Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design

The Craft in America Center is pleased to present Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, an exhibition that will focus on handmade objects made by over 30 local artists for Southern California restaurants. The exhibition will feature all forms of items associated with food consumption, including: serving boards, dishware, glasses, lighting, and furnishings. Various media will be represented ranging from ceramics to wood to metal and more. The intersection of design, art, and craft to enhance dining will be the crux of this show.

Food was a motivational font for craft from its earliest origins. Craft has facilitated and elevated the act of cooking and consumption throughout history, from woven baskets to clay storage jars. Well-executed serving pieces and kitchen tools transform the edible experience and encourage us to stop and think about what we eat and how things taste. As creators of American material culture, craft makers design and build the relics of our everyday, modern world, and food is focal. Craft today plays a part in how we interact with food and deepens the ideology of sustainability and terroir.

Throughout the run of the exhibition, we will be hosting Chef / Maker Talks, panel discussions in which chefs will be in dialogue with craft artists and designers about their collaborations and the role of design and visual art in their industry. The modern restaurant has become a landscape infused deeply with craft and setting for creative craft expression. The exhibition and programs will explore the interdisciplinary nature of craft in restaurants today.

Makers/Designers:

Atelier Saucier
Aura Knives
Blockshop Textiles
bX Ceramics
Chris Earl
District Mills
Eunbi Cho
Claire Hungerford
Fell Knives
Granada Tiles
Humble Ceramics
Irving Place Studio
Patrick Johnston Ceramics
Klein Agency
Lawson/Fenning
David Leitch

Male Glaze
MANO YA
Match Stoneware
Ben Medansky
Mt Washington Pottery
Neptune Glass
Objects for Others
Mori Onodera
Project Room
Brendan Ravenhill
Ren•Vois
Laura Stinger
Third Life Design
Shoshi Watanabe
W/R/F Lab

Objects found at restaurants including:

American Beauty
Auburn
Bestia
Botanica
Church + State
Elf
Hinoki & the Bird
Kismet
Le Comptoir

Manuela
n/naka
Otium
Providence
Ronan
Somni
Sqirl
Tartine
and more

Support provided by:

DCA logo
Pasadena Art Alliance
Los Angeles County Arts Commission

Exhibition Gallery

CIA_Facebook, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design exhibition window, Craft in America
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design exhibition window, Craft in America
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design exhibition window, Craft in America
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design exhibition window, Craft in America
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Exhibition display, Neptune Glassworks, Circuit Chandelier. Chris Earl, Stool, High Wood Stool and Sable Chair. Granada Tiles, Solid Hexagons, Tamara Kaye-Honey of House of Honey, Otium, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
ABOVE: Neptune Glassworks, Circuit Chandelier, Aluminum, steel, brass, 2015 LEFT TO RIGHT: Chris Earl, Stool, High Wood Stool and Sable Chair, Walnut, leather, copper, 2015, Otium Earl worked in restaurants before moving on to furniture-making in 2014. He makes custom pieces in his LA workshop and his pristine products perfectly compliment Otium’s rustic yet refined approach to dining. BELOW: Granada Tiles, Solid Hexagons designed by Tamara Kaye-Honey of House of Honey for Otium, Cement, Otium
Uri Davillier, Circuit Chandelier, Aluminum, steel, brass, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Uri Davillier, Circuit Chandelier, Aluminum, steel, brass
Chris Earl, High Wood Stool, Walnut, copper, 2015, Otium, Granada Tiles, Solid Hexagons, Cement, Tamara Kaye-Honey, House of Honey, Otium, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
(above) Chris Earl, High Wood Stool, Walnut, leather, copper, 2015, Otium (below) Granada Tiles, Cement, Solid Hexagons designed by Tamara Kaye-Honey of House of Honey for Otium.
NEPTUNE GLASSWORKS, Ronan Disc Light, Glass, brass, 2019, Ronan | Los Angeles. Scutoid Glass, Glass, gold, 2019. Bullet Cup, glass, copper, 2015, Otium. Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
NEPTUNE GLASSWORKS Ronan Disc Light, Glass, brass, 2019, Ronan | Los Angeles. Scutoid Glass, Glass, gold, 2019. Bullet Cup, glass, copper, 2015, Otium. Select restaurants and bars, including Otium, have very recently introduced local handmade glassware into service to a limited extent. Specialized glassware is ideal for serving craft cocktails, tonics, and beer, however businesses note that these items tend to mysteriously disappear from inventories, perhaps because the items are so irresistible to customers.
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design Exhibition
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Alex Miller, Dinner Bowl, n/naka. David Leitch Tray. Klein Agency, Dining Chair BT, Bon Temps, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
(foreground) Alex Miller, Dinner Bowl for n/naka. (mid) David Leitch Tray. (background) Klein Agency, Dining Chair BT for Bon Temps
David Leitch, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
David Leitch tray
Alex Miller, Rough Around the Edges Dinner Bowl, Glazed stoneware, 2017, n/naka, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Alex Miller, Rough Around the Edges Dinner Bowl, Glazed stoneware, 2017, n/naka
Klein Agency, Dining Chair BT, Aluminum, 2017, Bon Temps, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Klein Agency, Dining Chair BT, Aluminum, 2017, Bon Temps A “workhorse” chair created for Chef Lincoln Carson’s all day restaurant Bon Temps in the Arts District, 1/4″ aluminum sheet is press-broken and hand-finished in this slick retro-futuristic take on a diner chair.
Atelier Saucier, Napkins, Outstanding in the Field, Linen. Claire Hungerford & Blockshop Textiles, Napkin, block printed in Jaipur, India, 2017, Kismet. Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
(back) Atelier Saucier, Napkins for Outstanding in the Field, Linen. (front) Claire Hungerford & Blockshop Textiles, Napkin, block printed in Jaipur, India, 2017, Kismet.
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware
WALL OF PLATES LEFT, Patrick Johnston Ceramics, Irving Place Studio, Mori Onodera, Humble Ceramics, W/R/F Lab, Shoshi Watanabe, bx Ceramics, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
WALL OF PLATES (left to right) top: Humble Ceramics, Patrick Johnston Ceramics, Irving Place Studio, Mori Onodera middle: bX Ceramics, Humble Ceramics, W/R/F Lab, Humble Ceramics bottom: W/R/F Lab, Shoshi Watanabe, W/R/F Lab, bx Ceramics
Project Room, Pendant Light for Sqrl, Woodwork, Turned Wood, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Project Room, Pendant Light for Sqrl, Turned Wood
Klein Agency, HL Cafe Chair, White oak, canvas, 2017, Highly Likely, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Klein Agency, HL Cafe Chair, White oak, canvas, 2017, Highly Likely
WALL OF BOWLS, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
WALL OF BOWLS (left to right) Irving Place Studio, Porcelain Cereal/Soup Bowl and Small Plate, Glazed porcelain, 2016, Manuela at Hauser & Wirth, DTLA. Mori Onodera, Bowl, Providence, Mori Sushi, Melisse. Mori Onodera, Bowl, Providence, Mori Sushi, Melisse. Delphine Lippens, Stillness Bowl, Pizzana, Rays and Stark Bar. Patrick Johnston Ceramics, Bowl, Glazed stoneware, 2019, Rose Cafe. Laura Stinger, Bowl, Glazed stoneware, 2019, Kismet. Shoshi Watanabe, Bowl, Glazed stoneware, 2019, Hinoki & the Bird. Mt Washington Pottery, Bowl, Glazed Stoneware, 2019, Kismet. Tina Huang, Bowl, Porcelain, 2018, Nightshade. bX Ceramics, Pasta Bowl in Rutile Blue Pink, Glazed stoneware in gas reduction, 2019, Elf Cafe. W/R/F Lab, Bowl, Glazed stoneware, Providence.
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
(right to left) Lawson/Fenning, Elysian Barstool, Brass plated steel and leather, 2012. Klein Agency, Bar Stool GH, Steel and leather, 2017, Auburn. Objects for Others, Cricket Bar Stool, Steel, black walnut, patina finish, 2016, Le Comptoir. Brendan Ravenhill, La Buca Stool, Steel and wood, 2011, designed for Osteria la Buca. Brendan Ravenhill, Angle Stool, Steel and wood, 2011, Osteria la Buca. The legs of the Angle Stool are made on hot rolled angle iron which is notched and welded to create the splayed look that gives the stool its stability. The top is contoured for comfort, and custom wood feet are attached to soften contact with the floor.
Delphine Lippens, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Delphine Lippens Ceramics
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Delphine Lippens ceramics, Nobuhito Nishigawara Glazed stoneware, Craft in America
(l to r)Humble Ceramics
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Installation View
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design
Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware,
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware,
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware, Consume: Handcrafting L.A. Restaurant Design, Craft in America
Nobuhito Nishigawara, Glazed stoneware for Dinosaur
Ben Medansky at American Beauty
Mano Ya at n/naka
Irving Place Studio at Manuela
Male Glaze at n/naka
bX ceramics at Elf Cafe