Turning Kitsch Into Couture. Teardrop Lighting by Bodo Sperlein.

Bodo Sperlein's work for Lladro and Nymphenberg caught my eye years ago and since then, I've been a fan of his elegant pieces and home decor. His Red Berry and Dibbern Black Forest Dinnerware have long been atop my wishlist. Here's yet another unique collection by Sperlein that preserves an endangered skill and turns it into contemporary pieces for the home.



His unique collection of pendant lighting, Teardrop, highlights Bodo Sperlein’s interest in preserving and celebrating traditional skills. In this case, he has re-imagined and updated hand-made bone china flowers which had fallen out of style and were considered kitsch.

With such a small group of ladies left in Staffordshire dedicated to this craft of handmaking, Sperlein sought to ensure that these skills survived into the 21st century and did so by taking delicate and detailed plain white bone china flowers and fusing them to dramatic hand blown teardrop-shaped borosilicate glass pendants. In addition to looking unusual, they cast flower shaped shadows.




Available in two sizes, you can buy them online here.

See more work by Bodo Sperlein here.

Hand Cast Bone China Skull Pendant Lamp and Table Lamps by Alex Garnett.

Produced by Alex Garnett are two oversized human skulls hand cast in Bone China (a fine porcelain containing bone ash) that function as a pendant lamp and a table lamp.

Goliath Pendant Lamp
A lamp shade created from a giant sized skull in bone china by Alex Garnett .




In the description is says 'This product comes without fittings' however, there is a drop down menu which allows you to choose from American fittings, UK fittings or European Edison fittings.
Easy installation. Weights under 1 kg.
Dimensions (cm): 26 x 17 x 16


Goliath Table Lamp
A lamp shade created from a giant sized skull in bone china by Alex Garnett.





Dimensions (cm): 26 x 17 x 16
The table lamp currently has 3 metres of cable to UK 3 pin plug, bulb not included. Alex can supply cable and American or European Edison lamp holder - without plug (unable to source American/European plugs yet!). Please add note when buying for choice.

Shop for them here.

Pride of Soldiers, A Scabetti Sculpture in A Highly Secure Military Location.

'Pride of Soldiers', this unique three meter diameter sculptural light commissioned for the Land Forces Command Head Quarters in Utrecht, has rarely been seen before due to its highly secure location.


above: The Kromhout Barracks houses the Royal Dutch Land Forces Command Head Quarters.

The newly erected Kromhout Barracks (which are really beautifully designed) stand on the outskirts of Utrecht and were designed by leading Dutch practice Meyer en Van Schooten Architects.

Dominic and Frances Bromley's unique commission, Pride of Soldiers, will only ever be seen by strict invitation. These photographs (by Frances Bromley, Jannes Linders and Stefan Van Weelden) are now the only access many will have to this remarkable work of art, as it is sited in one of the most secure places in the Netherlands; the Royal Dutch Land Forces Command Head Quarters.


above: Pride of Soldiers in the Kromhout Barracks, Netherlands by Dominic and Frances Bromley.

Installed in the Netherland's new Kromhout Barracks outside of Utrecht, this beautiful bone china sculpted light serves as a monument to the Armed Forces. The unique piece, comprised of many stylized soldiers hanging vertically to form a sphere, was crafted by Dominic and Frances Bromley of Scabetti.



The ceramic forms are slip cast fine bone china, cast by hand in the Potteries of Stoke-on-Trent:






The piece stands an impressive three meters in diameter hovering over a large table within the barrack's conference room.




Progressing around the room there's an extra dimension that reveals itself; each soldier stands in perfect formation and comes together to create the Lion of the Armed Forces emblem, with the central light at its heart.




Designing a piece so dramatic and specific to the location was a brave move for the accomplished duo and combined their unique technical and artistic approach. Pride of Soldiers must surely stand as the Bromley's most significant work to date.



View this and more installations by Scabetti on their website.
To purchase a sculpture or discuss a commission, contact the studio directly.

Whacked Out Willow China By Sweden's Nille Svensson. Fake China Dinnerware.

Adding his own narrative to what at first glance looks like classic Willow Pattern China (a style of dinnerware which originated in England in the early 1800s), designer Nille Svensson has created "Fake China."



The blue and white bone china plates measuring 12.3 inches in diameter were originally created for an exhibition in Stockholm on the theme of identity. The Fake China is a cultural twist on the original Chinaware, adding contemporary elements like planes, boats, factories and automobiles. At the end of this post is a detailed explanation about the plate designs in the designer's own words.












ABOUT FAKE CHINA (by Nille Svensson):

On the 12th of September 1745, the sailing ship Götheborg, part of the Swedish East India Company fleet, returned to Sweden from Canton after more than 30 months at sea. It is believed that over 35 members of the crew died during the journey. Only 900 meters from its home harbour in Gothenburg, the ship ran aground and sank. The cargo of several thousand pieces of china was lost and the sailors who did not survive the journey had died for nothing. This story of the harsh reality of commerce has always fascinated me.

When I was asked to create something on the theme of »identity« for the Notch exhibition in 2009, I first thought a lot about how contemporary China, at least from a Western perspective, is generally regarded as a place were things are produced but not designed. China's design identity is also associated with the issue of plagiarism and fake products. I then came to think about the sad fate of Götheborg, and the extremely high demand of Chinese ceramics in Europe at that time. A high demand created out of the fact that the knowledge of how to manufacture ceramics of such quality was not locally available.

As the understanding of production techniques spread, manufacturing of chinaware started in Europe as well. In many cases featuring designs that looked »Chinese«, or were direct copies of Chinese originals. The design was made with the main purpose to add a quality of authenticity to what was basically product piracy. The most famous of these designs is perhaps the »Willow design« made around 1790. The company behind this plate even invented a fake Chinese legend based on the motif just to further promote the authenticity of the product. The motif and the legend has in turn been copied and spread widely ever since. There is even an animated Disney film based on the willow tree legend. From the early plagiarism, the designs grew and permuted and became the starting point of the British and Dutch porcelain-tradition as we know it.

Contemporary designers and artists even relates to the Willow-motif as a kind of starting point. The copy has grown to become an original and as such carries cultural integrity in its own right as it has transformed through the states of copy - original - culture - tradition. What we today may regard as a highly valuable (collectable) item was originally created as a simple copy.

It is a healthy reminder of how cultural influenses and values shift and change over time. Not only geographically, but economically and demographically, the general presumption that the Western world is where things are designed and originated, whilst the East is where they get produced and copied will not prevail forever.

With all this in mind I went to the Museum of Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm, stole designs and design elements from plates in the collection, and created my own »fake china« plates, while convinced that nobody can copy anything without adding something to the story.

The result is a small step of cultural evolution. -- Nille Svensson, designer

Where To Buy Fake China


FAKE-CHINA is included in the Röhsska Museet permantent design collection.

In Stockholm, Sweden FAKE-CHINA are available at Svenskt Tenn

For US sales and retail, please contact Jennifer Garcia

For general questions regarding FAKE-CHINA, please email: inquiries@fake-china.com

Soop Dishes Up Some Fun Tableware

Soop is a multi-disciplinary design company, designing products for the home and commercial environment, from tableware to small items of furniture. Some of the following plates are presently in production and available at various design stores or directly from Soop. Others are looking for production and distribution. All of them are imaginative and fun.

Plate is for Pea (earthenware with pea trick booklet, presently in production):



Above: A plate that actually encourages you to play with your food. Attempt tricks from the accompanying booklet and score as many points by flicking, rolling or even spitting peas into the numbered dimples.

Pretty Nasty (bone china, presently in production):






Above: A series of decorative plates with pretty floral patterns that, on closer inspection, are made up of nasty houseflies, beetles, slugs and snails.

Ready Meals (earthenware, in production):



Above: Ready Meals are seven 10" dinner plate designs, one for everyday of the week, with mix and match recipes (e.g. chips, beans and sausages, beans on toast etc). All you need to do is prepare, cook and place your food on the right outline to serve up a diner's delight.

Crumbs (biscuit tea plates made of bone china, presently in production):




A Diner's Delight (earthenware, seeking production):


Diner’s Delights are six plates with classic American recipes to try, (All American breakfast, hamburger and fries, T bone steak and fries, macaroni and cheese, Thanksgiving dinner and waffles and ice cream).


Contact info:
44 (0) 20 8995 7105
for any sales enquiries