Stefanie Hering has so far designed a total of four porcelain objects, each in white and with four glaze colours, in this unusual form and décor. In addition to the coupe plate, there is a shallow bowl in which the ribbed structure extends right up to the rim of the vessel, a bowl with a plastically shaped exterior that feels like a hand caress and a small bowl in the shape of a biomorphic oval.
The decision for this completely new approach to service design was inspired by three-star chef Christian Jürgens, with whom Hering has worked closely for many years.Â
“Designing a new collection is always an adventure and a challenge. To experiment and push the boundaries of what is possible with porcelain – that is what drives me and what gives me deep satisfaction in my work as a designer. I am very honoured and grateful to have won the Tableware International Award of Excellence 2022 for my EVOLUTION collection. The EVOLUTION collection breaks with the traditional shape of plates, bowls and dishes and inscribes organic structures on them. Instead of a curve that merges with an edge into the rim of the plate, I modelled this transition zone with narrower and wider depressions that are reminiscent of petals – a challenge when modelling the objects and in production, as a result of which product development took a year. So the prize is both confirmation and incentive for me.â€
Stefanie Hering, designer Hering Berlin and creator of EVOLUTION
Jürgens asked the table culture expert for a coupe plate with a larger inner surface. A challenge because, as the designer and trained master ceramist explains, “it would be too simple to just enlarge the inner surface or make the whole plate bigger. Such an object needs its own line.â€
The result is nothing less than a reinvention of the plate: instead of a rounding that merges with an edge into the edge of the plate, Hering modelled this transition zone with narrower and wider depressions reminiscent of petals. It took a year of product development before this basic idea was condensed into a feasible design concept that could only be realised through pure manual craftsmanship.
