Articles

Victoria Manganiello tells us about a social change project that invites artists to apply their creativity to making recipes for a better world. 
Serendouce Crafts commissioned Nishijin brocade maker Kohei Murata to apply the lustrous kimono textile technique to a set of chopsticks.

Time travelers: Gadgets that made heirlooms

The COVID pandemic prompted Priyanka Kochar to explore the curious objects made redundant by modernity.

Taste-makers: A selection of tableware made by hand today

You are invited to sample tableware by today's makers from around the world.

James Tylor ✿ In search of mai

Prompted by the experience of foraging in Europe, Caitlin Eyre accompanies James Tylor on a quest to recover the taste of native Australian bush foods.

Foraging among the ruins of satoyama in rural Japan

Daniela Kato writes about the foraging practices that she shares with a village community under the mountain's shadow.

Chefs who make

Lee Tran Lam finds four remarkable chefs who make their own tableware, uniquely crafted for their specialist dishes.

O-choko or wine glass? Recent changes in sake consumption

Roberto Maxwell describes how the type of vessel influences the experience of Japanese sake. The introduction of glass has opened up new possibilities for this traditional beverage.

Erika Kobayashi ✿ A tea ceremony for Brazil

Liliana Morais interviews Brazilian performer Erika Kobayashi about how she updates the Japanese tea ceremony to suit the pulse of life in Brazil.

A gaiwan for my father

Mia Riley revisits her father's tea cabinet and resolved to use her ceramic skills to make him special traditional tea cups.

Ajiwau: A Japanese way of savouring life

Euan Craig shares his life at the wheel in a Japanese pottery village, where he makes tableware that helps savour the food and its moment.

A wooden spoon: How to make life special

Eli Bek explains why he makes tableware from wood, as a way of "making special".

Jayanto Tan ✿ Delights for every palette

Pamela See interviews Jayanto Tan about the role of brightly coloured food in his installations.

You Stir the Pot: Recipes for change

Victoria Manganiello tells us about a social change project that invites artists to apply their creativity to making recipes for a better world. 

Terra ferment: Three recipes

Ilka White shares three recipes that reflect the same grounded sensibility that she applies to her weaving practice.

A spoon a day

Ana Sincu reflects on how making spoons helps her form a deep connection to the trees she loves.

The herb that must not be named

Divya N writes about a jewellery made with herbs that protects children from harm.

Gilty: Consuming contemporary jewellery

In her audacious exhibition, Claire McArdle invites the audience to consume and destroy her precious jewellery.

Mann-o-Salwaa: Savouring the food of the heavens

Sahr Bashir evokes the rich culinary history of her Pakistani homeland, kept alive in the silversmithing that adorns it.  

Estudio Trindade and Rondinelly Santos ✿ Brazilian for life

Maria Fernanda Paes de Barro writes about two Brazilian tableware makers who bring a particular creative energy to the rituals of everyday life.

Staining lips red for centuries: The heart-shaped betel leaf

The MAP Academy share the rich ornamental culture involving the consumption of paan, stuffed betel leaf, in India.

The underlying delight of Japanese tableware

The Go for Kogei festival invited Brian Kennedy to dialogue with Kutani ceramicist Masaru Nakada in developing a playful set of tableware.

Blended imaginaries: In conversation with Gina Zupsich, tea art director 

Ben Lignel interviews tea-blender Gina Zupsich about the gustatory and imaginary anchor points that underpin a powerful tea experience. 

A kimono for food: Hikibaku chopsticks for honoured guests

Serendouce Crafts commissioned Nishijin brocade maker Kohei Murata to apply the lustrous kimono textile technique to a set of chopsticks.

Make and bring your own chopsticks

We ask Vipun Chanchlani about the challenge of making your own chopsticks and how we should bring our own to restaurants.

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay on “the right kind of spoon”

Aarti Kalwa introduces the lecture by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay which advocates for the idea of world craft.

Brasilidade: Samba on a plate

Nina Coimbra’s tableware captures the feeling of “Brasildade”, the poly-sensory experience of life in Brazil.

Cone Eleven ✿ Crafting a theatre for specialist dining

Ilona Topolcsanyi collaborates with two chefs, demonstrating the creative role of the ceramicist in specialist dining. 

Rēwena bread: A nourishing food with its own whakapapa

Keri-Mei Zagrobelna shares her love of Māori bread and its starter bug that is passed down through generations.

Towards an Indigenous Australian Iranian cuisine

Jahan Rezakhanlou deconstructs the idea of "authenticity" in Iranian cuisine by experimenting with Indigenous Australian ingredients in Melbourne-Naarm, straying away from either tokenistic fusion labels or the home-grown demands of "authentic" foreign food in the West.

Biohacking a fermented community

Jahan Rezakhanlou observes the lessons of fermentation and biohacking learned from the communal artwork and workshops of Maya Minder.

Ruby Ghuznavi ✿ The “indigo lady”

Saiful Islam remembers Ruby Ghuznavi, who combined a down-to-earth attitude with a passion for the sublime beauty of Bangladeshi textiles

Pine water jug: Imbibing the Taurus mountains

Songül ARAL writes about the traditional pine jug that captures the bracing air of the Taurus mountains. 

Taste and rongoā Māori: The art of experience

Arihia Latham describes the importance of taste as a life energy in rongoā, Māori medicine.