Small Makers: Dinnerware
Today I wanted to celebrate some of my favorite small-er makers when it comes to dinnerware. After going ‘shopping in my house’ the other week and sharing about it here, I was able to whittle down my dinnerware to a single cabinet. I wanted to get rid of pieces I no longer used, and look only at those I absolutely loved each day. In doing so I was able to see what I found value in, and can now apply these values to any purchases I make going forward. I highly recommend shopping in your own house, it’s incredible how much you’ll find that you have once the clutter of the goods you don’t really care for are cleared away!
It’s the time of year where we as a people will do a fair amount of purchasing, and while I am in full support of consuming less, donating more, and buying repurposed goods - I am also an advocate for supporting small makers. So I wanted to share a few favorites! Here are some I hope to collect our complete dinnerware sets from overtime, because of their high quality and personal touch. While these all come with a high recommendation from me, I really encourage you to seek out small makers that catch your eye to support. There are so many talented people making beautiful things out there, let’s celebrate their creation.
One last thing, since I have your attention ;). This week for Black Friday instead of shopping Scott and I are going to take a box or two of items from our house to donate to a local charity, and I wanted to encourage you to do the same if it’s possible for you! It really feels so rewarding to give, especially when it’s something of your own. Not only are you helping to enrich other’s lives, but your decluttering your space and it’s stress free! In fact, it will most likely give you a calming effect - something I think we can all benefit from during the holidays.
I was thinking of sharing on social with the tag #GiveBackFriday to help draw other’s attention to partaking is this activity too. What do you think? Want to do this with us this week? You don’t have to share about it, just simply do. But if you feel called to encourage others, feel free to share the hashtag, and tag me as well so I can give you a virtual hug.
Happy Thanksgiving, American friends. And soon enough, a very merry Christmas season. :)
x Jessie
Sarah Kersten
Sarah hand shapes her beautiful dinnerware with a small team at her studio in Berkeley, California. Her pieces are inspired by the coastline, and her love for the natural elements.
Sarah’s are my favorites in our kitchen, and ones I plan to collect to keep for a lifetime. These are forever pieces.
Pictured here are her ramen bowls, breakfast bowls, oval plates, and salad bowls.
Colleen Hennessey
Colleen shapes her ceramics at her studio in Mendocino, northern California. Inspired by the outdoors and the food she has grown and cooked with over the years, her dinnerware compliments the food it holds and showcases it in all of it’s glory. I find her pieces to be really grounding and beautiful.
Pictured here are two 8 inch shallow dinner bowls.
Pigeon Toe
Lisa and Samantha are the sisters that make up Pigeon Toe, and run their ceramic studio out of Portland, Oregon.
Their pieces are earthy and lusciously shaped. I love their tones and smooth textures. They make much more than dinnerware, too.
Pictured are their ‘smalls mugs’ and ‘stacking thimble cups’.
Felt + Fat
Nate and Wynn are the guys behind this sleek porcelain ceramics studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I love their clean designs, and how they source all of their raw materials locally. Read this beautiful interview with them here.
Pictured are two of their snack bowls.
One & Many
Yaara Landau-Katz makes this beautiful line of ceramics out of her studio in Israel - definitely not local for me, but these were a special buy to have a few bowls from another part of the world!
She has an industrial design background, a love for clean, modern lines, and a minimal color pallet.
Pictured here are her ‘ceramic plates’, although I would categorize them as bowls, great for soups, desserts, and snacks.
Visit her site here. (She is also on Etsy.)
Samantha Ceramics
Samantha shapes her stoneware pieces at her studio in Long Beach, California. She uses organic clay forms and many of her line drawings to decorate her work, I love these pieces.
Pictured here is a small ‘journey dish’ and platter.
Glassware
I love sourcing my glassware from the Food52 shop. They source quite a few small makers, amongst others, and you can even pick up items from other ceramic artists I’ve mentioned above (such as Sarah Kersten and Pigeon Toe).
Shown here are clear glass tumblers by Borosil, out of Santa Barbara, California. The amber glassware is no longer carried, but similar can be seen here by Hawkins New York.
Wood Bowls
I love the raw-ness of wood in the kitchen, and have sourced most of these bowls from local home-goods shops.
I highly recommend popping your head into the small mom and pop stores to see what locally hand-hewn wooden pieces they carry.
You could find a wood gem or two, and they really bring a feeling of the outside world into the kitchen.
I hope you enjoyed this ‘makers’ post, and I’d love to hear of your favorites in the comments below too :)