Splitting time between the U.K. and the U.S. give me an interesting perspective of the tableware market in both countries. The most noticeable contrast is the UK’s penchant for minimalism versus the bold holiday patterns that take over the American department stores at certain times of the year. Boston has its fair share of department stores with the usual suspects, more exciting however are the great little tableware boutiques in the city.

Firstly on the fashionable Newberry Street is a wonderful little shop called Bliss. Its main focus seems to be dinnerware for bridal registries. The buyers have exquisite taste and have all their products elegantly displayed. They have a large range by Bernadaud whose sophisticated designs seem to have been ignored by places like Macy’s.  Making sure they appeal to the younger market they carry more modern and fun labels like Iitalla and Alesse.. Bliss has also thrown in a few other choice designer brands to offset their impressive tableware collection such as Mandarina Duck luggage and Kartell homewares. The stand out item for me today at Bliss was probably Alessi’s quirky sushi set by Italian designer Stefano Giovannoni. It is almost too gorgeous to eat off but fun enough to be functional. With the owners eye for great design and willingness to try new products you can rely on a visit there to source all the exciting new labels that you should know about!

The second Boutique worth mentioning is a store in Boston’s artsy Fort Point neighbourhood called Front. It is actually a store (front) attached to the design studios offices and warehouse of a great little company called Bob’s Your Uncle. They started out doing stationary and still have a great line of beautifully designed greetings cards and notebooks etc. What caught my eye however was the large collection of melamine tableware. The colourful collections by Thomas Paul, in particular his aviary collection jumped out against the white walls of the industrial gallery like shop. They also have an Americana collection with plates with photos of typical diner scenes and American restaurant signs.  The display was a feast for the eyes because the wonderful thing about melamine is there seems to be no limitations to surface coverage or boldness of design. Front supplements their own ranges with renowned design houses such as Norman Copenhagen and other cutting edge design. Head off the well worn path of  the usual shopping trails of Boston, it is well worth a visit.

One of the most widely anticipated events of Liverpool’s 2008 capital of culture year was the Gustav Klimt exhibition at the Tate gallery. On the ground floor is a reconstruction of the Beethoven Frieze from the secession building in Vienna. The contrast of the highly decorated gold on the rough unfinished concrete is striking in its delicateness. It reminded me of Bernardaud’s gold leaf and silver leaf dinnerware, the roughness of the gold leaf contrasting against the highly polished smoothness of the porcelain.  In fact, a few of Bernardaud’s luxurious new designs remind me of Klimt with their brightly coloured circles paired with lavish gold and silver metallics.

It is clear throughout the exhibition that Klimt was incredibly accomplished at painting life like representations. However, he appeared most comfortable when his paintings took a turn to fantasy. For a designer, what’s most exciting is what lies behind the figures in his paintings. He has a gift for patterns and colours. He could almost be described as a decorator. Sections of the backgrounds could stand on their own as fabrics and wallpapers. 100 years after it was first exhibited his stylised flowers are on trend today.  Similar flowers are seen on fabrics today on the catwalk and in the high street. Stella McCartney’s floral print dress comes to mind.

In addition to Klimt’s paintings the exhibition focused on the larger Vienna Secession group and the interaction between art, architecture, and interiors that it represented. As tableware designers we take direction from trends, not just in tableware but also fashion, interiors, and art. Dinnerware isn’t displayed by itself on a wall, but is part of people’s lifestyle.

The exhibit also gives us a look at the table with a beautiful set of flatware that looks strikingly modern by today’s standards and an equally contemporary silver coffee set. Only when you see old photographs of it being used do you realise how ahead of its time Klimt and the Vienna Secession must have been.