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!

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

Alabasta Folk Stripe tray in Plaza magazine, Sweden, April 2013

This month the white version of the 38cm Folk Stripe Alabasta tray has been featured in the Swedish interiors magazine Plaza, in a lovely al fresco photoshoot styled by Sandra Hamilton and photographed by Karin Foberg. It makes me hope that Summer is round the corner, although here in England we haven't experienced much Spring like weather yet. Anyway the photos clearly show how useful these trays are and how they can add a splash of colour to everyday dining.

Plaza magazine, Sweden, April 2013

Thank you, Plaza magazine.

The trays are made, sold and distributed by Åry Trays. See the stockists page for where to buy them.

New Alabasta tray: 11cm Love Birds mini tray

The Love Birds collection has just had another addition in the form of an 11cm 'mini tray'. Instead of repeating the format with two whole birds which would have scaled the pattern down a bit too much we decided to just have the heads of the birds on this one. They are still enjoying each others company and the little heart is on there too to clarify the subtle sentiment. These mini trays work well as coasters or small plates and because they are dishwashable are ideal for food use.
If you are a retailer they are now ready to purchase in boxes of four from The Åry Trays website in addition to the other four sizes of the Alabasta Love Birds trays. Flat 10cm coasters depicting individual male and female birds with black velour non slip backing are also available from Avenida Home here.

11cm Love Birds mini tray sold and distributed by Åry Trays

10cm square Love Birds coasters sold and distributed by Avenida Home

Alabasta Love Birds tray in Homes and Antiques magazine, March 2013

The new 38cm Love Birds tray with the peeking bird and heart has just been launched and I'm really pleased to see it featured in this month's Homes and Antiques magazine on one of their shopping pages. An ideal present for Valentines Day next week:

Thanks, Homes and Antiques!

Alabasta trays at the Maison et Objet trade fair, Paris

Åry Trays are still on the road and selling their vast collection of birch wood trays to the world. This weekend they have been showing at the enormous Maison et Objet trade show for the first time and again Alabasta has proved to be one of the company's best selling designers. I visited yesterday and caught up with their Swedish sales team Joakim Sohlberg and Madeleine Hyding, who were busy taking many international orders for shops in countries such as Italy and Belgium. For this show they decided to use birch ply as their stand build in keeping with the product and also helping the whiter trays stand out:

Åry Trays, Hall 6 at Maison et Objet, January 2013

Alabasta trays at Maison et Objet, January 2013

Alabasta trays at the Home 2013 trade show, London

Åry Trays are currently in London and wholesaling their entire collection of trays at the Home show at Earls Court, including the four Alabasta collections. It's a massive show in only its second year but it already feels very established. It accompanies the long running Top Drawer giftware show which is situated next door at Olympia, and when I went yesterday the atmosphere was buzzing. We had some very good orders from some existing and new customers and the reception to the new Love Bird and Folk Stripe Woven designs was really encouraging.

The Åry Trays stand at the Home 2013 trade show

Alabasta trays at Home 2013

Next stop Paris, at the even bigger Maison et Objet show next weekend (Hall 6, stand Q26).
As ever, news of where Alabasta products are selling will be added to the stockists list. If you are a stockist that hasn't been mentioned please do get in touch and I will add you too!

New year and a new 38cm Love Birds tray

Happy New Year! I hope 2013 is a healthy and prosperous year for all. I personally started it unhealthily with a stomach bug so it can only improve as far as I'm concerned. One way to start off the January detox albeit a bit premature..

Once again Åry Trays are coming over to the UK to show at the Home trade show this month, and they will be exhibiting their entire collection of birch wood trays including the Alabasta Love Birds, Folk Stripe, Folk Stripe Woven and Blue Fish collections. To complement the existing Love Birds trays we have one brand new 38cm Love Bird tray launching at the show. On this one the male bird is poking his head cheekily onto the tray and beadily eyeing up the lady bird who appears to be rather enjoying the attention:

38cm Alabasta Love Birds tray

It's now on the Åry Trays website ready to order so if you are a retailer you can order from there or see them in real life at Home, the London home wares and interior accessories trade show at Earls Court from 13th - 15th January. A week later they will be at Maison et Objet in Paris (Hall 6 stand Q26) then Ambiente in Frankfurt, also trade only. Busy times!

Alabasta Black Flower tray in Metro newspaper

The monochromatic Black Flower pattern was one of the first Alabasta designs to be put into production by Åry Trays and it is still available in limited quantities as trays from two online boutiques: Design My World and MyDeco.com. It's a black linear design inspired by the orderly structure of pompom dahlias and there's no denying there is a retro feel to it. What isn't obvious from the following photos is a very pale grey mesh-like pattern on the ivory background which adds an extra element to the pattern, a bit like a watermark. It is available in two sizes - the 27x20cm small rectangular as shown in yesterday's Metro newspaper and the 38cm round version, though only while stocks last.

click the image for a more legible view

Alabasta Black Flower 27x20cm tray

Alabasta Black Flower 38cm tray

Design My World 
MyDeco.com

Out of season photography

Interiors magazines work months in advance so despite the fact we haven't even got to Christmas yet my mind has been temporarily concentrating on Easter 2013. I've just spent much of the weekend photographing the Alabasta trays and placemats for potential press coverage and was amazed to find some fragrant out of season narcissi at the flower stall in town to use. I also cunningly tracked down hot cross buns and some chicken eggs in subtle variations of pale blue, though my M&S Halloween chocolate eggs with the foil-turned-inside-out-for-Easter didn't look great so we had to eat them. Shame.

Here are a few of the shots:

Love Birds 27x20cm tray and tablemat

Love Birds 43x33cm tray

Love Birds 49cm tray

If you're a journalist and would like to use these images or any of the numerous others (including simpler cut outs) for any editorials feel free to contact Isabel Saiz at Avenida Isabel.

New Alabasta Love Birds and Folk Stripe Woven trays are now in stock at Hus and Hem

The brand new Alabasta Love Birds and Folk Stripe Woven trays are now finally available to buy online and in store from Hus and Hem, the Scandinavian home shop in Ledbury. They are stocking both collections in all the different sizes - 49cm round, 43x33cm and 27x20cm rectangular as well as the best selling original Folk Stripe round ones. Owner Louise Little told me yesterday that they couldn't choose between them so they bought them all! It's a very welcoming shop full of interesting gifts and home products - when I went I loved the Danish dipped candles in a whole spectrum of colours (but then I am partial to a bit of colour).

Here are the round Folk Stripe trays in situ at Hus and Hem in the summer:

Hus and Hem in Ledbury

Folk Stripe Woven trays

Love Birds trays

All the trays can be found here.

Alabasta Blue Fish tray in Woman and Home magazine, August 2012

Press often escapes me and here is one that nearly got away - the Alabasta Blue Fish 43x33cm tray is tucked into a coastal themed interiors shopping page in last month's Woman and Home magazine. This time it's being promoted by Coastal Home who also got another of my trays in the press - see this previous post. They've got the Blue Fish trays in three sizes as well as the 11cm mini tray coaster in stock.

click the image for a more legible view

Alabasta Blue Fish trays

Thanks, Woman and Home magazine and Coastal Home!

New Alabasta tray designs: introducing Folk Stripe Woven and Love Birds

Alabasta Folk Stripe Woven tray collection made and distributed by Ary Trays in Sweden

Åry Trays have just launched on their website three new designs in the best selling Folk Stripe range of Alabasta birch ply trays called Folk Stripe Woven - they are now available for retailers to order for their Autumn stock so should be in the shops soon. I've designed these to complement the concentric circles of the original Folk Stripe trays but the design is taken in a slightly different direction. These ones feature interwoven multicoloured ribbons of pattern on a subtly patterned background which creates a kind of modern tartan effect. I think that the pale celadon green and teal backgrounds go really well with the vibrant colours of the stripes and work just as well for winter or summer use:

27x20cm tray

43x33cm tray

49cm tray

Also, the Love Birds design recently launched on the Avenida placemats is now available as a tray in three sizes. It depicts a pair of beady eyed exotic birds with flamboyant tails and is a mix of indigo and black on a subtle cream background. I think it would make an original wedding present, especially in the big 49cm round size:

49cm tray

43x33cm tray

27x20cm tray

As with all the other Åry trays they are hand made from steam pressed birch wood with a robust melamine coating and are dishwasher proof (though I'd like to see you get the generous 49cm one in!) If you are a retailer interested in stocking these brand new designs please contact Isabel Saiz at Avenida Isabel Ltd. As soon as I know where these are being sold I will post the details on this blog.

DomesticMATTERS exhibition at Contemporary Applied Arts, London

Although the Alabasta home wares collection is a new venture for me, as a textile designer-maker I've been hand making embroidered scarves and blankets for many years under my 'Asta Barrington' own label. They've sold all over the world from Japan to the USA in prestigious shops such as Barneys New York, Takashimaya and Designers Guild. I make them from start to finish here in Bath, and that involves laboriously stitching cashmere, wool and silk fabric then hand dyeing them so the different textures take on subtle variations. Here's my current website, though it's going to go through a long overdue redesign soon.

I established Alabasta because I wanted to create a more accessible and broad range of home wares with patterns on them that I would never have been able to achieve with my existing textile techniques. The intricate swirling linear and animal forms I design have taken a few years to come together and this change of direction has been a breath of fresh air for me creatively.

The two strands of my work appear unrelated on the surface but they demonstrate that a designer need not be restricted to a single medium. They have the same influences and values: a passion for colour, use of the highest quality materials and a desire for innovation, but are executed in different ways.

Contemporary Applied Arts in central London has been one of the main outlets for my embroidered Asta Barrington products for many years and they always stock a good range of my cashmere and silk scarves. They have a constant programme of interesting exhibitions that showcase the work of their 300 designer maker members and this year I was asked to participate in the DomesticMATTERS exhibition curated by Brian Kennedy and Peter Ting, which is summarised here:

"The basic tenets of Modernism emphasized function and utility; abstract beauty, and sculptural form; honesty in materials and honesty in design; the use of modern materials and technology as well as an emphasis on the use of natural materials, beliefs and ideals that sit comfortably with contemporary craft. DomesticMATTERS explores this common ground and will create the imagined home of a collector of mid century modern furniture and contemporary craft over the gallery and board room spaces at CAA.

 CAA members, working in the furniture area, have designed production pieces for Benchmark, SCP and Heals and it is this body of work that we would like to draw from for this exhibition. By focusing on some of this production work as well as work from a wider range of materials, ceramics, glass, metal, textiles and wood within the exhibition further connections would be made between the concerns and values within modernist design and those of the contemporary designer maker. Placing contemporary craft/design within the broader context of modernist design and focusing on the issues of small and mid scale production for the domestic space during the London Design Festival would open up a timely opportunity to debate these issues." Brian Kennedy 2012

I have the entire Alabasta Folk Stripe collection of Åry trays (including the so-brand-new-I-haven't-had-a-chance-to-mention-them-yet Folk Stripe Woven trays), some Folk Stripe mats from Avenida and one of my hand made wool blankets in a bright cherry red in the show. They hang and sit in happy juxtaposition with products from over 30 other CAA members including some top quality ceramics from the likes of Chris Keenan and Derek Wilson plus some mid century furniture courtesy of the Rocket Gallery:

DomesticMATTERS at CAA, showing my Texture Stripe Target Fringe wool throw in the foreground and Folk Stripe trays on the wall.

Shelves by Tomado from the 1950s with Chris Keenan and Derek Wilson ceramics. Spot the brand new 49cm Folk Stripe Woven tray

Folk Stripe red 38cm tray with Tomado shelves and Derek Wilson ceramics

Andre Cordemeijer desk from 1959 with the new Alabasta Folk Stripe Woven 27x20cm tray and Derek Wilson cup and saucer

Alabasta for Avenida Home Folk Stripe placemats with Lubna Chowdhary storage jars and Jane Cox ceramics

upstairs at the DomesticMatters exhibition at the CAA, London

The new Alabasta Folk Stripe Woven 43x33cm tray cleverly displayed downstairs in the slide viewing area in the CAA Reading Room

The exhibition opened today and is on until Friday 20th October at 2 Percy Street, London W1T 1DD.

Read more about it on the FT How to Spend It website here

Corinne Julius' coverage in the Evening Standard's Homes and Property supplement:

Evening Standard, 12th September 2012

Coverage for this exhibition as part of London Design Festival can also be found in Homes and Antiques magazine's September 2012 issue:

click the image to read at a legible size