Tableware International

TableWare www.tablewareinternational.com

INTERNATIONAL

Month: March/April 2015

2

Issue: 1

134

Volume: 137

presents

Elegance and Style

visit us at

msgi-sa.com

Neptune – Fine beauty

View our new collection at New York tabletop 41 Madison • 14th floor 212-684-8888

www.auratic.com

AWARD WINNING DESIGN Sway Mug Tree 2014 GOOD Design Award

Chirp Tea Kettle 2013 GOOD Design Award

Bulbo Standing Steeper 2014 GOOD Design Award

NEW

DESIGN AWARD

WINNERS

Ridge Coffee Pod Carousel

by Alvaro Uribe

Curvo All-Purpose Tongs

by Steve Cozzolino

www.nambe.com

Each crystal tasting glass is created by Waterford designers and whiskey professionals to bring out the best in every bottle

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N March/April 2015 • ISSUE 1

News 12

News A round-up of international stories

16

Exhibition news News from the shows worldwide

18

Retail news News and views from buyers/retailers

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Licensing news We spotlight some of the industry’s most exciting designers/licences

22

Licensing Q&A We interview Elie Tahari about his new tableware collaboration with Lifetime Brands

24

Product news The latest releases and launches

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TableWare INTERNATIONAL

Trends 26

Product trend Spotlight on birds

28

Column: In high spirits Tableware specialist Donna Ferrari delivers the buzz on drinkware

30

Industry trend We look into how coffee stories are continuing to grow

42

Features 32

Retail: John Lewis We interview the UK department store's tabletop buyer Emily Moody about the latest tableware demands and trends

36

Retail: NK Stockholm This Scandinavian retailer shows why treating tabletop like fashion works

38

Guide: The 2015 glass buyers' guide We look at the growth of the glassware market, the trends in glassware and round up the very best in stemware, crystal and everyday glassware

50

Profile: Crystalex Discover what colourful new glassware Czech manufacturer Crystalex has launched for 2015

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Category: Hospitality Discover what's driving growth in HoReCa, what types of tableware are trending and the latest launches for this segment

58

Table talk We discuss tabletop demands and trends in hospitality with leading hotels and restaurants

60

Profile: Herend We interview the chief commercial director of Herend about what makes the Hungarian porcelain brand so unique

Shows 62

Preview: 41 Madison From new showrooms and events to brand-new product, find out what's expected at The New York Tabletop Market

66

Review: NY NOW Strong attendance and brisk business sums up the January show

68

Review: Ambiente 2015 We outline the success and highlights of this leading show as well as presenting the latest launches and trends in tabletop

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Review: Home London Discover what happened and who attended this year's London design show

75

Review: Maison & Objet Paris We highlight some of the best launches from this design-led show

76

Review: Spring Fair 2015 We review the show

77

Review: Homi Milan We report on the trends from Italian lifestyle show Homi

78

Eye on design Spotlight on international tableware designer Nick Holland

The views of the contributors expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the publisher or Lema Publishing Ltd. Comments, letters and criticism are welcome.

Tableware Team

TableWare

EDITOR KATE BIRCH kate@lemapublishing.co.uk

INTERNATIONAL

ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER PAUL YEOMANS pyeomans@lemapublishing.co.uk

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PUBLISHER MARK NAISH mark@lemapublishing.co.uk

MANAGING DIRECTOR MALCOLM NAISH malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR PAUL NAISH paul@lemapublishing.co.uk

DESIGNER MARIAN MCNAMARA marian@lemapublishing.co.uk

To subscibe to the magazine email: ROBERT THOMAS robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

Published by Lema Publishing Ltd. 1 Churchgates, The Wilderness Berkhamsted Herts HP4 2UB PUBLISHING

At the heart Tel: 00 44 (0) 1442 289930 of retail Fax: 00 44 (0) 1442 289950 Front cover illustration supplied by Mahmood Saeed Glass. For more information see the website www.msgi-sa.com

TableWare www.tablewareinternational.com

INTERNATIONAL

Month: March/April 2015

2

Issue: 1

134

Volume: 137

presents

Elegance and Style

visit us at

msgi-sa.com

“What’s especially apparent is the number of companies expanding into other categories or sectors”

how season has started – visitor footfall has been counted, new-season products have been unveiled and industry positivity has been gauged, and from where I’m standing, the tableware market looks pretty alright.

“Despite the challenging economic and political climate, the indicators in Germany and worldwide are pointing to ‘consume’,” commented Detlef Braun, member of the executive board of Messe Frankfurt, after Ambiente 2015, which delivered more internationality than ever before and, according to most dining exhibitors, also delivered “a very high visitor standard”.

What’s been especially apparent from the shows so far – and from the tableware industry in general – is the number of porcelain, glass and silverware companies expanding into other categories or sectors, extending their expertise into complementary areas.

We’re talking fine dining porcelain brands taking bold strides into the casual dining sector (Wedgwood with Jasper Conran Tisbury and Prouna with Marine Blue).We’re talking traditional tabletop companies branching out into other complementary sectors (Lenox launches lighting and a French gourmet brand and Rosenthal launches an Interiors collection). And, we’re talking an increasing number of brands delivering highly-giftable tableware (Villeroy & Boch delivers big on gifting this year) tapping into the recent yet increasingly burgeoning and successful convergence of the tabletop and giftware markets (see page 12).

We’re also talking more tableware companies extending their expertise to the hospitality sector, growing their businesses by delivering their high-quality product into a sector where demand is currently high. According to a recent report by the Ifo Institute, the HoReCa segment offers great economic potential for the tabletop industry with growth of 10 per cent expected over the coming five years.

We investigate this in our hospitality feature on page 52, looking at the growth and the trends, as well as highlighting the brand offerings in this sector. We also talk to some of the world’s best hotels and restaurants on page 58 to find out their tabletop demands and discover what trends they are seeing emerge.

As for tabletop trends on the retail front, this month we hone in on the glassware sector

(see page 38), reporting on its growth and discovering what is driving such growth and which companies are getting in on the action.

We also deliver the latest glassware trends, from coloured glass to cut-crystal classics, as well as unveiling the latest glassware launches in our everyday, stemware and crystal glass categories (starting on page 42).

Our regular tabletop expert Donna Ferrari also has her say on this sector, delivering the latest buzz in drinkware on page 28.

On the retail front, we’ve managed to secure an interview with the tabletop buyer from UK department store John Lewis, a retailer that’s just been honoured with the prestigious gia award (see page 32). We also show how tabletop treated like fashion in retail can be successful – see our interview with department store NK Stockholm (page 36); and we report on the latest retail research, which outlines exactly what consumers today want from a retailer. Find out on page 18.

Finally, we review most of the shows so far this year – Maison, Home, Homi, Spring Fair and Ambiente – revealing not just the numbers, but the show news, product debuts and trend reviews, with plenty of exhibitor and retailer comment. And on page 68, we present a trend review of Ambiente, reporting on everything from the rise of copper to the emergence of marble effects on dinnerware.

Of course, we still have one key spring tableware show to go – The New York Tabletop Show in April (see page 62). And with an entire new floor dedicated to tabletop and new brands opening showrooms, this final show of the season looks to be a good one.

As I said at the start of this column, the tableware market looks pretty alright.

Kate Birch Get social with See our latest news: www.tablewareinternational.com ‘Like’ us: Facebook.com/tablewareintmag ‘Follow’ us on Twitter: @tablewareintmag ‘Pin’ us: pinterest.com/tablewareintmag

general

news

Spotlight on…

Rudolf Kampf Tabletop companies expand into new categories Challenging industry conditions are increasingly leading brands that once specialised in porcelain dinnerware, crystal glassware or silver flatware to branch out into complementary categories, delivering the brand DNA across other product sectors. And, while this has been happening for a while, Ambiente 2015 delivered more exciting cross-category announcements. Lenox announced its category growth into lighting, with lamps and chandaliers, as well as into gourmet cookware, with the debut of new cookware brand The French Chefs, a range of cookware and dinnerware designed in collaboration with three award-winning French chefs. The new brand is due to debut, following three years of R&D, in Bloomingdale’s this month. Rosenthal, a brand always on the cusp of new and exciting porcelain-made product, announced its arrival in the furniture and accessories category with its new

Interiors Collection, including clocks and clothes hooks created from matte porcelain pastels. RCR Crystal, known for its high-end crystal barware, in particular, has launched casual dining glassware, extending its expertise to the food front.

New collection Happy delivers stackable small bowls, cups and saucers for modern entertaining. Similary, Jasper Conran for Royal Doulton has crossed into the casual dining category with the launch of its new Tisbury range (see page 21). And, while Wedgwood has been big on gifting in recent years with everything from candles to loose tea, it has this year extended its gifting capabilities further, adding more decorative home items as part of its comprehensive new design-led tableware and lifestyle collection Arris – think imaginative lighting designs for the table as well as luxurious statement objects in metallic, crystal glass and textural ceramics for every room.

Czech high-end porcelain brand Rudolf Kampf has disclosed its bestselling collections for 2014, as well as its new extensions. Its recently-launched 105th Anniversary collection has proved to be one of its most successful product launches ever. The Kelt Collection, its bestseller for many years, has recently been supplemented with a dinnerware set, and now delivers a complete collection. This has, in turn, boosted the collections’ sales even further.

Similarly, the brand’s Byzantine collection was recently extended to include dinnerware, which also boosted sales of the entire collection.

Additionally, new decors were added to Byzantine, boosting sales further, and showing how such diversification can be successful in an era when mixing and matching and versatility is so in demand. Moving into 2015, the brand is set to launch dinnerware as part of its 105th Anniversary collection in the second quarter of the year as well as add further pieces to both the Kelt and Byzantine collections. Also in the works for Rudolf Kampf is a Christmas Collection, to be presented in the fourth quarter of 2015; and the annual launch of its Chinese Zodiac Symbol, which is the monkey for 2016, to be revealed in summer.

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While consumers were certainly more cautious with their discretionary income, overlaying demographic and lifestyle trends help buoy up housewares sales. Now, as the economy continues to improve, we’re seeing housewares manufacturers and retailers stretch in terms of innovation and design, while testing a shifting marketplace that has challenged bricks and mortar with increased online sales and the ability to shop from virtually anywhere with a smartphone and the right apps.

”

Philip Brandl, President and CEO, International Housewares Association (IHA) recently commenting on the current state of the housewares market.

12 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

5 minutes with… Sara Han, creative director, Auratic

New French boutique openings There have been a number of new tableware boutique openings in France in the past few months. After New York, Los Angeles, London and Shanghai, French luxury brand Christofle has opened a new store in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Located in the heart of the golden triangle, a luxurious district marked by the Champs-Elysees, Avenue George V and Avenue Montaigne, Christofle is reaffirming its identity as a contemporary brand.

The layout design, inspired by the bee, the cutler’s motif, delivers shelves shaped like honeycomb and rich colour combinations of bronze, silver and wood. Meanwhile, French family-owned cutlery brand Claude Dozorme has opened its third boutique in France.

Also located in the 8th arrondissement, a popular tourist area that is close to Printemps and Galeries Lafayette department stores, this bijou boutique celebrates the French lifestyle with its tableware, and the new store is offering all its ranges.

Did you know…?

Select pieces from Richard tails from the Brendon’s Details eflect Willow and Refl ave collections have been chosen to d be showcased at the Victoriaa & Albert Museum. The pieces have d been included in the ‘Blue & white: British printed ibition, which ceramics’ exhibition, will run until the end of 2015.

170,000

The number of pieces the Stoke on Trent-based company Portmeirion Group is churning out each week, double what it was producing five years ago. Driven by rising demand for British-made pottery, Portmeirion has now announced it will spend around 1.5 million this year on a new kiln and facilities to increase production by 50 per cent.

Having recently taken over as VP global creative director at porcelain brand Auratic, Sara Han has been tasked with taking the brand to the next level. We find out more...

What is your tableware background?

I am a tabletop designer. I undertook a degree in craft arts, including ceramics at Han Yang University in Korea before majoring in textile surface design at the Interior Design and Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

I worked in the tabletop textile industry for four years before moving to ceramics. I was with Noritake for 11 years, Lifetime Brands for two years, and a design creative consultant for WWRD, Patra Porcelain, PTS America and Martha Stewart Living. I joined Auratic last October.

Why Auratic? The manufacturer of Auratic is a Chinese factory that’s been in operation for 200-plus years. It has great technology, high quality and craftsmanship. Right now, Auratic is at an exciting stage of development, opening its door to the US market.

What are your main aims at Auratic?

To maintain the authentic heritage collection of Auratic, while developing a formal line, casual line and transitional line. At 41 Madison this April, we will be showing new product especially for the US market (page 63).

What do you bring to the Auratic table? I have designed in the formal and casual categories and have a strong colour sense with a keen fashion vision. I have worked both in a manufacturing company and a wholesale company, so I understand the product development process, and how innovation in the technical method can enhance the product.

Auratic will showcase its new design aesthetic under Sara Han’s direction at The New York Tabletop Show, April 1417, 2015. Auratic is on the 14th floor.

TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 13

news in brief

Royal Albert

Tabletop and gifting converging more As the retail and supplier communities search for ways to engage and inspire consumers, the convergence of housewares and giftware products, a relatively new concept, is likely to grow, with research indicating that stores which sell housewares are growing their gift businesses and vice versa. “Anything in my store can be a gift,” says housewares retailer Martha Nading of The Extra Ingredient, Inc, which sells housewares, tabletop, giftware and gourmet foods in North Carolina.

“The majority of housewares are more serious; giftware allows us to have some fun. And as a general rule, it gives us a better margin.”

With retailers finding such success in gifting, tabletop manufacturers are delivering, with gifting concepts particularly prolific at Ambiente 2015.

Villeroy & Boch delivered an all-new gifting programme for all occasions and all in premium gift boxes. “Our philosophy is that every article from Villeroy & Boch is a potential gift,” says Nicolas Luc Villeroy, head of tableware.

The exclusive expanded gift range includes all-new collections, such as Little Gallery (a unique line of gifts designed through a global crowdsourcing experiment) as well as selected designs from bestselling patterns, such as Mariefleur and Amazonia,

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newly reinvented on popular and functional ceramic shapes.

WWRD launched extensive giftware, too. Vera Wang for Wedgwood delivered two ranges, including the Vera Wang Hue Lacquer Giftware, introducing new hues from Vera’s signature palette.

With its new design-led lifestyle concept Arris, Wedgwood delivers an entirely new dimension in creative gifting, with imaginative lighting designs for the table and wider home and luxurious statement objects.

Royal Albert unveiled the fashionable gift-specific Candy Collection – think archived prints given a modern makeover on select bone china products in stunning hat box-like packaging.

Finally, Waterford unveiled lots of new gifting: Monique Huillier for Waterford unveiled two gifting ranges, including My Favourite Things, a carefully curated selection of giftware in colourful luxury packaging; as well as expanding its Marquis By Waterford Markham drinkware sets into giftware.

Rosenthal was equally prolific in its gifting launches: it unveiled glass gifts – heavy vases and dishes created from high-quality pressed lead glass; a new highly giftable range of the iconic Paper Bag Vases by Tapio Wirkkala in four on-trend pastel shades; and a

Villeroy & Boch

LSA

new gourmet gift idea – Pape’s Salt Oyster – a porcelain oyster vessel for serving salt. It comes packaged in a black gift box with a delicate package band plus 25g of salt and a small wooden spoon.

Boutique brand Twig New York has expanded its textured pastelhued lines Layla and Charlotte to include giftable pieces, including mini vases and tapas plates; while Royal Crown Derby has entered gifting in a much bigger way than before – drawing upon its archive of historic patterns; it now delivers individual cups and saucers in complementary packaging.

Brands are also getting more creative in the compilation of gift sets. Known for its relevant and on-trend giftable sets, LSA International unveiled four new highly giftable Paddle serveware sets, including one for tapas and one for espressos. RCR has entered the gifting market with a bang with its giftable set Combo, offering two stackable spirit glasses and decanter in a cool box.

Arzberg has joined forces with sister brand Sambonet, creating cool gift-boxed children’s sets that combine Arzberg porcelain with Sambonet cutlery. And Libbey has created ‘glassware by destination’ gift sets, along with cool packaging – think themed souvenir suitcases offering varietal-specific glasses for select destinations.

BHS Tabletop AG in profit The global market leader in professional porcelain posted profitable growth for 2014, with sales almost reaching the 100 million mark at €99.3 million, 9.1 per cent higher than in the previous year.

Nikko reorganises sales Nikko has appointed Howard Charles Inc, a New Yorkbased sales organisation, which handles several highend tabletop brands, to handle American sales for the Japanese dinnerware brand.

“We are excited to begin this next phase in Nikko’s more than 100-year history and believe appointing Howard Charles Inc. is a significant step”, said Kenji Anzai, CEO of Nikko.

Ashdene joins with Shell Tabletop brand Ashdene has joined with the Shell Rummel brand to develop licensed tabletop with two ceramic and kitchen textile lines, due to be rolled out this summer.

JL Coquet purchased J.L Coquet and Jaune de Chrome, two porcelain manufacturers in Limoges, have been purchased by the Heritage Collection, a new industrial group dedicated to French and European expertise. The group has ensured €2 million in equity to ensure their development – these two companies produce more than 200,000 porcelain objects a year, all of which are made exclusively in France.

The tableware and giftware market is booming and we are at the very forefront of the industry’s current renaissance.

”

Warren Gell, the brand-new UK head of sales for Portmeirion Group, commenting on the tableware industry after his appointment last month. He comes from bakeware manufacturer George Wilkinson.

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exhibition general News news

Happy 30th Hong Kong Housewares Fair

Homi to debut in New York Having already spread its wings to Russia, with the debut of Homi Moscow last October, Homi Milano has now set its sights on America. The lifestyle event that has three shows under its belt (two in Milan, one in Moscow) is set to debut in New York this May, and will be held alongside the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF).

“After a year and three editions, we can now talk about having conquered this challenge,” says Fiera Milano president Michele Perini of the company’s challenge to take the show to international heights. “Homi is reinventing the way supply meets demand in a strategic industry with a tradition of shows that goes back more than 20 years in Italy. This is why we are going

forth with the same conviction to try to internationalise and we are doing so by making connections with the most important events worldwide,” Michele adds, pointing to the fact that Homi Milano will this September take place alongside 2015 World’s Fair in Milan, while Homi Moscow takes place alongside I Saloni.

“We’ve already done this in Moscow last October when we brought 120 exhibitors to an event with more than 8,000 visitors from around the world. We will do this again in May in New York at the same time as the prestigious ICFF, replicating our format with a selection of the best companies in living.”

Homi New York takes place May 16-19, 2015 at Jaci K. Javits Center, New York.

62%

The number of retailers visiting Home London who retail online, while 24 per cent of retail visitors own more than one retail outlet. Buyers at the now twice-annual London-based, designled show include Achica, Anthropologie, Bentalls, Debenhams, Habitat, Harrods, John Lewis, Laura Ashley, Made. com and Selfridges. The next Home London, held alongside Top Drawer and Craft, will take place September 13-15, 2015. www.home-london.net

Top of the tables ‘Tis the season of awards… we highlight some of the winners in the tabletop categories at recently-held shows.

NY NOW: Best of Home Design-driven melamine brand Q Squared NYC picked up this award, alongside the award in the Dining category of the Tabletop + Gourmet Housewares Best New Products Awards for its Hampton Toile melamine collection (pictured), which features a delicate peacock garden motif on a round, textured and ruffled body.

Chicago: IHA Innovation Awards Among the 13 housewares suppliers honoured as winners of the recent IHA Innovation Awards at the 2015 International Home + Housewares Show was Metrokane Inc, in the Tabletop category for its Rabbit Push Muddler, a spring-loaded muddler with specially-designed head for crushing ingredients.

The Hong Kong Housewares Fair will celebrate 30 years of homeware showcase success when it opens its doors on April 20.

Famed for being Asia’s largest homewares fair, this annual four-day show will this year expect 2,000 exhibitors from 34 countries and regions. New this year will be exhibiting country, Cyprus, as well as the debut of new zones, including Wine Tools & Accessories. Other product zones include Tableware, Kitchenware & Gadgets and World of Fine Dining the latter highlighting the latest trends in tableware, kitchenware and bar accessories. The Green Living zone will return and the Best of ASEAN will feature authenticstyled items from Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, to name but a few. Last year, more than 28,000 buyers from 119 countries visited, including Carlos Yeung, homewares buyer for CatchOfTheDay, Australia.

“Visiting the Hong Kong Housewares Fair in 2014 for the first time was an eye-opening experience. I got new inspirations and I’ll definitely be visiting again,” said Carlos. www.hktdc.com/fair/ hkhousewarefair-en

Did you know…? Maison & Objet Americas has revealed Zanini de Zanine from Brazil as its first Designer of the Year for the launch of Maison & Objet Americas, due to debut in Miami Beach, May 12-15, 2015. Zanini will give a keynote address at the show. With the first edition limited to just 250 exhibitors, the show sold out almost immediately, with international exhibitors like Forge de Laguiole, Hering Berlin, JL Coquet, Cristel and Sabre to showcase its products. www.maison-objet.com/americas 16 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

design, colour and function for the home ADDIS HOUSEWARES AEROLATTE AMEFA ANNIVERSARY HOUSE APOLLO HOUSEWARES ARTHUR PRICE CHARLES BENTLEY & SON BERGHOFF WORLDWIDE BHL BLACK & BLUM BOBBLE BODUM BRABANTIA BURTON MCCALL BWT CHARLES VIANCIN CITY LOOK IMPORTS COUNTRY MATTERS CREATIVE PRODUCTS CROWN TRENT CURVER DARTINGTON CRYSTAL DAVID MASON DESIGN DENBY BRANDS DEXAM DKB HOUSEHOLD DNC THE DRH COLLECTION E-CLOTH EATON DINING ECOCOOK EDDINGTONS

ELIA ETHOS EUROPASONIC FISKARS FOSSEWAY TRADING GEH GILBERTS GIMI GOURMET GADGETRY GREEN PIONEER I GRUNWERG HAREWOOD INTERNATIONAL HAUS HORWOOD HOMEWARES HOT PLATE PRODUCTS IC INNOVATIONS

ICB NOSTIK ICTC IMPERIAL GROUP JEAN DUBOST JERAY JOSEPH JOSEPH JUST MUGS JVL HOMEWARE SOLUTIONS JWP KILNER KINETICO KIS KUHN RIKON LADELLE LE CHATEAU TEXTILES LE CREUSET

LEKUE - EMILE HENRY MAHITTI MAKE INTERNATIONAL MASON CASH, RAVENHEAD AND PRICE & KENSINGTON MASTRAD MAXWELL & WILLIAMS METALTEX MEYER N J PRODUCTS NAVIGATE NEAT IDEAS NORDIC WARE OCTOPUS PUBLISHING OXO GOOD GRIPS PENDEFORD HOUSEWARES PHA KITCHESSENTIALS POLDER HOUSEWARES PREMIER HOUSEWARES PYREX READY STEADY COOK RKW ROBERT WELCH DESIGNS ROOT 7 ROSTI MEPAL H & L RUSSEL SABICHI HOMEWARES SALTER SCOTT BROTHERS SIMPLEHUMAN SISTEMA SMASH GLOBAL

And don’t forget to visit Exclusively Electrical our sister show running alongside Exclusively Housewares ARIETE (JALENO) BAMIX (PROVEN PRODUCTS) BEURER DUALIT EPE INTERNATIONAL EWBANK GROUPE SEB HOSTESS (CROSSLEE)

HSCL - SEVERIN JURA KALORIK KITCHENAID KUVINGS (IPAS) MAGIMIX REDMOND RKW

SMART WORLDWIDE TEAM UKI UP GLOBAL SOURCING VITALITY 4 LIFE VITAMIX WITT

For more information on the show take a look at www.exclusivelyhousewares.co.uk or call 0121 237 1130

SODASTREAM SWAN T&G TAYLORS EYE WITNESS TEFAL TERRAILLON THE COOKWARE COMPANY TONTARELLI TRADESTOCK TYPHOON ULSTER WEAVERS UNIKIA UP GLOBAL SOURCING WESCO WESTERN HOUSE WHAT MORE WHITEFURZE WHITFORD WILTON XYSTOS ZODIAC STAINLESS PRODUCTS ZWILLING J A HENCKELS

Run by the industry, for the industry

Exclusively Housewares will run alongside its NEW sister show Exclusively Electrical, designed especially for small domestic appliance buyers

www.exclusivelyelectrical.co.uk

retail news

Service, please!

* The study was commissioned by Messe Frankfurt and produced in collaboration with the Cologne E-Commerce Centre and the Cologne Institute of Retail Research

Following a recent Messe Frankfurt retail study* investigating consumers’ attitudes to information and expectations of services, we look at the findings and see what smaller retailers can do to remain strong Traditional services key Among the top 10 services considered by consumers most important are seven traditional and three digital service areas, with a clearly structured product range (first place with 71.2%) and personal advice (fourth with 57.9%) rated highest. Consumers aged 50+ place high value on traditional services, like advice and product presentation, and on takeaway product information, prior ordering/reservations and gift-wrapping. The strength of traditional retail lies in the presentation of product ranges in the right way for the target groups.

While a range of products almost unlimited in its breadth and depth can be presented online (this can, however, lead to so-called ‘consumer confusion’) traditional retailers are advised to offer their customers a curated selection.

Despite this, relevant digital services are appreciated. In the study, provision of an online availability check came second, with 61.8%; while facilities for ordering a product (e-commerce) came third – 58.8%. And while

“

the online purchase of glass, porcelain and ceramics is still low (just 12.7% buy such product online) digital support services for research and availability are highly sought-after. The installation of digital services to facilitate aspects of product availability is likely to raise visitor frequency for traditional retail.

Men prefer tech-led service Men show great interest in techled services, like info research via codes (QR codes) and payment by smartphone; while women are more interested than men in services that provide inspiration and promote product purchase, like the presentation of products in themed displays, editorial content such as top tips, and customer-loyalty schemes and services for product purchase (online availability check, selfscan cash desk) that aid the purchasing process. The bricksand-mortar trade should regard gender-specific services as a further opportunity for positioning themselves and demarcating themselves from their competitors.

Added value for the affluent High-income consumers show less interest in services that entail financial savings, such as loyalty points. They do see, however, far greater added value in personal services and have a high opinion of advice and gift-wrapping services. Self-scan cash desks are low in popularity. Small to medium-sized traditional retailers, who are strong on personal services, can exploit this potential and gain and retain new customers with high purchasing power. Along with personal services, the affluent consumer group is interested in services that ensure rapid and uncomplicated product availability like online availability check and the ability to order when a product is currently not available.

Preferred shopping locations Consumers mainly buy smaller furnishing items like accessories, gifts and decorative products, glass, porcelain and ceramics, at department or home stores and at retail chains, suggesting they tend to buy such goods as incidental purchases. For small to mediumsized retailers, who cannot display such a broad range, it is even more necessary to distinguish themselves by providing services tailored to target groups; by creating a point of difference in the product curation, stocking exclusive product/brands, or offering add-on services/events.

Within the glass, porcelain, ceramics and household goods product group, customers at small and medium-sized retail outlets value advice. Most online customers in this product group, meanwhile, value services that accelerate and simplify the purchasing process. If traditional trade wish to engage online customers, features like advice services and customer-loyalty schemes are key.

A better shopping experience Some 54.3% of consumers want more customer-specific services at the point of sale – an opportunity for small to mediumsized retailers to counteract competition from online retailing.

Then, 51.6% want an enhanced shopping experience; 44%, an increase in customer convenience.

Consumers expect more of the bricks-and-mortar trade than just the provision of products, therefore. Hunting through goods on display, getting inspiration and discovering something new are all features that online retailers cannot provide. Therefore, combined with suitable targetgroup specific products and services, the bricks-and-mortar trade has many opportunities.

news in brief

Target to focus small US retailer Target plans to open 15 stores in 2015, all in smaller formats, aimed at offering customised assortments and services to meet the needs of consumers increasingly moving into urban areas.

Wayfair sales up Wayfair Inc. reported a 63.3% direct-to-consumer sales growth year over year, from $673.4 million in 2013 to $1.10 billion in 2014.

Etsy to float Online craft marketplace Etsy has filed its intention to float on the New York Stock Exchange as it seeks to raise $100m from the IPO.

The category that stood out for me overall was Made in the UK. I think it had the best quality as a group and I particularly liked Hinchcliffe and Barber ceramics.

”

Head of buyer for Home Accessories, John Lewis Partnership, Anna Rigby, on The Giftware Association’s prestigious Gift of the Year 2015 competition, which saw the winner of The Judges’ Choice prize go to Stoke-on-Trent-produced Hinchcliffe and Barber Songbird Grey Ceramics from My Gifts Trade.

18 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

John Lewis Online opportunities among gia prize-winning retailers are missing stores Fifteen years ago, the International Housewares Association (IHA) in Chicago felt the need to highlight unique retail stores, so they decided to seek out the bright retailers getting ahead of the curve and recognise them. Enter the ‘gia’ Global Innovation Awards, which honours innovative retailers globally every year – since 2000, there have been more than 320 gia retail award winners from 40 countries.

This year’s Global Innovation Award Honorees, announced at the 2015 International Home + Housewares Association, included multi-channel UK retailer John Lewis (see page 32 for our interview with them), as well as Koskela in Australia, Presentes Rodriguez in Brazil, Hudson’s Bay in Canada and Jumbo in Turkey. The Martin M. Pegler Award for Excellence in Visual Merchandising, meanwhile, was awarded to Organizza of Argentina. To find out more about these awards, visit www.housewares.org/gia

12%

A new independent retail index report has highlighted how many opportunities retailers are missing out on with regards to multi-channel retailing. While retailers such as Amazon, Argos, House of Fraser, John Lewis and Marks & Spencer have performed exceptionally in all dimensions in the IRUK 500 Index, many have not. For example, 66% of the Top500 retailers have no mobile app; 81% offer no mobile transaction app; and only 44% offer ‘Click and Collect’. On the social media front, the report reveals that retailers fail to respond to 75% of Twitter mentions and 85% of Facebook comments, proving a missed opportunity to engage with potential customers.

The percentage by which Global Internet retailing is expected to increase annually from 2014 to 2019, according to a new study by research firm Euromonitor.

NEWS 2015!

GERMANY

WWW.ZIEHER.COM

„Carbon 4.0“

„Rough!“

Visit us at:

HOTELEX HOFEX

„Solid“

Shanghai, CN Hongkong, CN

booth N1G48 booth 1B342

30. - 02.04.2015 06. - 09.05.2015 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 19

licensing news

DESIGN DUO THE COMPANY Maxwell & Williams THE LICENCE Royal Historic Palaces THE BACKGROUND A collaboration between Australian tabletop brand Maxwell & Williams and Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that looks after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Banqueting House, Kensington Palace and Kew Palace, has resulted in The Historic Royal Palaces Collection. This includes two fine bone china fivepiece ranges inspired by Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace. We speak to Emma Saunders, retail business development manager at Historic Royal Palaces, to find out more.

Why did you collaborate with Maxwell & Williams?

Maxwell & Williams has very good international distribution, which is important for us as we want to ensure the Historic Royal Palaces brand reaches a worldwide audience.

Another important factor we consider when selecting a licensing partner is their design capabilities and their ability to be inspired by our magnificent palaces to create highend commercially-viable product.

Maxwell & Williams is well-known for the creative execution of their ranges and were able to team up with acclaimed British designer William Edwards on this project. William has worked with Historic Royal Palaces on bespoke pieces for many years, which have sold very well in our on-site and online palace shops. We felt the opportunity to collaborate with such an acclaimed designer on a licensed range was too good to miss.

What were the inspirations?

There are two designs within this

collection, each directly inspired by palaces, which form part of the Historic Royal Palaces brand. The Hampton Court Palace Tijou Gates design is inspired by the intricate gilded foliage of the Tijou Screen in the Privy Garden at the palace. The screen was crafted by master blacksmith Jean Tijou in 1702; this wrought-iron masterpiece was commissioned as a gate and backdrop to King William III and Queen Mary II’s Private Garden.

The Kensington Palace Rose design is inspired by the Kensington Palace Gardens, as well as the fine embroidery and floral motifs of an 18th-century brocaded silk dress from the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection. This rich resource dating from the 17th century to the present day includes bespoke royal designs, ceremonial costumes and fashionable court dress.

We work closely with our licensing partners, utilising not only our palace architecture and collections but our curators, conservators and specialists to add authoritative endorsements and authenticity to all product.

How do you decide on the final designs?

Who is the audience for these collections?

We encourage our licensing partners to be inspired by the past and create for the future. We also need the product to be commercial, appeal to different audiences and ensure longevity with multiple product ranges. The huge scope of inspiration our palaces provide enables all of the above and we were able to help Maxwell & Williams differentiate their product range to cater to different tastes. The Tijou Gates range is more architecturally design-led and so appeals to a more masculine audience; whereas the Kensington Palace Rose design is pretty and feminine.

From those wanting to collect or purchase the complete set including the cutlery as a gift, to those looking to buy an individual gift for a friend or to host their own royally-inspired parties.

All come at reasonable price points.

What has been the reaction?

Very positive. We are confident the range will be enjoyed by many people who appreciate good design, as well as those who also have a taste for our rich royal heritage. Customers are keen to learn that by buying a piece from this collection they are helping us continue our work of conserving these palaces.

Why do you think they will be successful?

They are beautiful pieces which appeal to a wide audience; they are designled but practical, being that they are microwave and dishwasher-proof.

What’s next for the partnership?

We plan to develop the collection further by adding new items, including a range of stemware. We also hope to reach wider markets as our customer base grows globally. With the scope of inspiration that all of our palaces provide, we look forward to a long future with Maxwell & Williams, together developing beautiful and successful products.

NEW IN... Oscar de la Renta for Vista Alegre Coralina is a brand NE ne porcelain tableware collection from Vista Alegre based on the genius of new one of the most highly-reputed designers of haute couture, the late Oscar de la Renta. The floral motifs are inspired by a dress he created for Vogue in 2006. Decorated with a palette of warm and strong colours, Coralina reflects the passion that Oscar de la Renta felt for these natural shades, which were a signature of his many collections. www.myvistaalegre.com

Spotlight on…

Jasper Conran for Wedgwood

Since its beginning in 2001, the partnership between luxury home and lifestyle brand Wedgwood and one of the UK’s leading fashion designers Jasper Conran has flourished as a perfect fusion of contemporary design and expert craftsmanship. Its latest debut, which launched at Ambiente 2015, is the Tisbury range, a tableware collection that bridges the gap between casual and formal tableware in line with contemporary living and dining.

Taking its inspiration from the distinctive Tisbury Jug – think a bellied silhouette with the signature Jasper Conran angled handle – Tisbury’s curved lines are defined by fluting applied in a variety of depths to both the interior and exterior. Made of high-quality porcelain, Tisbury is highly tactile and perfect for everyday use and includes tableware, tea sets, serveware and bakeware, with handmade glassware completing the range. John Lewis, Conran Shop and Selfridges are already stocking Tisbury. www.wwrd.com

Contemporary and Classic Design Made in France

“

For my project with Bernadaud, I created two sets of tableware, which I call Misfits because they do not match each other. Each set has different sized plates that vary in shape and pattern. One would think that a mis-matched set of plates would be difficult to use, but in fact, they are extremely versatile for every occasion. These plates provide many combinations for different kinds of meals and arrangements of people. Life is not perfect, so why should your tableware match?

”

Performance artist Marina Abramovic on her collaboration with Bernadaud, resulting in the spring 2015 collection, Misfits For The Table.

Visit us at the New York tabletop show, 41 Madison, 3rd Floor, BIA cordon bleu showroom

www.capdeco-france.com

licensing news

Millstone

“There is a feel of New York City in my designs”

Fashion designer Elie Tahari and global tableware company, Lifetime Brands, have collaborated to create a tableware collection, which will debut with six dinnerware patterns and three glassware patterns at The New York Tabletop Market in April.

than the woman, so that her true beauty shines through, and with the tableware, we have similarly created the perfect backdrop to best present a beautiful meal.

Why tableware and why Lifetime Brands? As a designer,

including my love of architecture, my homes in New York, my love of the Hamptons, nature and, of course, largely from my fashion collection.

There is a definitely a sense and feel of the city seen in my designs and a large part of the aesthetic stems from the creative behind my 40th anniversary fashion collection, from my favourite colour palettes in the most recent collection, and from imagery from the S/S 2015 campaign.

everything around me has always been important, including my New York homes. I’ve always had an interest in architecture and home design and when I thought of designing tableware, I immediately thought of Lifetime Brands. I knew they would help deliver my vision and ensure the tablescape was able to translate the elegance of my fashion collections, which was most important to me.

From where are the designs derived? From several inspirations,

Can you give examples?

What’s your design aesthetic? Elie Tahari is known for modern, elegant and sophisticated clothing that enhances the beauty of a woman, not overpowers her. I’ve always believed in elegant flattering silhouettes in which clothing is quieter

The Millstone set is inspired by Dune Road in Bridgehampton – the cobalt blue ombre design also reflects my spring 2015 ‘shipwrecked’ collection theme. The marble design seen in the Jane Street set was inspired by New York City’s West Village; it features airy

wisps of twisting, smoky bands that flow gracefully across the outside of the set. This offers elegance and sophistication, both characteristics of the New York City streets.

How easy or challenging was it to translate your aesthetic on to tableware?

I wanted to ensure that my core philosophy shone through in the tabletop designs, so that it would become part of the Elie Tahari lifestyle. Working with Lifetime Brands helped me translate my message seamlessly into dinnerware and tabletop. I think we have truly created pieces that translate the essence of my fashion collections and I’m excited that for next year’s stemware, flatware and barware.

Who is this tableware for?

I think it has broad appeal, but I hope it will also excite those who have been shopping my collections for 40 years. It’s really an extension of the Elie Tahari lifestyle.

The new collection will be unveiled at The New York Tabletop Show at 45 Madison in New York, April 14-17.

Tahari Navy Beach

What Lifetime Brands said… “The Lifetime Brands team felt that the Tahari aesthetic was perfect for the direction in which Lifetime Brands is heading – modern and fresh and continually striving to combine fashion and function. We worked closely with Elie and his team to use their various design prints to create the initial dinnerware prototypes. We reviewed many designs and distilled the selection down to the art that was most inspirational and brand-appropriate. The designs are fresh and sophisticated and simultaneously approachable and work in varied lifestyles.”

Hugh Biber, SVP/Global Design Director for Tabletop, Lifetime Brands, Inc 22 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

Main photo: Don Gatehouse/Lifetime Brands

With the brand new Elie Tahari dinnerware collection due to be unveiled in the Lifetime Brands showroom during The New York Tabletop Show in April, we talk with fashion designer Elie Tahari about this collaboration

Concerto Collection VETRERIE RIUNITE SpA BUSINESS UNIT VETRI DELLE VENEZIE

info@vetridellevenezie.it www.vetridellevenezie.com

products news

Inspired by…

Art Deco movement The Art Deco movement, which brought together various styles of the early 20th century, including Modernism and Cubism, has been very influential on tableware so far this year. Vista Alegre has launched a huge Art Deco range of more than 20 luxury porcelain and crystal pieces/sets, from dinnerware featuring geometric patterns, to crystal bar sets influenced by the architecture of Art Deco.

Using original pieces of the brand from the 1930s, Emerald (pictured) features dinnerware

with a geometric design, richly decorated with matte gold and dark greens. Known for its expertise with wood and marquetry, Herve Line, which founded Atelier du Requista, has also drawn inspiration from the Art Deco movement for its latest cutlery range (pictured).

Named Folies Bergeres after the famous Belle Epoque Parisian music hall, the cutlery handles features a 1920s-inspired design on its handles, which are made of ebony from Gabon, Elforyn and Negundo burr maple.

Everyone’s talking about… Stackable

Sambonet

glassware With functionality

showcases shabby chic

increasingly important and lack of space at home a consideration, more and more stackable pieces are being produced for retail. For the New York Tabletop Market in April, Lenox will unveil Tuscany Classics Siesta, a contemporary glass carafe with a set of stackable glasses; while RCR Crystal has launched Combo, a chic crystal spirits bottle with stackable spirits glasses.

And LSA International

has launched Stack, a new series of handmade stackable vases in three complementary shades.

267 24 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

Lenox (left); RCR Crystal (right)

With the vintage shabby chic trend continuing to surge upwards, highend brand Sambonet, renowned for its stunning cutlery, has launched a new and sophisticated finish on some of its bestselling products, including Baguette and Flat. Vintage is a special technique used on the surface of the flatware, delivering an intentionally elegant ‘used’ effect typical of the shabby chic style and delivering flatware that looks like it was discovered on the Portobello Road, hidden among a design collection from the 1930s. www.sambonet.it

The number of limited-edition soup tureens launched as a collector’s piece for 2015 by Villeroy & Boch. Lucia is based on a showcase tureen dating from 1778 and is handmade in Luxembourg.

LSA International’s new-season collection Renowned for its original designs and enduring quality, LSA International has created 100 inspiring new pieces for S/S 2015, with various artisan techniques used to produce them. The collection includes innovative serveware, stackable vases, new fabric-inspired designs and recycled glass combined with oak and cork; while reflective metallics, bold saturated colour and subtle pastel shades characterise the palette. Stilt (pictured) is a new approach to serving food. Solid ash boards nestle mouthblown glass bowls, vases and porcelain dishes in specially crafted indents. Each board has four wooden stilts and are finished and fitted by hand, while glass is handblown. The range of complementary pieces can be combined, building bespoke serving sets. www.lsa-international.com

Science-inspired barware ranges rock Science chic is all the rage, with lab-inspired vessels trending in the world of barware, drinkware and serveware. One of US glassware brand Libbey’s new signature collections this year is The Chemistry LAB Collection (top right); a range of glassware with a laboratory/pharmacy look and feel. Beakers, flasks and bottles with stoppers of various sizes make up the collection, conjuring creativity and tapping into the cocktail and infusions trend as well as delivering the ‘wow’ factor.

Innovative gifting brand Jay has launched the LAB range (top left), a collection of science-inspired vessels – flasks, beakers and petri dishes – that are made of borosilicate glass, making them as durable as they are innovative. The vessels are also multi-functional and can be used as vases, wine decanters, water jugs and even pulse containers, while the petri dishes are perfect dipping bowls. Ideal for museum shops or educational retailers.

TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 25

trends products FLAMINGO Lou Rota Known for its thoughfully-handcrafted English fine bone china, Lou Rota London delivers two birdbased everyday collections, featuring a combination of Victorian-esque bird and flora motifs. Flamingo features the elegant bird in vivid crimson hues, alongside a finely-drawn bouquet, while Hummingbird delivers the delicate bird along with hand-drawn lily of the valley and English violets. Pieces include everything from plates and platters, to different-sized bowls and a tea set. Lightweight yet durable, pieces have the feel of heritage.

KYOTO Denby New for spring 2015 in Denby’s popular Monsoon Home Dinnerware Collection, which is renowned for blending Eastern colour and prints with a Western style, is the oriental-inspired Kyoto collection. Featuring soft watercolours of aqua and blue with bolder shades of tangerine and pink on fine cream china, motifs include oriental-inspired exotic birds and florals. Stylish and also durable (pieces are oven, dishwasher, microwave and freezer safe), the collection includes pieces for eating, drinking and serving.

TREND: Birds From wood birds like robins, to exotic birds like flamingoes, the trend for feathered friends on porcelain continues to soar. We take a look at the 2015 ranges likely to fly off the shelves – quite literally!

CHIRP STRIPE Lenox Lenox’s casual Chirp Dinnerware collection, which features bold splashes of watercolour birds and botanicals in delicate brushstrokes on a fine china body, has been given a makeover for spring 2015. Chirp Stripe offers the same Asian-inspired watercolour bird and botanical motifs, but with a blue stripe design on the inside of the bowl, the outside of the mug, and on the band of the dinner plate. This soft blue shade with the popular stripe motif gives the collection a contemporary look and mixes beautifully with Chirp original.

INTO THE WOODS Ashdene Australian brand Ashdene has picked up the trend of woodland creatures, which is currently all the rage on home accessories with its Into The Woods collection. Inspired by illustrator Daniella Germain’s love of nature, the highlycollectable stoneware range features woodland birds like robins and other creatures, as well as wild mushrooms and blossoms hand-drawn in pencil with watercolour highlights. The collection offers a platter, salad bowls, a dipping bowls set, water pitcher and canister.

26 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

ublime

A FUSION OF STYLE AND ELEGANCE

www.bormioliluigi.com www.luigibormioli.com

Trends Column

Tableware Trend Analyst

Donna Ferrari has worked in magazine publishing for over thirty years. As a consumer magazine editor she specialised in the tableware, homeware and bridal markets, and styled and produced stories related to bridal gift registry, wedding reception design and at-home entertaining. Personally, she has eleven different sets of dinnerware and closets dedicated just to tabletop accessories; she says she loves not ever having to set her table the same way twice.

Donna Ferrari

Vetro Vero

Statement stemware Michael Aram

Patina Vie

In high spirits Tableware specialist Donna Ferrari reports on the buzz about drinkware Bevy of barware Drinks parties are all the rage in home entertaining and serving chic drinks, and in the proper glassware, keep a party in high spirits. Putting a modern twist on retro designs remains one of the hottest trends in barware. Jonathan Adler’s Malachite pattern looks positively psychedelic; Waterford’s Mixology Collection - Mad Men Edition epitomises the glamorous 1960s and the openwork grid design on the new Holloway Gold pattern is suggestive of the era’s modernism. Glasses for martinis remain a must for the well-appointed bar: Ralph Lauren Home’s Broughton pattern serves them in high style and Simon Pearce’s pyramid-esque Geo pattern in pure ‘straight-up’ fashion.

For sophisticated sips the coupe shape glass is making a comeback.

William Yeoward Crystal’s Vita coupes come in vibrant shades of amethyst, rose, blue and green. For those interested in old-time cocktail culture Steelite’s Minners Classic Cocktail Nick & Nora glass is made from a mould originally used in the 1930s.

Clear-cut geometrics are another sharp trend in barware designs: Jo Sampson uses a city skyline-inspired grid to make a statement on her London collection for Waterford; a brick-like motif describes Rogaska Crystal’s Quoin series designed by Paul Haigh, and Artěl’s Greek Key pattern renders its decorative element in 19 different colour choices.

Not just glass

Bistro

Crate & Barrel

28 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

The trend for combining materials and using unexpected ones has generated a host of inventive drinkware designs. Lee Broom’s On The Rock glassware joins crystal bowls and hefty Carrara marble bases and David Rasmussen Design’s WUD drinkware is formed from black walnut wood and clear glass or powder-

coated aluminum stems. Holding a Clementine Porcelain’s porcelain Vertical Vellum or Horizontal Vellum drinking tumbler evokes the artfully creased and crushed pieces of paper that inspired their textures. For a thirst-quenching pick-me-up you can clasp the pewter fish’s tail on Vanessa Mitrani’s No Limit drinking cup.

Sieger by Fürstenberg’s Sip of Gold porcelain champagne tumblers are lined with 24k gold — light reflected off the gold further enlivens the drink.

Demand is huge for tableware made for outdoor parties and dining. Mario Luca Giusti’s Dolce Vita, Victoria & Albert and St. Moritz acrylic stemware patterns are styled in the elegant silhouettes of traditional glassware designs. Govino’s range of drinkware is made of a polymer that is as thin as glass. Magisso’s Cool-ID ceramic tumbler is designed to be pre-soaked in water as the method to keep beverages cold; the rim is glazed but the matte finish can be written on with chalk.

Statement stemware Eclectic is the most popular table setting trend today and distinctive stemware is ideal for personalising a style statement. Cobalt and jewel tones are mainstays in coloured glassware, but trending this spring are mid-tone colours and pastels.

Maker-designers Michael Schunke and Josie Gluck use raw earth minerals to create the colours in their Vetro Vero assortment of streamlined traditional Venetian glassware and Marquis by Waterford’s Brookside Pastels range feature goblets and iced beverage glasses in shades of aqua, blue, purple and pink. The burnished metallic finishes on Kim Seybert’s Gold Crackle and Platinum Crackle goblets complement both informal and formal settings. Patina Vie’s decorative glassware has exotic, Boho-

Bevy of barware Magisso

Rogaska

William Yeoward Crystal

Jonathan Adler

Waterford

chic designs and look fashionably faded and well-worn. Authenticity is key in connecting with consumers today; artist Sara Woodrow adorned her Guardian Angel glasses for Kosta Boda with angel wings — a choice guided by her desire to make an emotional connection between her designs and consumers. The cubisticstyled stems on Michael Aram’s Rock Collection take nature in an edgy direction. Used with traditional china these glasses easily update a look from conventional to contemporary.

Bistro glasses The small glasses, commonly known as bistro glasses — longtime staples in Europe for drinking wine — are now trending in other markets. The pressed glass details on Crate & Barrel’s Josie and Juliska’s Colette patterns offer old-world charm; La Rochère’s Artois pattern is a footed version; Rosanna’s French Bistro Etched Glass is inclined toward the romantic and Laguna B’s candy-striped Berlingot Striped Wine Glasses offer a lick of colour.

Tasting glasses In the Veritas Series, Riedel has added a new shape, called the Champagne Wine Glass, to its line-up of varietalspecific glasses. With a larger rim and wider bowl than standard flutes this glass allows the aroma of champagne to be released when swirled like other wines, and, as with all the brand’s glasses for sparkling wines, there is a point mousse in the bottom of the bowl to provoke the CO2 in the wine to ascend in a steady stream of bubbles. The concave glass peak inside Sempli’s Monti-Flute is also designed as a launching pad for CO2. Roberts Taste Enhancing Wineware’s Supertaster Series glasses

are lightly textured around the rims; the concept being to encourage the production of saliva which, in turn, boosts taste perception. When pouring into a Final Touch Conundrum glass the curves in the glass’s shape are designed to start aerating the wine.

The popularity of Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey and fine bourbon is growing exponentially around the world. To enhance the drinking experience of these spirits the tumblers in Waterford’s Lismore Connoisseur Whiskey Series are offered in four shapes: Rounded to allow for swirling, Flared and Footed for funneling aroma when sipping a drink served neat, and Straight Side — a shape that accommodates ice. The glassware business is overflowing with products crafted for the different flavour profiles, textures and aromas of lagers, ales, stouts and the coming-on strong category of hard cider. Spiegelau has two collections: Beer Classics and Craft Beer Glasses — between them there is a glass for every type of brew.

Orrefors offers Pils, Lager and Taster glasses in its Essential Drinkware collection; Lenox’s Tuscany Classics Craft Beer Collection comes in beer tulip, wheat beer and IPA shapes, and a pint—with crown— size; and Dartington’s Ultimate Cider Glass is shaped to accentuate that beverage’s aromatics and effervescence.

High-performance glassware Engineering glasses to strengthen their fragile nature and to maximise

Not just glass

brilliance has given rise to a number of high-performance products. Luigi Bormioli’s Supremo Collection of wine glasses are made using titanium to harden the stem and a proprietary formula stated to make their glass more brilliant and guaranteed not to chip; the brand’s Grangusto glasses (stemmed and stemless) address the major trend for using an all-purpose wine glass. Vidivi describes their sodium-lime HD Glass formulation as impact and stressresistant and comparable in clarity with crystal’s high refractive index.

In this age of double-tasking the conjoined bowls of Ron Arad’s Red or White wine glass for Nude Glass offers a sculpture-like convenience for serving either reds or whites.

Vanessa Mitrani

Lee Broom

David Rasmussen

PRTY glasses In step with ‘old-school’ trends, a big-time blast from the past is the Moscow Mule. Drinking lore dictates this cocktail should be drunk from a copper mug and countless manufacturers have hitched onto this drink’s wagon. True too for the ball jar craze; Kilner now offers a 55ml size Shot Jar. For schnapps, or shots, LSA International’s Paddle Liqueur Set makes it easy to pass the colour-coded glasses cradled in their oak wood tray.

Toasting can be an integral part of a culture’s customs; Rolf Glass’s Sugar Skull collection is themed to Day of the Dead (Dia del Muertos) parties — or, for that matter, any day in life worth celebrating. Bottoms up!

PRTY

High performance Nude Glass

Tasting Final Touch

LSA International Rolf Glass TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 29

TRENDS INDUSTRY

Coffee stories continue growth From the slow coffee movement to varietal-specific cups, coffee stories were prolific at Ambiente 2015

Loveramics

C

offee stories were a consistent theme at Ambiente 2015, with manufacturers responding in force to the current craze for the beverage and especially to the making of ‘proper coffee at home’ and current trends like whole beans, speciality cups, the slow coffee movement and giftable coffeeware.

German brands were very much on the ball, which is of little surprise considering Germany is a nation of coffee aficionados – 2,315 cups of the stuff are consumed in Germany every second, while in 2013, every German drank an average of 165 litres.

German design-led porcelain brand Kahla continues to grow its coffee story, with its multiple awardwinning porcelain collection Café Sommelier – the series is said to enhance the experience of drinking coffee, offering the right cup for every kind of brew. This year it has expanded the series to include useful and highly-giftable accessories,

including two porcelain storage jars with writeable surfaces.

In response to demand for giftable products, Kahla has also selected five books written by experts about coffee to accompany its Café Sommelier gourmet porcelain, both of which are wrapped authentically in coarse burlap to really drive home the coffee story message.

Another German brand ASA Selection has also responded to the current coffee craze and, in particular, the German preference for specialities like espresso, café creama, cappuccino and latte macchiato, with new decors and fresh colours in all of its cup and mug varieties. There are the fine bone china Coppa Mugs in brightlycoloured chequered and striped designs; the stoneware Presto mugs in soft shades of pistachio, grey and lilac; the ceramic espresso cup with shiny inside and matte outside in brights like orange, lime and yellow; and ceramic matte espresso Crazy

Mugs in dark shades of chestnut, stone and black.

Villeroy & Boch has also extended its two highly-successful coffee series with new decorations and colours.

The new theme for its NewWave Caffe series is Animals of the World, the design-forward mugs featuring four different species of waterfront birds, including the kingfisher and pink flamingo. It has also delivered a new floral décor called Fiori on its Caffe Club concept, which now consists of five different-sized cups, eight colours and various decorations for a complete mix and match coffee story concept.

Asian brands also delivered big on coffee, with Hong Kong-based brand Loveramics and Japanese brand Kinto particularly hitting the hotspot.

Loveramics is not just a tabletop brand creating its own products, but also a multi-brand retailer with a 1,000 sq-ft store in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, delivering everything from dinnerware and food prep tools,

WHAT THE RETAILER SAYS… “Coffeeware is very popular. Over the past years, we have sold a lot of high-level coffee machines like Jura; while mugs and latte cups are highly popular, especially those carrying the Nordic trend, with a romantic and colourful style, from brands like Ittala, Greengate and Rice. We find that customers are increasingly looking for products that can help them make proper coffee with easy preparation, so Bodum coffee makers and coffee grinders from Peugeot and Zassenhaus are popular. Consumers are loving etageres for the post-coffee sweets, too.”

Hermann Hutter, MD, abt department store, Germany 30 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

to coffee and tea accessories from multiple brands. And both in terms in of its own production and its retail offerering, coffeeware is big.

“Hongkongers love coffee and over the years, lots of specialty coffee shops have opened up in Hong Kong,” says marketing manager for Loveramics, Shirley Sun. “There is a particular trend here for people wanting to enjoy professional specialty coffee at home,” she adds, pointing to Loveramics Professional Coffee Cups, which offer varietalspecific cups, and which is one of the brand’s and store’s bestsellers.

“With its ergonomic handles, functional round base and thickest possible body, the cups have been crafted for development of full flavour and maintenance of temperature.”

New this season in the Loveramics Professional Coffee Cups series is the brand new Bond range. Launching for retail this month, the Bond Cappuccino Cups, which feature a heat-trap design and rounded inside

Villeroy & Boch

Villeroy & Boch

WMF

Kinto

profile and come in nine colours, will be used at the Brew Bar of the World Barista Championship 2015 taking place in Seattle in June.

Japanese brand Kinto, meanwhile, has embraced the slow movement with its new story Slow Coffee Style, a series of mixed material products that embrace the pour-over method. Supporting this slow coffee movement at Ambiente 2015 Kinto unveiled its slogan set of coffee mugs with reinforcing messages like “If you move slowly, so do the clouds”.

Finum has contributed to the slow coffee movement story with the launch of its brand-new manual Bean Me Up coffee grinder, which promises to deliver a “new generation in coffee grinding”. Featuring a manual ceramic grinder mechanism with adjustable coarseness, Bean Me Up grinds threeto-five times faster than others and delivers incredible aromas.

WMF has also jumped on the slow coffee movement bandwagon this season, with its Coffee Time

Loveramics

collection, a range of product designed to turn the morning cup of coffee into a “truly pleasureable experience”. The collection includes a French coffee press and a coffee jug (the Light Brew), which separates the coffee powder from the water via 50,000 holes for a full-mouthed coffee aroma, plus matching sugar bowl, creamer, coffee cups, latte macchiato glasses and coffee containers.

Libbey is also fully embracing the current coffee culture as part of its new brand approach based on trends and customer insights, highlighting the fact that new drink recipes require new methods of delivery and arguing the case for glass, rather than porcelain. In fact, as coffee becomes more of a lifestyle product, glass vessels for coffee are becoming increasingly popular.

“Seventy per cent of the appeal of coffee is the look of it, so using a glass for coffee is essential – it’s more sexy and you will make more money

with it,” advises Libbey’s coffee consultant Elliott Katz.

At Ambiente, Libbey dedicated an entire zone to its coffee story, showing how on-trend recipes like the Affogato or Cold Brew can be served in glassware such as Libbey’s SPKSY Martini glass and Drinking Jar. “Traditional drinks from Southern Europe, cold brews, and artful espressos just call out for a good glass. Use glass to demonstrate the warm colours, the rich tones and transform your kitchen to a coffeehouse,” say Libbey.

And a number of glassware brands are catching on to the craze for coffee and the demand for varietalspecific vessels. British tabletop brand Tradestock is seeing one of its largest areas of growth with its iStyle My Home branded hot drinks collection.

“Demand for these is helped, in part, by the general increase in coffee consumption and people embracing the use of specific cups for specific drinks, rather than using a generic

mug,” says MD Keith Nye. Finally, known for its varietalspecific wine glasses, designed with expert sommeliers, glassware brand Riedel has this year lent such expertise to a new beverage – coffee.

“We have just finished a product with Nespresso for two coffee glasses that we have developed,” says CEO Maximilian Riedel, highlighting how the brand has applied its taste-tested philosophy around wine to create a fine-tuned, specific shape to instead enhance the beverage of coffee.

Finum

Libbey ASA Selection

TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 31

Retail

UK

Dining out at John Lewis

Emily Moody

With more than 250 ranges of dinnerware, cutlery and glassware under its multiple award-winning belt, and with annual gross sales of over £10bn, John Lewis Partnership is the UK’s largest department store retailer with retail awards galore and a dining department to die for. We talk tableware sourcing and trends with tabletop buyer Emily Moody

L

ast year was a big year for John Lewis Partnership. Not only did the UK’s leading and largest department store (it has 43 stores across the UK) celebrate its 150th anniversary (150 years ago, a draper opened the doors to his shop on Oxford Street, London), but it welcomed some 180,000 extra visitors to its flagship Oxford Street store; witnessed more online traffic from mobiles than from desktops for the first time ever; created and delivered more convenient ways for consumers to shop (think Collect+ and Click & Commute); and secured a vast number of lucrative awards.

Not only did it pick up Best Retailer at the Which? Awards for the second year running, but it was voted Retailer of the Year in the Verdict Customer Satisfaction awards. It was also awarded Department Store Business of the Year (Drapers Magazine Awards 2014); Omnichannel Retailer of the Year (World Retail Congress Awards 2014); and Best Multichannel Retailer 2014 (Retail Week) giving a welldeserved nod to its excellence in omni-channel retailing.

“Never has there been so many 32 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

ways to shop, browse and engage with John Lewis,” says managing director, Andy Street, highlighting John Lewis’s ability to mix and match purchase channels and delivery options. “Shoppers want to collect orders in a way which fits seamlessly into their everyday lives,” says Andy, pointing to the fact that customers can now pick up online buys through its Collect+ initiative (launched last year), which offers a network of more than 5,500 local neighbourhood shops. “Transport hubs are also now being explored as key locations for picking up purchases,” says Andy, highlighting its recently-opened ‘Click & Commute’ shop in St Pancras train station, which has been designed to meet busy workers’ need for a speedy transaction.

That’s not the only initiative the retailer has created to make consumer’s lives easier. John Lewis partners armed with in-store tablets completed an incredible 10,000 transactions for customers in 2014.

Not only does this in-store tech solve queue-waiting problems, but it helps customers view product availability and information.

And, for the first time ever, more online sales came from mobile phones than desktop. According to

the John Lewis Retail Report 2014, some 53 per cent of web traffic now comes from smartphones and tablets. “The popularity of the John Lewis app has been an important part of this shift to purchasing on mobile devices, with customers who use the app shopping more frequently,” explains Andy.

Tuning into tabletop And tabletop is the perfect example of a category doing well online for John Lewis. “A third of sales for the tabletop categories – china, glass, linens and tabletop accessories – comes from online sales,” says tabletop buyer for John Lewis, Emily Moody, who is responsible for buying across all tabletop categories – china, glass, cutlery, linen and accessories.

“I’m responsible for anything you use ‘to serve’, so from placemats, coasters and table linens, to wooden, metal and stone serving items, to crockery, drinkware, mugs and teapots,” says Emily, explaining how she has just signed off the Autumn/ Winter 2015 buying list, which will launch in shops in June. “We are now finalising Christmas and planning for our Spring/Summer 2016 buying trips, which commence early April.

Buying trips take the tableware team all over the world. “Tradeshows are really important and allow us to meet new suppliers and see new brands, as well as emerging trends.

And sometimes, it’s just a great way to be inspired by the world of Cook & Dine,” says Emily. “We attend Maison & Objet in Paris, Ambiente in Frankfurt, as well as Hong Kong, Canton, the New York Tabletop Show and Chicago Housewares. In the UK, Spring Fair, Design London, Top Drawer, Home and Craft are all great to visit as a team, with all members of the buying offices able to attend and meet with new and existing suppliers.”

Not only is the offering of tabletop at John Lewis prolific (think nearly 100 dinnerware ranges in its Formal Dining and Everyday Dining categories, some 145 cutlery sets and more than 20 glassware ranges), but it is also diverse, with everything from traditional porcelain companies like Wedgwood, Villeroy & Boch, Denby, Spode, Waterford and Arthur Price, to cutting-edge newer brands like LSA International and PIP Studio; as well as on-trend collaborations between heritage brands and fashion-forward designers, such as Sophie Conran for Portmeirion and

“Tradeshows are really important and allow us to meet new suppliers and see new brands, as well as emerging trends. And sometimes, it’s just a great way to be inspired by the world of Cook & Dine.”

Jasper Conran for Wedgwood.

“The largest part of our assortment is John Lewis branded items and we then stock what we believe to be the leading brands in each area,” explains Emily. And that’s certainly true, with expert brands like Riedel and Waterford in glassware and Robert Welch and Laguiole in cutlery.

“A John Lewis tableware customer expects great value and quality; they want the known tableware and glassware brands to always be available alongside unique John Lewis ranges, which can co-ordinate across their homes.

They need confidence to start collecting – tableware, in particular is a considered purchase – so we need to ensure customers trust us to keep coming back to add to their ranges,” says Emily, pointing out how important it is to ensure each brand boasts a point of difference.

“We have recently launched Orla Kiely, BlueBellGray, Pols Potten and Cornishware – all offer a point of difference from each other, from our other brands and from our own John Lewis brand assortment and some already have a wide brand following, so the natural progression is to offer the tabletop items,” says Emily.

John Lewis creates a broad selection of own-branded tableware.

In its dinnerware offerings, it delivers a wide array of ranges across all price points and styles, from its very affordable John Lewis Basics Porcelain Tableware range, to its Puritan Tableware Stoneware range, available in a variety of colours, to its more exclusive John Lewis Design Collective range, a collaboration with Queensberry Hunt and John Lewis

– a bone china contemporary white collection of tableware.

Dining doing well Design-led collaborative collections like this one are doing particularly well for John Lewis. In fact, the retailer saw its Design Collective range sales increase 168 per cent in 2014, highlighting the growing demand for design-led home pieces.

Doing equally well for the retailer are tabletop collections that are the result of collaborations between fashion designers or cutting-edge artists and heritage quality porcelain or glass manufacturers, such as Vera Wang Wedgwood and Jasper Conran Wedgwood.

“Currently the John Lewis tableware department is doing really well and we’re excited about this year – we have a good balance of fashion and food trends versus core, which means we are appealing to more and more customers,” explains Emily.

“Both casual and formal ranges are working for us with more customers understanding the durability of bone china, for example, but equally with a rise in dining and entertaining in the home, casual ranges are working well, and can be dressed up or down according to the occasion,” says Emily, pointing to the John Lewis White Bone, Croft Collection and the Wedgwood Vera Wang and Jasper Conran ranges, which are flying off the formal dining shelves; while John Lewis’s Puritan, Coastal, House and new foodthemed collections are doing really well for a more casual look.

As for tableware categories, Emily says that glassware and tabletop

accessories are performing especially well for John Lewis. “It is a great and less expensive way of dressing up tables or accessorising existing ranges, which customers may already have at home,” explains Emily.

Due to the trend for at-home cooking and entertaining, John Lewis is, like many other retailers, also seeing demand for cuisine-specific serveware – be it cake stands, tapas bowls or cheese platters. “Customers are much more experimental with cooking, so they are buying more differentiated ranges to serve up their delights in the home,” says Emily.

Furthermore, ‘proper tea’ appears to have whetted the appetite of consumers. Teapots, strainers and other accoutrements for the ‘perfect cuppa’ saw sales increase by 22 per cent at John Lewis from August 2013 to July 2014. Seen alongside steady rises in items such as cake stands and premium crockery, the custom for high tea is one that clearly still has a long way to run for this retailer.

In addition to such product and category demand, Emily says that John Lewis is seeing demand for ‘the complete look’. “We are seeing more people dining in or throwing dinner parties and coming in to buy the complete ‘look’ with matching linens, napkin rings, and so on.”

To get customers looking and buying, John Lewis has made sure it offers – both in-store and online – easy navigation and inspiring ideas for its dining section. “We want to make the journey across the shop floor and online as easy as possible, so we believe separating china, glass, linens and accessories is the best way to navigate and see the

FAST FACTS

1

23% of John Lewis customers research online before buying from one of its shops.

2

Sunday has the highest volume of online purchases for johnlewis. com, while Friday is the day customers are most likely to make more considered investment purchases online.

3

The John Lewis store based in York is the brand’s most omnichannel offering.

Its ‘See, Click, Wear’ initiative features an iPad bar, allowing customers to browse the full assortment of The Fashion Edit and order pieces for next day delivery if an item isn’t on the shop floor.

4

There are 43 John Lewis shops across the UK: 31 department stores, 10 John Lewis at home stores and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Term. 2.

5

The business has annual gross sales of more than £10 billion.

6

People shop for cutlery most at johnlewis.com just ahead of lunchtime.

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Retail UK

What’s selling well...

John Lewis’ own-branded collections John Lewis creates its own-branded ranges across all tabletop categories and across a range of price points. In the informal dining department, the Croft Collection (pictured) is doing particularly well.

“In many ways, John Lewis understands and treats home and housewares products as fashion and presents them with the same flair.” full range,” explains Emily. “We also use photography on packaging and engage with our new Cook Edition to layer on the ‘inspire’. We now give more than 20 per cent of the floor to showcase all the categories as a collection in order to give new ideas and encourage customers to ‘buy the look’,” says Emily.

This isn’t the only way the retailer inspires and makes life easier for its customers. “We have online content showing recipes and how to present food, while our online buying guides help consumers with the choices they need to make,” explains Emily.

As for in-store inspiration, Emily says: “We often invite our brands in to do demos or engraving events and sometimes we have wine tastings.”

And it is a combination of all these added-value extras – in-store events, inspired content, navigational excellence and buying convenience – that has earned the brand so much recent recognition.

Its latest recognition comes courtesy of The Buyers Power List Awards (Spring Fair 2015) where John Lewis won Best Multiple Retailer or Department Store and courtesy of gia (Global Innovation Awards) which is held annually at The International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago and recognises global housewares and home retailers. As 34 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

part of the recently-held 2015 gia awards, John Lewis was one of five international retailers awarded Global Honoree status. The gia experts chose John Lewis, they say, for a wide number of reasons: for being exemplary in cross-channel sales and doing well with its online store and mobile app; for efficient use of lighting, creating highs and lows to allow for key merchandise areas to ‘pop’; for great use of graphics, from brand communication through to level infomational graphics, such as in the knife area; for imaginative window displays, including a live cooking window display; for pop-up mini shops featured along the aisles operating as unique and effective selling spaces; and for theatrical and creative displays both in the store windows and on the floor with unique, thought-provoking uses of ordinary products: “In many ways, John Lewis understands and treats home and housewares products as fashion and fashionable items and presents them with the same flair and creative devices the company uses on other floors in the store, where clothing and accessories are the offering,” explained the gia judges.

With two awards already under its belt so early in 2015, the year ahead looks positive for John Lewis.

Teaware Teapots and tea accessories saw sales increase by 22 per cent, along with steady rises cake stands and premium high tea crockery. It offers teaware from brands such as PIP Studio, Cornishware, Emma Bridgwater, idgwater, Denby and Wedgwood (pictured).

Cuisine-specific serveware John Lewis is seeing demand for cuisine-specific serveware, from Balti serving dishes from Le Creuset and John Lewis, to serving platters from Jersey Pottery and Sophie Conran for Portmeirion (pictured) to condiment serving sets from Just Slate to Denby.

Designer collaborations In formal dining, John Lewis’ own-brand collaboration, designed by Queensberry Hunt, does well; as does Vera Wang Wedgwood and Jasper Conran Wedgwood (Jasper Conran Gold is pictured).

Butterfly Meadow Celebrates 15 Years This year Lenox celebrates the 15th anniversary of its top selling pattern, Butterfly Meadow. Since 2000, butterflies, bumblebees, dragonflies and flowers have graced the homes and tables of families around the world. Great for

© 2015 Lenox Corporation

everyday dining, Butterfly Meadow, offers microwave and dishwasher-safe convenience, creating a fun and colorful table.

Available in over 60 countries

Retail Stockholm

NK Stockholm Treating tabletop like fashion One of the most fashionable homewares stores in Europe, NK Glas, Porslin & Kok in Sweden treats its “Fashion is also incorporated into the way that the retailing of ceramics and glassware as it does its store markets its choice of high-end products.” fashion and accessories

S

ince NK Glas, Porslin & Kok, a homewares store within the famed NK Stockholm department store, launched in 2015, it has undergone enormous restructure under the watchful eye of CEO, Jorgen Eriksson, who joined the company in 2008.

Since Jorgen kicked off his dream of making the store one of the best, most fashionable homewares stores in Europe, sales have increased 33 per cent, while the age of the average customer has been reduced from age 55 to 35.

This is a crucial element of the store’s success, because it is now aimed squarely at a generation who spend more money on high-end fashion and stylish homewares. The spend for each customer has also increased – by a staggering 265 per cent. The store has gone from nearly 36 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

going bankrupt to turning a profit.

As Eriksson explained in his store’s application to gia (NK Glas, Porslin & Kok won the Global Innovation Award in 2012, as well as the prestigious Martin M. Pegler Award for Excellence in Visual Merchandising), NK Glas, Porslin & Kok’s target market “Creates an identity and celebrates life primarily through its choice of clothes, shoes and cosmetics… through high fashion and/or trend”.

Eriksson and his staff believe that accessories for the home, which boast nearly 180 brands of tabletop and cookware, including everyone from Stelton, Serax, Rosenthal, Riedel and Robert Welch, to Portmeirion, Pillivuyt, Laguiole, Libbey and LSA International, should be equally as important for this demographic.

And the current layout of the store reflects this approach of homewares uniting with fashion. For instance,

sales tags are no longer seen, having been replaced with regular pricing, automatically taking the bargain element of the store away; and where there were once many shelves and stacked products, there are now long, narrow podiums for products. “Like catwalks, you could say,” says Eriksson.

Fashion is also incorporated into the way that the store markets its choice of high-end products.

“Working with international photographers and stylists clearly conveys everything we do as a company,” says Eriksson.

“Vogue can show fashion on the moon, while we can display sculptures underwater… Just as you change your clothes or get a new hairstyle, you should also consider the manner in which you mix colours and designs in your home.”

And while it is certainly the injection of Eriksson’s experience,

personality and ambition that has made NK Glas, Porslin & Kok what it is today, it was Joseph Sacks, AB, the founder of the Nordic company in 1902, who planted a seed of inspiration that’s continued to grow.

“Sacks once famously said that ‘NK should be a commercial theatre’ and this has become the catchphrase of the modern enterprise,” says Eriksson.

“All signs take their design inspiration from the international fashion industry. This philosophy can also enhance traditional and everyday glassware, china and kitchen utensils, making them, in turn, more fun, more enticing and more functional.”

Find out more about the store at www.nk.se/stockholm. To learn more about the gia (Global Innovation Award) programme, visit www. housewarews.org/gia.

ORIGINAL DESIGN, TRADITIONAL CRAFT trade.lsa-international.com

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Witth glasssware a growing market, we lo ook at whatt’ss drivving such growth and in what product caategories, as well as delivering the latest glasss trendss and co onsu umer demands

SPOTLIGHT ON‌ Villeroy & Boch Villeroy & Boch has a large and growing portfolio of glassware, including crystal barware. Its latest high-quality crystal launch is the Charleston Collection (pictured). A classic interpretation of the bestseller Boston, Charleston boasts a design that captures 1920s chic in glass, bringing the glamour of the Roaring Twenties to the table. Pieces include glasses for red wine, white wine, water and champagne, all of which are formed as solid but elegant goblets with decorative engraving on short stems. The range is completed by two tumblers of different heights.

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G

lassware is a growing category and not just for traditional glass manufacturers, but for other tabletop companies, too.

Such growth is being driven by consumers entertaining at home; being more educated about, and experimental with, drinks; and, with a struggling economy, finding the purchase of glassware an affordable way of updating tables.

It was no surprise, therefore, to discover at Ambiente 2015 so many brands extending collections to include glassware or adding glassware to their tabletop portfolio..

While Villeroy and Boch has been producing glassware for 170 years, the brand says it is experiencing growth markets for its glassware, especially in the Near Middle East.

Rosenthal says it is also finding growth in glassware and especially in the diversification of existing product lines. Rosenthal’s sister brand Thomas, for example, has this season extended its popular Loft tableware range to include glasses.

And due to popular demand, Portmeirion Group has extended its successful Sophie Conran for Portmeiron glassware range.

“We have some exciting plans for glassware in the next year – there is great potential in this category and it’s one we are looking to develop,” says Phil Atherton, group sales and marketing director, Portmeirion.

US lifestyle brand Michael Aram recently unveiled three collections of non-leaded crystal glassware – Rock, Palace and Hammertone – to complement its tableware lines; this marks the brand’s first foray into the glassware category for a decade.

American lifestyle brand Nambé has plans to extend its glassware offerings (currently licensed to WWRD) to deliver a more casual collection and more barware; while British tabletop brand Tradestock is witnessing strong ongoing growth in this category since launching its glassware division two years ago.

Drinkware diversification What has become increasingly apparent is the growth of glassware diversification, the major push among glassware purveyors to help consumers fully ‘experience’ and ‘enjoy’ a beverage. And while diversification of glassware in wine – varietal-specific glasses – has been around for a while, diversification in other beverage glassware like beer, cider, cocktails – is making waves.

“With the advent of so many beverage offerings, there has been an increase in understanding that certain drinks are best served in different glasses,” says director of foodservice marketing for Libbey, Susan J. Dountas, highlighting how today’s consumers are more knowledgeable about wine varietals, craft beers and cocktails and have high standards when it comes to taste and presentation.

“With 64 per cent of millenials reporting eating out at least once a week and approximately 50 per cent self-reporting as ‘foodies’, this generation certainly has influence on trends impacting the foodservice industry,” comments Susan.

Libbey Foodservice continues to introduce new products that align with such diversification, delivering glassware that enhances the flavour, aroma and presentation of the drink, like its recently-launched Hard Cider glass. “The bottom ridges of our Hard Cider glass help release aromas that are concentrated and intensified by the apple-shaped bowl,” explains Susan.

This diversification trend has reached retail, too, with consumers’ desiring to recreate the bar experience at home. Petr Kaplanek, marketing manager at Crystalex cites increased price of drinks in restaurants, more education about mixology and increased availability of different types of beverages as drivers for such demand.

“The trend for entertaining at home has continued to evolve, so that the serving of drinks in the

“

Glass is doing well in John Lewis at the moment, because consumers find it a great and less expensive way to dress up a table or to accessorise existing ranges they may already have at home.

Emily Moody, tabletop buyer, John Lewis, UK

appropriate glass has now become as important as the presentation of food. We recognise that a diverse range of glassware needs to be readily available to satisfy this growing customer base,” says Phil, Portmeirion Group.

Robert Suk, head of creative center at Rosenthal says that specific glassware for certain wine types, on-trend mix drinks or special beers is a strong trend. Robert cites Rosenthal’s new Prime series of drinkware, which is based on sommelier standards, and which delivers particularly lightweight glass and beautiful bulbous shapes.

Wine continues to be the most common beverage for diversification, however, and as the wine-drinking culture continues to surge, so does demand for varietalspecific glassware. Take Riedel.

Acknowledged with creating the world’s first wine-specific glassware, Riedel continues to develop such glassware together with the world’s best winemakers. Launched last year, the Veritas Series – think 14 machine-made glasses of unsurpassed thinness and lightness – is proving highly successful, continuing to fly off shelves in John Lewis, Harrods and Selfridges. And this year, Riedel has launched its new grape-varietal specific collection, Riedel Superleggero Series; handformed and mouthblown like the 1973 version, this range has slimmer aesthetics and a super-light design.

Zwiesel Kristallglass also works with wine and bar specialists and its award-winning gourmet glass series Wine Classics by Zwiesel 1872, designed with the International

”

Wine Institute, offers 17 different grape-specific glasses.

Leading Italian crystal manufacturer RCR Cristalleria also works with experts (it developed its award-winning World’s Best range last year in collaboration with the world’s top sommelier 2010, Luca Gardini). In response to demand at retail level for varietal-specific wine glasses, RCR has this year launched Ego – four goblets and two tumblers boasting an improved shape that aims to deliver a better balance of the cup and enhanced oxygenation.

And Royal Leerdam, which has its own expert sommelier on board, has launched The Experts Collection, five unique designs each dedicated to support the taste experience of a specific type of wine.

“Every wine is unique, and the right wineglass helps bring out the wines’ notes and flavours,” explains Barbara Verbeek, sommelier for Royal Leerdam.

But it’s not just wine diversification taking centre stage.

“The most varietal-specific growth is in the categories of wine, beer and cocktails,” says Gerhard Frank, brand manager, Zwiesel Kristallglas, pointing to the collaboration of its brand Schott Zwiesel with legendary bartender Charles Schumann of Schumann’s Bar in Munich, which has resulted in a collection of 17 differently-shaped and sized bar glasses (Basic Bar Selection), designed to accentuate the specific character of the specific drink.

“The impact of a cocktail hinges on the glass it is presented in; the tasting and appreciation of spirits and cocktails is no less complex than

What the retailer says… “We stock more casual glassware mainly because my customers are looking for casual dining. We sell quite a few styles from La Rochere – the chunky Paris Bistro feel goes down well. People like the fact you can use them all time and not worry too much about them. I also add in colourful/seasonal glass from other brands that are not specifically glassware companies, like Pols Potten and Bloomingville. I don’t do varietal-specific – you need space to do it well; it’s more of a department store thing.” John Adams, owner, Article independent store, Dublin, Ireland TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 39

CATEGORY GLASSWARE

RCR Cristellaria Marquis by Waterford

Versace Meets Rosenthal

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fine wines,” says Gerhard.

Recent additions to the collection speak of international bar trends: glasses for champagnes, beers, grappa, vodka, port and a whisky nosing glass for whisky connoisseurs. Libbey has also just launched The Perfect Collection, designed to elevate the everyday into something memorable, offering twelve glasses for a variety of drinks. Meanwhile, Crystalex is this year doubling its menu of cocktail glasses.

“At present, we can say that we have covered all basic shapes.

However, trends are constantly evolving, so it is necessary to constantly adapt,” says Petr.

“We are seeing growth of varietalspecific drinkware for beverages other than wine, like spirits and cocktails,” says CEO of RCR, Roberto Pierucci, pointing to its three new drinks-specific sets, including a Fusion Margarita Set, Fusion Martini Set and Combo, a whisky decanter and two whisky tumblers set.

Rona, too, has launched a varietalspecific programme of whisky and spirits glasses, including ones for Japanese chilled sake and Russian vodka. And on the floors of John Lewis, tabletop buyer Emily says demand for drink-specific glassware is so high the store always makes

sure it has at least one collection dedicated to ‘drinks’ or ‘cocktails’ throughout the year.

Beer is also a growing segment, especially with the rise of craft beers, and increasing numbers of manufacturers are developing varietal-specific beer glasses.

Spiegelau (part of the Riedel family) was one of the first. This year, it has launched an American Wheat beer glass (yeast-led beers), joining its IPA glass and Stout glass.

“Craft beer sales are booming, and with our Spiegelau brand, we were the first to work with brewers in successfully developing beer-specific glassware, meaning consumers are now able to drink beer at home as the brewer intended,” says CEO Maximilian Riedel, highlighting how craft beer specialists Brew Dog ordered 60,000 Spiegelau glasses to use in its bars.

Crystalex has also seen and responded to such craft beer glassware demand. “Due to the incredible rise of microbreweries in the Czech Republic, we have introduced a comprehensive collection of beer glasses,” says Petr.

One area where diversification is especially trending right now in HoReCa and retail is champagne. “There is a lot of action in champagne glassware, with champagne consumption booming,” says a spokesperson for Italesse, pointing to its latest launch, Optimum. A collaboration with Swedish sommelier Richard Juhlin (Richard can identify, and has catalogued, 8,500 champagnes), the Optimum glass delivers the “optimum glass for champagne”, to turn the tasting experience into a memorable sensory one.

“The champagne opens up perfectly – I can taste all of its complexity and delicacy,” says Juhlin of the Optimum glass.

Retro styling Like with diversification, style trends in glassware also begin in hospitality. And retro trends – vintage-inspired designs, oldfashioned classics like double old-fashioneds (DOFs) and coupes, deep-cut crystal and 60s-style gilding – are taking centre stage.

Libbey Foodservice says that in HoReCa it is seeing demand for retro-inspired styles, especially for dark spirits like rum and whisky; and demand for the incorporation of colour to the rim or foot of a glass.

Steelite International also says

it is seeing retro cocktails make a resurgence in hotel bars; and to cater to this trend has created a vintage-inspired range of cocktail glasses that hark back to the ‘30s and ‘40s, including a champagne saucer and martini glass.

And both this retro trend and inclusion of colour are working their way into glassware for the retail sector, too. “Coloured glass and cut glass are all doing very well for John Lewis right now,” says buyer, Emily.

“In retail, we are seeing retro styling and the resurgence of heavier, deep-cut luxury crystal glass,” says CEO of RCR, Roberto Pierucci. Katy Holford, creative director of Cumbria Crystal, a luxury English crystal brand, is seeing the same. “A desire for luxury has returned – in reaction to the fast consumption of recent years, there is now a re-emergence of an appreciation for quality and craftsmanship,” says Katy.

In response to the retro trend, Villeroy & Boch has this year launched two crystal collections, both of which look to the past.

Charleston boasts a design inspired by the 1920s; while premium glassware range Grand Royal draws inspiration from the swinging ‘60s.

The Roaring Twenties has also been the sole inspiration for Vista Alegre’s comprehensive new Art Deco series, including an array of retro-inspired glassware: from extravagantly-decorated champagne flutes, to three luxury spirit sets and five crystal decanters.

Meanwhile, the 1920s American Speakeasy was inspiration for Italesse’s new Wormword collection; these six varietal-specific glasses deliver retro 1920s appeal, with their shapes (coupe-inspired Presidente, martini and hiball) and decoration (hypnotic floral motifs).

The new Crosby Barware Collection from Marquis by Waterford also looks to the past, with its retro pieces – hiballs, DOFs, martini glasses and an ice bucket – featuring a geometric grid-cut pattern. And the second edition of The Mixology Collection – Mad Men Edition, launched to coincide with the conclusion of hit series Mad Men, looks to the late 60s for inspiration for its new pieces, which include gilded drinkware.

Champagne saucers are a retro style really making their mark on the retail front. This season, LSA International has extended both its colourful Polka range and

textured Aurelia range to include champagne saucers (and cocktail glasses); while Italesse drew inspiration from the champagne coupe for the design of its new Wormword Presidente glass.

Meanwhile, Cumbria Crystal’s Katy Holford said the champagne coupe was the big talking point at Maison & Objet Paris earlier this year, highlighting the brand’s recentlyextended Grasmere Collection. This Georgian-inspired range, which is used on the set of worldwide hit drama Downton Abbey, has been extended to include a champagne coupe glass and champagne bucket, designed to enhance the enjoyment of the beverage.

In addition to champagne saucers, traditional shapes like DOFs and hiballs are making a comeback. Lenox has launched two new lines of barware, Firelight and Adorn, both of which deliver only DOFs and hiballs, perfect for casual cocktail hour; while Portmeirion Group says its Glen Lodge DOF glasses and decanter from Spode are proving very popular, as is the company’s crystal champagne saucers from Sophie Conran for Royal Worcester.

Casual dining rising With the continued rise of casual dining, coloured glass is on the rise, with pretty pastels and bright neons trending. Rosenthal says coloured glass with an attractive priceworth-ratio is a very strong growing market; Zwiesel Kristallglas says they are seeing demand for colour in glass in HoReCa and retail; and Portmeirion Group see coloured glass as an emerging trend, especially in everyday glassware like tumblers. “It is an area we are looking to explore more,” says Phil, Portmeirion Group.

Glassware brand Stolzle Lausitz has recently launched several coloured glassware ranges, including Twister; tumblers in seven shades, including a smoky blue.

Pastels are proving particularly popular. “We see a trend towards coloured glasses, especially in soft pastel tones,” says Liane Riedel, product manager glassware, Villeroy & Boch, pointing to its new range of soft drink glasses Dressed Up, which come in four on-trend pastel shades and decors and match with the brand’s colourful tableware lines, like Mariefleur. “The tumblers are designed in popular gentle pastel tones, bringing soft colour into

everyday life,” explains Liane.

Pastels also take centre stage at Zwiesel Kristallglas, with the launch of Schott Zwiesel’s Vina Touch, a series of goblets and stemmed glasses in soft pastel shades of blue, red, green, amber, purple and grey.

Marquis by Waterford’s popular Marquis Brookside stemware has been extended to include pastel shades – Brookside Pastels Goblets comes in aqua, blue, purple and pink; and LSA International has extended its Pastels range due to popular demand – think handpainted iridescent pastels.

Neon shades are also hot.

Schott Zwiesel has launched Spots Neo, classic tumblers in three neon shades made with a special technology that makes them glow in the dark. Also responding to the neon trend is Crystalex, which this year launches decoration project Neon, using four neon colours in different variations on glasses.

Even fine dining brands are finding their feet in the casual dining sector with more casualappropriate glassware. At Ambiente, Vera Wang for Wedgwood introduced its first coloured glass – casual glassware in lavender, charcoal and indigo.

Also, due to the rise of casual dining, stemless wine glasses are seeing a revival. “Stemless glassware offers the same benefits of stemmed wine glasses, but the absence of the stem aligns well with more casual venues,” says Susan, Libbey. Riedel pioneered Riedel ‘O’, stemless wine tumblers, which are both multi-functional (water, wine, whisky) as well as grape-specific.

“This new, less formal approach to glassware has achieved amazing success, showing that there is always room in the market for new ideas and innovations,” says Maximilian Riedel.

Luigi Bormioli’s new Grangusto Collection delivers an all-purpose stemless glass for fine wine drinking – its features make it suitable for creating a casual wine tasting ambience, say the brand.

Finally, LSA International has introduced shorter-stemmed glasses in its Bar & Wine hero collections for a more casual vibe; and in a similar vein, Schott Zwiesel has introduced a shortened stem height on all-round wine glasses and varietal-specific selections with its Diva Living collection.

Turn the page for our round-up of everyday, stemware and crystal.

Cumbria Crystal

LSA International

LAV

Italesse

Schott Zwiesel

Stolzle Lausitz TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 41

Chinaware Guide Glassware

Everyday Used in everything from drinkware to serveware, everyday glassware is designed for daily use and defined largely by its functionality, practicality, durability, resilience, versatility and simple design.

LUIGI BORMIOLI Italian brand Luigi Bormioli has this season extended its successful range Thermic Glass Food & Design to include fivee new single-serving containers with handles. Handmade in borosilicate ilicate double-walled glass, the transparency of the glass and the original shapes make them perfect for serving desserts, appetisers and nd amuse-bouche. The thermal insulation of the double wall maintains the temperature of food for longer.

www.luigibormioli.com

LSA INTERNATIONAL LSA International is renowned for its unique style, original designs and enduring quality. With the exception of its recycled glassware, all LSA glass is handmade (produced from soda-lime glass), with each product individually mouthblown and hand-finished by skilled artisans using age-old techniques. LSA International has created over 100 inspiring new pieces for spring/summer 2015, with a variety of artisan techniques engaged. The collection includes innovative glass serveware elevated on wooden stilts, stackable vases, new fabricinspired designs and 100 per cent recycled glass combined with oak and cork. A number of their bestselling ranges have also been extended, including Polka, which now has cakestands, champagne sauces and vases, and textured drinkware range Aurelia (pictured), which now includes champagne saucers, cocktail glasses and jugs.

www.lsa-international.com

LAV Since starting out in 1994, Turkish glass manufacturer LAV has taken a leading role in the glassware industry, thanks to its focus on technology and innovation. Today, LAV has two production plants in Kutahya, Turkey, exporting its innovative and unique glassware products to 130 countries, including France, Spain and Iran, as well as Brazil, the Philippines and China. LAV carries out its research and development on glassware production technologies at its innovation-focused Teknopark facility, which has become one of the three largest R&D hubs in the world.

The Elegant series and Ring series of stemless glasses – a hiball, whisky glass, water glass and liqueur glass – both boast a contemporary and tactile ribbed design. Elegant (pictured right) reinterprets geometry with its modern lines around the bottom half of the glass, while the Ring series (left) delivers a more fun interpretation with wavy circles around the glass.

http://kurumsal.lav.com.tr/en 42 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

DURAL L LEX E Duralex has launched ed ttwo new produccts in its hot drinks range – two tr tran an nsparent cups, both with ontrend flared shapess and nd understated curved lines. The 35cl Cosy Mug is idea d l for hot chocolattes, teas and de infusions;; the 9cl cll Ca Capr price Cup is for esp pressos.

www ww w.du dura du ra alex x.com .

PORTMEIRION GROUP Award-winning homewares partnership Sophie Conran for Portmeirion has unveiled a sparkling new range of additions to its coveted glassware collection, which echoes the same tactile ribbed design as the porcelain range. The must-have items, perfect for modern-day living, include a decanter, two candlestick sets, a footed cake stand and dome and a five-piece trifle bowl set.

www.portmeirion.co.uk p

Talking barware We discuss the demands and trends of glassware in hospitality with Massimiliano Matte, founder of bar consulting company, Umami. www.umami-improvement.com

VIDIVI Vidivi presents three new lines of tumblers, with three new decorations – facetted bases: Prisma, Mosaico and Luce. These new Vidivi collections feature original and striking designs at the base of the tumblers, which animates the glass with unexpected glows that recall the play of a prism, Moorish mosaics and bright stars respectively. These new collections are an addition to the Vidivi stackable tumblers, designed to optimise space without sacrificing style.

VILLEROY & BOCH Dressed Up is the new tumbler collection of soft drink glasses in four trendy colours and décors with a shabby chic look, all of which match with the colour worlds of various country tableware lines like Mariefleur, Petite Fleur and Lina. The tumblers are designed in popular, gentle pastel tones and can also be used as a little vase, a decorative pen holder or for serving snacks and dips. As both the décors and the colours are optimally co-ordinated, they can be combined with one another as occasion dictates.

www.villeroy-boch.com

www.vetridellevenezie.co.uk

TRADE ESTOCK This British tabletop p brand distributes a number of glassware brands in the UK. In addition to Bormioli Rocco, it has two new brands, LAV and Durabor. Durabor offers a range of clear glass drinkware in styles that embrace one of the hottest tablettop trends, the multi-use of glassware for serving food and d drink. Tradestock also offers glassware from Turkish brand LAV in both clear and coloured glass.

The Poem stemware e collection delivers delicate graduating shades of pink, amb ber, blue and green; while the Butterfly tumblers (pictured left) boast solid rich tones.

www. ww w.tr tradesto ockltd.co.uk

What’s the most important criteria hospitality operators should consider when buying glassware?

Functionality, efficiency and storage capabilities are key – a glass that can be used for serving different beverages supports a higher efficiency. Availability and the ordering process is crucial – product should be available for at least six months. Durability versus price is also a big consideration: you need to consider the endurance of the glassware and in terms of handling, you should ask yourself, ‘how practical are these glasses’?

The feel and style of the glass is key, too. Operators should consider their own branding, concept and vision in selection, as well as the service aspect – how stable, comfortable, handy is the glass for tray service?

How important is glassware in the success of a bar?

Having the right selection of glassware can reinforce individual style. A weighty glass, for example, can give the impression of luxury; a filigree glass screams sophistication.

What trends are you seeing emerge?

Glassware trends are influenced by beverage trends, and with the growing revival of cocktail and speakeasy bar concepts, there is a definite interest in vintage and speakeasy-style glassware. Crystal is also making a comeback. Also trending is the use of bespoke glassware. For example, for a recent project in Mauritius, we purchased very old beer bottles from the ‘40s, delivered them to a glass manufacturers, who then cut them and added a handle or stem.

TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 43

Guide Glassware

SCHOTT ZWIESEL

KAVALIERGLASS With health-conscious trends all over the world, Kavalierglass of North America Inc felt it was important to create a product which would have a brilliant crystal appearance without the harmful properties present in crystal. EcoPure is a new line of stemware, providing crystal-like quality and meeting the highest standards and demands, but without the lead and heavy metals present in similar pieces. The stemware and tumblers are scratch-proof, dishwasher-safe and highly durable. The scratch-proof component of the EcoPure line will keep its brilliance and extend the useful life of this product. The EcoPure line has many options of stemware to choose from, everything from a wine glass that can fit an entire bottle of wine, down to a simple shot glass. EcoPure unites the highest standards in quality and ecology and has many styles from which to choose.

www.simax.com.

CRYSTALEX

For more than 140 years, Zwiesel Kristallglas has been a market leader in the manufacture of glass receptacles for HoReCa and retail. Its collaborations are with top-class restauranteurs and acclaimed designers coupled with its sustainable innovative materials. New from its brand Schott Zwiesel is a gourmet series of stemmed glasses, Finesse.

The fine stem of the glass fluently attaches itself to the goblet and creates the range of elegant, timeless contours, while the distinctive bend in the goblet perfectly supports the different types of grape. The narrow tapered chimney bundles the scent in the glass, allowing for an intensive sensory perception of the individual aromas. This comes in seven sizes, including for Burgundy and Chardonnay.

www.zwiesel-kristallglas.com/en

ROSENTHA AL Rosenthal has unveiled a new w line of drinkware, Prime. Clear aesthetics, beautiful shapes and particulla larly thin, lightweight glass characterise th the new Prime series of drinkki king glasses. Their delicate style and bulbous ou us shapes invvite you to enjoy holding them in your hand. nd

www.rosenthal.de

The Czech glassware manufacturer has this year dramatically extended its existing stemware assortment, delivering thee completey new lines.

With its attractively-shaped stem and atypically-formed bowl, Grace (pictured) is a contemporary line of stemware that offers plenty of possibility for decoration; while the Rebecca suite boasts smooth contours The Kate suite off tours. offers ers an open cup, cup is a modern line with different different heights of stem and is offered in eight types of glass, including goblets for water and beer, liqu i eur gl g ass ssses sses es and champagne saucers.

www.crystalex.cz

IT TA ALESSE SE Concei cee veed by the ultimate champagne p n expert, Richard pag Juh uh hlin, alo ong with three designers aand nd glass brand Italesse, nd O imum Opt m has been technically designed sg si to enhance the experience of drinking champagne. e The e.

T glass boasts a delicate yyet precise equilibrium between ettw height, bowl diameterr and piqure; the dramatic ccu curve u at the base of the bowl givees it a distinctive, contemporary por or edge and it is madee of lead-frree automatically blown crystalline ryys glass.

www..italesse.com

44 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 38 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

Stemware From the highly functional to the purely decorative, stemware continues to reign sector supreme. Whether for special occasions, gifts or everyday use, stemware comes in a variety of types, from wine-varietal pieces to champagne flutes, and styles, from clean contemporary lines to decorated and ornate crystal pieces.

LUIGI BORMIOLI LIBBEY New from Libbey’s Royal Leerdam Finesse brand is The Experts Collection. Developed in cooperation with sommelier Barbara Verbeek, the line consists of five unique designs, each dedicated to support the taste experience of a specific type of wine. The sleek tapered design is pleasant to the eye, augments the wine’s taste and ensures ultimate drinking comfort.

The laser-cut fine rim finish and the pure quality Soda Lime glass makes it the perfect alternative to crystal and crystalline glassware. Each of the glasses has specific wines for which it has been designed, such as the Fruity & Smooth wineglass – slightly wider at the bottom – for Unoaked Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Merlot.

Italian glass specialist Luigi Bormioli has launched a new stemware collection, Grangusto. Created for all fine wines and for the sales/service of wine by the glass, Grangusto is the latest creation by Accademia Luigi Bormioli. The Grangusto all-purpose stemglass and stemless are the result of extensive scientific studies and the long-standing professional experience that Accademia Luigi Bormioli has developed in wine-tasting instruments. The bowl’s characteristic shape and dimensions maximise the sensorial perception far exceeding the performance of the standard ISO stemglass. The Grangusto all-purpose stem glass has contemporary and technical features; its shape makes it a design element on the table, while simultaneously serving as a unique wine-tasting instrument. Both the stemglass and the stemless have three discreet decorative pour-lines, 10 cl, 12.5 cl and 15 cl.

www.luigibormioli.com

www.libbey.com

STOLZLE LAUSITZ The German crystal glassware brand has this year launched several new drinkware lines, designed specifically to enhance the enjoyment of various drinks. Boasting straight contours and a very long filigree stem, Quatrophil offers six different glasses – including ones for Burgundy, champagne and whisky. Stolzle has also launched a new all-round wine glass, Vulcano (pictured). The shape (a vulcano) and size of it is designed so as to intensify both the aroma and the taste of the wine. The line also features two tumblers, ideal for all drinks.

www.stoelzle-lausitz.com

RONA Rona has unveiled some new stemware collections, with the allnew machine-made stemware ranges launched in upgraded gift box packaging. Flamengo is a modern well-balanced stemware with an impressively long stem and elegant drawn point bowl in five sizes. Also available in five sizes is Vista stemware, an addition to Rona’s non-lead crystal machine-made portfolio. Finally, Grace (pictured left) is a range of over-sized wine glasses in four sizes and sets of two, making them highly giftable.

www.rona.sk TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 45

Crystal

Guide Glassware

Positioned at the high-end of the glassware market, crystal is defined by its exquisite craftsmanship and cutting techniques, superior shapes and high-quality materials.

Crystal presents retailers with the chance to make a statement with striking crystal displays and offers customers special-occasion gifts.

RCR CRISTALLERIA ITALIANA

The only pan-glass tableware company worldwide, offering crystal excellence in all segments and glassmaking techniques, RCR has various collections within its three categories: Style, Trends and Luxion Professional. This year, RCR has launched some new collections. Designed to deliver unique sensorial performance, The Only One is a contemporary design range of goblets and tumblers aimed at millenials. Fluente (pictured left) is a new and complete line of glassware (four stems, two tumblers, bowl, jug and bottle) with a nature-inspired contemporary design; while Fiesole is a complete range of goblets, tumblers, whisky bottle and jug boasting the traditional diamond cut.

www.rcrcrystal.com

VERA WANG WEDGWOOD The delicate detailing of Grosgrain ribbons found in many of Vera Wang’s bridal creations lends itself beautifully to the linear styling of the Grosgrain range for Vera Wang Wedgwood. New this year is the Grosgrain Nouveau Platinum crystal stemware and gift ware collection (pictured right). Highlighted by deep horizontal cuts and platinum banding, it represents a modern take on a classic pattern and is an ideal complement to Grosgrain formal dinnerware. The suite features a goblet, wine, flute and ice beverage.

www.wwrd.com

LEN NOX VISTA ALEGRE Inspired by the Art Deco eco pe eco eriod, the Portuguese brand h has launched a wide arrayy off po orcelain and crystal pieces. Th he crystalware includes a n numb umb um mb of luxury decanters and b mber barware sets. Architectural infl flu ue uen ences ce e from the Art Deco period h have been applied to Studi diium um (p (pi piictured), a stunning barware set, p including decanter, cara arafe, aara fe wine glass and champagne flute.

www.myvistaa alleegr egrre.com

48 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

Lenox has this year dellivered two cocktail-inspired barware arware sets.

Firelight (pictured) delivers crystal DOF OFFS and and nd hib h alls with flame-in hi nspi pired pi red d cuts, while Ado Ado orn rn presen presents pre t DOF ts DO OFs and Hiballs with fanciful cut patt at erns.

w w. ww w.le lenox. x.co com m

w w w. c r y s t a l e x . c z

Guide Glassware

MOSER Luxury Czech brand Moser delivers drinkware and bar sets, which are mouthblown from pure unleaded eco-friendly crystal glass and then hand-cut and hand-polished to a high gloss. Its Conus Bar Set of a crystal decanter and tumblers reflects glares of crushed ice; while the Fluent Bar Set (pictured) – a decanter and tumblers – boasts tiny edges cut into the glass base, delivering different views.

www.moser-glass.com

CRYSTALEX From this leading Czech glassware manufacturer comes a number of new stemware suites, as well as a collection of vases and decanters. Its new line of decanting carafes (pictured) come with a diagonal rim and a bevelled neck. Crystalex has also launched Gondola, a line of bowls and vases inspired by the traditional long boats that cruise the waterways of Venice, Italy. Boasting crimped rims resembling gondolas – the ripple adds dynamism – the pieces come in a variety of soft colours.

www.crystalex.cz

CUMBRIA CRYSTAL Having built an unrivalled reputation in English crystal manufacturing, luxury English crystal maker Cumbria Crystal is now extending its influence further into international luxury markets. Producing exquisite handcrafted full-lead English crystal, as well as own-label collections with luxury brands like Asprey and Thomas Goode, the brand has reinvented crystal for the 21st century. In addition to extending its popular Grasmere Collection, it has launched two new collections, Regency and Sabre. Sabre is a new range of English full-lead crystal stemware. Designed by Katy Holford, the strong elegant lines combine mitre and flute cutting on a classic wine shape to produce a stunning series of glasses. Inspired by regency style, Regency (pictured right) boasts a flute-cut stem and fine design on the bowl.

www.cumbriacrystal.com

WATERFORD Introduced last year, the Waterford Elegance collection is contemporary in design with clear, delicate bowls, crisp rims, pulled stems and a modern profile for the appreciation of fine wines and quality spirits. The collection is enhanced this year with crystal pairs specially designed for beer, spirits, specialty wines and tastings. The Elegance Tasting Party includes a set of six tasting glasses, while the Elegance Classic toasting set features six elegant crystal flutes. Two further additions are Elegance serveware pieces – a Pitcher and Footed Carafe – which both feature a decor of rich platinum banding.

www.wwrd.com 48TABLEWARE TABLEWAREINTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL 48

www.crystalex.cz

Profile Crystalex

Over the rainbow Renowned for its expertise in both traditional and contemporary decoration, Czech glass producer Crystalex delivers a wide array of colourful décor for the coming year

N

ot only does Crystalex have a rich and long tradition of thousands of years of Bohemian glassmaking under its belt, but it boasts expertise in the production of decorative glass, delivering a large number of both traditional and contemporary decorative techniques, from pantograph etching and diamond engraving, to spraying, screen printing and decals. Each year, Crystalex also presents a number of decoration projects, beautifully packaged select products that are embellished by a variety of decorative techniques. Recently, Crystalex has introduced nine decoration projects: neON, Ellipse and Gondola are the novelties for this year, while Waterfall and Rainbow are former introductions.

NeON It is currently en vogue to use striking colours and one of the most

popular right now are neon hues.

A combination of neon shades and carefully selected stemware and tumblers has brought the decoration project neON into being. The stand-out feature of this design is the fusion of four neon colours in different variations on selected products, creating some wonderful unique pieces.

Ellipse Newcomer Ellipse is exceptional in its execution – the ellipses are created on stemware and tumblers with diamondengraving technology, which are then filled with colour. This technological procedure is highly demanding, resulting in a very specific modern decor. These pieces are then packaged in a beautiful gift box.

Rainbow This year, the extremely successful decorative project Rainbow, a range of stemware, tumblers and vases enriched with colour, has been extended. For 2015, several other sizes

of tumblers and stemware pieces as well as two new vases have been added to Rainbow.

Gondola Inspired by the traditional long boats that cruise the waterways of the historic city of Venice in Italy, Gondola is a brand new range of vases and bowls with crimped rims that resemble the vessels. The ripple adds dynamism, while a variety of soft and on-trend colours bring the pieces to life.

Waterfall Inspired by the dramatic and stunning natural phenomenon that is Angel Falls, Niagra Falls and Victoria Falls, this design is created from speciallyformed glass that appears to move like endlessly streaming water. The entire collection includes a grand suite of stemware, as well as vases, both with and without colour.

For more information on Crystalex’s offerings, visit www.crystalex.cz

Did you know…? Crystalex has been using the traditional decorative technique of pantograph etching in its Karolinka glassworks for more than 150 years. For 2015, the brand has prepared a new collection using pantograph etching on a new stemware suite Grace; as well as enlarging its product range of pantograph-etching decorations, along with cutting, giving rise to exclusive decors. Pantograph etching is popular with customers from all territories – clear pantograph decors or those complemented with a gold or platinum rim are popular with European and American customers; while rich decors containing gold and platinum or sprayed with colour are preferred in Eastern markets.

50 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

www.crystalex.cz

Category Hospitality

Raynaud

less ordinary The continued rise of casual dining, alongside consumer demand for a more ‘wow’ dining experience, is leading to more interesting textures, shapes, sizes and shades, as well as mixed materials and multi-functionality. We look at the latest tabletop trends dominating the HoReCa segment

52 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

combination of consumers being more discerning an nd having less disposab ble income has led to demand for more of an ‘experience’ when dining o out. This has put pressure on operators to create an experience that doesn’tt just offer ‘good food’, but amazing taabletop.

“Today’s customers havee a lot of experience and so hiigh expectations, and stylish p presentation is as important as great foo od and beverage,” says Stefan Baueer, director, food & beverage for Hilton n Worldwide.

And the tabletop industtry is seeing this and responding. “Conssumers are now craving a true ‘experieence’ on the occasions when they d do eat out,” says sales and marketing d director of Foodservice for EveryWaree Global, Gavin Owen, explaining ho ow quality tableware and savvy settin ngs can help create the right ambience,, ensuring operators’ food and drink is given the best possible chance to sh hine.

He d of Hea o marketing, Mattthias Sc off Sch ffel, ell for fo or German professional porcel elaain elain el n ma m nufacturer Scchoenwald, agr g ees e : “Res R tauranteurs aree thinking Re eve veeryy day d of new ways to stimulate s their guests’ appetites even n more, and how w to constantly surprisee them.”

Th Thi h s has led to more inteeresting presen s tation. Steelite Interrnational hass recently extended its Melamine M ran nge, adding large gastronorm platters in three finishes. “TThese add ditions have come abou ut due to an a increased demand frrom our cusstomers for creative wayys to preesen e t buffet food,” says h head of marketing at Steelite, Heatther Lovatt.

“By mixing different sized b bowls and platters with risers, cusstomers can build their buffet offerring into a unique 3D display and increase visual interest to buffet selections whilst maximising on space.”

German hospitality bran nd Zieher continues ti tto create t and d extend its unique buff buffet et systems with innovative add-ons, taking the dining experience to ever-greater heights: new light-diffusing tubes can now be added to Zieher’s Skyline buffet system, providing illumination; while the recent addition of an integrated ring to the buffet stand system Stablo allows the insertion of a wine cooler.

This isn’t the only way operators are getting creative. An increasing number of operators are thinking outside of the box and using pieces for functions for which they weren’t originally intended. Gavin cites operators who serve ice cream in

martini glasses or olives in a ramekin.

“Not only does this make sense from a financial point of view, but subverting the functionality of certain pieces can also leave a lasting impression and give your operation a quirky point of difference,” says Gavin.

One of the UK’s most elite catering companies, Rhubarb Food Design, serves chocolate sauce in a teapot; while a number of operators are serving up creative cocktails or infused shots in Mason’s Jars for an artisan farm-to-table feel.

More than just white The demand for more interesting ways of experiencing food, alongside the meteoric rise of casual dining, has also given rise to operators looking beyond white porcelain (“As a canvas, white presents food beautifully which is why chefs love it so much,” explains Gavin) even in the finest of fine dining restaurants. More interesting textures, finishes, shapes and even colours – inspired by the rise of Scandinavian tableware and concepts like Noma – are finding favour.

“Many high-end restaurants continue to opt for white tableware, and in response, we have worked hard to provide whiteware that is current and on-trend,” says Heather at Steelite, pointing to its recentlylaunched bold range of white square and rectangular plates, which allow chefs to ‘Frame’ their dishes like a work of art. Steelite’s Freestyle range is a further example of being innovative in the ‘whiteware’ category – think a series of contemporary plates and bowls with a stylish curved design.

“This modern collection is classic enough to please the most traditional customers, while giving a creative edge to any dish,” explains Heather.

Similarly, the Trapeze range by Sant’ Andrea (EveryWare Global), created by David Queensberry and Martin Hunt, delivers the white canvas for the presentation of food, while simultaneously offering a more interesting look for a point of difference – think delicate embossing, stunning profiles and crisp lines.

Coloured ware in restaurants, even fine dining ones, is also finding favour.

“Global flavours, such as Indian and locally-sourced ingredients are big food trends and the chefs who are embracing them want more colour to complement the flavours and presentations,” says Jennifer Rolander, marketing manager, Tuxton China, a company dedicated to HoReCa. Steelite has also seen a very

TABLETOP TRENDS Mix and match

Dudson

definite increase in operators opting for coloured tableware, especially in the casual dining market, while Villeroy & Boch is also experiencing demand for colour. “Colour is an evolving trend in the HoReCa sector, with slight and delicate colour now becoming more popular,” says Jessika Raunch, global PR manager, tableware, Villeroy & Boch., highlighting its collections Amarah and Janda, both of which bring delicate colour to the table.

Bauscher’s Manuela Kufner is also seeing a return to colour. “Motif décor in combination with area colour impressions is enjoying increasing popularity,” says Manuela, explaining how such pieces are popularly used in combination with white pieces for emphasis and for variety.

Glass tableware is also increasingly being used as a contrast to white tableware, offering variety and a point of difference. “Many restauranteurs are finding that coloured glass plates offer the necessary minimalism to show off food, yet still provide a hint of colour and variety,” says Lloyd Lemprecht, international key account manager, Villeroy & Boch.

Marketing manager for Italian glass brand Vidivi, Barbara Zanardi, agrees: “We are finding growth for glass charger plates, in particular, in the HoReCa markets.”

Size matters The rise of casual dining (the casual dining sector is rapidly growing with an increase in customers of 11.7% in 2014*) has also led to demand for tableware that embraces ‘sharing’, a trend further driven by the millenial’s preference for sampling a variety of foods. “Sharing food and trying more menu items instead of just one or

Steelite

two is more appealing now,” says Jennifer, Tuxton, highlighting the rise of community and customised dining, as well as combination meals.

And certainly, the rise of casual dining has, in turn, given rise to demand for certain types of tableware, including sharing platters and small vessels. “Sharing and small plates is definitely a growing segment of the market at this time, mainly being driven by the millenials,” says Jennifer at Tuxton, highlighting its new Linx Collection.

Dudson is seeing such a trend, too, with sharing platter concepts in particular a growing category.

“There is an increasing demand for less formal ways of presenting, especially for sharing platters and dipping bowls that can be used with them,” says design director, Dan Goodall, pointing to the current demand for mezze and tapas.

Heather Lovatt at Steelite concurs: “The rise in sharing menus that we have seen has been in direct correlation with several dining trends for 2015, such as street food, tapas and all-day dining, leading to demand for dishes that cater to this,” says Heather, highlighting Steelite’s new tulip bowls in its Taste range, which offer small plates and bowls, ideal for tapas dishes and sharing menus.

To cater to such demand for choice, tasting and sharing, Libbey Foodservice has introduced serving flights, allowing customers to experience a mixture of different wines, beers, spirits or desserts in one sitting. “Some generational influences go mainstream and snacking is one of them. Customers are moving away from full meals and gravitating towards sampling a variety of food and beverage pairings,” says Susan

Libbey

J. Dountas, director of foodservice marketing for Libbey. “The wood serving flight and its accompanying glassware tasters allow customers to experiment anything from craft beers to savoury snacks to desserts, expanding and elevating the tasting experience in a customisable fashion.”

Schoenwald’s Pottery range boasts large plates and platters for sharing, as well as tiny, exquisite bowls; while Schoenwald’s latest launch, Allure, is a versatile fine dining collection, with small bowls and matching lids a special feature. These are perfect for culinary dainties – be it Spanish tapas, refined antipasti, Asian treats, or a little soup. Bauscher’s Emotion collection also presents small and diverse tableware pieces, ideal for appetizers, snacks and tapas; while Dudson’s brand new Harvest Collection, designed for such a sharing trend, boasts large platters and a mix of smaller bowls, along with multifunctional items, all in natural colours that can be mixed and matched.

French porcelain manufacturer Raynaud has also downsized.

In response to the trend for deconstructed presentation (read tasting menus) Raynaud has developed the Essentiel collection.

Designed by an expert in tableware and gastronomy, Sylvie Amar, the collection boasts three plates and seven satellite dishes offering a huge range of combinations.

“Now, chefs need smaller plates adapted to the consistency of each food (solid, semi-liquid, liquid) and how the food is eaten – fork, spoon, skewer, dipping, fingers,” say Raynaud.

Mixed materials More emphasis on casual dining, the sharing of food, growth of the slow

What the operator says… “I work my dishes around what’s ‘in season’.

To complement the natural presentation, I love to use stylish pottery shapes and artisan colours. The Craft range from Steelite has an earthenware rustic style and pottery feel that inspires my natural, no-gimmicks dish presentation.”

Simon Hulstone, Michelin-starred chef, The Elephant, Torquay, UK

“It is fashionable to mix and match. Professionals are using collections’ crossover and are inventive in combining different items in an individual way,” says Jessika Rauch, global PR manager tableware, Villeroy & Boch, pointing to its wide product portfolio. Dudson’s new Harvest range is perfect for mixing and matching, with its wide array of product in different sizes, styles and colours.

Back to white While colour is around, especially in the growing sector of casual dining, clean white or subtlytextured whiteware is re-surfacing.

“The international trend of white tableware will be en vogue always as chefs appreciate presenting or highlighting their food in a pure environment,” says Jessika, Villeroy & Boch. Dan Goodall, design director at Dudson concurs, but explains how more creative whiteware is now in demand. “The chef nearly always wants white, but ranges that can highlight food presentation, for example, those with a subtle embossment like Twist and Style, are popular,” says Dan, further highlighting how the mix of colour and white is more popular. Jennifer Rolander at Tuxton China, renowned for its more artisan ranges, says the brand is introducing several new white ranges this year – one in porcelain white targeted at Hotels, Cruise Lines, Buffets, and a new white for its Artisan Collection.

Nod to rustic The farm-to-table-inspired tableware continues to trend, with organic shapes, imperfections, rustic looks and gorgeous glazes characteristic of this. Tuxton China says this is the area it is finding greatest growth, with its Artisan Collection successful in this segment. Steelite has also seen an increase in customers asking for crockery that has a “rustic and handcrafted feel” like its Craft range. Inspired by handcrafted crockery, the range is handstippled for a unique finish, and comes in natural colours.

TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 53

Villeroy & Boch On the shape front, deep plates (coupe-style) are trending, with chefs re-discovering a dining table classic.

Schoenwald’s new deep coupe plate from its Fine Dining Collection is a versatile all-rounder, thanks to its reduced lines.

Multi-functionality And this ability to be an ‘all-rounder’ – pieces that can be used for a variety of purposes, or are adaptable so they can be used in different combinations – is increasingly key.

Bauscher’s new Purity Collection is one. Not only is it made from revolutionary material Noble China, delivering the beauty of bone china, along with the durability and chipresistance of hard porcelain, but pieces are adaptable, offering chefs flexible staging for creative meals.

Similarly, sister brand Schoenwald’s new Allure range, also created from Noble China, offers great versatility... its asymmetrical platters of different sizes offer space for diverse presentations, be it a small plate for bread, a tray for the gourmet carafe, or for serving more lavish dishes.

Steelite’s multi-functional trays, the result of new additions to its melamine range, offer a myriad of display options, while its new range of large scoop, zest and sheer bowls are perfect for anything from salads to breads. The brand has also introduced Tulip bowls into its highly-versatile Taste range – think multi-functional stacking bowls in five sizes. “These bowls are a great and versatile addition to any casual dining restaurant as there are endless ways they can be utilised for any style of food, from Indian curries to Mexican street-style food,” says Heather.

In fact, Steelite says that multi-

functionality is something operators are calling for more and more.

“Our customers are looking for tableware that can function very much like a ‘little black dress’, whereby with a little accessorising, it can be used in different ways for different types of dishes,” says Heather, pointing to Steelite’s Liv range, a collection of stacking cups and bowls that can be used to present street food-style cuisine in a quirky and interesting fashion. Equally, they can be used to present desserts in a refreshing and individual way.

“We always recommend to customers how our tableware can be used in different ways. Not only does this save them money, it also saves space, especially in casual dining, where space is often at a premium,” says Heather.

Dudson says that multi-functional items, which can be used across a menu, is in growth for them, too.

“Bowls that can be used for starters, mains and desserts are products that are in demand,” says Dan, pointing to Dudson’s deep bowl in both its Evolution and its new Harvest ranges.

And Villeroy & Boch continues to see demand here, too. “Multi-functionality

Schoenwald

Zieher

is very important, especially in the HoReCa sector, with the demand for collections that have great scope very high,” says Jessika, highlighting the brand’s 70-piece Affinity collection.

Thanks to Affinity’s diversity and number of items – it combines different shapes, from round to oval with angular elements, Affinity meets the most varied of culinary and serving challenges whether in New York, Berlin or Mumbai, says Jessika.

Then there’s Zieher’s Amuse Collection: thin-walled but stable cups, bowls, cloches and glass tins, the latter with exact-fitting lids, that make them ideal for everything from small soups to use as sugar bowls.

Ultimately, the more versatile, multi-functional and interchangeable a collection, the more options hospitality providers have for different and interesting presentations.

Did you know…? The HoReCa segment offers great economic potential for the tabletop industry, with growth of 10 per cent expected over the coming five years, according to a report. “Business with customers from the hotel and restaurant sector has developed into an important growth factor for many companies with products in the Dining and Living segments.” Horst Penzkofer, economist, Ifo Institute 54 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

* According to the Restaurant and Casual Dining Insight Report, 2014.

food movement and environmental concerns has led to a more exciting mix of materials, especially natural materials like wood, stone and slate.

“Opposite to how it was a decade ago, the mixing up of different shapes, colours and materials is extremely important,” says Dominik Zieher, executive director of sales, Zieher, explaining p g how an eight-course g menu today is no longer presented on items belonging to a single series. Many of Zieher’s innovative designs fuse materials, such as glass, stainless steel, slate, porcelain and acacia wood.

Dudson has recently added three food-safe wooden plinths, created from sustainable acacia wood, to its Modus range, adding visual impact; while I Grunverg’s Slateware Collection serves dual purposes – not only does the slate look fantastic and is on-trend, but it’s tough enough to withstand hospitality wear and tear.

The collection is treated in oil, so as to be resistant to scratching, while its little rubber feet protect tables from marking or scratching.

With its new Allure Collection, Schoenwald has added wood to various pieces: the salt and pepper mills boast porcelain bodies and grinding knobs of American walnut.

“This mix of materials gives rise to a charming play of contrasts which still harmoniously melds with the overall ensemble,” says Matthias Schoffel, marketing director.

Libbey Foodservice is also serving up highly durable pieces in alternative materials, like metals. The World Tableware Sonoran Collection is crafted with stainless steel and includes hammered bowls with handles, double-walled hammered bowls and trays, combining beauty, strength and durability.

What the operator says…

“There are a couple of things which are really important about cutlery product selection to me – first of all, the cutlery has to be evenly balanced in order to make the dining experience as comfortable as possible. Another important aspect is design. The Sant’ Andrea products are produced to a high level making the products very durable and presentable.” Shaun Rankin, Omer Restaurant and Bar

CATEGORY HOSPITALITY

Schoenwald A BHS Tabletop AG brand, the 135-year-old Schoenwald is one of the world’s leading providers of high-end porcelain for out-of-home catering and is known for its exceptional practical design, long-lasting collections and Made in Germany quality. The brand delivers more than 40 collections (some 1,700 pieces) in over 100 countries. Its new collection Allure (pictured left), aimed at top international dining and hotels, is created from a patented hard porcelain Noble China that combines high durability, surface hardness and chipresistance, along with a delicate, elegant appearance and the creamy colour of bone china. “With Allure, we have perfected every facet of contemporary fine dining,” says marketing director, Matthias Schoffel. Allure is highly versatile, with all pieces combining and products like asymmetrical platters of different sizes offering diverse presentations, while statement pieces have been mixed with other materials, such as wood.

www.schoenwald.com

LIBBEY Libbey Foodservice has launched an elegant and integrated tabletop that includes tableware from brands Schoenwald, Spiegelau, Nachtmann and Reed & Barton.

Aimed at fine dining restaurants, Artistry includes the discreet elegance of Schoenwald porcelain dinnerware (pictured), the fine stemware of Spiegelau, with its thin walls and fine sheer rims, and the superior fine 18/10 stainless steel and silver-plated flatware of Reed & Barton.

Plus, upscale serveware and drinkware from Nachtman.

https://foodservice.libbey.com

Bauscher

VIDIVI Vidivi is the tabletop design brand of Italian hi-tech glassware manufacturer Vetrerie Reunite S.p.A, which is known for producing High Definition glassware for both HoReCa and retail. Currently seeing growth in demand for tumblers and witnessing a return to the cut-crystal style, Vidivi has launched new collections, the Accademia tumbler and Luce 2.4.6. Boasting a slender form, thanks to the delicate grooving that decorates its sides, the Accademia tumbler (pictured) is a modern n interpretation of the traditional grinding effect. Partt of its new range of tumblers with facetted bases is Luce, which features an original design. Stackable, Luce interchanges with two other designs, Prisma and Mosaico.

www.vetridellevenezie.com

German porcelain specialist Bauscher has revealed its new Purity Colors patterns for its Purity collection, which is setting new standards for tableware in first class addresses. The intricacy of the body of Noble China, the revolutionary hard porcelain Purity is made from, is accentuated in the new Noblesse Gold, Classic Silver and Classic Silver-Grey patterns (pictured), providing additional versatility. Also from Bauscher is a new plate range with contemporary proportions for the Come4table Collection.

Responding to the trend for ‘natural’ in gourmet food, the new plates boast flat rims and a classic style.

www.bauscher.com

DUDSON Inspired by the passion for organic provenancestyled menus and infused with the origins of handmade ceramic craftsmanship, Dudson delivers its new Harvest collection – an authentic handcrafted appearance in mass production.

Designed to exaggerate imperfections that are engineered into the mould, pieces also boast a specifically-developed glaze designed to pool around an embossment of barley or wheat, creating texture. Every item is hand-finished with a sponged rim, which naturally drips to create a unique piece.

www.dudson.com

What the operator says…“How your table looks is just as important as your food and service – it’s such an integral part of the experience. From the very moment a cu ustomer walks into a restaurant, appearance is everything.” Nora Bjorkqvist, marketing manager for UK-bbased award-winn ning Italian restaurant, Posillipo, which serves up Neopolitan cooking in various UK destin nations.

56 48 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

STEELITE INTERNATIONAL In response to the rapid growth in the casual dining sector, Steelite International has expanded its Taste range to include a collection of multi-functional stacking bowls. Ideal for busy casual dining environments, Tulip Bowls are stylish and come in five sizes, for everything from dips to curry mains. The elegant bowls boast a curved design and soft edges, fiting in with the rest of Steelite’s innovative and versatile Taste range and can further be mixed and matched with Steelite’s Liv, Freestyle and Simplicity collections. Extremely robust, pieces also come with a lifetime chip guarantee.

www.steelite.com

SPOTLIGHT ON… G & G Goodfellows Who are they? Launched in 2012 by husband-and-wife team Paul and Valda Goodfellow, who have 30 years hospitality expertise behind them, Goodfellows is a luxury tableware business for the HoReCa market.

VILLEROY & BOCH Recently launched at The Hospitality Show, Janda is a new dinnerware series characterised by its multi-functionality and extremely robust nature. Designed with food presentation in mind, it features an attractive leaf and geometric motifs in a delicate pistachio hue. A special production process subtly elevates the pattern from the glaze to create a light design. The stylish leaf pattern reveals a beautiful raised texture, while the Janda Diamond design offers a timeless elegance. Both designs work with the Bella, Easy and Corpo ranges, creating great versatility. The series comprises 30 pieces of premium porcelain, many stackable.

www.villeroy-boch.com www oy

What do they offer? They offer a highly personalised service to top restaurants, hotels and sporting venues (The Ritz, The Dorchester, Claridges and Jason Atherton’s restaurants) in the UK, as well as exporting to Hong Kong, Australia and Russia.

In addition to distributing some of the world’s best tableware brands, from Deshoulieres to Robert Welch, Costa Nova to Arc, they also offer a bespoke service, creating their own designs and solutions.

What they say? “Sometimes, we just can’t wait for manufacturers to catch up with our ideas and needs, so we create our own designs, then look for small craft producers to convert these into real products in small batches.”

What’s coming? Goodfellows will soon be launching its own range of ‘sharing plates’ made by craft producers. Every item is handmade and every design is unique.

www.goodfshop.net

Zieher Known for its innov innovative design and creative mix of materials like glass, stainless steel, slate and porcelain, German brand Zieher delivers its high-quality innovative tablet tabletop and buffet systems to five-star hotels and top-class restaurants.

Ne New this year is Zieher’s deep-dyed glass plates and bowls (pictured).

Filig Filigree yet strong, the deep bowls and flat plates deliver a hammered g glossy handcrafted look. Also handcrafted-looking is its new Rough range, d delivering square and rectangular plates with a slate texture. Zieher has als also launched its multi-functional Solid Buffet Cubes made of walnut, whi which can be used for multiple functions and fit into the existing Solid buffet system; sy and unveiled its new presentation boxes, which can now be equipped with various optionally available inserts to present everything from chocolates to coffee capsules to cigars.

www.zieher.com TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 57

Category Hospitality

Table talk We ask international hotels and restaurants to tell us what tabletop suppliers they use, what they look for in tableware, and what tabletop trends they are seeing emerging right now

Jason Atherton Resturants, worldwide “Classic, well-dressed simple porcelain is coming back”

1765 Gemini, Dubai “Nature and the feel-good factor are important”

Jason Atherton, Michelin-starred chef and owner of restaurants globally, including in Singapore, Sydney, Shanghai, London, New York and Hong Kong, with lots of new restaurants opening this year, including in London, New York and Dubai. www.jasonatherton.co.uk When selecting tableware, what do you consider most important?

A combination of practicality and style. It can’t be too complicated and it shouldn’t be something that causes extra work for the guest. It needs to work with the dish and flow with the menu and also fit in with the style of the restaurant.

Name one of your suppliers and explain why you chose them?

We use tableware supplier distributors G + G Goodfellows; they offer an exceptional and very personal service and that’s key for us. They make sure they completely understand what we are trying to achieve and go above and beyond to find us what we’re looking for. We use a variety of the Goodfellow brands – the quality of the brand must match the quality of the food.

What tableware trends are you seeing right now?

I think the rustic style is seeing a real departure and classic well-dressed simple porcelain and china plates are coming back. It’s all about simplicity.

Hilton, worldwide

Stefan Bauer, director of food & beverage Eastern Europe, Israel, Turkey and Russia at Hilton Worldwide. www.hiltonworldwide.com

58 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

When selecting tableware, what do you consider most important?

There are many considerations, which should primarily be based around the theme and the outlet. Then you decide on design, practicality, functionality, durability, price and availability, the latter important when re-orders are required.

Name one of your suppliers and explain why you chose them?

Sambonet has been our preferred choice for many years as they have a very large range of cutlery and hollowware, as well as offering

expectations, so stylish presentation is as important as great food. Of course, you need to ensure your equipment meets best standards in terms of durability, and also that items make operational sense and add to efficiency and high performance.

“From size to materials, customers want variety”

When selecting tableware, what do you consider most important?

The right operating equipment is incremental to the success of every

Martin Koebke, managing director of Dubai-based hospitality distribution company 1765 Gemini, which distributes tabletop brands like Sambonet, Rosenthal and Churchill, to hotels like the Burj Al Arab and Emirates Towers. www.1765gemini.com

concept; a design that will not only fit the menu concept, but the interior design. Today’s customers have lots of experience and therefore high

Name one of your suppliers and explain why you chose them?

Depending on the project and the investors’ preference, we have the opportunity to work with Schoenwald products. Overall, the timeless yet innovative shapes, long durability,

exclusive products with an exceptional quality at affordable prices. Also, they cover all design styles and directions, from classical silver-plated designs, to unique contemporary stainless steel options. For us, Sambonet is a onestop-shop partner, without having to make compromises in terms of quality and finishing.

What tableware trends are you seeing right now?

Whether fine dining or a more relaxed gastro pub concept, the feelgood factor is important, so we are seeing products that are warm and welcoming with traditional design touches. Nature, as part of the dining experience, is key now, either with shapes and designs that mimic nature, or with the combination of different textures like stoneware, glass, wood, slate and marble – so porcelain that is white and subtly-textured or that is warm-coloured and glazed is popular.

customer service, support and availability in all corners of the world make them a great partner.

What tableware trends are you seeing right now?

As the popularity of show kitchens, communal tables and sharing of food grows, we need to reflect this in the way we present food and beverage.

Different sized dishes of any shape and form, as well as different materials, from wood and glass, to slate and porcelain are being used adding to the diversity that customers want to see.

Orange Tree Bar & Grill, UK “From size to materials, customers want variety” Chris Childs, operations director for Parogon Pub Group, an independent leisure company that runs selected pub restaurants in the UK, including The Orange Tree Bar & Grill in Newcastle-under-Lyme. www.parogonpubs.com When selecting tableware, what do you consider most important?

We want our products to be eye-catching and our plates need to be well-balanced with our food. The tableware also needs to withstand service after service in a busy environment. The glassware for wines and waters need to be elegant but also durable and we always look for creative, unique products for our cocktails.

Name one of your suppliers and explain why you chose them?

We make Steelite products our first choice – we use the Craft range – as it is far more cutting-edge than anything else out there; it’s cool, trendy and is moving with the times. Tableware speaks volumes about the type of dining experience you offer and so products need to be innovative, creative and up-to-date; very few people are taking advantage of this.

What tableware trends are you seeing right now? We are seeing rustic tableware and use of unusual materials such as wood, slate, cast iron, stone and terracotta. These materials add texture and colour to menu presentation.

Owen’s Bistro, US “I view tabletop like a canvas I am painting on” Jim Kelly, owner/executive chef, Owen’s Bistro, China Hills, California, a bistro offering “progressive American, with a sense of humour” food using locally-grown produce from the region’s numerous farmers’ markets. www.owensbistro.com When selecting tableware, what do you consider most important?

I basically go for whatever inspires.

I view tabletop items like a canvas I am painting on.

Name one of your suppliers and explain why you chose them?

Tuxton China is my tableware

supplier and we use a mix of items, but mainly the AlmaTux Rectangular Plates and AlmaTux Specialty Items.

I chose them because of the high quality and resistance to breakage.

With heavy usage, we do not see chips and breakage with Tuxton China. They also have a great selection of beautiful pieces.

What tableware trends are you seeing right now?

The trends I’m seeing today are interesting shapes, pieces that are customised to a single particular dish and more of an ‘earthiness’ with natural looks.

Simon Hulstone, award-winning chef/proprietor of the Elephant Restaurant, and the Michelinstarred The Room in Torquay, UK, uses Steelite International tableware. He tells us what’s important in tabletop today.

There is less formality We try not to be too formal now – we let the food do the talking and the plates enhance that. We don’t want to have tablecloths anymore. I don’t like the fine dining side of it. I don’t think it’s the future. I think relaxedstyle foods, very organic, productled is the future.

We can use 50 different plates a day We change our menu every day, so we can use some 50 different plates a day. We do a 10-course tasting menu, so we try to mix it up a bit, so those 10 courses could have 10 different items of crockery – not every person will have the same. We don’t just have one set and we will use 10 different styles. That’s why we like and use Steelite’s range of plates – there are a lot of plates in its range, offering great versatility.

We design much of our food around the plate For a lot of the dishes we use, we actually think what plates we’re going to use first and then design the food. We’ve got the crockery, but we need to have the food to match as well.

Customers eat with their eyes, so waiters have got to take perfect artwork to the table.

Why we chose Bauscher’s Purity Collection… “As experienced architects, my husband and I value extraordinary design – we love forms that are minimalist and simple and so were on the look-out for classic round tableware. We immediately liked the design of the Purity collection by Bauscher, also because the bonewhite shade of the porcelain is incredibly beautiful.”

Schlossberg Thun Restaurant & Hotel, Switzerland, is now using 39 different items from the Bauscher Purity collection, which uses revolutionary material Nobel China – it is translucent like bone china, but as durable and chip-resistant as hard porcelain.

TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 59

Profile Herend

ets Renowned for cre reating ‘antiques for the future’, tthe re 200-year-old Hungarian porcelain manufacturer He nd talks to Tableware International about how Herend h it fuses traditional handcrafting methods with contemporary design innovation

W

hen members of the British Royal family or Hollywood movie stars take tea, it’s quite likely that the pots they pour from and the cups they sip from are made from Herend Porcelain. The biggest porcelain manufacturer in the world, Hungarian-based Herend has been handcrafting porcelain product for nearly 200 years, the only manufacturer still shaping and decorating each piece by hand; yet they are experts at blending such secrets of the 19thcentury masters with 21st-century innovation in design. We talk to Laszlo Szestay, chief commercial director of Herend.

In what ways has the manufacturing methods of Herend stayed the same and in which areas have new innovative methods been implemented?

Herend is different. It does not strictly follow trends but it is proud to use techniques, materials and motives from the past. The most important aspect of our company philosophy is to keep

our traditions and this is most evident in our manufacturing methods. When it comes to the work processes that determine the character – the spirit – of our products, we only use traditional handcrafting pottery methods and handpainting. This is why we still employ over 700 porcelain potters and painters. However, there still remains plenty of room for innovation within our manufacturing process.

In terms of manufacturing and design, what sets Herend apart from other porcelain brands?

No other company has kept to their original manufacturing methods, while also continuing to offer a flexible service. This is important, not only as a matter of principle, but in the fact that we can offer such a wide range of products in different styles (16,000 white forms and over 4,000 decorating designs), as well as offering a lifetime guarantee and making replacements for parts of a set, no matter if the original was made 50 or 100 years ago. This also makes it possible for customers to have specialised ‘tailor-made’ sets or decorative items

commissioned at Herend. This bespoke service is the most successful part of our business.

How does Herend select its artists and potters? And what sort of training do they undergo?

Future craftsmen are trained in our own school, which is operated by the manufactory. Young apprentices undergo a three-year programme, partly school, partly workshop training, before starting work. The most talented will be part of further special courses and may even become one of the few Master Painters, who can then apply their signature on to the porcelain pieces they create.

In terms of design, how does Herend stay new and exciting while still maintaining a classic look?

Herend’s strength is re-creating beauties from the 18th and 19th centuries. We are sometimes referred to as the maker of ‘antiques for the future’. However, there is plenty of room for new design, even contemporary art. We have demonstrated this in the past ten years in numerous forms, be it the creations of our in-house designers exhibited

in different capitals around the world, collaborations with outside artists, or unique products created by listening to what our customers – Herend enthusiasts – desire from us.

What is Herend’s most important objective for the future?

The Herend brand is a symbol of excellent quality, value, luxury and elegance. This is our most important asset and one that we have to preserve and strengthen. This is why we get continuous positive feedback from customers and the trade. This is how a survey of ‘Luxury Brand Status Index’ conducted by the New York Luxury Institute ranked Herend first among 29 different porcelain brands.

This is also why our products are in demand and on sale in more than 50 export markets, and how we can maintain such good cooperation with a stable group of specialised retailers.

Our most important objective is to strengthen the Herend brand and to continue developing strong retail partnerships in potential new markets.

For more information about Herend, visit www.herend.com

DID YOU KNOW…? Queen Victoria is one famous royal who has been among the many satisfied customers of Herend Porcelain.

60 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

THE BRAZILIAN TABLEWARE

MADE IN BRAZIL

CUSTOMERSERVICE@OXFORDPORCELANAS.COM.BR

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WWW. OXFORDPORCELANAS. COM.BR/ EN

SHOW PREVIEW 41 MADISON

New York Tabletop Market welcomes newcomers With four new tabletop brands opening showrooms and an exciting event programme, The New York Tabletop Market at 41 Madison is expected to triumph

F

our tabletop brands – The Godinger Group, Home Essentials And Beyond, Juliska and WMF Americas – will be opening new showrooms in time for the upcoming New York Tabletop Market, which is scheduled to take place from Tuesday, April 14 through Friday, April 17. These prestigious brands will join a line-up of more than 160 category brand leaders at Forty One Madison, all of whom will be exhibiting their latest creations for North America’s tabletop and giftware buyers.

At the April market, there will be a historic opening of the 27th floor of showroom space, which is where The Godinger Group and Home Essentials And Beyond are housed.

The former has tailored its showroom for presenting not just the wide array of Godinger Silver Art-labelled products, but the entire range of brands and goods in its portfolio, including Ceska, Philip Whitney Ltd, Ricci Argentieri, and Studio Silversmiths.

Having distinguished itself as a trend-forward housewares resource, Home Essentials And Beyond has carved out an impressive space to display its lifestyle collections.

“We’re excited to add another full floor dedicated to the tabletop industry,” said Laurie Burns, Forty One Madison senior vice-president and director, who explained that conventional offices had occupied this storey of the building since its opening in 1974.

“We’re especially excited to 62 90 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

welcome to Forty One such key industry destination resources as Godinger and Home Essentials. We are also very excited to see the debut showrooms of renowned brands Juliska and WMF. With incredible new products being showcased throughout the entire Market and a strong schedule of events, the April show is a must-attend event.”

Industry innovator Juliska will open the doors to its 1,500-sq-ft showroom on the 17th floor. A headline-maker since its birth 14 years ago, the company has become a revered resource for artisanal, Euro-style tabletop and giftware.

According to CEO David Gooding, who founded Juliska with his wife Capucine, “We are thrilled to debut our new showroom at the April New York Tabletop Market, choosing the iconic Forty One Madison building for its international presence and prime location in Manhattan Juliska’s permanent showroom will be significant to the growth of our key accounts sales team and trade business. The showroom, a shop-in-shop concept, will reflect the brand’s European roots and design-centric vision, housing our full product assortment, including a new collection, Le Panier, a ceramic basket weave dinnerware pattern draped in our signature whitewash glaze.”

WMF, one of the world’s most renowned metal meisters, will debut a new concept showroom as the American division moves into Forty One. WMF Americas has taken over a 1,200-sq-ft space on

Auratic

Prouna

14th floor

17th floor

Under its new creative directi ction, ct cti o Au on, A rattic i (wh hich had its grand opening last year at the show) ow ow) w) wi w lll thi t s year p th present new product for the US market, un unv nvveil n e ing g fo for ormal, transitional and casual lines. Communica caatin ti g pass pass asssio ion o forr tradition but for a modern lifestyle, new de desig sig gnss delliiver, "SSimplicity and a quieter, more contemplative ve e ap pproach h to the e every day that will enhance one's living g spacce e,"," says global creative director Sara Han. Auratic will also highlightt its new p porcelain body Premium Procelaain, in which delivers rss a stunnin ng surface finish with high igh du dura rability and compe pet pe etitive pricing g.

Prouna will present its brand new collection Villa Bianco. Inspired by the texture of Carrara marble, this very on-trend (marble effects on porcelain are big right now) and high-end quality fine bone china with a hand-painted 24k gold rim will redefine the meaning of luxury and elegance.

Whether a stylish afternoon teatime with friends or formal celebration with important guests, the delicately-designed Villa Bianco collection is perfect for every occasion.

www.auratic.com m

www.prounausa.com

the 15th floor where it will display its über-luxury flatware, cookware and kitchen utensils, along with the other acclaimed brands under its umbrella – Kaiser fine bakeware and Silit colourful culinary cookware.

The showroom will take on the slice-of-life ambiance of a chic, contemporary kitchen and they will introduce a new series of minielectric appliances, a category that has become an instant hit in Europe.

“Our goal in moving into Forty One Madison was to set down roots in the epicenter of North American commerce – New York – and let the retail world know we’ve reinvigorated the brand,” said Deborah Corrado, president of WMF Americas. “This showroom opening signifies the global re-branding of WMF.” Also at Market, the wraps are due to come off a major renovation of the 16th floor and a makeover that has resulted in double the showroom space for L’Objet, plus expansion of its world headquarters. This 10-year-old luxury brand originally moved into Forty One in 2009 and has enjoyed explosive growth since.

The re-do of this floor has also allowed Bormioli Rocco to consolidate its offices with its showroom location, while giving the combined space a new look. Homer Laughlin is the other beneficiary of the renovation, and will boast modern glass fronts for each of the spaces housing its divisions.

What’s on at 41 Madison The influences and impact of the wedding market on tabletop sales will be a focus of a Breakfast Seminar planned for Wednesday, April 15.

Headlining the panel, which takes on the topic ‘Terms of engagement: Capturing the registries of millennial brides & grooms,’ are Amanda Allen, founder of online gift registry service NewlyWish; Anne Chertoff, a wedding expert and journalist; and Amy

Wilkins, the veteran group publisher of Martha Stewart Weddings.

These bridal experts will discuss the potential business represented by those who are marrying and how those selling tableware can effectively capture that lucrative market segment – plus retain them as lifelong customers. Running from 8-9.15am, seating for this session is limited, so reservations are recommended (email cthompso@ rudin.com to book).

The décor of the lobby will also take on a bridal theme as Martha Stewart Weddings creates the table-setting vignettes on display throughout the week.

Bridal Guide resumes its sponsorship of The Café on Level A, with complimentary bites and beverages based on a ‘Taste of the tropics’ theme.

Interior Designer Day, the initiative launched six years ago to bring interior designers together with the brands at Forty One Madison, will take place on Thursday, April 16. New York Spaces editor-in-chief Jason Kontos will co-host, along with Laurie Burns, a meet-and-greet breakfast, followed by recommendations of must-see showrooms and products.

The New York Tabletop Market will take place from April 14-17.

For the showrooms listing, app information, and to register, visit www.41madison.com

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TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 63

SHOW PREVIEW 41 MADISON

Vista Alegre 9th floor Vista Alegre is expected to wow with various new collections, including collaborations with couture designers Christian Lacroix and the late Oscar de la Renta. Coralina is a new tableware range based on the genius of Oscar de la Renta. The new porcelain collection Caribe (pictured) from Christian Lacroix Maison and Vista Alegre will also be unveiled – a tropical theme with flowers, feathers, ferns and fireflies. The brand will also present its Art Deco range, which includes porcelain and crystal pieces. The Emerald dinner set uses original Vista Alegre pieces from the 1930s and features Art Deco-inspired geometric patterns decorated with gold and dark greens. www.myvistaalegre.com

Villeroy & Boch 18th floor Villeroy & Boch will present a number of new collections, including the expansion of its Artesano series. Artesano Provencal Lavender features scattered sprigs of delicate lavender in strong shades of violet and dark red buds. Meanwhile, the pure design of Artesano, with its mixed materials, has been extended to tea-taking with a teapot, sugar bowl, milk jug on wooden stands and a platter and tea caddy. The brand will also present its new tableware collection For Me, along with décor Floreana. Designed for everyday use, this modern country collection features a timeless design with clear lines and pleasing shapes. Selected pieces are also available with the Floreana (floral patterns of the19th century) décor in watercolour techniques. Also new is the nostalgic-yet-contemporary giftware range Rose Cottage (pictured) – think pastel-toned roses on select porcelain pieces.

www.villeroy-boch.com

Lenox 24th floor Lenox will present a new casual dinnerware collection aimed at everyday entertaining. Around The Table is a mix and match range, featuring four different black designs – Strip, Dot, Loop and Wish – that contrast beautifully against the creamy white stoneware body and interchange for different settings. It includes coordinating serving accessories, from mugs to platters. Lenox will also introduce its new glassware and flatware ranges. Tuscany Classics Siesta is a carafe and set of stackable drinking glasses in a clean and contemporary design, while Lenox Viva is a five-piece colourful flatware setting.

www.lenox.com

Robert Haviland and C Parlon 21st floor Distribution company Mottahedeh will introduce French porcelain brand Robert Haviland and C Parlon’s latest pattern, Jardin de Louise. Designed by colourist Isabelle Barthel, who works for many luxury French brands, Jardin de Louise was inspired by garden visits with her daughter and granddaughter, both called Louise. Celebrating the beauty of nature, with green and turquoise, Jardin de Louise comes as a five-piece place setting and is set on the Lexington service plate in Celadon. Lexington comes in an array of colours, all edged in 22k gold.

www.roberthaviland-cparlon.fr 64 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

Nambé 6th floor American design-led lifestyle brand Nambé will showcase three new products, including two new additions to its bestselling Braid Collection. The Braid Bread Board with Dipping Dish delivers an impressive cut of acacia wood, making a stunning slicing and serving surface with gentle contours for subtle definition and a neat divot for the dipping dish. It comes with signature braid handles. The Braid Glass Salad Bowl with Servers (pictured) consists of a glass bowl with a braid design base and gleaming stainless steel servers. The servers boast slender handles adorned with the unique braid design, which rest neatly into any one of three dips created by the flowing rim.

Finally, as part of its successful Nambé Gourmet range, the brand will unveil the Breeze Napkin Holder, a rich acacia wood base with a fabulous, fluid arm that lifts to allow napkins to be secured beneath.

www.nambe.com

Mikasa

Noritake

45 Madison

7th floor

In its large showroom (45 Madison) opposite 41 Madison, Mikasa will present numerous brand-new collections, including two new dinnerware sets, one casual and one fine dining. Featured on a unique and contemporary coupe shape, the four-piece place setting of Leah (pictured) boasts a natural palette (black, slate, cream, white, blue), which highlights the subtle handcrafted speckle look of its high-quality stoneware. Ideal for the millennial consumer, Simplicity, meanwhile, is a 16-piece set of pristine bone china with a coupe shape, accented with pops of colour banding on each piece and comes in red, blue, black and grey.

Noritake will introduce its brand new Takumi Gallery, a complication of seven patterns, featuring an East meets West sensibility. Two bone china patterns – Noble Ensemble Gold and Noble Ensemble Platinum – feature a luxuriously wide gold/platinum banding, with its textured tiles reminiscent of the mosaic designs of the Byzantine empire. The five other patterns utilise Noritake’s latest fine premium porcelain, offering an unsusual combination of whiteness, translucency and strength. Jubilant Days Gold and Jubilant Days Platinum feature a base of random patches of cobalt blue and splashes of shimmering metallics; while Jubilant Nights Gold and Jubilant Nights Platinum feature a base of distorted cobalt blue, combined with an array of rich metallic brushstrokes. Finally, Alluring Fields (pictured) depicts bold Japanese-inspired watercolour flowers, along with a gold and black accented band. All seven patterns work together in endless mix and match options.

www.lifetimebrands.com

www.noritake.com

Capdeco 3rd floor Capdeco is a French family-owned cutlery business. The Froment family started its subcontracting business in the cutlery industry – polishing and sharpening knives – in 1963 in Thiers, the French capital of the cutlery industry and where knives have been made for more than six centuries. With such expertise and know-how under its French flatware belt, Philippe Froment, the second generation of cutler, set up the Capdeco brand in 2002, designing and manufacturing flatware. Now, with some 30 collections, Capdeco is not only known for its high-quality 18/10 stainless steel cutlery with the best possible thickness, but for its imaginative and innovative mix of materials, from acrylic to wood.

Representing Capdeco in the US is distributor BIA Cordon Bleu, which will present Capdeco’s latest collections, including the 2015 Doric Collection and City Collection. Inspired by Greek architecture, Doric (pictured left) delivers crystal-like transparent handles. BIA Cordon Bleu will also display the Capdeco lines Conty, Mercure, as well as testing the Tortoise finish with reps and stores.

www.capdeco-france.com

Porcel 9th floor Porcel will, as always, bring its latest collections to its 9th-floor showroom. The Portuguese porcelain brand will highlight, in particular, two of its four new decorations for spring 2015, Atlantico and Leaf. Atlantico (pictured right) is Porcel’s homage to the relevance of the ocean for this most westerly of Western European countries, while the gold details represent the rich empire once brought by the ocean. This dinner, tea and coffee set delivers a deep and intense blue. Meanwhile, Leaf combines colour and texture with different shapes and geometrics for a mix and match range of dining, tea and coffeeware. The colourful pop of mustard yellow, together with the classic shapes of fine porcelain and refined lines of platinum, create a contemporary look with a young and happy spirit.

www.porcel.pt TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 65

SHOW REVIEW NY NOW

Tabletop triumphs Among NY NOW’s multiple award programmes is the Tabletop + Gourmet Housewares Best New Product Awards, with winners recognised for excellence in four categories, including dining and accessories. This year’s winners are:

A New York winter’s tale Innovative, on-trend and relevant product led to brisk business at the winter edition of NY NOW

D

espite wintry conditions, the recently-concluded NY NOW, which ran January 31-February 4, proved highly successful, delivering strong attendance, brisk business and record-breaking sales for many exhibitors.

“NY NOW presented attendees with an outstanding market for design-driven, stylish and sophisticated product, and exhibitors were delighted with the brisk pace of order-writing,” said Randi Mohr, NY NOW codirector and vice-president. “Our attendance this winter increased from winter 2014, and was on par with summer market levels, with buyers from all 50 states and 80+ countries in attendance.”

Among NY NOW’s 2,800 exhibitors, the winter edition featured a surge of new resources, with 150 companies returning from a market absence and nearly 400 exhibitors making their market debut.

Q Squared NYC, known for its

luxury melamine tableware, was among the first-time exhibitors.

“This is our first show with NY NOW, and it totally exceeded our expectations,” explained Alaina Young, creative director at Q Squared NYC. “It has been such a positive experience, and has given us so much exposure. Here, we don’t feel we are selling, we feel like we are sharing experiences and inspiration. We feel like a brand at NY NOW, not a commodity.”

Many vendors reported not just a dramatic increase in orderwriting, but also in the quality of the buyers. “Opening day was the single best day we’ve had since we debuted here three years ago,” said Home exhibitor Garrett Childers with Emporium Home.

Accent on Design exhibitor Mike Arnot, president of Owen & Fred echoed these sentiments: “In just one day here at winter 2015 market, we exceeded all of our sales at the August 2014 show.”

Anna Rabinowicz, owner/ creative director of Home

Winner: Dining Q Squared NYC Known for its luxury melamine, Q Squared NYC was recognised for its Hampton Toile design (pictured top left) – think 100 per cent melamine, BPA-free, hospitality-grade. This was also voted Best of Home as part of the People’s Choice awards online.

Finalist: Dining Caskata Fine bone china tabletop brand Caskata was awarded for its tabletop plate in its new Isignia C pattern, Ellington (pictured top right), inspired by the music of American jazz legend Duke Ellington and created from precious metals.

exhibitor ANNA New York by Rablabs reported that the “energy of NY NOW is contagious. The energy is exhilarating”.

Buyers were equally enthusiastic about the show, praising it in particular for its ontrend relevant product.

Jerry Chang of independent homewares store Ippinka in Toronto, Canada, commented: “NY NOW is a must-attend show if you want to be relevant and discover the freshest products on the market. I attend the show twice a year and each season several of our top sellers are curated from NY NOW suppliers. If you are a design or lifestyle-focused store, this is an event not to be missed.”

Beyond the exhibits – in tableware, there was everyone from Rosanna, Caskata, Twig New York and The Just Slate Company, to Michael Aram, Stelton, Julia Knight and Prouna – there were more than 30 educational seminars, as well as three Only In New York events.

The co-located Artisan

Resource, a platform boasting some 150 artisanal producers which this edition was integrated into the Javits Convention Center adjacent to NY NOW’s Home Collection, also proved successful.

“This was our first time exhibiting at Artisan Resource. We wrote orders with big and small stores and were able to compile a database of 40 new customers,” said Leyli Coreo of Setesik.

Education, always a hallmark of Artisan Resource, was expanded.

In addition to daily ‘Importing 101’ sessions, addressing basics for importing, the show offered two specific educational tracks, Handmade Business Day and Design Council Day, addressing best practices on topics such as growing demand for handmade products and price negotiation.

The summer 2015 edition of NY NOW will run Saturday August 15 through Wednesday August 19, 2015 at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York. www.nynow.com

WHAT THE RETAILER SAID… “We count on NY NOW to meet our business needs on many fronts. The Home Collections offer some of the best the industry has to offer across tabletop – home furnishings and home textiles. We rely on both the veteran companies as well as the large number of new and emerging brands we discover each market. With 30 years of buying trips under our belt, Home at NY NOW always inspires us with the latest trends across the home categories.

Merchandise is flowing in from our recent buying trip.” Michele Ross, Paysage Home, Cleveland, US 66 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

SHOW REVIEW AMBIENTE

Ambiente rocks With increased internationality, additional exhibitors and a bigger focus on HoReCa, Ambiente 2015 proves a purchasing paradise Global growth The world’s leading order platform for the consumer-goods market – Ambiente in Frankfurt am Main – closed its doors on February 17 to a record level of internationality.

Over the five days, 4,811 exhibitors from 94 countries – up from 4,749 exhibitors from 89 countries last year – presented their latest products to the 135,000 visitors from 152 countries, making it the most international Ambiente ever.

In the Dining sector, some 2,211 exhibitors showcased new products.

“Not only do the exhibitors meet German or European visitors, but visitors from all corners of the world,” says Nicolette Naumann, vice president Ambiente/Tendence Messe Frankfurt, highlighting that an export ratio of 80 per cent is not unusual among dining exhibitors.

And the exhibitors from all Dining product groups reported a good fair, with exhibitors unanimous about the very high visitor standard. “Exhibitors were successful in meeting existing

68 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

clients and reaching out to new customers and praised the very high standard and internationality of the visitors,” said Nicolette.

Michael Kasper, general manager consumer goods Germany of WMF, said: “This year’s Ambiente was a complete success for us. The mood was very good, we conducted numerous high-grade discussions and our stand was always busy.”

Another exhibitor, Gianluca Colonna, chief operating & sales officer of Rosenthal, said: “We are thoroughly satisfied with the visitor numbers, internationality, standard and great interest shown.”

Visitors were satisfied, too; the degree of visitor satisfaction rising to an all-time high of 97 per cent.

“When visitors come to Frankfurt, they try to see all the new products about to enter the market. We put immense effort into making the vast offer at Ambiente easily accessible, setting up special exhibitions like Ambiente Trends, Design Plus and Solution, which creates

opportunities for buyers to see important new products and trends in a very efficient way,” said Nicolette.

Dining trends The variety and number of dining products, in particular, is unrivalled globally; and as the show in which most brands will present brand new product, Ambiente continues to be the place for trend-spotting.

“In the tableware segment, mix and match is a big trend and we saw new shapes as additions to classic dinnerware sets, as well as lots of bowls in different sizes,” reported Nicolette. She also noted the ongoing trend of nature, which continues to play an important role in the look and feel of ceramic and porcelain products. “On the glassware front, we saw a strong tendency towards colourful glass and crystal,” concluded Nicolette.

HoReCa rising There was also growth in the number of exhibitors showcasing

product for the contract sector. “As a distribution channel, HoReCa is growing and will continue to gain significance for our exhibitors,” said Thomas Kasl, director for Dining.

And this is demonstrated in a management report, prepared by Ifo Institute Munich and published by Messe Frankfurt. According to the study, this market sector is worth around two billion euros for the product segments represented at Ambiente. And the trend is upwards.

“The Management Report demonstrates the great economic potential of the contract business as a sales channel for Ambiente exhibitors,” says Stephan Kurzawski, senior VP, Messe Frankfurt.

According to the results of a poll, further growth of a good 10 per cent is to be expected over the coming five years – the driving forces are the expansion plans of major hotel chains and the planned increase in the number of cruise liners.

Launched three years ago, the Contract Business Programme at Ambiente offers visitors from the hotel and restaurant business the right contacts, expertise and tailormade solutions. At this year’s show, 270 top suppliers with expertise in this segment presented, including Steelite, Dibbern, Zieher and WWRD. And for the first time, BHS Tabletop AG presented all its brands, Bauscher, Schoenwald and Tafelstern. “We’ve

had great feedback from exhibitors on the HoReCa sector. Since the introduction of the Contract Business label at Ambiente 2012, the number of participants has more or less doubled,” explained Nicolette. That Ambiente is becoming more attractive for buyers from the HoReCa sector was also noticed by exhibitors, including Claude Pfeiffer, managing director, RAK Porcelain, Europe: “We are very pleased with this year’s fair. The focus on the contract business/HoReCa has had a positive impact. We saw more customers who, perhaps, wouldn’t have been here in the past; they came this year because they know that there’s a lot going on here.

From US to Italy As one of Germany’s most important trading partners, the US was the Partner Country for 2015, with more than 100 companies, from Lenox and Libbey to Gibson and Hampton Forge, presenting.

A conceptual presentation of American product entitled Seashore Galore was also on display, showcasing product by renowned US brands like Nambe.

A highlight was USA Day on the Monday when Oscar-winning American actress Helen Hunt took part in a tour, while a number of US exhibitors held special activities for visitors: Lenox raffled fine bone china Made in the USA dinnerware.

The partner country for 2016 has been announced as Italy. “The phrase ‘La dolce vita’ describes the relaxed Italian way of life perfectly and will have a special influence on Ambiente in 2016,” said Italy’s consul general, Cristiano Cottafavi.

With 386 exhibitors this year, Italy is the fourth biggest exhibitor nation at Ambiente, while on the visitor side, it is second only to Germany.

Ambiente 2016 will be held at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre from February 12-16, 2016.

What the exhibitors say…

“

We decided to participate in Ambiente again this year as it is extremely important for our international business. Many of our customers are present – therefore Ambiente is a perfect opportunity for us to strengthen existing relationships and find new contacts. More and more HoReCa customers are now visiting Ambiente to get information on the latest trends and, in particular, on tabletop products. Ambiente has been very successful for Schoenwald in 2015, proving that our international foothold continues to be strong. We have met many important customers and received excellent feedback on our presence and especially on our new collection Allure, made of innovative porcelain Noble China.

Matthias Schoffel, marketing director, Schoenwald

”

“We welcomed many, many customers from the European and world markets and are very pleased with the number of visitors to our exhibition stand.”

Nicolas Luc Villeroy, director, Tableware, Villeroy & Boch

“We had great traffic, we had great diversity, lots of different countries being represented in the trade, which I think is terrific. We had a great show.” Peter B Cameron, chief executive officer, Lenox Corporation “Ambiente is the ideal meeting point, helping us strengthen our existing relationships and develop new ones.

We particularly love the international character of the fair. We had a good feeling about Ambiente 2015 – while the economy is not at the top, we saw a lot of good opportunities and responses.”

Barbara Zanardi, communications manager, Vidivi

Ambiente is where Portmeirion Group first showcase new product to the world.

It draws people from all over the world. There’s always excitement in the air and a feeling of positivity about the industry. This year, visitor numbers to our stand were up and so were orders. Ted Baker Portmeirion attracted a lot of attention. Phil Atherton, marketing director, Portmeirion TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 69

SHOW REVIEW AMBIENTE

AMBIENTE Trend watch From the colour grey and clever gifting concepts, to superversatility and chic collaborations, we present the major trends in tabletop at Ambiente 2015

Stelton

Cool collaborations COOL COLLABORATIONS

Hemingway Design for Royal Doulton

As always at Ambiente, artistic collaborations launched, sending waves of excitement through the halls. One was that of Danish brand Stelton with Sweden’s Prince Karl Philip, one of two designers behind Swedish design duo Bernadotte & Kylberg. Ten years in the making Baltic is a range of four bowls and three vases inspired by the Stockholm archipelago and Baltic Sea. Known for its cutting-edge artistic collaborations, Rosenthal revealed its latest one – Ovid, a collaboration with artist Siba Sahabi, who is renowned for her artwork created from felt. Ovid delivers nine felt-inspired porcelain vases and dishes that look a bit like relics from ancient Greek times.

Marchesa by Lenox 70 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

British brand Royal Doulton has partnered with Hemingway Design on a range of vases, jugs, jars and bowls, featuring mid-century design and stunning shades. On the fashion front, there was the worldwide debut of Ted Baker Portmeirion, a partnership delivering two fashion-inspired tableware ranges; a dinnerware collection, Coralina, from late fashion designer Oscar de la Renta and porcelain brand Vista Alegre (think burnt orange contemporary florals and scalloped edges); and a new dinnerware pattern from couture designer Marchesa and tabletop brand Lenox – Gilded Pearl is inspired by couture gowns with 24-kt gold banding.

ROSES Ambiente was in full bloom, with flora and fauna of all varieties, but it was the rose that took centre stage.

Rose Park, featuring contemporary interpretations of roses in pink, white and red, along with a black stripe and gold edging, was one of three new fine dinnerware patterns for Kate Spade at Lenox; while Maxwell & Williams delivered a rose-inspired fine china tea set as part of a brand new range from its recent collaboration with British charity Royal Historic Palaces. Inspired by the fine

embroidery of the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection and the beauty of Kensington Palace Gardens, Palace Rose is a five-piece fine bone china place setting that comes in pink, mint and white. Villeroy & Boch unveiled Rose Cottage, a premium porcelain nostalgic yet on-trend giftware range, featuring a charming décor of roses in pastel tones of sky blue, rose and lime green. Finally, Herend introduced Sweet Garden, a fine china collection of large roses made up of handpainted textured dots and delivered in two colourways, grey and pink.

BIRDS From literal motifs to creative inspirations, birds in tabletop is a trend that continues to surge.

Richard Ginori presented Voliere, a mix and match collection featuring 12 birds on the brand’s signature Empire shape. Inspired by 19th century botany illustrations, the range features depictions of 12 different species of birds skilfully reproduced using a palette of more than 50 shades. Herend also turned to birds with its new Jardin Zoologique collection, which features birds and butterflies in two colourways, Bleu and Turquoise, combined with white or black. The popularity of bird-inspired collections also led to

WHAT THE RETAILER SAYS…“Ambiente was wonderful; we had a lot of meetings and discovered new exhibitors. We also felt a motivated mood. I really appreciated the new design products from Stelton designed by the Prince of Sweden, while WMF’s huge booth impressed.” Hermann Hutter, MD, department store abt, Germany

Loveramics

Versatility Rosenthal

Birds Arzberg Herend

extensions. Loveramics’ Flutter by Peter Ting, which features bird shapes filled with nature-inspired prints, has been so successful that the brand has launched pastel-coloured backgrounds on the plates, perfect for mixing and matching. Similarly, Lenox’s bird-print Chirp design is so popular that a pastel blue band has been added in a variety of ways to various pieces, creating on-trend accent pieces (Chirp Blue) to mix and match. Birds made an appearance in glassware, too: Leonardo’s new range Papageno delivers handmade glass vases with glass bird heads in jewel colours; Iittala unveiled its annual bird of the year, courtesy of Olva Toikka, which is the Lakla (bean goose); and birds took centre stage at Maleras – as flamingo figurines on bowls and as peacock designs on bowls and vases.

VIVE LA VERSATILITY Rosenthal’s super-versatile Mesh dinnerware series with its endless combination options involving round, angular, oval and square shapes, has been further extended to include three colours (walnut, aqua and cream) and new pieces, taking mixing and matching to greater heights. Lenox extended a number of its collections adding new colours, products and accent pieces to provide greater versatility.

It extended its top-selling Butterfly

Meadow pattern to include outdoor dining pieces to chime with today’s more casual dining trend; and added two new colourways – Dune and Blue – to its Number One-selling fine dining pattern Opal Innocence.

Rudolf Kampf also revealed successful collection extensions, delivering dinnerware additions to its Celt coffee and teaware service; and Arzberg added a decorated collection to its Profi range. Serena Dark and Serena Light feature Art Nouveau-inspired floral motifs in 1920s shades that have been designed to interchange with the entire Profi range. “The presence of different colours on the inner surface of each plate increases the scope for creative mixing and matching, combining the patterns with the monochrome colours of the full Profi range,” says artistic director, Paola Longoni. Finally, Villeroy & Boch has launched its everyday versatile tableware collection For Me, an entry-level range made of premium porcelain, but with a timeless design that offers a range of options suitable for all, from the complete tabletop collection to occasion-based or theme-based shorter lines. Along with this, it presented certain pieces with the Floreana floral watercolour décor, the aim being to combine it with the white version to create colourful highlights.

Villeroy & Boch

COPPER STILL COOL From both a material and colouring point of view, copper and bronze continue to trend. “A new feature is the increased use of copper or copper-like materials in the glassware and decoration sections,” explained the post-Ambiente DIning Trends report. Wedgwood’s new lifestyle concept Arris utilises the metallic shades of copper, delivering everything from dinnerware and glassware to candles and coasters accented with bronze tones. Stelton delivered big on copper, too: its Flow Carafe fuses glass with a lacquered copper and zinc alloy copper-coated stopper that has a mirror finish and doesn’t oxidise over time. Due to the success of Tangle, Stelton has also debuted a Magnum version – think a large glass vase with decorative copper band wrapped around the base. The revival of copper was also seen on the Thomas stand, with new pattern Shiny Bronze, which for the first time ever replicates the look of copper on porcelain. This metallic porcelain look stands out from, yet remains, the perfect complement to the Sunny Day colour palette. Some pieces, like plates and mugs, feature full-surface décor, while others, like cereal bowls, feature just a little colouring. There was also a copper focus on the Leonardo stand, with candlesticks and bowls.

Roses

Stelton

Copper Thomas

WHAT THE RETAILER SAYS…“Ambiente was as always inspiring and a great way to catch up with our supply base. We saw lots of great new additions to existing big brand ranges. My focus for this year was glass and we discovered some new decorative techniques, too.” Emily Moody, tabletop buyer, John Lewis, UK TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 71

Grey

Versace Meets Rosenthal

ASA Selection Gordon Ramsay Royal Doulton

MARBLE EFFECTS Not only was the luxurious material of marble used in various tabletop pieces (think two pieces in Vista Alegre’s new crystal range Odeon, which features a black marble base), but the traditional marbling effect was translated on to dinnerware and serveware. “Marble is so on-trend right now,” commented Jackie J Kim, owner of Twig New York, the boutique brand of Prouna, pointing to Prouna’s new Villa Bianco collection. Inspired by Carrara marble, this high-end quality fine bone china comes with a 24-kt handpainted gold rim. Dibbern also delivered marble-effect platters and plates; Serax revealed marble platters and serveware; and Australian brand Salt & Pepper presented its brand new Marble collection of serveware. Each piece – from dinner plates and cereal and salad bowls to mugs and serving paddles – is enhanced by subtle marble textures and like the natural material itself, each piece is unique in its design.

GREY MATTERS Spanning both casual and fine dining sectors, grey continues to dominate in tabletop. Blomus presented its Emma range – coffee vacuum jug, milk jug, mug and sugar bowl – in a sophisticated grey shade; while Serax revealed its new clay-inspired Dusk collection, which comes in an unusual

grey shade. Grey reigned tabletop supreme at Tognana, too, with three formal dining dinnerware patterns delivering subtle shades of grey, including one translating the Greek Key design. Grey was the shadedu-jour for Royal Doulton’s Gordon Ramsey Maze collection and was similarly the new shade of the season at Sophie Conran for Portmeirion, with Pebble the new collection colour on five new pieces. Various successful fine dining collections were given grey makeovers revealing sophisticated looks. Versace Meets Rosenthal revealed grey as the new colourway in its Prestige Gala dinnerware range; while the producers of exceptional fine bone china Royal Crown Derby gave its Sixties-inspired luxury Bristol Belle tableware collection a third contemporary colourway, grey.

Bristol Belle Graphite combines cool grey with the shimmer and sparkle of platinum, creating a bold contrast.

“We are thrilled to be extending the range to include the stylish, understated and on-trend graphite colourway, which opens the range up to an even wider audience,” said Andrew Klimecki, creative director, Royal Crown Derby. And the colour grey – both light and dark – was the shade du jour at German brand ASA Selection, with its Noma ceramic range of cylindrical vases in three sizes and varying tones of grey.

LOVE OF LEAVES Classic motifs, shapes and textures (via relief patterns) of nature and leaves in particular were prolific on porcelain – think leaf skeletons or classic patterns, such as flowers and leaves presented in a minimalistic manner. Rosenthal has extended its bestselling tableware series TAC to include TAC Skin Gold, which features small overlapping leaves that form a golden mosaic, sometimes extending across the entire surface, other times appearing only on the edges. Gold leaves were in fact prolific. Textured gold leaves appeared on a new dinnerware collection from Dibbern and gold leaves featured on a brand new collection Oliver Park by Kate Spade for Lenox. German brand Kahla, known for creating porcelain for the senses, delivered its fine dining Leaf of Gold dinnerware line, inspired both by the weightlessness of the foil layers and by the shapes found in nature. It boasts a leaf motif, while two platters are leaf-shaped and all covered with leaf of gold. There were black and white leaves at Prouna on its new Leaf design, and bright green leaves at Rosenthal on its new jungle printinspired Les Fruits du Jardin collection, which features motifs of the jungle – from wild blossoms to big green leaves. Finally, tropical leaves featured in acrylic on flatware brand Sabre’s new cutlery releases.

WHAT THE RETAILER SAYS…“Ambiente remains the most important meeting point with our suppliers and we have visited with 15-20 buyers from the start. For us, Ambiente represents not only the search for new products, but the maintenance of good relations with our suppliers. We also aim to establish new partnerships. This year, we discovered Okka, the new automatic Greek/Arabic coffee machine and KitchenAid novelties, which are a burst of technical innovation and unexpected avant-garde flair.”

Mary Sarafidis, executive manager, Parousiasi, a multi-brand tableware store with 52 outlets across Greece 72 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

Marble

Salt & Pepper

Leaves

Rosenthal Rosenthal

Creativity and Beauty Made in Poland

Wrześniak

G L A S S W O R K S

www.glassworks.pl

SHOW REVIEW PEVIEW Ambiente HOME

Home London heats up January

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he January edition of Home, Top Drawer and Craft, which kickstarted the 2015 buying calendar in January, was well-received, with buyers embracing the new venue (Olympia) and layout, which saw Home, Top Drawer and Craft increase in size to span an impressive four halls and two levels at London Olympia.

“The move to Olympia has been tremendously well received, buyers were highly complementary about the new format and with Home, Top Drawer and Craft utilising the entire venue on two levels, it was obvious that the show has grown significantly,” commented Ian Rudge, brand director.

“With additional features such as the Fashion Catwalk, a whole floor dedicated to Top Drawer and a popular new space for Craft, which had doubled in size, this was without question the most successful event we have run to date,” said Ian. The event saw an international attendance increase of over 10 per cent, along with influential UK buyers including Anthropologie, John Lewis, Liberty, Paul Smith, Marks & Spencer, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Urban Outfitters and

Ralph Lauren all in attendance.

Home London, which consists of two key elements – Modern Home Cook & Dine and Decorative Home – this year delivered an inspiring line-up of high-quality exhibitors and exclusive product launches.

Design heavyweights, including Bliss Home, Grand Illusions, LSA International, Alessi and Forma House, chose Home as their exclusive UK event. The show also saw a strong intake of brand new Home exhibitors, with Joseph Joseph, Apollo Housewares, Deadgood, George East, ICTC, Grunwerg and Skagerak joining established Home converts such as Gilberts, Stelton, iittala, Universal Expert, Robert Welch, Marimekko, Mini Moderns and Crown Trent.

Meanwhile, the stand-out second edition of Craft, which included tabletop brands like Designers@Royal Stafford and Katie Brinsley Ceramics, grew by more than 50 per cent, attracting groups from as far afield as Thailand and drawing in the support of a growing number of bodies including the British Council.

In addition to thousands of exciting new product launches from an impressive mix of

Successful venue and format changes delivered the biggest yet Home at Olympia in London in January world-class brands and smaller creative businesses, came the debut of the New Talent area, which created a vibrant atmosphere and was wellreceived by retailers.

New Talent featured new designers from both Home and Top Drawer, gathered together in this dedicated area, allowing buyers to easily locate the hottest new talent, selected by leading journalists and design experts. Spotted with Charlotte Abrahams and the confessions of a design geek Bursary proved highly popular elements of this part of the show.

A number of successful events were run over the three days, including a programme of Retail Masterclasses with guest speakers such as Heals’ Will Hobhouse and Sebastian Conran, who drew in an appreciative full house.

WHAT THE BUYERS SAID… “The highlight from the show this January is the lighting exhibitors. The venue is spacious and gives the opportunity for exhibitors to really showcase their products. The new venue has resulted in more exhibitors and stands have improved.”

Ros Nelson, Habitat

“The highlight of Home London 2015 for me was the New Talent floor.”

Home, Top Drawer and Craft will return to London Olympia for the Autumn edition, from September 13-15, 2015. www.home-london.net

SPOTTED AT HOME… Above & Beyond While perusing the oh-so stylish aisles of Home London, we came across a brand new home design brand and its stunning debut collection. Above & Beyond produces contemporary textiles, ceramics and prints, with the aim of creating unexpected geometric surface designs. Its debut collection includes Dinner Time plates (pictured right). Originally created as a playful approach to teach kids to tell the time, the plates combine simple black lines on a white surface in four designs – Zurich, London, Vienna and Moscow – which when combined, can create a clock that can be set to the time of your breakfast, lunch or dinner.

74 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

In with the new

M&O PARIS SHOW REVIEW

We look at what was new at the January edition of design-led show Maison & Objet Paris

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hen the January 2015 edition of Maison & Objet Paris closed its design-friendly doors on January 27, there were clear signs of the undeniable appeal of this leading design and décor event to the international community, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary.

The Paris show, which is known for its trend-led, design-forward, high-end offerings, ideas and inspirations, witnessed increased numbers of international visitors to its January 2015 show, including a 28 per cent increase of Asian buyers, a 23 per cent increase of buyers from the Pacific, a five per cent increase of Middle East buyers and a 2 per cent increase of buyers from North America.

Certainly, Maison & Objet’s increased efforts in communicating towards longdistance export countries, the Asia-Pacific and the Americas, in particular, where it has launched editions of Maison & Objet, seems to be bearing fruit. The second edition of Maison & Objet Asia will take place in Singapore this month after a successful 2014, while the debut edition of Maison & Objet Americas takes place this May in Miami.

Such a global approach was embraced further this year with Japanese brand Nendo (Oki Sato) being voted the Maison & Objet Designer of the Year January 2015.

Among the 3,194 exhibitors, of which 55 per cent were international, there were more than 350 tabletop exhibitors, the majority of which sat in the Cook+Design sector, as well as in Scenes d’Interieur and Craft.

Brands included everyone from LSA International, Jersey Pottery, Gien and Richard Ginori, to Kinto, Porcel, Moser and Hering Berlin.

Under the theme ‘Make’, the 20th anniversary January show recognised that ‘handmade’ and ‘homemade’ is increasingly in demand, with traditional forms once more a source of value for manufacturers. This theme was interpreted at the show in the three Inspirations Areas, including Nature Made and Human Made.

M&O Americans, Miami Beach, May 12-15 2015; M&O Paris, September 4-8, 2015. www.maisonobjet.com

FUERSTENBERG At Maison & Objet Paris 2015, Fuerstenberg presented new colours for its Clair de Lune espresso cups. The Clair de Lune décor captures the interplay between the sun and moon and is presented on the Aureole form, which won a Red Dot award in 2014 for its outstanding design details. Four new espresso cups in rouge, orange, citron and violet add splashes of lustrous colour to the black, white and gold collection.

BERNADAUD French brand Bernadaud delivered its S/S 2015 collections at Maison. It debuted a number of its own collections, including ornate gold-pattered collections Alliage and Voyage (the latter, pictured), glossy earthtoned ombre collection Iris and architecturallyinspired Palace.

Palac It also presented new collaborative collections w with famed artists, including Misfits For The Table with performance artist Marina Abramovic; a llimited-edition plate Elephant with Jeff Ko Koons; and a collection of plates with the Calder Foundation.

RICHARD BRENDON RI In Scenes d’Interieur, Richard Brendon launched new Cereal and Serving bowls across all of his collections – Details From Willow, Reflect, Richard Brendon meets Patternity, as well as the Willow Patternity O Oval range. It also showcased new designs Speck and the mix and match collection, Blue Band (pictured left).

BOMMA CRYSTAL Czech master glassmakers Bomma unveiled its brand new Blanc Collection. Created by Prague-based student Monika Korinkova, cut porcelain and crystal are combined to create a collection (pictured) aimed at high-end candy shops and patisseries for the presentation of gourmet foods.

TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 75

SPRING SHOW REVIEW NY NOW FAIR

Spring awakening With the move of Table & Kitchen to hall 9, the launch of Retail Shop and a celebration of the best in British buying with the Buyers Power List Awards, Spring Fair 2015 had a lot to offer

Denby

Creative Tops

A

s the largest and most important retail trade event in the UK, Spring Fair once more provided a strong transactional platform when it ran from February 1-5, that will see an estimated £3.6 billion worth of orders placed as a direct result of participation at the show.

Senior buyers from leading independents and multiples such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Liberty, Fortnum & Mason, John Lewis and Heal’s, alongside more than 63,225 other buying professionals, represented buying power to 3,000 exhibitors across 14 different market sectors.

The MD of Temptation Gifts, Mike Adams said: “For over 30 years, Spring Fair has been the single most important date in our buying calendar, and I am sure it will remain so. This year we allocated 17 ‘man days’ to this event, and we estimate that it will take until the end of March to complete all our follow-up.”

One of the key developments for 2015 was the unveiling of a transformed Home sector in Hall 1, as well as the re-branded Table & Kitchen sector, which for 2015 had a new home in Hall 9, more closely-aligned with gifts. A strategic move, it saw Table & Kitchen flanked by The Summerhouse in Hall 8, Gift in Hall 5, and Gift, Home & Volume

in Halls 10, 11 and 12. Further development is underway for Table & Kitchen 2016 following exhibitor feedback on how to attract a larger proportion of the fair’s gift retailers.

A significant new development for Spring Fair 2015 was the launch of Retail Shop in Hall 4, designed to guide SME online retailing. Over 70 exhibitors represented various products and services crucial to multi-channel retailing, including in-store and online solutions, logistics and fulfilment experts, marketing platforms, payment providers and specialists in packaging.

Central to Retail Shop was the e-Commerce Seminar Theatre, which offered insight and advice, including keynote speakers Mind Candy and Firebox founder Michael Acton Smith OBE. Spring Fair 2015 also celebrated the best in British buying with the launch of the inaugural Spring Fair Buyers Power List Awards sponsored by major Dutch lifestyle brand Light & Living. The awards are designed to recognise influential buying teams and individuals across all of the sectors represented at Spring Fair.

The Buyers Power List shortlist was compiled and voted for by the industry, with the winners revealed. Best Multiple Retailer or Department Store went to John Lewis; Best Independent Retail

Maxwell & Williams

Buyer or Team went to Temptation Gifts and Power 30 overall individual winner went to Gillian Leahy, buying manager at Ocado.

Also held during Spring Fair was The Gift of the Year Awards presented by Giftware Association ambassador and international product designer Sebastian Conran, who described the competition as: “A barometer of trends in the gift and home market – reflecting the everchanging landscape of the economy”. There were 20 separate categories to the awards, and the overall Judges Choice prize was given to British ceramics manufacturer My Gifts Trade for their Hinchcliffe & Barber-licensed Songbird Grey Ceramics range.

Forward bookings for Spring Fair 2016 are tracking at 80 per cent, reflecting the strength of orders placed at the event. The next edition of Spring Fair will take place from Sunday January 31 – Thursday February 4 2016.

For more information visit the website: www.springfair.com

WHAT THE RETAILER SAID… “I was truly impressed by the changes at Spring Fair this year. The move to hall 9 [for Table & Kitchen] has given the show new impetus and there was a real wow factor as you walked in. And the product offer didn’t disappoint. Welcome back Spring Fair as a serious destination for kitchenware”. Matthew Canwell, director of buying, Lakeland 76 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

Inspired by…

Vintage Lace Katie Alice at Creative Tops Creative Tops unveiled a brand new dinnerware collection from bestselling brand Katie Alice.

Rustic Lace is a collection of terracotta dinnerware inspired by a vintage lace bracelet that Katie found in a boutique in Paris. This core range encourages customers to buy beautiful individual pieces without the need to buy a whole new collection each season. www.creative-tops.com The English countryside Denby Taking inspiration from the Derbyshire countryside, Peveril is a vibrant and eye-catching rock solid premium stoneware tableware range, featuring two reactive glossy glazes in deep blues and greens. www.denby.co.uk Bluebells Maxwell & Williams An extension to its highly successful Cashmere Charming range, Maxwell & Williams delivered two new dinnerware collections, including the vintage-inspired Charming Bluebells range, which features graceful bluebells in a repetitive pattern on a range of scalloped shapes. www.maxwellandwilliams.co.uk

Homi brings living to life

SHOW REVIEW HOMI

Through colour, new technologies and practical workshops, the third edition of Homi in Milan in January brought the future trends of living to life

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Italian products aren’t just symbolic of traditional values, they set the trends across the board for all segments of the lifestyle category. And this is exactly what emerged from the latest edition of Homi, the show dedicated to lifestyles, which closed on January 20, having received more than 80,000 professional visitors, 15 per cent of them from outside of Italy.

“After a year and three editions, we can now talk about having conquered this challenge. Homi is reinventing the way supply meets demand in a strategic industry,” said Michele Perini, president of Fiera Milano, which organises the show.

Just a year since the debut of the new format and Homi is presenting itself to the world as an incubator of trends, boasting big inspirations from the classic to the contemporary. We highlight some of the trends that Homi showcased during its most recent edition.

It’s all about colour After years of being essentially absent, colour is back to define the objects and spaces of our day-today living, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the ‘80s. According to the most recent trends, natural pale shades and minimalist style will still take centre stage for a little longer, but a massive about-face is in progress toward new shades and metallics with bright hues.

At Homi, furnishings in metal, copper or gold paired with black

elements allowed visitors to feel submerged in truly glamorous surroundings. The input of the new technologies will also lead to an intangible style that will feature transparencies and an inventive use of LED lights, taking advantage of the more unusual colours in the relationship between shadow and light. The space between light, colours and transparencies lends the idea of being suspended in space.

Travel-themed textiles The theme of travel incorporating exotic details and the use of bright colours characterise the latest home textiles. The new buzzword is ‘dare with flair,’ because when the pale colours make room for creativity in a new colour scheme, the entire home takes on a new look with accessories.

Design companies have selected ideas that are strongly evocative.

This is the case of the Les-Ottomans home collection, entirely dedicated to spaces that balance the best of east and west, such as Turkey, which thus lends a new perspective on highly-charged, bold combinations.

Textures and geometric designs with strong colour contrasts decorate tablecloths, for example.

And all the extras Homi is also an ambassador of style and lifestyles. After its September 2014 debut, the Homisphere area returned once more this year. This is an innovative concept that takes on new ways of living in terms of food

and wine, hospitality and contract projects.

Further positive feedback came out of the La Magnifica Forma 3.0 initiative, Homi’s experimental laboratory where design meets artistic heritage. Here, five living spaces were presented, each of which was dedicated to a place from five different regions in Italy: a bedroom inspired by Tuscany; a dining room inspired by Lazio; a living room inspired by Sicily; an office inspired by Lombardy; and a kitchen inspired by the Campania region. Italian designers offered up innovative living solutions.

Meanwhile, the exhibition, Altagamma with Italian Contemporary Excellence, delivered a photo exhibition using the language of image to communicate the values that have allowed Italy’s high-end industry – and the businesses that represent it – to find success wordwide, communicating the Italian art of ‘savoir faire’, craftsmanship, technology, innovation and, of course, ‘Made in Italy’ creativity.

As is always the case, Homi also offered innovative spaces for learning. In the Associazione Orafa Lombarda area, there were workshops organised by GALTUS and the teaching of techniques of craftsmanship with precious metals.

Homi will return to Italy from September 12-15 alongside Expo Milano 2015. www.homimilano.com

15% The number of visitors from outside Italy. In addition to a stronger presence of

Russian buyers, Turkish, French and Chinese buyers were significant. Italy continues to play an important role in how big Chinese spenders plan their budgets – they see Italian products as objects of excellence and as being symbolic of embodying traditional values.

TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 77

Last Word

EYE ON DESIGN

NICK HOLLAND Each issue we cast the spotlight on a designer in tableware. This time, we chat to one of the most successful international product designers in tableware, Nick Holland What exactly do you do?

In business terms, I am the creative director and managing director of my own design company – Nick Holland Design Ltd. In practical terms, I run the company, undertake all the creative design, and work closely and personally with all my clients internationally.

How would you describe your design aesthetic?

I prefer modern but timeless design.

I think my new Palladio cutlery for Elia International (pictured right) is a good example of this. However, I also admire and appreciate excellence in beautiful traditional or historic designs.

What are the main elements of good design?

The function of a product is essential and the design should evolve from this, not be forced or gimmicky. In tableware, the functional requirements are important, but are far less demanding than, for example, an electric food processor, so the aesthetics play a key and decisive role in a product´s success.

Describe a typical day in your design life.

There is no average day – that is the fun of it. I usually start by answering emails from my clients in

Asia because of the time difference.

I will then review any urgent tasks in the studio, and only then can I concentrate on new creative work.

I need peace and calm, and time to think, to concentrate and develop my best creative designs, although many initial ideas come to me on trains or planes or in the street. I always carry a little notebook and record them for future use.

What have been the highlights of your career?

There are many: Dining with the Queen at the Royal College of Art when it received the Royal Charter in the year I was President of the Student Union; being design director of the prestigious Portuguese porcelain and crystal manufacturer Vista Alegre Atlantis for 13 years; working on projects with exceptional and well-known designers, such as Robert Welch, Sir Kenneth Grange, Alan Fletcher and architect Alvaro Siza Vieira; becoming visiting Professor of Design at Staffordshire University, the cradle for design in the British and international ceramic industry.

From a creative perspective, what are your views on the tableware industry?

In recent years dining, eating and cooking at home has undergone

Calling all designers – would you like to be featured in a future ‘Eye on Design’? If so, email our Editor, kate@lempublishing.co.uk 78 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL

Name: Nic k Holland Job: Intern ational pro duct desig Email: mai gner l@nickholla n ddesign.c About: W om ith a spec ialis cutlery an d dining, N ation in ick one of the most exper Holland is ienced an successfu d l internatio nal produ designers ct in tablewar e. Nick graduated from the R oyal Colle of Art, Lon ge don, with a Masters Degree in product d es ign with a distinctio n and the rare hono Royal Colle ur of the ge Silver M edal. Nick’ producing s first desig a range of n for cutlery fo business, r Hab manufact bitat. Niick tableware waas uring des products, started his igns for ta all made in own bleware an England, w product d d housew esign con h ic h ares le d to setting sultancy, N continues up his ow ick Hollan today. Du n d Design, ring this p for the pre in 1997, w eriod, Nic stigious Po hich k was des rtuguese 13 years u ign directo group Vista ntil 2011. r Nick has st Alegre Atl UK and cl an ud ients inclu de manufa ios both in Porto an tis for Italy, Germ d in the cture an has served y, France, Korea, Ch rs in England, Portu ina, gal on many d esign organ Taiwan and Vietnam , US, the Desig n Council, isations in . Nick th En e Royal Soci ety of Arts. Design Business Ass gland, including He is a visi ociation an University ting profe in ssor at Staff d the ceramic in Stoke on Trent, Eng ordshire land – the du ce stoneware stry. Nick has recen tly created ntre of the British ta an exclusi is now par bleware, Olson, for ve le t of the re tailer’s exte ading retailer Crate range of Clients: H & Barrel an rnal Desig abitat, Cra ner Progra d te Tognana, mme.

Spal, WMF, & Barrel, John Lewis Partnersh Hankook, T&G Wood ip, Auratic, Elia, Boots ware, Tesc ,M o, Le Creu set, Atlanti inh Long I, Pimpern s Crystal, am el, ong other s.

a quiet uiet revolution; while formal dining at home and bridal tableware continues to decline, except for the wealthy, there is the rise of welldesigned casual tableware. Home cooking has become a favourite occupation due to the many culinary TV programmes. The result is that formal dining tableware has become more traditional or classic in design and more expensive, more of a niche market, and casual tableware has become even more casual and creative. Another strong trend is the growing preference for individual or handmade items, or pieces that look handmade, even if they are made by machine. These factors have polarised the design scene in tableware into two areas – the expensive luxury market for formal tableware and the creative casual market.

Which designs or collections are favourites?

I have collected ceramics for many years, and have a very large collection mainly of teapots and tea sets, mostly from the 1930s – a period that produced some wonderful and innovative designs.

My favourites are from the Shelley factory – the most beautiful bone china ever produced. I also have design classics by Finnish design legends Tapio Wirkkala and Timo Sarpaneva and, of course, the Walter Gropius tea set for Rosenthal.

What is so exciting about being in the tableware industry today?

It is an industry that combines art and traditional skills to make some wonderful products. Although it would seem that everything has already been done in tableware in design terms, it is always possible to find something new and fresh. This is the challenge for a designer in our business. And, as Charles Eames said, “The details are not the details.

They make the design.”

THE NEW YORK TABLETOP SHOW ®

APRIL 14 –17, 2015 Where the most important brands and buyers meet.

41 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010 • 212.686.1203 • 41madison.com • A Rudin Building

American Silk Anchor Hocking Arc International Arthur Court Designs Artland Auratic USA B.I.A. Cordon Bleu Bormioli Rocco Glass Cambridge Silversmiths Certified International Christofle Circle Glass Crystal House International Dansk Denby USA DeVine Corp.

Euro Ceramica, Inc. Fitz & Floyd Fürstenberg Gibson Overseas Godinger Group Gourmet Settings Guy Degrenne Hampton Forge Hankook Chinaware Herend Hering-Berlin Hermès Home Essentials and Beyond Homer Laughlin China Co. iittala Jay Import John Jenkins Joseph Joseph Julia Watts LLC Juliska Kavalier Glass L’OBJET Lee’s Group International Lenox Corporation Libbey Glass Lifetime Brands Lladró Luigi Bormioli Maxwell & Williams Meyer Corporation Michael Aram Michael Wainwright Moser Mottahedeh Mr. Christmas Nambe Nikko Ceramics Noritake Odiot Oneida Ltd. Orrefors Kosta Boda Over & Back Pasabahce USA Pickard China Portmeirion Philippe Deshoulières Prima Design Prouna Puiforcat Q Squared Design LLC Ralph Lauren Home Reed & Barton Ricci Argentieri Richard Ginori 1735 Riedel Crystal of America Robinson Home Products Rosenthal USA Royal Crown Derby Royal Copenhagen Royal Doulton Royal Limoges Royal Worcester Saint Louis Sambonet Sango America Scafati & Company Shinepukur Ceramics Signature Housewares Inc. Spode Steve Dolce Marketing 10 Strawberry Street TarHong Direct Tervis Tzeng Shyng Vietri Villeroy & Boch Vista Alegre Waterford Wedgwood Waechtersbach William Yeoward Crystal WMF Yamazaki Tableware Zak Designs Zwilling J.A. Henckels