Everyday Earthenware

Should the plates and bowls that one uses every day for meals somehow be considered as unimportant-something prosaic, something that might even be disposable? Meals themselves sometimes are judged to be a necessary nuisance. "Let's just order a pizza!" Hectic lives, conflicting schedules, and diminishing amounts of time to be spent for meal consumption, let alone preparation, mitigate against qualitative shared experiences. It was my observation of a friend's family's habits that convinced me that mealtimes should somehow be reconsidered and deemed more important, even if the gathering need to be reduced to one or two per week. Perhaps, these occasions would take on even more importance by their relative infrequency. The true challenge lies in the planning of good food, pleasant presentation, and uninterrupted conversation. There is no need at all for pretention in any of these areas. The answer is to seek. Access to efficient meal planning and expedient recipes has never been easier for the food. Conversations can be had without phone interruptions or competing media, and finally, lovely presentations can be had by the use of imagination. This balance of practicality and beauty has manifested itself in designs across the ages. I am delighted to continue this tradition in my design explorations.

It is my philosophy NEVER to create "copies" or "reproductions" but rather to identify the elements of past successes and reinterpret these in products for the present. The faience de Moustiers plates shown are an example of the blending of beauty and practicality. Heavy enough to wear well, yet decorated beautifully, they inspire by their successful execution. Surely, sitting at a table, surrounded by loved ones, set with lovely place settings, and served a thoughtfully conceived meal should convince us that we are civilized beings-even if only once a week.