Mix and Match Dinnerware, Decorations to Set the Mood at Mealtimes
Establishing a new mood for your table goes beyond using the same boring china, faded linens, tired centerpieces and candlesticks. But if you’re stuck with a dull china set--whether it’s a priceless heirloom or a bridal gift--don’t lock it up in the china closet. When teamed with new dinnerware patterns and enhanced with novel or even nostalgic antique accessory pieces, the old composition switches gear and the mood changes.
The name of the game is still mixing and matching--a trend that was strong in the late ‘80s but tiptoes into the ‘90s.
The recent gift-ware trade show at the L. A. Mart and L. A. Convention Center provided inspiration for fresh table-top ideas. China themes at the show were varied, ranging from nature’s softer images to bold geometric designs and stretching into architectural and neoclassical motifs. Although a return to nature was predominant, new flora, produce and animal motifs emphasized sophistication. There was a spectrum of colors, with increased use of teal and cobalt blue married with gold.
To set an environment for your meals as well as add a sparkle to your 1990 entertaining table, here are some of the dinnerware patterns and accessories to watch for in china shops. (A future column will discuss linens.)
An interesting guest at the Shoening Enterprises showroom was famous fine-china designer Bill Goldsmith. Expressing confidence in bright taxicab yellow, Goldsmith used the sunny shade to revise three Site Corot French Limoges dinnerware patterns: splashy looking, graphic New Florida; floral Potpourri, and elegant Faux Bois with single color banding. “Two years ago, everybody told me not to do greens and yellows,” Goldsmith, a former interior decorator, said. “Now I’m doing very well with green and expect to have the same luck with yellow.”
He explained that in the dinnerware business, one has to have confidence as well as a prophetic taste. “It’s a very curious world, but the big number is trusting yourself and having enough experience to trust your own taste.” Goldsmith added that design execution requires much earlier planning than fashion, where supposedly all design trends start. Goldsmith said that it takes about a year for a finished layout to be printed and to get the colors right. One hopes, he says, that the color will still be in fashion at that time.
Expressing appreciation for patterns that allow for mixing and matching (including Goldsmith’s and new entries from Wedgwood, Lenox and Gorham), Bruce Meyer, president of Geary’s Beverly Hills, says, “We encourage (consumers) in our store to go for mixing and matching as opposed to buying whole pieces from one manufacturer. In the past people were going for very fancy, formal dinner settings that they ended up collecting instead of using. Although they’re going for quality, they’re also going for usable items for entertaining today. At our store, we help them design and put together pieces that they’ll use right away.”
Other new designs from Bill Goldsmith include dainty demitasse sets and small porcelain hand-painted boxes. It must be the year for these pretty little boxes, which, although small, are beautiful works of art that enrich tea, coffee or dessert tables. Rochard Inc. presented its largest-ever selection of hand-painted and hand-mounted porcelain gifts from Limoges, France.
According to Franklin Pentecoste of Vest & Associates, the new Rochard porcelain item that most appealed to retail trade buyers was the gold series, followed by the regal-looking cobalt blue, white and gold group and the classic burled walnut look. Designs with fruit, vegetables and animals--particularly frogs and cats--also commanded high appeal. Equally strong were the beautiful floral motif larger card boxes, which also included playing cards.
Another manufacturer producing a growing line of candy boxes is Villeroy & Boch. Its colorful selection of bone china, porcelain and crystal is available in various choice of shapes and sizes, some with painted sceneries.
In contrast to the tiny accessories, large table pieces are also making a comeback. The Opus 12 serving collection, consisting of large-sized platters and casseroles for big gatherings, combines the look of aged pewter and the highly polished finish of silver and steel. Available in 11 designs, the Opus 12 pieces consist of a blend of 12 classic metals, including titanium for strength and silver for brilliance.
Interesting hand-cast serving ware include platters in cow, pig and fish shapes, oval fowl platters and an oversized paella pan with a lobster handle on the lid. Oven-proof, the items have the advantage of retaining heat or cold for prolonged periods and remaining functional from sub-zero to 1,000 degrees.
Also making use of a yellow motif is Rochard’s Citron pattern, a composition of lemon branches with fruit, leaves and tiny white flowers. The French porcelain salad plates, round and rectangular platters and cache pots are available in black or white background, but the black is more striking and contrastingly bold.
One serving container that gets overlooked in a table setting is the butter dish. The striking new butter dish from Alessi is not just attractive but a conversation art piece. Continuing its series of micro-architecture for the table top, the Italian company presented the Michael Graves’ Butter Dish. It continues a design established by Graves with last year’s post-modern coffee maker, mug and demitasse set. The five-inch long butter tray with curved ends for handles is constructed of 18/10 grade stainless steel, and its clear glass cover is partly encased with a pattern of squares in stainless steel with a black knob.
In addition to architects and interior designers, jewelry and fashion designers have entered the field of table-top design. With her background in art jewelry, fashion and sculpture, Izabel Lam has expressed her flair for metal into artistic yet functional home accessories. Challenged by cold steel, the artist gives it life and movement in her irregularly shaped bronze candlesticks and flatware set. Sculpted with near zigzaging handles and knobby ends, the Izabel Lam Bronze Flatware makes a stunning complement to both contemporary and antique settings.
Mottura’s Gary McNatton, who represents Izabel Lam products, said that he chose to add the line to his current selection of unusual accessories depicting imperfect art. “We like things that are simple, and metals are good examples. Honesty represents success in our products instead of everything being perfect. That’s what makes us individuals. When we put them in juxtaposition to perfect walls, the blend is magnificent.”
Also coming to the forefront are neoclassical pieces from Timney -Fowler. The table-top china works of Sue Timney and Grahame Fowler parallel their distinctive black and white fabric prints. Rich and eloquent with historical symbolism are their fine bone china plates and mugs. Some of the images cast onto the pieces include a Roman head, column, medal, classic border, compass, Roman clock and lion man.
For Fitz and Floyd dinnerware company, glitz has always been in the limelight. Another manufacturer advocating the mixing and matching concept for a change of pace, Fitz and Floyd introduced some beautiful gold and white, gold and teal patterns that would go very well with existing patterns. Showroom manager Janet Laudeman presented the sophisticated Shinmozen pattern in gold and white. Interpreted from a Japanese artwork, the pattern was named after a street in Kyoto, considered the “Rodeo Drive of Japan.”
Animal designs haven’t left us in the kitchen; now they’re echoing on the serving table too. Ceramic and pottery vases, porcelain boxes, tea service and linens portray cats--from gentle to wild ones--giraffes, zebras, farm geese and rabbits, parrots and Southwestern coyotes. According to Laudeman, cats have stayed at the top for favorites, while rabbits are gaining recognition again in time for Easter.
Internationally known sculptor and ceramic artist Jiri Bures translated animal themes into a playful table service for JB Studio’s new tea set and cookie jar ensembles. Double-fired and lead-free, some of the glossy animal and classic slip-cast earthenware feature bright color combinations in black-white-red, opal, black and gold and leopard. Eye-catching examples were a Tasmanian tiger teapot and mug set, a mastodon tea pot and an ancient reptile cookie jar.
For something with a different look, the L. S. Collection porcelain dinnerware was noted at the Ralph Seal Showroom by Gerald Van Nortwick, associate buyer for crystal and china for I. Magnin, Bullocks Wilshire. Designed by artist Lynda Sylvester, the three new dinnerware designs are Basketmaker III, a sophisticated black and white design leaning toward Southwest culture; Rain forest, a green and gold pattern commemorating the vanishing rain forests of Brazil and Africa, and Universe with its blue and gold planetary design.
Those inclined towards the pink and teal palette should note the Antigua Pattern from Present Tense (with fish and bubble designs) and the Primrose Pattern from Hungary with a graceful scattering of rose-colored flowers at the rim with a teal striping. Both were represented at the mart by Palmer Smith.
On the bolder teal and fuchsia pink scheme mixed with yellow and blue, Laura Japy’s new Harlequin porcelain chinam made in Limoges, is just exquisite. The finish is sponge-painted so it gives a dramatic look. The pattern is carried through in candlesticks.
The two new bone china complete service patterns from Villeroy & Boch were Clarissa with pink filleting and spring floral motifs on white background; and Nanking, also on white with multicolored flower treatment and blue filleting. Unlike ordinary round china, these pieces offer a somewhat uneven octagonal shape that makes them more interesting.
