Tea set

Robert Harper

Arabia are perhaps the best known designer of tableware in Finland, and you really have to pay through the nose to get Arabia style.

So there I was in Anttila looking for some hinges when I came across some stylish white cups and tea pots. I was drawn to the severe clean lines and simplicity of the desgin.

Every single piece had some sort of flaw. It looked like small bits of green grass baked into the glaze. There was no rhyme or reason regarding the occurance of these delicate markings. I imagined a monk burning grass on a bronze platter and while it was aflame blowing the ash and bits of grass over the unglazed plates and cups before they were fired in the oven. Each item was unique and idividual.

There was no label on the base of any of the items. I thoroughly liked the idea that they were not branded. Neither were they priced. There was a swarm of women picking up beautiful soup tureens, and enormous serving plates

And the price? Well let me just say everything was sold by kilo weight.

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