter dishes, the salt shakers, the napkin rings. These characterful add-ons are where you can introduce real nuance.

Read on for our selection of sleek, quirky and design-led napkin holders – small but mighty pieces to elevate your seasonal table.

Chrome is having a moment, and with good reason. There’s something irresistibly sleek about its high-polish finish – delightfully minimalist, yet boldly statement-making. Echoing the aesthetics of early industrial design (chromium plating first gained popularity in the early 20th century) and later midcentury modernism, chrome feels both timeless and cutting-edge.

The appeal that made chrome and other metals such as stainless steel so coveted decades ago remains relevant today. They are ‘modern’-looking, but also durable, corrosion-resistant and easy to clean – qualities that make them perfectly suited to a dining environment. The pieces below bring a chic, industrial edge to crockery, drinkware and serveware – gleaming accents that contrast beautifully with matte ceramics and warm wood.

For the first time, Dior Maison introduces a personalisation service to its portfolio. Working with the Limoges ranges, customers will be able to create bespoke tableware sets, choosing from 35 hues, ranging from delicate pastels to richer shades, including lilac, peacock blue, pistachio green, and blush pink.

The new ‘Make My Own Table’ service is available within the Limoges porcelain range, featuring two classic Dior motifs. Inspired by the Napoleon III chairs that welcomed guests in the historic Christian Dior salons at the house’s 30 Avenue Montaigne boutique in Paris, the Cannage motif has been a signature of Dior collections since the maison's early days.

On the porcelain pieces, Cannage becomes a modern graphic pattern, metamorphosing with every new shade.

The other motif available for personalisation is the 18th-century-inspired Toile de Jouy, a tribute to French decorative arts. The design was chosen by Christian Dior himself to decorate the walls of his first shop – the Colifichets boutique on the ground floor of 30 Avenue Montaigne – in 1947. Most recently, the motif has been given a contemporary interpretation in the form of Toile de Jouy Sauvage – a design featuring wild animals set within the backdrop of a dreamy landscape.

The Dior Maison personalisation service is available in the two designs to decorate plates, cups, and sugar bowls. It is a collection that speaks of the house's history and Christian Dior's own approach to its curation, while also taking the brand's home offering forwards with a contemporary twist.

Visit dior.com to contact an advisor regarding the personalisation service

Feast your eyes upon this surprising and delightful collaboration between British super normalist, Jasper Morrison, and the legendary French silver maison Puiforcat.

Your eyes do not deceive you; the utensils are not silver, but cherry wood (or Sakura) from Japan, where they are manufactured and finished with the fuki-urushi lacquering technique to protect and enhance the natural properties of the wood. The lacquer is applied with a cloth, and has the dual purpose of giving the material a protective, antibacterial layer, yet still allowing the wood to breathe.

If your gut response towards the idea of wooden cutlery is marred by the mealy mouthed sensation of bamboo disposable types, take it from us: this is a very different experience. The knife cuts properly, for a start. And why, you might well ask, would Puiforcat take this turn into a new material with its powerful heritage rooted in the precious metal of silver? The maison answers: ‘It reflects a judicious extension of our creative repertoire, putting forth a contemporary and durable aesthetic blend of form and function, design, and quality of use.’ Tuck in.

puiforcat.com

‘A metallic, reflective element always adds drama and glamour to the table scene,’ says Wallpaper* entertaining director Melina Keays. ‘Just one piece lifts everything.’ Take your pick from these shining tableware examples – from a silver-plated coffee pot to cute stainless-steel cups – as selected by interiors editor Olly Mason (arbiter of taste at the Wallpaper* gleam team).

Coffee is served with a bold dose of Bauhaus-inspired allure thanks to these stainless steel cups and saucers, adorned only by assertive geometric handles. Part of the new ‘SR’ collection by Copenhagen-based designer Louise Roe Andersen and her daughter Sophia Roe, they are available online from the family firm, louise-roe.com.

Ably demonstrating that tablescaping is a question of balance is this ‘Interconnect’ candleholder by Colin King. The American interior stylist and product designer studied dance before changing paths, and it shows in this perfectly poised design, described simply as ‘a sphere, an angle and a line’. Available in two sizes and various finishes from audocph.com.

Cutlery rarely prompts a double-take. These pieces, designed by Natalia Criado and handcrafted in Italy from plated brass, will give your guests a conversation starter; available from nataliacriado.com and artemest.com. Pair with a silver-plated plate from christofle.com and reflect on your impeccable table-setting skills.

Resembling a 3D geometry puzzle more than a bowl, this stainless steel centrepiece has plenty of edge(s) and an architectural appeal. It is formed from five triangular segments and is supported by a star-shaped, five-piece, hand-welded base. Available from normanncopenhagen.com and nordicnest.com.

A pair of dinky lava-stone spheres on either side of this silver-plated brass plate, artisan-made in Italy, are an unexpectedly cute detail, and a welcome shot of earthy tactility – a bit of rough to go with your smooth. Available from nataliacriado.com and artemest.com.

Not a retro-futuristic telecom tower, but a clear signal that coffee is ready to be served, the ‘Gigogne’ coffee pot unstacks into three deliciously modernist pieces: a sugar bowl, a milk jug, and the coffee pot itself. Designed in 1926 by Danish silversmith Christian Fjerdingstad for Christofle, the ‘Gigogne’ has been reissued and is available from christofle.com and netaporter.com.

For espresso lovers, go Italian with Alessi, the country’s shining star of kitchenware. The new ‘Menhir’ espresso maker by Michael Anastassiades, its form echoing the eponymous upright standing stones, has an air of strength and simplicity – like good coffee. Available in three-cup and six-cup sizes, from selfridges.com and alessi.com. Don't forget Italian ice cream for dessert while coffee's brewing – double your shine factor with Jasper Morrison's ‘JM16’ bowl, also from alessi.com.

Forget mundane melamine. This stainless steel tray brings a subtly deco refinement to proceedings, whether you're serving up afternoon tea or postprandial liqueurs. Find it at bettinaceramica.com.

Last but not least, silvery vases make a light-catching backdrop to a tumbling floral display, and will always offset whatever colours you've chosen. For these examples, hand-welded in polished stainless steel, we've looked again to Denmark's louise-roe.com.

May your next dinner glimmer.

Pet Shop Boys have announced that they will release a special PSB-themed tea set. The products are the first to be launched as part of the new ‘Pet Shop Boys since 1984’ range to commemorate 40 years since the release of the duo’s debut single – the original version of ‘West End girls’, which first hit shelves in April 1984.

The duo have partnered with long-term collaborator Mark Farrow – the man behind many past Pet Shop Boys tour and sleeve visuals – to design the quintessentially British bespoke fine bone china tea set, which has been manufactured by Duchess China in Stoke-on-Trent.

The limited-edition collection features a tea pot, cups and saucers, milk jug and sugar bowl – all in classic royal blue and white, and packaged in a bespoke box in a variety of sets with prices starting at £200.

The sets go on sale from 20 November 2024 and are available to pre-order now.

Established in 1888, Duchess China uses the same traditional processes it has followed for 135 years. Each piece is hand-finished and decorated and each set comes with a product booklet and certificate of authenticity.

More ‘Pet Shop Boys since 1984’ products, including clothing, will be released in the coming months.

Pet Shop Boys released their 15th album, Nonetheless, in April. The record includes the singles ‘Loneliness’, ‘Dancing star’, ‘A new bohemia’ and ‘Feel’ and reached Number 2 in the UK album chart in its first week of release – their highest-charting studio album since 1993.

Continuing the celebrations, a special expanded edition of the album will be released on 22 November, featuring the full record, four new bonus songs and the original demo versions of all the tracks on the album. It can be pre-ordered now.

Louis Vuitton joins the dinnerware party with the release of its first series of porcelain and glassware for the table. Focusing on modernity and classic shapes, the Louis Vuitton tableware collection is functional while harnessing the creativity of the brand.

Louis Vuitton tableware

The 'Monogram Flower Tile' series of porcelain tableware features the classic Louis Vuitton motif in crisp blue and white, an elegant and contemporary nod to traditional 17th-century porcelain. Crafted in Limoges, the French city known for its historic porcelain production, the pieces bring the Louis Vuitton mark to the table in fresh and timeless style.

The fine detailing, seen in brushed watercolour effects, showcases the artistry behind the collection, across plates, bowls, cups, serving dishes and even a teapot.

The ‘Twist’ glass designs, meanwhile, quite at home on a summery Mediterranean tablescape or in an intimate winter setting, act like fragments of stained glass, reflecting light that dances across their sculptural surface. Available in a series of bold hues – Crystal Clear, Sapphire Blue, Amber, Emerald, and Venetian Ruby – the glasses add a vivid spiral of colour to the tableware collection.

In matching colourways, the ‘Flower’ carafes are formed by the expertise of Murano glassmaker Simone Cenedese, and make shapeshifting decanters that complement the ‘Twist’ glasses.

The Louis Vuitton tableware collection is available on louisvuitton.com and at a selection of Louis Vuitton stores from 17 November 2023

As the holiday season approaches, US hotel company Ash launches its newest collection of collectible heirlooms, ‘The Host’, from its in-house ‘Souvenirs’ line. The line represents Ash’s take on what an heirloom should be, built on memories of uncovering unique trinkets when away and discovering interior gems that you long to smuggle into your suitcase to commemorate a trip.

With properties in Providence, Detroit, New Orleans and most recently Baltimore, Ash prides itself on 'inventing hotels that are cinematic monuments to the best stuff of the old world, made suddenly new'.

‘The Host’ collectible tableware items by Ash 

‘The Host’ is composed of objects that can be found in a hospitality setting – perfect for entertaining. Think of the items that decorate a dinner table, or set the mood, pieces you would encounter and want to take with you after a meal or a hotel stay, items brought to a party and used again and again.

Each limited-edition piece is intended to be treasured. The classic yet quirky collection includes a sterling silver-plated oyster fork, with delicate tines and a twisted handle topped with a detailed dancer; a caviar spoon to make the dish all the more enjoyable; and a wine tie that drapes across the neck of the bottle, a host’s secret to a stain-free table.

Egyptian glass vases in shades of lime, jade, teal, and indigo add a pop of colour to your tablescape, while vintage hand-painted ceramic rests made in Portugal offer a pillow upon which utensils can be placed.

‘Souvenirs’ may be handmade in India or Italy, created in Ash’s NYC atelier, or sourced from the team’s travels to Egypt and Portugal. Materials span sterling silver, ceramic with opulent gold detailing, glass, and shimmering moiré ribbon. 

This unique collection celebrates global craftsmanship and adds a sense of whimsy and wonder to a table setting.

ash.world

So you’re getting married? Congratulations. Chances are you’ve thought about the dress (if not, see our pick of alternative bridal wear), the guests, the catering, the venue... but what about the tableware? If adding one more thing to your wedding to-do list feels overwhelming, don’t worry. Our edit of wedding table decor ideas will accommodate every style for the big day. 

Wallpaper’s wedding table decor ideas

An artful display: Diptyque 

Diptyque’s latest home collection, titled ‘Artist’s Palette’, includes plates, glassware and fabrics in a vibrant explosion of cerulean blues and primrose greens. Playful patterns adorn each object in the collection, from ovals to interlacing florals, confetti and pointillist dots, making for cheerful wedding table decor to accompany your joyful day. 

diptyqueparis.com

Country-wedding chic: La Romaine Editions

French online outlet La Romaine Editions is known for its edit of charmingly eccentric homeware. Every few months, the brand releases a themed edit of wares and its most recent launch is ‘The Noce’, inspired by the idea of a country wedding amidst wheat fields.

But don’t let the provincial theme fool you into thinking this is a rustic or simple collection. ‘The Noce’ range features gems like a ‘Bride’s Candle’, handmade made by designer Camille Romagnani to look like a bouquet of wheat ears, vintage Alsace tablecloths repainted by designer Jenna Kaës, and a ‘Forget-Me-Not’ cup that’s been handblown in the Netherlands and looks like it came out of a fairytale.

laromaine-editions.com

Subtly retro: Skye McAlpine

Cookbook author Skye McAlpine’s new tableware collection is a darling, subtly retro range of ceramics, glassware, and linens that would look at home at Charleston (the modernist former home of painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant) or a Tuscan villa – think ruffled napkins in Liberty prints and multi-coloured Murano tumblers playfully complementing dishes decorated with ceramic berries and flowers.

It is an ideal tableware set for an unpretentious wedding with a more quaint than glamorous aesthetic, making it perfect for everyday use at home after the big day. 

skyemcalpinetavola.com

Slightly surreal: Gohar World 

The new tableware collection from food stylist Laila Gohar and her artist sister Nadia lends itself to wedding table decor for the creative set. Designed with Gohar’s signature tongue-in-cheek, surrealist flair, this 40-piece set includes mother of pearl butter knives, cauliflower-shaped candles, and beaded bracelets for stemware. 

Most notable is the line’s ‘Patrician Champagne Coupes’ which are made from Lobmyer’s signature lightweight crystal and have a sweet, super-short stem. 

gohar.world

Beach-wedding ready: Gergei Erdei

Inspired by the 1970s jet-set lifestyles of Florida, Palm Beach and the Italian Riviera, the ‘Herculaneum’ collection by designer Gergei Erdei is ideal tableware for a beach wedding. The range takes its name from a popular seaside retreat for Ancient Roman elites, and its jubilant aesthetic is expressed through bold sea-motifs in tropical colours. 

gergeierdei.com

Amongst the many things the global pandemic deprived us of, dining together was certainly one of the most missed. For artist, culinary doyenne and passionate hostess Laila Gohar, not being able to entertain proved to be more challenging than for most people. Revered for her artistic and immersive dining experiences, New York-based Gohar has funnelled her longing to gather with others into creating a namesake brand of tableware.

Designed in partnership with Laila’s sister Nadia Gohar, also an artist, the family-owned Gohar World celebrates time, tradition, humour and craft with a beautifully conceived collection of table accessories and objects that together bring elements of drama and fantasy to the dining table (and since this article was first published has opened its first store, the Gohar World holiday shop in New York). 

‘For a big chunk of time, we weren’t entertaining or having people over and that was really difficult for me. I think that in times of adversity is when we most need to lean on each other, and so one of the biggest struggles during this pandemic was that we had to avoid each other,’ says Laila. ‘I spent the time daydreaming and looking forward to when we could get together with the people we love again. And actually, in part, Gohar World is inspired by that, because we started coming up with the designs at a time when we weren’t able to use them together. It was kind of a fantasy.’

She continues, ‘When people say that entertaining should be effortless, I don’t agree. I think that you should put an effort into entertaining and that you should consider all elements. Not only the food, but also the decor of the room, the lighting, the music. There’s nothing more beautiful than putting in an effort to show your friends and family that you love them.’

Love is certainly a grounding element of the brand. Designed in New York City and made by family-run ateliers around the world, each object is a tribute to craftsmanship and tradition. In fact, many of the fabric items, such as table coverings and napkins, are made at the Gohar family’s atelier in Egypt using fine Egyptian cotton and linen. 

Gohar World also echoes the sisters’ sentiments that dressing the table should be akin to dressing oneself. From the shirt-like striped tablecloths to ivory linen bibs – each trimmed in navy stitching and finished with a satin ribbon – and black satin baguette bags, festooned with bows made by the sisters’ grandmother, these charming creations toe the line between form and function. Other flourishes include perfectly folded paper chicken slippers, exquisite lace bonnets for fruits and vegetables and a wrought iron egg chandelier – an ideal centrepiece.

‘I find that people often think they need to follow the formula of a charger, a dinner plate, a napkin on a certain side, flowers in the centre, but I don’t really think of the table in that way,’ Laila reveals. ‘I think of the table more as a plane. A field that you can populate in the way that you want. I like to understand what the classical approaches are, but then deviate away from them.’

The covetable collection also includes the duo’s interpretations of table essentials, such as coasters (lace and pearl-trimmed), silver dessert dishes (stemmed, like petite pedestals), and low champagne coupes (made from Lobmeyer crystal).

Exquisitely made and sumptuous to the touch, Gohar World’s dreamy tableware and accessories will transport guests far and away.

INFORMATION

gohar.world

Serve up some sunshine this winter with Hermès’ new porcelain dining set, ‘Soleil d’Hermès’. The 24-piece collection is the latest edition to La Table Hermès tableware family and features everything from sugar bowls to salad bowls; coffee cup saucers to serving platters. 

All the ‘Soleil d’Hermès’ tableware pieces feature geometric designs of sunshine yellow finely outlined in black and set against a crisp white background. The abstract patterns have been designed by illustrator Arielle de Brichambaut under the aegis of Benoît-Pierre Emery, creative director of La Table Hermès. It is the second collection that de Brichambaut has designed for Hermès tableware, following the bold, geometric reds of the ‘Balcons du Guadalquivir’ line, and ‘Bleus d’Ailleurs’ with its kaleidoscopic deep blues. 

‘Soleil d’Hermès’ retains the strong geometric patterns of those previous collections, but whereas ‘Bleus d’Ailleurs’ took its inspiration from Ming porcelain, and ‘Balcons du Guadalquivir’ had a distinctly Andalusian flair, ‘Soleil d’Hermès’ possesses a more art deco aesthetic with its streamlined graphics that echo the look of palm fronds, flowers, and other natural forms.

Pierre-Emery says, ‘Each new project is an opportunity for La Table Hermès to narrate a new story or echo one told before. For a while now, we have been wanting to extend the first two services drawn by Arielle de Brichambaut. This new service is in line with the stylistic descent from [the previous collections], which are now part of La Table Hermès’ identity.’ 

‘Soleil d’Hermès’ is a decidedly cheerful collection, ideal for summertime celebrations or winter feasts in need of a little levity.  ‘After Balcons du Guadalquivir’s intense reds and Blues d’Ailleurs’ deep blues, this new tale promptly imposed itself with the colour yellow and the sun’s theme,’ says Pierre-Emery. 

‘The bright and joyful spirit chimes directly with Hermès’ 2022 theme “Lighthearted”, but also the subtle mention of the sun and its intangibility.’

INFORMATION

hermes.com

Hussein Chalayan brings a sculptural simplicity to tableware with the release of a new dining collection for Karaca. The collection, crafted from ground pearl, encompasses plates and cups that fit together in architecturally inspired forms.

The collection nods to the former Wallpaper* guest editor’s fascination with the relationship between form and function with designs that invite us to engage with the pieces, in much the same way we do with his clothing. This interactive element and sense of engagement with the user is at the heart of the curved pieces, which nest together in sensual formations, bringing a playfulness to the ritual of a meal.

‘I wanted to do a dinner set which would engage the user, and encourage them to use the plates in a more diverse way,’ says Chalayan. ‘I think it’s probably the same with the clothes I make – I make a garment you can wear in various ways, so I thought, how can I apply that to dining?’

Hussein Chalayan tableware for Karaca

Ground pearl, a delicate and luxurious material, proved challenging to work with, its fragility making some of Chalayan’s original designs impossible. He acknowledges: ‘I couldn’t make everything I wanted with it. Items can’t get too thin or they don’t come out of the mould – there was a lot that had to be re-addressed.’

The pieces, which have been in the works for almost four years, put functionality at the forefront, with considered design details ensuring ease of use. A handle-less cup is engineered to ensure a miniscule gap between its walls, so heat doesn’t pass through and it is comfortable to hold. Plates are in standardised sizes, inviting users to create their own compositions; Chalayan envisions users adding antique pieces to the mix, in much the same way as one would pair a designer’s clothing with vintage finds.

‘When I make the pieces I’m imagining them as a whole, but actually it allows you to combine them with other plates that you already have and I like that idea,’ he says. ‘You can have everything in one hue, one language, or you mix things up, and when you mix things up, everything’s much more personalised and exciting to see.’

For now, pieces stay faithful to the lustrous pearly hue, punctuated occasionally with a hit of black and grey, although, ‘I’d love to have more colourways’, Chalayan says. ‘There are endless visual possibilities and that’s what really excited me – because once you start putting food on them, the whole thing becomes another compositional entity.’

INFORMATION

chalayan.com

The Wallpaper* Design Awards 2022 feature in the February 2022 issue of Wallpaper*. Subscribe today!

Conceived by designers Nikita Bhate and Pascal Hien, SĀR is a brand offering everyday objects inspired by Indian cooking rituals, heritage and identity. Based between Pune and Berlin, the duo have collaborated on a series of daily essentials, inspired by traditional kitchen objects but seamlessly translating from the kitchen to other areas of living, such as the bathroom and the workspace.

Bhate and Hien first met at Fabrica communications research centre in Treviso in 2014, and found a common ground in their shared interest for holistic design and creation as a tool of cultural exchange. After an initial furniture design collaboration, unveiled in 2017 and featuring intersecting cultural languages, the pair now present the new collaborative brand, based in India and featuring everyday essentials reimagined with a contemporary spin. 

The debut series, Rituals, ‘is a radical collection of everyday objects that serve the Indian heritage and identity, in tune with hourly habits’, explains the brand’s statement. ‘Each object is revisited, celebrated and re-explored for its relevance to today's global citizen.’

Sharing their unique perspectives – Bhate being close to Indian culture, Hien advising from Berlin – the collection has a modern, timeless aesthetic and each piece is as beautiful as it is functional. Every design is inspired by everyday actions; the imperfections of hand-kneaded roti bread are reflected in the ‘Flawless’ rolling board and pin, while the precise chopping of ingredients for curries is celebrated with the ‘Bay’ chopping board, featuring a collecting bay to aid what the designers call the ‘domestic production line process’.

Also inspired by the roti-making processes are the ‘Hover’ lidded boxes, Bhate and Hien's version of a roti dabba (stainless steel roti boxes) featuring a curved base and a lid and formed following a traditional tawa cooking pot. The lid doubles as a tray or plate, and the box's shape, the designers explain, ‘is an intuitive design response, facilitating the fast pace and immediacy of actions that roti making requires’.

Deconstructing traditional Indian kitchen utensils is a recurring theme throughout the products, as seen in the ‘Repeat’ plates, a new take on the concept of stainless steel dining plates, which here become stackable and modular wooden trays to hold food as well as everyday objects. The collection includes a series of towels inspired by the landscape of Kutch (in Gujarat), and created as a thin textile ‘for its cultural and practical relevance’. 

The essential and sculptural designs of the inaugural collection are combined with a material palette that includes matte Red Agra sandstone from Uttar Pradesh, reclaimed teak, as well as beech and ash wood.

The brand's inaugural collection follows Bhate's belief that designing collaboratively can bring different worlds together. The idea for the future, she explains, is to work with local and international talent, ‘to have a distinctive approach by taking cultural and contextual references and making design relevant to how we live today’. 

INFORMATION

sar-studio.com

Creative consultant Daniel Baer has launched a new line of timeless tableware essentials, from plates to platters, inspired by the art of coming together. Called Monoware, the collection is intended to 'to endure and to grow with the people that lay them. We call it a table set for life,' he says.

For Baer, every mealtime is an event. ‘Whether it’s a picnic with friends, a solo supper in front of the TV, or a family breakfast, they all bring nourishment, nurture creativity or sustain relationships,’ he adds. How then to bring a proper sense of occasion to every repast?

Merging his background in graphic design (a stint as Wallpaper’s senior designer was followed by the founding of his own creative consultancy, Studio Baer, with clients ranging from Dior and Comme des Garçons to Rizzoli) and an interest in studio pottery, his answer to looking for the perfect table setting, was to create his own.

The Monoware launch collection features dining staples such as plates, bowls and mugs, as well as serving platters and pitchers, with reduced silhouettes and a palette of earthy tones, from chalk to slate. The debut pieces were created in collaboration with ceramicist Ian McIntyre. ‘What appealed to me in Ian’s work is the way he mixes industrial design and traditional craft skills,’ explains Baer, who was particularly attracted by the ceramicist’s extensive experience with stoneware. The plates' design was carefully considered, and each piece was crafted in high-quality materials ('We've perfected the plates, so you can bring the party', reads Baer's mission statement.)

Longevity (both physical and aesthetic) was a priority for the collection, as was informality – ‘to respond to a new generation of creative cooks and hosts who don’t feel the need to follow established table formalities, but, at the same time, value quality, timeless design and durability.’ Our habits and the dishes we serve may change, observes Baer, but our tableware is for keeps.

INFORMATION

monoware.com

LARQ Pitcher

Purify your kitchen with LARQ’s Pitcher – bringing together proprietary technology into a first-of-its-kind, sleekly designed water jug. Using UV-C LED lighting and plant-based filter, the jug uses a two-stage filtration and purification process that removes 90% of chemicals from your water.

Vipp Electric Kettle

Family-owned Danish design company Vipp has perfected a kitchen essential – the kettle. With a simple yet refined design, the kettle uses latest technology such as a double surface to provide optimal insulation – making the kettle heat-proof to keep water hotter for longer. 

‘Forma’ Cheese Grater

A cheese grater turned sculptural centrepiece, Alessi pairs the humble utensil with a Zaha Hadid designed stand – who was inspired by the natural formation of pebbles eroded over time. The result is an ergonomic design that fits comfortably in the palm of the hand, ensuring a sturdy grip and full control.

Bodum’s Mocca Siphon 

Peter Bodum’s first ever product, introduced in 1956 was his iconic Mocca Siphon coffee maker – now it has returned. With a sleek new update and its very own gas burner, the Mocca Siphon can be taken on the go for all your coffee cravings.

Cutting Boards, Cold Tones

Led by a design infatuation with the feel and durability of polyethylene, Belgian design duo behind Muller Van Severen have created this set of overlaying geometric cutting boards. Comprising of four colourful pieces, the set design was born with sculpture in mind – with each board created to enhance the set’s impact when hung together.

‘Wrongwoods’ Tray

Make a statement with a Richard Wood designed tray. Renowned for his work with bold and repetitious motifs, Woods is often inspired by domestic pattern and a nostalgia for mid-century domestic interiors. The British artist teamed up with designer Sebastian Wrong to create this playful plywood tray – reminiscent of 1950s homeware.

INFORMATION

LARQ Pitcher: www.livelarq.com/larq-pitcher
Vipp Electric Kettle: vipp.com
’Forma’ Cheese Grater: store.wallpaper.com
Bodum’s Mocca Siphon: www.selfridges.com
Cutting Boards, Cold Tones: store.wallpaper.com
‘Wrongwoods’ Tray: store.wallpaper.com

Barr cutlery, by Snøhetta. Photography: © Anders Schønnemann

Snøhetta is no stranger to transdiscipline design, having created everything from architecture to graphics, however this is the Norwegian firm's first foray into tabletop product. A new set of weighty cutlery created for Barr (the new restaurant in the original Noma space, which opened last year), will complement the restaurant's warming menu and polished-rustic interiors, as well as being on sale online and in selected stores, enabling more people to take part in Barr’s culinary story.

Barr is renowned for its nuanced approach to Scandinavian cuisine, uniting new Nordic, and old-fashioned strains. The cutlery, with its contemporary profile and farmhouse finish, follows suit. The bespoke set is defined by its stonewashed steel surface, treated so as to naturally and tonally transition from light to dark grey. The firm matched the design to ‘Barr’s food philosophy; an ideology where every ingredient and its processing are carefully selected to create a new and original dining experiences.’

‘The shapes are carefully aligned, creating harmony between the individual pieces of cutlery so that they form a natural whole, like letters in the same font,’ explains Benjamin Folkmann Hansen, head of Table Noir, the Danish design firm that Snøhetta collaborated with on the design. Snøhetta was also joined by Barr's executive chef Thorsten Schmidt, ensuring its first table-top designs were as exacting as Barr's interior architecture, furniture and menu. The utilitarian cutlery is designed to survive busy restaurant life, therefore will withstand household use for decades. 

This isn't the first time Barr has teamed up with designers to enhance its restaurant experience. Upon Barr's launch last year, Schmidt worked with ceramicist Kasper Wurtz to design a collection of plates in three neutral tones. Accompanying these are water glasses by his wife Rikke Malling, as well as beer glasses that were originally designed by Arne Jacobsen for the SAS Royal Hotel. Malling also created a cutlery tray so diners could reset their own table for each course. The new, and long-awaited addition of the Snøhetta cutlery completes the table setting.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Snøhetta website, the Table Noir website, and the Barr website

The renaissance of California’s Heath Ceramics has become the model reboot of a faltering craft-based design brand. Founded in 1948 by self-taught ceramicist Edith Heath and her husband Brian, the company went into decline when the founders stepped back in 1993. In 2003, designers Catherine Bailey and Robin Petravic chanced upon its dilapidated but still-functioning factory in Sausalito.

The couple bought the company and began its revival. From streamlining its offering and creating new products that built on the Heath design legacy, to opening new showrooms, a new tile factory and keeping production in California, Bailey and Petravic have worked steadily to bring Heath’s founding values and craftsmanship back into the spotlight.

Just in time for its 70th anniversary this year, Heath Ceramics has unveiled its first flatware collection, made together with samples from the production process at the Sherrill factory in New York show the evolution of a spoon; in the first stages of the process, rolled sheet metal blanks are carefully measured to ensure the perfect thickness along each section of flatware; shelves of master tooling for different flatware handles Sherrill Manufacturing, the last remaining flatware maker in the United States and a company with a similar trajectory. Based in Sherrill, New York, the brand was established in 2005 by Gregory Owens and Matthew Roberts, who bought the factory from their former employer, Oneida Limited, after it shuttered following over a century in business.

‘Creating our own cutlery has probably been on our wish list for 12 years,’ laughs Petravic. ‘We’ve always been interested in expanding around the dinner plate. We’ve looked for products that express the same ethos of the craftsman-manufacturer-designer and have kept our eyes open for an American manufacturer that we can work with. They are surprisingly hard to find.’

When Petravic and Bailey came across Sherrill and heard its backstory, they saw an obvious fit. In 2014, Heath started to carry a simple cutlery range made by Sherrill in its showrooms. That has now developed into a collection proper, called Muir. ‘We knew they were good people to collaborate with because they were excited to work with us; their other partners weren’t as design driven,’ says Bailey. ‘We wanted the feel of the new flatware to go with our dinnerware, and be both classic and original. They appreciated and respected what we were bringing to the table.’

Designed to complement Edith Heath’s 1948 Coupe ceramics, the Muir cutlery range is an elegant, everyday design that echoes the minimalism of the midcentury and the familiarity of plastic cutlery. It is also the first new flatware collection designed and made in America in almost a decade. With a robust weight to mirror the feel of Heath’s dinnerware, the five pieces – a dinner knife, dinner fork, soup spoon, teaspoon and salad fork – have been individually made from American stainless steel.

‘The Muir profile looks a little top-heavy, there is a child-like playfulness to the proportion,’ explains Tung Chiang, Heath Ceramics’ creative lead and studio director. ‘I was actually inspired by a plastic ice cream spoon. Heath is about designing something that can be used every day. I wanted it to feel casual. There is a slow, gradual transition towards the utensil’s flat handle, which creates an arc so that you can easily grab it. There is also a kick at the back of the handle so that the pieces lift off the table.’

Despite producing quality pieces in big volumes, Sherrill still uses methods dating back to the 1950s. Instead of digital files and three-dimensional CAD drawings, the company works with hand-drawn sketches. Similarly, there are no automated, computer-controlled machines; instead, tooling is worked by hand. It often takes around 15 to 20 different processes of moulding, stamping and die-cutting to create each utensil. From rolling each spoon out to ensure a perfect balance between bowl and handle, to refining the spacing between the forks’ tines and forging each knife out of a rod of steel, producing each utensil required a continual dialogue between designer and manufacturer.

‘Current technology allows us designers to entertain the notion that our vision will be executed in a certain way,’ explains Chiang. ‘To trust a manufacturer like Sherrill, learn from them and respect their past was really exciting. You feel like you are preserving their history and an old technology that still works.’

The collection’s final flourishes come in the form of a handwritten logo carved onto the back of each piece, and packaging designed by House Industries. With two more collections to come (riffs on the traditional Colonial and Teardrop flatware patterns), Heath Ceramics continues to celebrate hard-earned utilitarian minimalism. ‘We want to create objects that just disappear around you and become part of your life and environment,’ Chiang insists.§

As originally featured in the July 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*232)

INFORMATION

Muir range, $72 for set of five, available from 17 July, by Heath Ceramics. For more information, visit the Heath Ceramics website

‘Objects of Common Interest started not with the idea to create a studio or commercial line, but as an exercise in small scale,’ says Leonidas Trampoukis, one half of architecture practice LOT. Like many other architects, Trampoukis and LOT co-founder Eleni Petaloti were seduced by product design’s relatively short journey from the concept to the concrete. Objects of Common Interest was borne of that seduction. ‘It was an extension of working with architecture and making it more abstract,’ adds Petaloti. ‘We are interested in volumes and how they interact, creating abstract shapes and elements that become objects.’

The couple, who both studied at Thessaloniki’s Artistotle and New York’s Columbia universities, launched LOT in 2012, and landed a spot in Wallpaper’s Architects’ Directory two years later (W*184). The practice now maintains offices in Thessaloniki and New York and is best known for its Flatiron Sky-Line, a series of illuminated white steel arches temporarily installed on Manhattan’s Flatiron Plaza in 2016. Other LOT projects include a Thessaloniki student residence, Corfu beach club and SoHo loft conversion.

The pair launched their first Objects of Common Interest design collection in 2015 and insist that working on parallel projects, with different velocities, forces them to rethink both practices. But while their architectural output is based on simple shapes and essential lines, their design is focused on materiality and colour.

Unveiled at New York design gallery Matter, the inaugural collection included marble furniture, and polished copper mirrors for Mingardo. Most of the studio’s objects are produced by small manufacturers in Greece and the US, using materials sourced by the couple. Their country of origin is a strong inspiration for their work, they say. ‘The Greek influence brought out our sensibility for materials, light, texture and the feeling that an object evokes,’ explains Trampoukis.

Titled Relativity of Color, their latest collection focuses on chromatic compositions, loosely inspired by Josef Albers’ theories and featuring modular pieces in glass and resin. The collection was created in collaboration with Romanian-born craftsman Ovidiu Colea, whose workshop Colbar Art, in Long Island City, has been hand-producing Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building replicas in resin for the past 30 years. Colea and his small team create thousands of models a year, but also lend their services to artists and galleries, working with Paula Hayes, Michael Wilkinson and Mariko Mori among others.

‘Ovidiu’s studio is a magical place for us,’ says Petaloti. With a background in art – she has worked at the Guggenheim Foundation and the Faou Foundation in New York, and as Mori’s studio director – Petaloti was well aware of Colea’s particular skills. ‘He is very modest, the kindest person you can ever meet,’ she enthuses. ‘He can make souvenirs and a million-dollar sculpture in parallel. And he treats both projects with the same care and passion.’

While they were developing the collection, Petaloti and Trampoukis paid regular visits to the workshop, starting out experimenting with acrylics. ‘The range is an exercise in levels of transparency and translucency, given by glass and acrylic,’ explains Petaloti. ‘How the two materials interact and how you get different results by blending them was the first level of this exercise.’ The second level, she adds, was focused on the colour palette. Trampoukis and Petaloti created a dual palette, one ranging from nude to orange and through to red and deep brown, the other a colder range of shades, from light to dark blue. Then they worked with shapes in different hues to see how they interacted.

Although simple in its appearance and use, the collection is a multilayered exploration of form and colour. The series of tableware staples features a water glass, another small vessel that doubles as a champagne glass or matcha cup, a plate, a bowl and a vase – all very ordinary, everyday objects, the architects note. In this collection, gesture and composition are important elements that go hand in hand: each vessel, made of handblown glass produced in the Czech Republic, sits on a translucent resin base produced by Colea, but it’s not attached to it. A recurring feature in Trampoukis and Petaloti’s design work is that elements are often combined but not stuck together. Users can swap the parts around. ‘Articulation is an important element of this collection,’ adds Petaloti. ‘The parts are gently touching and balanced, but one cannot exist without the other.’

The project with Colea is the first stage of what the architects hope will be a long-term collaboration. It’s definitely one that further roots the practice’s work in New York, while expanding its ongoing design exploration to new frontiers.

As originally featured in the November 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*224)

INFORMATION

The Relativity of Color collection is available from 19 October. For more information, visit the Objects of Common Interest website and the Matter website

ADDRESS

405 Broome Street
New York NY 10013

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Japanese craftsmanship is cutting edge when it comes to kitchen knives. Chef Douglas Chang’s new Vancouver store Ai & Om Knives supplies the city with quality sharp-edged tools for the food and woodworking communities.

Chang, a native Canadian, has worked in kitchens all around North America, but it was in New York where he first began to value the art of tools and hand-crafted knives, learning from a Japanese sharpening master. He spent time in Japan with knife companies and blacksmiths and developed relationships with craftsmen, who inherited their skills through generations of forefathers.

The knives still retain evidence of the natural forging process used, for example, hammer marks on more rustic knives, where they have not been ground to a smooth finish, to others that retain a kurouchi or ‘blacksmiths’ finish that protects the carbon steel blades from rusting and being exposed. The interior architecture, designed by Scott & Scott Architects, functions as a clean, simple and natural space that both exhibits and stores the selected products. It unites both the knives’ Japanese heritage and celebrates locally sourced materials.

The primary use of yellow cedar, sourced in Vancouver Island, deliberately refers to hinoki wood, a material that in Japan has a history of use in temples and shrines. It is through clean-cut architecture and a superb inventory that Ai & Om Knives claims its place as Vancouver’s Blade Runner.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Ai & Om Knives website and the Scott & Scott Architects website

At the beginning of her career as one of Europe’s most acclaimed and in-demand architects/designers, Patricia Urquiola embarked on a journey across Scandinavia, attending lectures, visiting ateliers and meeting designers in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Her mission was driven by a desire to discover, to get out of her own comfort zone as a continental Europe designer. 'I wanted to make a connection with the elements, the aesthetics in Scandinavian culture, explore their materials and manufacturing techniques. Look at things with a different eye,' says Urquiola. 'That visit made an impression on me. It was a good connection. I discovered that we had so much in common... that even though I was from a completely different design culture, the architectural rigour to my work meant that we actually understood each other really well.'

Decades after that influential journey, Urquiola is back in the northern hemisphere again, collaborating with Denmark’s premier silverware marque, Georg Jensen. Following previous creative alliances with cutting edge designers such as Marc Newson and Zaha Hadid, the Georg Jensen 'Urkiola' collection features jugs, bowls, vases, trays and an angular candelabra, all made from distinctive, mirror-polish finish stainless steel, with contrasting handles and sections PVD-coated in coppery rose gold.

The 'Urkiola' pieces – bold, architectural, contemporary – are representative of a very modern Georg Jensen; a heritage, luxury marque with a history that spans more than 100 years but is always looking to the future, finding new ways to unite quality craftsmanship and a timeless design aesthetic with a distinctive Nordic vigour, integrity and authenticity.

For inspiration, Urquiola first delved into the Georg Jensen archives, her interest particularly piqued by the ribbed patterns on the classic 'Bernadotte' cutlery range. 'The recent trend for designers working with stainless steel is to make the pieces feminine, fluid and organic,' says Urquiola. 'With the "Urkiola" collection I wasn’t interested in that. I wanted to do something more rigorous. More strict and severe. The ribbed sections give the pieces a strength – both physically and spiritually.' The cylinder is the dominant form in the pieces with sections meticulously engineered to sit inside one another. The collection is resourceful and adaptable too; a vase can be used as a champagne cooler, a pitcher doubles up as an ice scoop, a bowl becomes a desk tidy.

So, why 'Urkiola' and not 'Urquiola'? Patricia was born in Oviedo in northern Spain (her bio playfully describes her as 'Spanish by birth, Italian by choice'), her surname originating from the neighbouring Pays Basque. 'Urkiola', also the name of a Basque country mountain range, is the traditional spelling of the name in the Euskara Basque language (a lexicon that doesn’t include a letter Q) while 'Urquiola' is its Spanish/Castilian rendering. 'Using that version of my name – Urkiola – as the name for the products is a way of coming back to my roots,' she explains. 
Certainly, there is a robust masculinity evident in the tabletop architecture of the 'Urkiola' collection that might well reference the warm, mountainous beauty of northern Spain. 'Those items, they look simple but they are actually quite complicated to make,' she says. 'I had never worked in stainless steel before but the people at Georg Jensen let my imagination run wild. I proposed something rather oblique; the intersection of two solids, one cylinder engaging a second, ribbed cylinder to create an interesting junction. The resulting pieces look simple but were actually quite complicated to accomplish.'

Designing the 'Urkiola' pieces turned out to be something of a learning process for Urquiola. 'Every project I do is an education,' she says. 'For instance, a few years ago I was asked to work with a porcelain factory in Japan. I went into that assignment thinking I had a pretty good working knowledge of porcelain and how to make it perform. It turned out completely differently and I learned so much more! It was a similar experience at Georg Jensen. This is a good thing because I’m curious. And I love to break a prejudice, including my own. Like all artists, I like to move forward.'

Urquiola's velocity as both product designer and architect continues apace with her latest venture – a spectacular new hotel on the shores of Lake Como. Designed, decorated and furnished by Urquiola and her Milan-based team, the recently opened all-suite Il Sereno offers panoramic views of the waterfront and the adjacent mountains. There’s also a private beach and an infinity pool. Guests have the choice of two custom-built Riva speed boats while each of the rooms is accessorised with items from the 'Urkiola' collection. 'We put the "Urkiola" tray and the little jar in each room,' says the designer. 'The hotel bar uses the ice bucket and the champagne cooler. The pieces make a connection with the simple design and materials of the building.' It's an elegant accent of Nordic cool in temperate, northern Italy.

INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Georg Jensen website

ADDRESS

Georg Jensen
89 Mount Street
London W1K 2SR

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Very rarely are we transfixed by a kitchenware collection. The newest venture by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders for Alessi, however, left us hypnotised with its theatrical theme.

Wanders is of course known for putting on a show with his works, and this time he chose the magic and trickery of the big top as inspiration. Channeling the maximalist power of pattern he brings to Moooi, the whimsical collection consists of 29 objects in the tableware range, plus five limited-edition Officina Alessi ornamental pieces.

Described by Wanders himself as a ‘one-of-a-kind spectacle’, the striking stainless tableware is dressed in adventurous patterns, often diamonds or stripes in vivid red, yellow and blacks. ‘We explored how we could merge colour and stainless steel in fun, unexpected and unique ways,’ says Wanders. ‘With the concept of the circus, and the surprising display it’s known for, we were able to bring colourful delight and energy to what Alessi has built its reputation upon.'

For the five limited editions, Wanders has created different archetypal characters from the circus to create bespoke kitchen performances. These include the muscle-clad 'Strongman' (a nutcracker), the baby elephant 'Ballerina' (a musical box), the laughing 'Jester' (corkscrew), the classical 'Ringleader' (a call bell), and if you are brave enough, the clown 'Candyman' (sweets dispenser). It's hard not to appreciate Wander’s wild imagination through the fantastical nature of the pieces, which have been designed as lifelong collectables. ‘Our collection is unequivocally designed to bring smiles and delight,’ continues Gabriele Chiave, creative director at Marcel Wanders.

Delving into a new playful and energetic direction for Alessi, the venture took five years to master – just like any circus act, practice makes perfect.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Alessi website

'To make a book like this, in this day and age, felt essential to me – to underline the key role of time in [a] human being’s work through artisan processes and the pleasure of research of high quality details.'

This is how Barnaba Fornasetti explains his decision to commission Tema e Variazioni: The First Series, 1–100 – a super-luxurious handmade book celebrating his father’s iconic series of ‘Themes and Variations’ dinner plates, based on a portrait of the Italian-born opera singer Lina Cavalieri. In 1952, Piero Fornasetti began tinkering with this image, introducing often-surreal motifs to the original line engraving; today there are almost 400 variations on the theme.

Why Cavalieri’s image proved such a fertile source of inspiration is something of a mystery, though Barnaba feels that her face ‘has the same expressive gift as the Mona Lisa: it’s pure imagination. It doesn’t express a feeling or a look but its being so mysterious hits every observer very deeply.’

Limited to 100 editions, numbered and signed by Barnaba himself, this beautiful new book features the first 100 of these designs. Printed on cotton paper using Piero Fornasetti’s original drawings to make brass matrices and stitched together with red and white linen thread, Tema e Variazioni features essays by Gio Ponti, Alberto Manguel, Glenn O'Brien and Barnaba himself.

Once the printing was completed, one of the original matrices was inlaid flush into the cloth cover of each book, making each copy absolutely unique – though as Barnaba points out, ‘this is a higher number of editions compared with the usual circulation of this kind of high-quality book, considering the “life” of a matrix and its reproduction capacity’. Either way, we think it’s sure to become highly collectable – espcially at a mooted price of around €9,000 – so get your order in sooner rather than later.

INFORMATION

Tema e Variazioni: The First Series, 1–100 is available in a limited edition of 100 unique copies. For more information, visit the Fornasetti website

Photography courtesy Fornasetti

Inspired by bridge construction, the ‘Kahn’ dining table, by Ho Chi Minh City-based design studio District Eight, is a smart piece of flexible engineering. Imagined for group gatherings as well as singular office use, the rectangular oak top sits on a blackened steel wire frame and polished concrete legs, cast by local artisans. The table forms part of a series of furniture by the Vietnamese group that merges industrial finishes with a sleek appearance.

Pictured: ‘Bazaar’ Paper vase, €17, by Marcel Baer, for Octaevo. ‘Balance’ Box, €70, by Philippe Malouin, for Umbra shift. ‘Neri’ pen, €42, by Giulio Iacchetti, for Internoitaliano. ‘Void’ clock, €59, by Eugeni Quitllet, for Lexon. ‘MÖJA’ table Lamp, €450, by Léonard Kadid, for Polit. Navigator Notes, €12, by Marcel Baer, for Octaevo. ‘Uncino’ chair, £969, by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, for Mattiazzi, from Viaduct. ‘Crimson‘ Emulsion, £43 per 2.5 litres, by Zoffany. ‘Velvet Platinum Soft’ tiles, £99 for 80cm x 80cm, By World’s End Tiles.

As originally featured in the April 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (*205)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Distict Eight website

Photography: Benjamin Swanson

In order to celebrate 400 years of Japanese porcelain, master chef Nobu Matsuhisa has teamed up with up with Arita Plus, a cooperative of young potters from the Arita region to create a new collection of tableware.

Consisting of white plates, bowls, sushi roll holders and a sake set, decorated in Arita’s trademark blue and red glazes, the collection was born as the result of Arita Plus approaching Nobu ten months ago. There’s nothing the chef likes more than creating crockery that complements his ever-evolving menu; in the past he’s designed teapots and bento boxes, soba sets and sushi tools. ‘I’m always devising new dishes and I quite often can’t fine the crockery I need, so I like to design my own,’ he explains.

Included in the nine-piece collection is an edamame plate; a ‘design’ plate, for signature dishes such as black cod miso; and a red sushi plate. (Traditionally, sushi chefs dish up on red plates but in many places outside Japan, Nobu has had to use standard white versions.) Motifs are inspired by the Japanese flag and the red of the rising sun.

The collection is on sale in all 39 of Nobu’s restaurants, which so far span 34 cities. In April, the lounge bar at Nobu Berkeley Street is reopening with an update from David Collins Studio (expect capiz shell, silk lanterns, rock crystal and hand-dyed Japanese indigo cloth); while 2017 brings a Nobu Hotel to Shoreditch. ‘It will be a different offering,’ Nobu explains. ‘The signature dishes won’t change but there will be new additions and a different concept. I hope it will have a big impact on the brand.'

Homogenisation getting you down? Tired of the sameness of everything? Design aficionados with such a predicament would be well advised to look to Lauriger, a manufacturer with a niche like no other. Specialising in Czech cubism-inspired tableware and accessories, the company was founded by Laura Kubica Grigerova, who commissions pieces from artists and designers able to bring their own particular perspective to the style.

The first product launch, the Lilia Collection, is no exception. Designed by Svetlana Koženová and produced in a small factory in the Czech town of Dubí – which has been tirelessly producing world-renowned porcelain for over 300 years – the relatively high-tech range is created using 3D-printed molds. The porcelain is then fired three times before being retouched by hand. A teapot, serving bowls, liqueur vessels and plates are available.

'Luxury retail has been my passion for years. My family has always had a history of trade and enterprise, and I was determined to follow in their footsteps,' Grigerova says of her reasons for setting up Lauriger, remembering the moment when she realised the importance of well-designed products.

'My grandmother presented to me a stunning collection of antique silverware,' she concludes. 'Meeting with artists who combine traditional craftsmanship with the innovations of technology deepened this appreciation. They were experimenting; pushing the boundaries of their art and their craft. It was exciting and I knew I had to share this with the world. To bring that same love and joy for beautiful designs to other people’s homes.'

INFORMATION

Lauriger’s Lilia Collection, prices from £26. For more information, visit Lauriger’s website

Now its November, that means one thing to me and that’s Thanksgiving. Therefore it is the perfect time to start planning how to set your top table.

This minimal proposition from WallpaperSTORE* - composed of refined elegant shapes crafted in crystal, black nickel, stainless steel, rich wood and graphic porcelain, above - we call 'American Piety.'

Find out more about Gio Ponti's conca soup ladle here

Take it all, or make your own selection from Gio Ponti’s black nickel centrepiece, Conca soup ladle for Sambonet and  Bubble salt & pepper shakers by Gordon Guillaumier for Paola C. My other favourites include Orchestra dinner service by David/Nicolas for Vistra Alegre; flatware by Louise Campbell for Georg Jensen; Suiren dishes in Japanese zelkova wood from Time & Style; Josef Hoffmann’s 1917 stemware and Oswald Haerdtl's spherical glass Candy Dish, both for Lobmeyr; and the slender 'Boquet' vase by Mist-o for Ichendorf Milano.

Find out more about Oswald Haerdtl's 'Candy' dish here

Our very own creative market place for design, WallpaperSTORE* stocks, wraps and dispatches our pick of the finely formed and forward thinking from around the world.

Nick Vinson, also known as Picky Nicky, has been an editor at Wallpaper* since 2012, curates the selection for WallpaperSTORE*, where he is general merchandising manager and also pens the monthly 'Vinson View' column in Wallpaper*.

INFORMATION

Shop Picky Nicky’s edit now at WallpaperSTORE*

I'm not a chef, I’m an enthusiastic home cook,’ points out former interior designer Tarica Navarro. Navarro recently opened Kettle & Brine, her dream-come-true kitchen and home accouterment shop in west Austin, Texas. Born of a fierce passion for cooking and a love of responsible design, Kettle & Brine’s mission is to celebrate coming together around food - whether you are cooking, serving or eating it.

Kettle & Brine offers a curated assortment of thoughtfully-sourced utilitarian cooking accessories and pantry items. These design-focused pieces are handpicked by Navarro for their heirloom-like quality and sourced from all over the world. Cast iron bottle openers sit atop recycled wood cheese boards, ladles are made of maple wood and the spoons are crafted from hand-forged brass.

The shop boasts contemporary brands with elegant forms that follow function including Okayama’s Lue and the Hudson Valley’s Blackcreek Mercantile & Trading Co. Navarro has also made a point to include local brands, such as Foxwares and Settle, for one-of-a-kind ceramics. Mixed into its offerings are coveted staples like Weige Knives and copper cookware from Mauviel.

In the pantry, Cardamom and Clove Almond Butter from Solstice Canyon, Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha from Brooklyn’s Mixed Made and a wide variety of Jacobsen salts ensure visitors can also pick up the right ingredients.

Kettle & Brine’s interior calls to mind a well-edited, contemporary home and invites visitors to try out its wares and to stay a while. Navarro created a calm aesthetic with local plants, raw metals, live-edge wood and unfinished concrete.

The living space, grounded by a vintage Beni Ouarain rug, is furnished with chairs by Sabin and fabric by Zak + Fox. She partnered with Kelly DeWitt of KKDW to create Kettle & Brine’s custom wood slab dining table and kitchen island. The focal point however, is the cashier’s counter covered in unpolished brass. ’Fingerprints cover the surface,’ says Navarro, ’but with age, this counter will tell stories about our shop.’

INFORMATION

Photography: Jenn Hair

ADDRESS

Kettle & Brine
908-C West 12th Street
Austin, Texas

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'The specks remind me of stars in the galaxy,' says Tal Danino, admiring a dinner plate dotted with what appear to be celestial bodies. 'This really interesting pattern in the centre, that's Salmonella!' Danino is a biological engineer who has collaborated with Brazilian artist Vik Muniz and luxury porcelain brand Bernardaud to take a group of photogenic bacterial species from agar to porcelain.

The project began at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Danino is a postdoctoral fellow researching ways to program bacteria for different uses, such as detecting and treating cancer. 'At MIT they have amazing toys to play with our ideas of how we perceive the world,' says Muniz, who completed a residency at the university in 2013.

Muniz proposed the concept of 'drawing with little bugs' to Danino and soon the two were creating intricate patterns out of liver cells and cervical cancer cells. 'They look like your grandmother's wallpaper, and then you look closer and you see every nucleus of every cell,' says Muniz, who has previously worked with materials ranging from chocolate and diamonds to rubbish and clouds.

Working with petri dishes, also known as bacterial plates, got Muniz thinking about the real thing. 'Vic said let's make some real plates out of bacteria,' explains Danino. Salmonella was always part of the plan ('perfect for chicken,' notes Muniz), but the stars of the Bernardaud 'petri' collection also include other species, 'mostly bacillus,' adds Danino.

The colourful images that fill the seven porcelain plates began as ten-centimeter-wide petri dishes, each filled with translucent, nutrient-infused agar and dotted with a drop of bacteria in the centre. 'They grow outward, protruding themselves, pushing back their neighbours, eating up the food, and forming these very intricate patterns,' Danino illustrates.

'Sometimes we look at abstraction and all we see are beautiful patterns and colours, but these are abstractions that tell a story,' says Muniz. 'Imagine having a dinner party. Your guests finish their food and admire the image on the plate, and then you tell them it's Salmonella!'

ADDRESS

Bernardaud Boutique
499 Park Avenue
New York
10022

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Iron bowl by Nobuho Miya, from Analogue Life

A master forger of nambu tetsu, or traditional cast iron, Nobuho Miya works from his Kamasada ironware studio, founded by one of his ancestors in the Meiji era. His work has been exhibited worldwide, as far a field as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The production process of involved in this jet-black, cast-iron bowl requires over 40 steps. To customise it for Wallpaper*, Miya created a special mould featuring the Wallpaper* asterisk. The finished limited edition product has an austere beauty and, thanks to its lacquer glaze, will never rust.

5,175 Yen ($58.50 USD)

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Wallpaper* has a long-standing love affair with Japan and its commitment to traditional crafts, and now a new wave of young designer artisans is using these skills to create exceptional designs for the contemporary home. For our Handmade issue, we enlisted Ian Orgias of Japanese homeware specialists Analogue Life to produce a special collection of tableware for Wallpaper*. Customised with the Wallpaper* asterisk, three of these finely crafted, limited edition designs are now available to buy.

Whether created in an ironware studio from the Meiji era or crafted using the magewappa technique of steaming and bending strips of 200-year-old wood, these pieces are made by artists at the top of their game.

The specially customised designs for Wallpaper* add to Analogue Life's beautiful collection of modern Japanese homeware. Run by Canadian expatriate and photographer Ian Orgias and his wife Mitsue Iwakoshi, Analogue Life is converting design fans, both in Japan and abroad, to a fresh appreciation of an ancient aesthetic.

Place your orders here

Iron bowl by Nobuho Miya, from Analogue Life

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Iron bowl by Nobuho Miya, from Analogue Life

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Pan Zara by Yoshimasa Shibata, from Analogue Life
Yoshimasa Shibata is a second generation magewappa artisan, whose techniques have been honed over four hundred years. Since joining the family firm, he has introduced a line of more contemporary pieces with the designer Masanori Oji. The bread plate (which can also be used as a tray) is made from Akita cedar from 200-year-old trees, which have perfectly straight grains. The wood is stripped, boiled, bent and tied together with bark from cherry blossoms. This limited edition design’s smooth surface has been branded with the Wallpaper* asterisk.

8,050 Yen (approximately $89.50 USD)

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Pan Zara by Yoshimasa Shibata, from Analogue Life

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Pan Zara by Yoshimasa Shibata, from Analogue Life

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Kami mug cup by Hidetoshi Takahashi, from Analogue Life
Wood carver Hidetoshi Takahashi was born in Hokkaido, a region renowned for its forests and wooden furniture. Since taking over the family woodworking factory in Asahikawa, he has been working with young designers to create a contemporary range of tableware using traditional techniques. The only decoration on the beautifully simple form of this Kami mug cup is the fine wood grain. The base of the limited edition piece has been laser engraved with the Wallpaper* asterisk.

4,025 Yen (approximately $44.50 USD)

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Kami mug cup by Hidetoshi Takahashi, from Analogue Life

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Kami mug cup by Hidetoshi Takahashi, from Analogue Life

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Jil Sander, Spring/Summer ’08 (scroll down to read the review)