With the summer gathering season in full swing, custom dining tables that incorporate ceramics — whether as an inlaid motif, hand-set tile, or the entire surface — are turning these household staples into functional works of art.
Such was the goal of London-based interior designer Jasmine Fisher, who commissioned artist Francesca Anfossi to design a bespoke dining table after she spotted Anfossi's work at In Good Company, an exhibition by Studio Wright and 32 St George at Lamb Gallery last year. Inlaid with stoneware symbols reflecting Fisher’s multicultural family roots, the new table is a deeply personal piece.
“The dining table is where memories are made and cultural traditions are passed from one generation to the next. This commission gave me the opportunity to celebrate my family's heritage — Polynesian, Fijian, Chinese, British, Brazilian, and Indian — through the foods that we have shared over the years. I like the idea that the table will one day become a family heirloom, carrying those stories into the next generation. It has already become a way of teaching my daughter about her heritage,” says Fisher.
To craft the table, Anfossi worked closely with Fallen & Felled, a London timber company that gives locally felled urban trees a second life. She also champions other ceramists as the co-founder of Rochester Square, a ceramics and community space in Camden, which Fisher describes as “a place where makers can work alongside and with one another, keeping traditional craft alive.”
Tecla Tangorra and Robert Ivanov, founders of international architecture and interior design practice LABSCAPE Studio, also champion the power of ceramics — and ceramic artisans — to profoundly impact a project. “Before becoming an architect, I spent many years working with sculptural ceramics, developing a deep fascination for the expressive possibilities of clay, glazes and colour,” says Tangorra. That background led the pair to incorporate ceramics as an architectural medium and as a decorative material, including designing collectible furniture like the Ceramic Fields Table — named for the aerial view of cultivated landscapes.
“The greatest challenge was finding a manufacturing partner capable of producing every piece entirely by hand while maintaining the highest level of craftsmanship,” she notes. Enter Ceramica di Cava, a small family-run workshop in Cava de’ Tirreni, near the Amalfi Coast. Because each table is unique, the production process is complex, with ceramic pieces individually designed, shaped and glazed. Custom colours are also created for each project and the glazes are designed to drip, merge and freeze during firing to create one-off finishes. “More than a dining table, each Field Table is a unique collectible object that celebrates the beauty of handmade ceramics while transforming traditional craftsmanship into a contemporary design language,” says Tangorra.
Interior designer Louis Aspar of Studio Louis Morgan also had contemporary design top of mind when he commissioned a custom dining table for an hôtel particulier in Paris’ 16th arrondissement. “As the dining table sits at the heart of the living space, it was essential for it to become the room’s centerpiece. We envisioned it as a piece of jewellery carved from solid wood — substantial, sculptural, and precious—with a glossy burgundy-red glazed ceramic surface that brings a bold graphic quality to the tabletop,” he says. The base, created in collaboration with a friend, is French walnut with bobbin legs that act as a counterpoint to the glossy Granato tiles from Cesi Ceramica.
And should you find yourself at Selfridges one day soon, pop up to 40 Duke (if you have access to the new top-floor member’s club and personal shopping space) to see the colossal ceramic dining table by Floris Wubben. Famous for constructing his own oversized extruding machines, the Dutch ceramist is a master at creating custom ceramic tables on a grand scale — this one is nearly four metres long.
Lastly, speaking of the blurred boundaries between ceramics, art and furniture, we must give a shout out to the upcoming Stoke Ceramics Fair. This new destination for contemporary ceramics launches in the heart of The Potteries on Saturday, 17 October. It’s sure to be filled with artisans and may just spark a future collaboration of your own. If you’re a maker, they’re accepting exhibitor applications until 16 August!
Photos: Felix Speller, c/o Jasmine Fisher; Nicolas Schimp, c/o Labscape Studio; Yohann Fontaine, c/o Studio Louis Morgan; Lucia Bell Epstein c/o Selfridges