My mom has always had an eye for decorating and design. Growing up, our house was in constant flux. On most weekends she had me pushing chairs and couches around while she reorganized the wall decor. At one point, she decided our formal dining room was wasted space, so she got rid of the big table and brought in a fashionable rattan sitting set complete with Emmanuel Peacock high-back chairs, transforming the room into a chic ‘70s salon. For years, we ate off a set of drab stoneware dishes with muted floral patterns, until one day, my mom came home with a full-spectrum set of Hellerware dishes (1). Out with the dated pottery and in with the mod plastic dinnerware, that, little did we know then, was already a design classic in Italy and would eventually become a coveted dinnerware set from the 1970s and 1980s in America.
The original Hellerware was designed in 1964 by Italian graphic designer Massimo Vignelli. Vignelli was a principal figure in the history of design. His work had, and still has today, a tangible utility for everyday users, thanks to his determination to base designs on a true understanding of the user’s real needs. Hellerware is known for its bright, but not too bright, rainbow colors, slight, almost appearing to hover, lift off the surface, a signature raised edge, and a stackable system that pleasantly snaps in place. As a child, I had no idea what I was setting the table with, but curating a tablescape with just the right plate-to-bowl-to-mug arrangement was certainly an unforeseen lesson in future pottery design.
I hadn’t thought about those plastic dining gems in a long while until I had seen Marlaina Lutz’ stacked espresso mug-and-saucer sets, one form nestled into the other and harmoniously repeated one over the other. Her design approach began with throwing out the classic norms and developing her own methods: interior shapes contradicted the exteriors; throwing thick to create a saucer that felt bulky yet looked fluffy; using the characteristics of her hands as both measuring devices and as a means of ensuring, as she writes, “that my pots feel for and of my body, as they are made in direct relation to it.” Great design is, after all, useful, aesthetic, relatable, innovative, unobtrusive, and honest. All things I think Vignelli and Lutz considered and achieved.
In this issue, we focus on regional Utah potters (in anticipation of the annual NCECA conference in March 2025 in Salt Lake City) who not only put forward good design, but also approachable techniques for potters of all skill levels including Adam Addley, Matt Conlon, Amanda Green, Nikita Nenashev, Kathleen Royster, and Rebecca Sabo. Additionally, we are showcasing Pottery Making Illustrated’s annual contest. This year’s theme: Extravagance! Cheers!
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My mom has always had an eye for decorating and design. Growing up, our house was in constant flux. On most weekends she had me pushing chairs and couches around while she reorganized the wall decor. At one point, she decided our formal dining room was wasted space, so she got rid of the big table and brought in a fashionable rattan sitting set complete with Emmanuel Peacock high-back chairs, transforming the room into a chic ‘70s salon. For years, we ate off a set of drab stoneware dishes with muted floral patterns, until one day, my mom came home with a full-spectrum set of Hellerware dishes (1). Out with the dated pottery and in with the mod plastic dinnerware, that, little did we know then, was already a design classic in Italy and would eventually become a coveted dinnerware set from the 1970s and 1980s in America.
The original Hellerware was designed in 1964 by Italian graphic designer Massimo Vignelli. Vignelli was a principal figure in the history of design. His work had, and still has today, a tangible utility for everyday users, thanks to his determination to base designs on a true understanding of the user’s real needs. Hellerware is known for its bright, but not too bright, rainbow colors, slight, almost appearing to hover, lift off the surface, a signature raised edge, and a stackable system that pleasantly snaps in place. As a child, I had no idea what I was setting the table with, but curating a tablescape with just the right plate-to-bowl-to-mug arrangement was certainly an unforeseen lesson in future pottery design.
I hadn’t thought about those plastic dining gems in a long while until I had seen Marlaina Lutz’ stacked espresso mug-and-saucer sets, one form nestled into the other and harmoniously repeated one over the other. Her design approach began with throwing out the classic norms and developing her own methods: interior shapes contradicted the exteriors; throwing thick to create a saucer that felt bulky yet looked fluffy; using the characteristics of her hands as both measuring devices and as a means of ensuring, as she writes, “that my pots feel for and of my body, as they are made in direct relation to it.” Great design is, after all, useful, aesthetic, relatable, innovative, unobtrusive, and honest. All things I think Vignelli and Lutz considered and achieved.
In this issue, we focus on regional Utah potters (in anticipation of the annual NCECA conference in March 2025 in Salt Lake City) who not only put forward good design, but also approachable techniques for potters of all skill levels including Adam Addley, Matt Conlon, Amanda Green, Nikita Nenashev, Kathleen Royster, and Rebecca Sabo. Additionally, we are showcasing Pottery Making Illustrated’s annual contest. This year’s theme: Extravagance! Cheers!
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