© Nordstroms 2013

See more wholesale ceramics products from Bridget Parris >>>

Bridget Parris has spent her career dividing time between her two greatest interests, design and Fine Arts; for her, the two paths often intersect.  So inspired by what she discovered on her research trips abroad, her creative interests in one realm began to feed the other. “My work is a celebration of the accomplishments of the Decorative Arts/artisans and the tumultuous history surrounding the rise of European Porcelain in the 18th century,” says Parris. A fine artist by training and spirit, Parris’ porcelain designs emerge out of her explorations. History, research, narrative and storytelling remain at the heart of her work.

Profoundly influenced by the craft of porcelain manufacture steeped in 18th century European traditions, Parris looks to this period for her greatest source of inspiration.  During her many adventures in France, Bridget has visited numerous chateaus, palaces and museums to conduct research on Decorative Arts historical pieces, which serve as a starting point for her work.  Two of her most favored places are the Chateau de Fontainebleau, and the Palace of Versailles – the inspirations for this very special collection. Designed exclusively for Magenta, the collection embodies Parris’ intention that the love and excitement she carries in her heart for this era will live within the pieces themselves – holding a little touch of France forever.

During her career, Parris has created artwork for tabletop, decorative accessories, lighting, apparel, fashion accessories and home textiles.  Designing products as a consultant for numerous companies has given her the opportunity to work on a range of interesting projects.  During her tenure as a staff Designer for Anthropologie from 2004-2007, she explored her fascination for 18^th-century style, designing exclusive dinnerware, glassware, serve ware, hardware, bath accessories, frames/mirrors, lighting, garden and decorative accessories.

In 2009, Parris was invited to complete an Open Studios Artist residency at the Museum of Arts and Design, in conjunction with the exhibition “Objects of Desire”, focusing on contemporary mass-produced ceramics.  Selected to share her extensive knowledge of designing ceramics for large-scale production, she handcrafted on-site several porcelain pieces, and demonstrated slip-casting and plaster mold-making techniques, while detailing her experience and creative work.

Parris has taught numerous courses and workshops in Art and Design in the BFA Product Design Program at Parsons The New School for Design, as well as The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, The Guggenheim Museum, The Museum of Arts and Design and SUNY’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Her work has been featured in House Beautiful, Oprah’s O Home Magazine, In-Style Home, Real Simple, Paula Deen, Timeout New York, and Domino Magazines. Continuing to design innovative products and exhibit her paintings regularly, Bridget Parris lives and works in New York.

“Magenta is thrilled to be working with such a talent as Bridget – her designs are elegant and timeless, yet have a modern twist and contemporary sensibility. She has already had so much success in the marketplace – we are excited to have collaborated with her on this exciting new collection,” states Chrise de Tournay, Creative Director at Magenta. The collection includes decorative decanters, gold dipped and embellished serve ware, sculpted jars and vanity tray, and dinnerware, all finely crafted in porcelain. Parris’ collection will make its debut at the Atlanta (High Design #706) and New York Gift (Tabletop 3275-77) shows in January 2013. MSRP for the collection ranges from $25 – $200.

See more wholesale ceramics products from Bridget Parris >

Driving around our Berkeley office, and in general a lot of the East Bay, the roads are usually shared with bike commuters.  They range from bike messengers to business professionals all saddled onto the cycle culture which seems to be oh-so-fashionable all of a sudden.  Even San Francisco–with its treacherous inclines and daunting dropdowns–has its own thriving community of cyclists.  And I’m not surprised.

In a world where people are increasingly disconnected from their immediate surroundings, biking allows us to experience more of what we’ve lost touch with.  Driving a car turns the fleeting environment into another television show that we watch from the temperature-controlled comforts of our cushioned bucket seats.  But with a bike, we become part of the show, every roadbump felt and every head wind faced head on.  The bicycle is a movement back to simplicity, stripping away the technological enhancements until all that is left is you and your surroundings.

The pieces of the culture have cycled their way into the Magenta showroom.  Rae Dunn’s collection of dinnerware encapsulates the same simplistic essence of the Bay Area’s bike culture.  Dunn, who lives in Berkeley, designed four sets of plates and mugs with her signature utilitarian aesthetic.  The grooves along the plates are almost reminiscent of the bumps along the road while the flat off-white color is almost like a silent protest to frivolity.  The natural form and the basic, unadorned look are movements back to simplicity, stripping away that which is unnecessary but leaving behind a sort of rudimentary charm.

It doesn’t have to be complicated, life can be as simple as riding an old-fashioned tandem bike.

life is a beautiful ride

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Browse through our Pinterest boards to get an inside look on what inspires our office.  We’re always in a constant state of designing, and so Pinterest allows us to create mood boards to help us in the process.

And as always, magenta-inc.com is your primary source of information about what’s going on with the company.  The latest line of goods are always updated here.

Be sure to check us out!

But shopping for wedding dresses is reserved for those who are actually getting married this season.  For the rest of us who are forever the bridesmaid, never the bride, we can always look forward to gift shopping for our friends who have decided to take their vows of love everlasting.

Studio B by Brenda Holzke is a collection of designer plateware for Magenta.  Some of the pieces would look right at home as part of the wedding event itself, but they are also great as gifts for the newlyweds.

Holzke uses colors that vary from aqua, to denim, to lime but the Oyster collection, with its lustrous shine and off-white coloring, is the line I can imagine being used the most at weddings.  Similar to the Lhuillier dress, this collection is graceful, elegant with a touch of softness and femininity.

So for anyone getting married this season, we at Magenta offer our heartfelt best wishes to you and your new adventure.  Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to look through more pretty dresses and comment on them.

]]> http://magenta-inc.com/blog/spring-weddings/feed/ 0 http://magenta-inc.com/blog/rae-dunn-by-magenta-for-nordstrom/ http://magenta-inc.com/blog/rae-dunn-by-magenta-for-nordstrom/#comments Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:56:43 +0000 sherbear http://magenta-inc.com/?p=5235 Continue reading →]]> We’re really excited here at the office to see Rae Dunn by Magenta featured in Nordstrom’s online specialty store. Rae Dunn, a California native, has been artfully crafting with clay since 1994 and she has worked with Magenta for many years developing lines of products that are sold nationwide.  Her style is inspired by the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, which is sometimes described as beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.”  This manifests in glazes that might have small bumps and grooves but coupled with crisp typography and  prints, it creates a sense of imperfect balance between natural and contemporary.  It’s a simple charm that evokes a sort of quiet grace.

These herb jars, complete with wire caddy, are deceivingly upfront, expressed in such a lofty aesthetic.

A french-inspired cheese board that comes with four cheese knives.  I can think of no nicer way to serve and enjoy your favorite fromage than with a touch of french culture.

And finally, this baguette tray is simply adorable.  The french bread print looks good enough to either eat or display in a contemporary art museum.

For the rest of the collection, click here.

With over 20,000 buyers from more than 100 countries, Magenta is there to showcase Jessie Steele’s first tabletop and ceramics line of products.  Jessie Steele is a family-owned, California-based brand run by a mother-and-daughter team.  They specialize in chic aprons with patterns and cuts that evoke a vintage, yet timeless feel.  Carried by over 3,000 stores all over the world, Jessie Steele designs have been featured in national magazines from Better Homes and Gardens to Vogue.

In early 2012, their whimsical patterns find their way to three product lines of kitchenware goods.  Café Toile features platters and bowls, a complete table setting, and even a poodle-shaped salt-and-pepper set that conjure up all the charming romanticism of an afternoon spent in a French café.  The Cupcake collection is chock-full of sweet pinks and chocolate browns, featuring contemporary collectible items such as a cupcake-shaped cookie jar (complete with a ceramic cherry on top), colorful cake stands, and a boxed set of dessert plates.  Their newest collection, Strawberry Gingham, includes a cake plate, nesting colanders, serving bowls, and a boxed set of dessert plates splashed with bright pink or green gingham patterns, perfect for an old-fashioned countryside summer picnic.

While the International Home and Housewares show limits it attendees to industry people, you can still check out the newest Jessie Steele designs on our website. Bon appetit!

First Cake Stands

Cake stands are one of the more challenging pieces to make in clay. When I started making cake stands, back around 2006, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I made my first cake stand set as a present for my husband, a gifted baker.  The stands were tall, slim and narrow, while the plates were paper  thin and carved with scallops along the edge.  The styling was more to my taste than my husband’s, but those first cake stands were probably the most perfect ones I ever made, and I’ve made hundreds since then.

I made a few more for fun, and before I knew it I was flooded with orders.  The cake stands were an instant hit with my customers, who loved the retro look and colors. Nowadays there are more handmade ceramic cake stands available on the market, but 6 years ago they were uncommon and mostly clunky, inelegant things.   As I cranked up production in my little Oakland studio to meet the sudden demand, I started discovering the intrinsic problems and weaknesses of the handmade cake stand.

The problems didn’t come out all at once, but slowly, over a period of months.  It was not unlike meeting a fantastic new boyfriend, quickly getting engaged, and then realizing as you are planning the wedding that your boyfriend has some major personality problems he was hiding from you at first. And the cake stand’s personality problems are legion.

There are two components to the cake stand: the plate on top, and the actual stand part that supports the plate.  These seemingly simple and basic parts are deeply complex and unpredictable–not unlike that boyfriend.  First, I discovered that the carved scallops I made on the first cake stand usually made the plate crack, leading to a whole new scallop design that didn’t cut in to the edge of the plate.  This was a major disappointment to me because I personally prefer the scalloped edge.  Then, the plates were sagging on the stand.  I needed to make the stand flare out wider at the top to support the plate so it wouldn’t get all droopy and warped.  I could make the plate thicker so it would have more structural integrity and not droop,  but then the weight of the plate would crack the stand.  I can make the stand thicker too to withstand the weight, but then you wind up with a cake stand so heavy that once you put a cake on it, it cannot be lifted.  I’ve made cake stands so heavy that they do not break when dropped.

Then I went through a horrible period where the plates were popping off the stand after the firing.  Sometimes, they did this while in transit to their new homes, and my customers would open the box to a separated cake stand.  One time, this happened to a bride-to-be whose wedding was in a couple of days and my cake stand was to hold her cake.  Recalling this still makes me break into a sweat.

I’ve continued to create these insane pieces, and recently the plates started popping off before I can even glaze them. Imagine my relief when Magenta asked me to design a new collection for them. The cake stands immediately came to mind.  While there are still limitations in factory production, they are different than what I’ve been dealing with. I immediately resurrected the scallop edged cake stand, along with some of my other favorite designs, in sizes that I simply cannot produce by hand.  I can’t wait for these pieces to hit the market.  I hope they not only raise the bar for cake stand design, but get people interested in using them for everyday as well as special occasion.