Glazes by Stefanie Hering took place from 13 to 23 July 2020
Hering Berlin has showcased three specialist glaze collections in an online truck show, aptly named Glazes.
Featuring selected pieces from her collections Obsidian, Blue Silent and Silent Brass, the online event – which ends today – saw pieces made available at preferential prices, with buyers also able to enjoy a limited design highlight developed especially for the show – cups with an inside coloured glaze as a gift.
Having developed her own specialist glazing technique, all three collections feature a glaze which is poured on the plates or inside vessels, while the rim remains in the pure, unglazed porcelain.
“Glazes are actually more of a subject for the ceramic craft,” says the designer, discussing the special challenges of the development process. “Porcelain normally does not allow such glazes because they would not withstand the high firing temperatures.”
“I also experiment a lot with clay, with earths, which we process in such a way that they are highly refractory. They form a symbiosis with glazes,†the designer says.
Having experimented with her team, Stefanie transferred these findings to her innovative porcelain glazes. They are not dusted in powder form onto the surfaces to be glazed before firing, as is usually the case in the industry, or prepared in a bath in which the entire porcelain pieces are immersed.
Instead, she developed a new glaze process whereby in order to maintain the contrast between the coloured glaze and the white surface – the glaze is poured out by hand individually on each surface. Each piece, therefore, is unique.
Hering Berling point out that the selection of the porcelain moulds particularly suitable for this technique are processes only possible when absolute masters of their trade work and experiment in very small quantities. Such a design process with a comparable degree of innovation would be unthinkable in industrial production, they say.
All of Hering Berlin’s glaze collections are presented at the trunk show. The first colour glaze is Blue Silent – iron and cobalt components create a blue effect of unique depth. Depending on the incidence of light, Silent Brass shines like sparkling wine or liquid gold. Obsidian, finally, draws its multi-layered, intense blackness from particles of the primary rock basalt, among other things – and when it was launched at the beginning of 2020, it had such a forward-looking effect on the producers of Apple TV’s renowned Science Channel that they immediately ordered five objects for a show on the subject of “How we will dine in 10,000 years”.
“When it comes to food on the glazes, I especially like contrasts,” explains the designer, who works closely with many star chefs.
“Oranges look beautiful on the black of Obsidian. Cherries, strawberries or currants on the deep blue of Blue Silent. A fish carpaccio is particularly refined on the blue glaze. The contrast not only makes it look fresh, but also gives it a maritime feel. Silent Brass, on the other hand,” says Stefanie Hering, “has something earthy, soothing, noble. That is why I recommend oysters, bread or pasta, for example. The glaze gives the food depth – and creates an incredible value for me. The glazed surfaces almost seem like precious stones.”
Since all three collections are based on the same foundation, their interaction is also extremely harmonious. “It’s fun to combine them again and again, depending on your passion and state of mind,” says Stefanie. “This play of colours is fascinating every day anew. It never gets boring.”
