Alabasta designs at the British Ceramics Biennal, Stoke on Trent

Even though there are no Alabasta ceramics in production quite yet, some of my placemat and tray designs sneaked into the prestigious British Ceramics Biennal in Stoke on Trent last week. I have been a member of Contemporary Applied Arts in London for many years selling my own label handmade cashmere and silk hand dyed scarves through this lovely outlet. As Alabasta has developed and as I have been getting more and more pregnant I have been making less scarves but CAA is still the place to go to for the best selection. Last year I participated in DomesticMatters at the CAA (see this post), which was all about members of CAA who also diversify into production runs of other related products. This latest show, also curated by Brian Kennedy with homeware design consultant and ceramic designer Sue Pryke shows a mixture of textiles, surface pattern and glass alongside contemporary ceramics from well known potters such as Andrew Wicks and Natasha Daintry.

"CRAFT INTO INDUSTRY examines the possible relationship between British studio practice and the ceramics industry. Sue Pryke and Brian Kennedy were keen to not only look at ceramicists for this exhibition but to explore and present makers from a wide range of disciplines as they strongly feel that there are many partnership possibilities between studio practitioners and the British ceramics industry.

Bringing together a collection of artisans making their own product in isolation this exhibition highlights pockets of creativity, pioneering skills and design ingenuity that can be of interest to industry.  The work highlighted here signifies how applicable the concepts, forms and processes are for production. The collection is an illustration of how a designer would bring together a beautiful range of ware.  Deciding on shapes with commonalities, balancing variation within materials, colour and texture to build a series. Working with makers, or factories, to develop a range of work with intrinsic values that complement the other forms in the range and drawing on the skills and knowledge from a multitude of crafts. 

Including work by Asta Barrington, Heather Belcher, Elizabeth Bone, Daphne Carnegy, Carina Ciscato, Natasha Daintry, Ekta Kaul, Sarah Kay, Chris Keenan, Sun Kim, Billy Lloyd, Grant McCaig, Nick Membery, Sue Paraskeva, Michael Ruh, Vicky Shaw, Janice Tchalenko, Sasha Wardell, Andrew Wicks, Derek Wilson and Sue Pryke."

The look of the exhibition is quite 'raw' because it is taking place at the Original Spode factory so is surrounded by the atmospheric and possibly rather dusty debris from the workings of an old pottery!

Alabasta Folk Stripe placemats and coaster shown with Asta Barrington scarves plus Janice Tchalenko ceramics on their left and surface pattern on the walls.

38cm Alabasta Folk Stripe tray and coaster with my ruched lambswool silk scarf and satin peapod silk and cashmere scarf

Ceramics by Andrew Wicks in the foreground and Chris Keenan to the left

All photos by Brian Kennedy.

CRAFT INTO INDUSTRY is now open at the British Ceramics Biennial until 10th November 2013.

Opening times: Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12 noon-5pm

BCB Design: Tableware
Original Spode Factory Site
116 Church Street
Stoke-on-Trent
ST4 1BU

The exhibition will be moved to London next year as part of the Contemporary Applied Art 2014 exhibition programme and installed in their brand new gallery in Southwark.

Alabasta designs at upcoming Maison et Objet and Top Drawer trade shows

If you are a trade buyer there will be a couple of opportunities in the coming weeks to view and order the entire range of Alabasta products:

MAISON ET OBJET Paris, Parc des Expo, 6-10th September 2013
Åry Trays, Hall 6, Stand Q25
Avenida Home, Hall 8, Stand Bbis77

TOP DRAWER  London, Olympia, 15-17th September 2013
Avenida Home, Stand A96

Åry Trays will be showing the current collection of Alabasta trays in all sizes including Folk Stripe, Love Birds and Blue Fish. Avenida Home will be showing the current range of Alabasta placemats and coasters including the brand new Forest Leaves design (see photos below) plus hopefully the launch of some very lovely jacquard woven Blue Fish kitchen textiles of which you can take a sneak peek at on my Instagram page. I'll be blogging about those when they are officially launched very soon.

Alabasta Forest Leaves placemat from Avenida Home

Alabasta Forest Leaves 10cm coaster from Avenida Home

I'm intending to visit Top Drawer on the final day but I'm missing Maison et Objet this time sadly - I love seeing what's fresh and new out there and that show covers it all.

Alabasta Blue Fish tray in Ideal Home magazine, August 2013

There I was in the dentist's waiting room this morning, casually flicking through Ideal Home's August issue, and what should I notice on the Style Editor's Shopping Spy page but an Alabasta tray! There is no doubt blue and white is a classic combination for interiors and the best selling 49cm Blue Fish tray gets a lot of press attention at this time of year because it conjures up thoughts of al fresco eating and holidays. Here again it has been promoted by the Coastal Home webshop who are the go-to people for any nautical interior accessories it seems. Having been brought up by the coast I do miss the sea and it is the one thing land-locked Bath lacks. One day I intend to own a coastal home, as there's nothing like a dip in the 'invigorating' British sea in the summer to de-stress you..

Ideal Home magazine, August 2013

detail

Thank you, Coastal Home and Ideal Home magazine.

PS If you ever see any Alabasta products in any magazines, do please let me know (via the contact page) as I am not always aware of what is out there - thanks!

New Alabasta design: Forest Leaves

The newest design in the Alabasta range is going to be officially launched next month at Top Drawer in London and Maison et Objet in Paris but I'm showing it now because it has just been put on the Avenida Home website for ordering. This one is another deceptively complex pattern, this time showing exotic foliage and fluttering blue butterflies and is entitled Forest Leaves. It is inspired by lush rainforests and mid century Scandinavian ceramics and comes in colours that sit well with the existing Alabasta designs. The darkest shade is a very deep green-black and it is on the same ecru background as the Love Birds design. With flashes of chartreuse, cerulean blue, ultramarine and a vivid jungle green we think it looks modern and strong with a playful element to it and we hope it will prove as popular as the other designs.

This design will be available to order in the rectangular 29.2 x 21.6cm placemat and 10cm square coaster with a matt finish and black baize non-slip base from Avenida Home:

Alabasta Forest Leaves placemat

Alabasta Forest Leaves 10cm coaster

It has already been featured in the upcoming trade show Top Drawer's promotional poster (top right image) so we have great hopes for this new design and hope you like it as much as we do:

Top Drawer retail trade show, 15-17th September 2013

Visit the Avenida Home stand at the following trade shows to see the entire Alabasta ranges for Avenida Home:

6-10 Sept 2013, Maison et Objet, Paris, Hall 8, Stand Bbis77
15-17 Sept 2013, Top Drawer, Olympia, London, Stand A96

www.avenidahome.com

Alabasta design on Instagram

Now there is another place to see my inspiration, surroundings and Alabasta products in situ and that's my Instagram page. It's a visual diary of snapshots taken when I'm at home and out and about of things that make me tick as a designer. Mixed in with that will be Alabasta products seen in shop displays and in use every day in my home, showing how they can brighten up the dullest environment. When I've been doing this for a while you will see some consistency in the subjects I photograph - I am especially interested in linear pattern and interesting colour combinations, and I do love a fancy font. Everything around can inspire and trigger off ideas - it's never healthy to work in an insular bubble!

Alabasta on Instagram

 Feel free to follow me on Instagram to see the images as they are uploaded - my user name is @alabasta_design

Alabasta Blue Fish tray in Good Food magazine, August 2013

Amongst some delicious looking recipes in this month's BBC Good Food magazine is a summery collection of kitchen accessories including the largest Alabasta Blue Fish tray on page 16, collated by Holly Brooke-Smith. This time it's being promoted by Coastal Home, online destination for all things beach orientated, which also sells the Blue Fish tray in the 27x20cm and 43x33cm sizes plus 11cm mini tray. All are made carefully in Sweden from sustainable birch wood and dishwasher proof (if you can fit them in) with intricate blue fish patterns on an ivory background. The magazine is worth getting if you're into cooking as it is packed with inspiring ideas such as some Rick Stein Indian curries and an indulgent gluten free raspberry cake. My stomach is rumbling...

BBC Good Food magazine, August 2013

49cm Alabasta Blue Fish tray

Alabasta stockist focus: Dovetail Living

One Alabasta stockist where you can purchase a selection of the Folk Stripe collection is Dovetail Living, a webshop that specialises in carefully selected interior accessories from both world renowned and up and coming designers. We are delighted that they have chosen Alabasta as one of their designers - they now stock the best selling red 38cm tray, 10cm coasters and glass platter in the Folk Stripe range as well as the Love Birds tablemats. These sit alongside such design classics as the Secto Design range of lighting - another example of innovative use of steam bent Scandinavian birch wood. I also really like the Variopinte range of enamel dishes which have simple stripes of colour so they coordinate well with the concentric circles of the Folk Stripe range. Owner Samantha Mureau is an ex TopShop buyer and has done a lot of trend forecasting for the industry so has a keen eye for new products and trends. According to Samantha, now that summer is around the corner it's all about French style market shopping and mixing up your platters and your plates for effortless casual dining...

30cm Folk Stripe heatproof glass platter - ideal for cheese, breads or even as a hotplate for saucepans

Dovetail Living - see their Blog post here