Up Close with Maria Lintott

February 28, 2008

Maria Lintott is as cute and polished as her name may imply. What she isn’t though, is typical of what that might mean if taken at face value. Her interest in details (probably what keeps her looking so well put-together) allows her to design patterns that are simultaneously intricate and simple.

In order to design a composition that is rational yet complex, Maria constantly studies the way details connect in all aspects - from wandering around street markets, noticing how the intense color of the tangerines plays against the wooden cart they sit in, to spending an hour examining the structure of a leaf and all its stems. Maria so closely observes what she is interested in that she is able to step back and recreate what she saw in a simple manner without losing the complexity of it all.

Through photography and sketching, Maria is able to capture images that exemplify how she sees the world. They also provide her with a tangible way to experiment with pattern, beginning with cutting templates from the silhouettes of her sketches and then loading them up with color. Then, by applying pressure, she transfers the pattern to the page, creating subtle variations in the color and depth of the design.

The Voice of Reason

February 28, 2008

Grace Liu was seeking a challenge when she left Poughkeepsie and moved to China, but she probably wasn’t expecting to redefine and revolutionize hand-painted bone china. Advanced technology and a shift in tableware aesthetics was encouraging hand-painted bone china techniques to fall by the wayside. Grace noticed that the centuries-old tradition was quickly disappearing, and knew it was time to figure out how to make it work in the modern world.

Grace began building a company with local Tangshan artist, Jian Ping Li, that would continue the art of hand-painted bone china while creating designs that appeal to a well-traveled, metropolitan crowd. She explains though, that no matter how Western the design, the artists at Asianera use ‘gong bi,’ a meticulous brushstroke typical of Chinese painting, and that alone will always make the design feel somewhat Eastern.

This Asian-American, Michigan University-graduate and her business partner, an immensely talented, classically-trained artist from the Hebei Province, are confident that the brushstroke will not only always retain it’s roots, but that it will also be the virtue that keeps hand painting alive and in demand.

“Technology can almost replicate a hand-painted look nowadays, but the true artistry of hand-decorated and hand-painted china can never be imitated because the human touch and spirit of the artist will always be present in each and every brushstroke and in each unique piece of work.”

The Dynamo

February 28, 2008

Like the city he lives in, Roman Vrtiska is as young and raw as he is mature and experienced. It’s no wonder this quirky designer finds his home town of Prague - a place where you’ll see a funky fresh juice bar next to a Gothic cathedral - as a constant playground for inspiration.

Understanding the dynamic between old and new allows Roman to play with that tension. For Teroforma, Roman redesigned a vintage carafe produced by Kvetna Glassworks called the Cartouche. He took the original 1873 design and focused on finding new solutions for the traditional shape, taking into consideration the role of an object when it’s not in use.

It’s hard to pin down exactly where Roman finds his inspiration given the breadth of his interests – from street art to music to architecture. “If you are looking at the street with an open mind, you can find inspiration in everything,” he says over the phone, after explaining his definition of functional simplicity. You begin to see what he means when he tells you his favorite place is 45°56′14.825″N, 10°48′56.692″E.

For Roman Vrtiska, the world is not places, it’s a deep and open mind.

Clean Efficient Fun

February 28, 2008

Anna Dabrowski is as funky and full of life as the objects she designs. A complex person who loves humor and color, Anna is always looking for the most creative and inspiring solutions in both life and design.

Born in Poland to parents who are both artists, Anna has a natural talent for photography and design, but her travels are what keep her mind sharp and sophisticated. In fact, Anna is so smitten with relocating every once in a while that she claims Europe in its entirety as her home.

So how does a person who danced on tabletops in college and jumped out of an airplane at 13,000 feet stay so down to earth and organized? She is an efficient, motivated and passionate designer who reflects much of the renewed vibrancy of the city she now lives in. She takes photographs of the things she finds inspiring, has a portfolio & website so well put together it could run circles around a Mac ‘genius’ and she shows off her love of felt with a detailed binder that includes her designs and fabric samples.

In some ways typical of what we imagine when we hear the word “artist,” Anna has a wonderful way of balancing the practical with the absurd and always doing it in a way that is uniquely hers.

Understanding Shape

February 26, 2008

When designer and head of product development, Thea Mehl, visited Thomas Allen in Stoke-on-Trent last year, she felt designer envy. Having spent some of her student time in ceramics studios, she was “instantly jealous” seeing Thomas’s workbench and potter’s wheel.

Thomas is a shape prodigy – he talks about curves and transitional shapes as if he was born understanding how they relate to each other and the space they occupy. His enthusiasm for his work could make anyone jealous, designer or not, because to be that passionate about something is truly enviable.

The fact that his talent matches his passion is evident as you wander around his studio past a vast array of beautiful ceramic plates, cups, and coffee pots. But it was a simple flowerpot, sitting on a windowsill, that became the starting point for the Oyyo range he would later create.

The flower pot’s flowing shapes, a round base lifted into an oval top, became the inspiration for the range’s foundation piece: the Pot. From this starting point, Thomas developed plates, bowls, jugs and mugs – all encompassing the lightness and fluidity of his original design.

No Eraser

February 25, 2008

One might compare the art of hand-painting bone china to the art of tattooing. They are similar in that it takes impeccable drawing skills, patience, and a steady hand. While mistakes made in the tattoo parlor might incite a more immediate response from the customer, the hours spent pouring over the detail of a highly intricate bone china pattern make mistakes just as unimaginable.

One of the most meticulous and talented artists Teroforma has had the pleasure of working with, Jian Ping Li at Asianera is a master painter and ceramicist. His passion for both the tradition of his craft and the ways that it can be applied to the future extend to his approach to both the artists at Asianera and his students at the Hebei Light Industrial School’s ceramics department, where he is a lecturer. At Asianera, he has taken a holistic approach to the way he cultivates the talents of his artists. He recognizes that being inclusive and nurturing – whether that means the free meals that Asianera provides, the painting competitions it holds, or even the local community outreach programs it sponsors – is the key to activating talent.

When it comes to extending the boundaries of his own craft, he admits that the challenge may be a bit more daunting. He has mentioned that some of his geometric patterns might actually be too perfectly rendered – some have found it hard to believe that there is not a computer involved somewhere in the process. He takes it in stride and will happily do a quick hand sketch to prove you wrong. JP’s passion for what he does and the people he works with is at the core of who he is and the reason that we will keep coming back to him again and again with our most challenging projects.

Life balanced on the edge of an…egg

February 24, 2008

Jose Joaquim is the eldest of 5 siblings of the Ribeiro family that has owned and operated Cutipol Foundry in Caldas Das Taipas, Portugal since its opening in 1952. Having taken over daily management of the business from his father – Jose Joaquim Sr. – Jr. is responsible for finding a balance between the traditions of the past – upheld by an unshakable faith in the importance of the role of the artisan – and the realities of a modern marketplace where demand for Cutipol designs stretches from Kobe to Copenhagen.

For the past 30 years, Jose Joaquim has worked to align his aesthetic preference for minimalism with the functional requirements of the objects he designs. As the Designer and Production Manager for Cutipol, he is constantly at the center of family- and company-wide collaborations. “I try to make things with a purity and simplicity. When you strip down the added decoration to the design, you need a very specific focus. I have a simple life – I enjoy the small things – simplicity is analogue to how I try to live.”

Having spent his childhood living literally next door to the foundry and accompanying his father on business trips, the balance of work and life for Jose Joaquim is somehow something more profound than it might at first seem. “It is like Columbus’ Egg,” (referring to a metaphor widely referenced in Portuguese and Spanish cultures about the apparent ease with which one can make an egg stand on its end). “The trick is to make it all look ‘effortless’ and it is the hardest thing to achieve.” With such lofty goals, we asked Jose Joaquim how he manages to measure his progress: “My father of course – he is still the owner and he visits us at the foundry every week.”

Happy Valentine’s Day!

February 06, 2008

With National Day of Men Being Held to High Romantic Standards just around the corner, Teroforma thought we would help soothe those apprehension blues many men struggle with every February 14th.

Our mouth blown crystal champagne glasses are a great way to warm up before dinner, arrive with these and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and you’re sure to start the night off right.

The carafe & tumbler is not only a great item aesthetically, but will probably come in handy when you’re hanging out bedside with your Valentine. Fill it with flowers and you’ve got twice the gift!

For a modern twist, forget the traditional flowers and fill our red-rimmed stoneware mugs with matching red rose petals. The oversized mugs will remind your loved one of you every use and the petals can be thrown in the bath or on the bed. This will probably lead to needing the bedside carafe though, just forewarning.

We hope you have a happy Valentine’s Day and remember no matter what you choose, however you imagine it is how it should be.