Vessels of Amusement 

We always found plain water tastier in a fancy porcelain cup as opposed to a shabby plastic cup, and believe that the right vessels will amplify the enjoyment of our dessert and elevate the entire dessert experience. Hence, we took great pains to source original handcrafted designs of functional wares, often with it’s own stories to amuse and muse over.

Raawii Strøm Bowl by Nicholai Wiig-Hansen

ice cream parfait
“In addition to its functional purpose, design should spark curiosity and invite different interpretations, just like a good painting.”

– Nicholai Wiig-Hansen

These pretty bowls used for our ice cream parfaits are earthenware handmade in Portugal by raawii, a design and passion-driven company based in Copenhagen.

Back in 2017, when raawii was still a brand-new start-up, the ceramics series Strøm became the base of the company. The series sprang from a collaboration with the Danish art museum Brandts, and the colours and shapes were a heartfelt tribute to the Danish modernist painter Vilhelm Lundstrøm. 

The distinctive and clear-cut bowls are handmade in Portugal, in carefully designed glaze colours created specially for the faience pieces to complement and challenge the geometric shapes. With their sculptural character and striking colours, the items in the Strøm series bring a vibrant edge to any space they occupy while also blending in as functional everyday objects.

We fell in love with the design, colours and shape, and also found it very functional and more than fitting for our ice cream parfaits. A $100 bowl it might be, but if it elevates your dessert experience and brings a smile to your face, it’s worth the premium!

RAAWII

Raawii Alev Cups by Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye

“I couldn’t do what I do if I had stayed in Istanbul or if I had been born in Denmark and lived here all my life. Vive le mélange des cultures!”

– Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye
The ceramic cups we used for some of our artisanally brewed hot beverages made by raawii are designed by and named after the award-winning craft maker Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye – a prominent master of the ceramic vessel, who is represented in museums all over the world.

In her Paris studio the Turkish-born Danish ceramicist created this ceramic series that is at once organic and stringent. Stringency is a signature quality for the craft maker, who ever since her debut has drawn inspiration from the cultures of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Anatolia. When she moved to Copenhagen in 1963 she discovered a connection with the Danish modernist practice and combined her own expression with Scandinavian technique.

The smooth surfaces of the ceramic cups are coated in a matt monochrome glaze in a variety of colours, making these utilitarian objects intended for everyday use not just functional but also works of art in their own right. 

RAAWII

Wine Blues Cups by Milo Made Ceramics

When we spotted these lovely and bold handcrafted ceramic cups online, we immediately reached out to the artisanal london ceramic studio, but the demand was so high for their ceramics that they had closed off wholesale for the rest of the year.  

In fact, the cup was sold out on their webstore, and we had to hunt down several retailers to find what we could, and bought them at retail, and we are glad we did! These speckled stoneware are all hand crafted in London, with their white glazed interior and exterior with blue highlight accent, perfect for our all-day affogato.

MILO MADE CERAMICS

ceramic cups

 “Frame” Akita Glazed Porcelain Plates by HULS Gallery

strawberry chocolate cake

The pretty and delicate plates we use for our little cakes and tarts hail from the “Frame Series” of Japanese tableware created for professional use by our neighbour on Duxton Hill – HULS Gallery. Made in Japan by “ARITA PLUS,” a collective of potteries from Arita, Saga Prefecture, these plates stand out for its aesthetics, craftsmanship, and strength. Its refined simplicity allows chefs to express their creativity, while the material is three times stronger than normal porcelain. 

Under the concept of “a tableware is a canvas for the chef’s creation”, ARITA PLUS constantly pursue the best design to complement the chef’s dish. The simple yet refined form of the “Frame Series” was carefully designed so that it can be a “frame” for a beautiful painting, that being the chef’s creation.

The plates are bespoke for our cafe using the Awagesho original design technique with white mica silver glaze to complement not just our products but also the interiors of our space at Duxton Road. 

HULS Gallery Singapore curates and showcases fine crafts from around Japan. Each of these distinctive crafts brings its own heritage and expression, but together they illustrate the country’s distinctive appreciation of beauty.

ARITA FRAME