BESPOKE TABLEWARES, CERAMIC SERVING PIECES, and KITCHEN ITEMS
UNIQUE AND BESPOKE TABLEWARES
While I am constantly developing pattern designs, it is my aspiration to work closely with clients in the development of servicable tableware that would be completely their own. Please contact me via e-mail: skyview2733@gmail.com
Design for hors d'oeuvres plate featuring my cartouche design showcasing antique Victorian engravings of children.
CUSTOMIZED AESTHETIC MOVEMENT CHARGER
Aesthetic Movement inspired cartouche and bamboo sprig which could be infilled with any design or monogram.
Cartoon for "SPARROWS" serving platter. This could be fired in any color.
FRENCH ENGRAVING cartoon for serving platter.
Do you have a set (or multiple sets) of "fine china" that you use infrequently, if at all? However, even if not entertaining at a dinner party, do you not wish to have attractive, functional table settings and service ware that enhances the enjoyment of good food? Loving to cook, appreciating excellent food, and enjoying entertaining are values that I have long possessed and which only continue to strengthen with the passage of time.
Being a cook, as well as a designer, I simultaneously consider the presentation of the food along with its preparation. It is for this reason, that I have developed preferences for design approaches to table ware. For example, the traditional designs of "patterns" often place the most important design element in the direct center of the plate. Lovely to observe, and beautiful when hung or displayed on a plate rail, but not necessarily enhancing of a special meal. The geometric shape is the dictator of the design, not the food which will obscure it. Of course, this observance does not mean that there should be any hard and fast "rules", merely a suggestion to consider the relationship between the food items and its serving vehicle.
In the blog attached to this website, I will often explore both culinary and related designs exploration to illustrate my philosophies. These will demonstrate how customization of the tablewares can reflect, not only the personal tastes, but the values of their owners.
Signature banana leaf decorated charger plate at the COMMANDERS' PALACE restaurant in NEW ORLEANS
In addition to the wonderful meals I have eaten at this famed New Orleans restaurant, I have enjoyed the ambience that is uniquely a function of this restaurant's location and place in time. One of the subtleties of presentation is the instantly identifiable banana leaf decoration on the larger serving chargers. Unobtrusive, yet dramatic, this decoration states that one is dining at this particular landmark restaurant and nowhere else. A monogram would be just as personalized, but the graphic impact of the two toned leaves is much stronger and creates lasting memories.
This subtle, yet dramatic, decoration of the charger serving plate illustrates my design dictate that the decoration of serving pieces should enhance the presentation of the food to be served upon them, rather than compete with it.
INSPIRATIONS
DBK working drawing for decoration of a Hall China oval platter inspired by the 18th century engravings. Since my drawings are executed in pen and ink, (or drypoint) and thus, consist only of line, there is a kinship to the techniques (and thus appearance) of the engravings used to create toiles.
THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS............
During my practice of architecture and interior design, I maintained and urged my clients to assemble a "style file." In those pre-web days, clipping of magazine articles and images were one way of organizing information that lent insight into aesthetic preferences. By analyzing the clippings, design solutions and details were suggested.
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The chinoiserie decorations and the extraordinarily delicate French engravings of the 18th century never cease to inspire me.
'East meets West: the AESTHETIC MOVEMENT
The cross pollination of design elements between Japan and the West in the late 19th Century as demonstrated in the Aesthetic Movement has long fascinated me. The juxtaposition of patterns and the mixing of the natural and the stylized create patterns that abstract and thus become timeless.
Pen and ink cartoon for coffee mug to be decorated in an Aesthetic Movement inspired design.
Left: Hall China casserole decorated in Aesthetic Movement inspired design.
Below: Hall China bain Marie
decorated in "Aesthetic Net" motifs.
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FRENCH FAIENCE de MOUSTIERS, GIEN, QUIMPER, etc
I am particularly drawn to the faience ware of France because of the balancing of its delicate decoration upon wares of a heavier weight. This correspondence is particularly appropriate for the dinnerwares of today's lifestyles. Lovely, whimsical, delicate in appearance, however very practical for everyday use.
In process working drawings: DBK's Cartoons for sprig decorations and jongleur in the style of the French faience Moustiers and preliminary study of "lace inserts" used for edge details. .
