Boston’s Tableware Boutiques
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.