Month Seven: In Conclusion

It feels good to be back. This was an easy month - photos of spoon & forks! But really, cutlery is pretty important to me, and I'm glad I had this little forum in which to express my excitement, even a little bit.

Let's talk about it in person. I'd like to hear about your favorite style of knife.

In Korea, chopsticks are made of metal, and are accompanied by a beautiful long-handled shallow-bowled spoon. I am a complete devotee to all of this.  I like the idea that chopsticks are incorporated into the standard silverware family, and that spoon style is both elegant and utilitarian. win-win-win.

Hammered Spoons by Yumi Nakamura

via Spoon & Tamago 

Yumi Nakamura creates rugged spoons that are teeming with gritty personalities. Working mainly with copper and brass, she hammers out the shapes – an ancient process that dates back to the the Yayoi Period (300 BC – 300AD) these types of metallic material first entered Japan. Back then, everything from vessels and mirrors to swords and shields were made this way.

Why Cutlery?

So, I suppose that's a relevant question, or one worth asking. After giving it a bit of thought the best I can say is that these are potentially great pieces of art, that are used in one of the most basic acts we perform: feeding ourselves. Even if it's a low-key design, it's still charming to me that something we can ooh & aah over in art-appreciation mode can also be used to shove food into our mouths.

It's design that is inarguably useful. And everyone has their preferred style. I go for the hefty chunky silverware if given the chance, but some folks like their eating utensils to be like fragile little twigs. Cool, whatever. There is a long long history of these preferences playing out in a variety of designs. I love every bit of it.

Sexy.

I think this is from Design Within Reach...? But yeah, love the "rustic" (in quotes) heaviness & the dark grey coloring.

Flatware by Arne Jacobsen, as seen in Kubrick’s 2001 Space Odyssey (1968) 

(via Selvedge Design Group)

MONTH SEVEN! CUTLERY/FLATWARE!

Ok, so I've recently had to deal with the sadly all-too-common problem of Real Life getting in the way of Blog Writing. But I'm picking this back up, dammit! And calling it Month Seven because it is the 7th month of the year, after all. Harrumph.

I've had a fascination with cutlery for years now. No idea where it sprang from, but I know I like a shapely knife, fork, and/or spoon. Now's the time to learn a bit about the history of ye olde eating utensils. Expect lots of sexy photographs, and maybe some actual facts!