The Power of Flowers
In most cultures the garden represents a kind of heaven on earth. After this blog you may start seeing your dinnerware bathed in an otherworldly light. From the garden of a French Château to the first cover of American Vogue- signed Anna Wintour- to the Limoges region (France’s porcelain orchard) and across the equator to a forest in Paraguay, here is our ode to The Power of Flowers.
IN BLOOM During a residency at the Bernardaud factory in Limoges, Zemmer Peled turned her sculptor’s eye towards dinnerware and spun to life a new breed of flower. Israeli born Peled is a growing voice in contemporary art. Her sculptures are organic and resemble extraordinary coral-like flowers blooming in a parallel universe. In her practice, she uses spaghetti makers and meat shavers to create elements for her monumental works in clay. In Bloom, the new pattern signed Peled X Bernardaud, uses a process of painting while the porcelain vessel rotates on a wheel. Her mantra: To infuse the stoic medium of porcelain with organic rhythm. COMING SOON! (scroll down to watch the making of In Bloom) *Post slider photographed by Lily Rose.
PARADIS Porcelain power couple, Bertrand Raynaud and Mariela Schwarz-Motiel, live in a Château surrounded by a manicured French garden not far from the Raynaud factory founded by Bertrand’s grandfather in 1911. Mariela, whose line of shoes, Antolina, donned by stars such as Penelope Cruz (think Donatella Versace in Netflix’s series True Crime) was an easy fit within the family’s design department after the couple fell in love and settled at the manor. Her Paradis pattern shimmers opalescent turquoise, channeling the couple’s love of nature. You can almost here the lovebirds calling from their hand-painted trees.Did we mention that Mariela is dedicated to reviving artisan skills in her native country of Paraguay? Craft does have the power to change lives.
BUTTERFLY PARADE On the heels of the uber-successful show, Heavenly Bodies, “Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” (presented at the Met last year)- of which featured the iconic Gold-Gotha jacket that graced the cover of Anna Wintour’s inaugural edition for Vogue America (photographed by Peter Lindberg in 1988)- we would like to re-aquaint you with meta designer, Christian Lacroix. His eponymous Haute Couture collection struck gold (and flowers, and sequins and pearls) in 1987 when it was presented in Paris. The designer has gone through many a metamorphosis since then! Mr. Lacroix has lent his name to opera costumes and lead interior design projects such as the re-imagining of the Hotel Bellchasse. Lacroix’s Butterfly Parade is the perfect pattern for spring, with its eternal promise of renewal. These celestial vessels are made in Portugal by Vista Allegre.
BLOMST “Digging, laying out paths, weeding and creating dense borders bursting with flowers was my pastime.” From his earliest childhood, Wouter Dolk, artist, illustrator and fabric designer, was fascinated by his family garden. Dolk’s simple blooms scattered on Royal Copenhagen’s signature clean white porcelain dinnerware are like pallet cleansers at a regal feast. The Blomst selection of florals (coming soon) is cool and soothing, a perfect finish to our grand tour of the heavenly gardens we will be bringing you this season.
THE MAKING OF IN BLOOM
