A rest to complete your table setting

JUL. 2018 -no.2

Do you use a cutlery rest?

Do you use chopstick or cutlery rests at everyday meals? They provide a clean place to set utensils, but busy routines or different mealtimes can make it tempting to put chopsticks straight onto a plate or the table. Even as Japanese tables include a wider range of cuisines, chopsticks remain a daily companion in many homes. This feature introduces POTPURRI's first cutlery rest. Its gentle shape and colors look like a tiny version of the familiar Våg plate. In the palm of your hand, it is hard not to find it charming. Although chopstick rests are often associated with traditional Japanese tableware, this piece joins the Western-influenced Våg collection simply as Rest. It holds chopsticks, but also sits naturally beside forks and spoons for other meals or desserts.

Våg's Starting Point: Beauty Shaped by Everyday Use

The idea began with customers' comments. POTPURRI is sold not only in our own shops but through other retailers too. By the time of this feature, Våg had been in production for four years and many pieces had found their way onto everyday tables. Staff and buyers asked for something that could act as a small accent within a table setting. We wanted it to serve a different purpose from the existing pieces, and arrived at a rest for chopsticks, forks or spoons—a use that seemed well suited to Våg's form. We made prototypes, tried them ourselves and asked staff for feedback. But whenever we focused on holding chopsticks securely, the shape lost something of the collection's character. The original Våg design had been conceived more than sixteen years earlier. We showed the prototypes to its designer, Yamada, and asked for help. The initial reaction was surprise at a chopstick rest, but we explained the requests and the difficulties we had encountered. The very next day, five proposals arrived as three-dimensional design data. Some took a different direction from the existing pieces while still feeling at home beside them. From there, we repeatedly adjusted the thickness, shape, weight and size, balancing ease of manufacture with comfort in use.

Above: the finished piece / Below: prototypes revised again and again

A rest to complete your table setting

A cutlery rest may match the color or pattern of a plate, but it is less common to find one shaped like a miniature version of the plate itself. If you collect Våg for everyday use, this little rest offers another way to enjoy the pieces together. Its colorful yet simple, modern form also makes an interesting addition to a collection of chopstick rests. Many people tell us they bring out cutlery rests for guests or seasonal celebrations. Yet giving cutlery its own place at an everyday meal can also make setting the table feel more considered. Enjoy combining the colors in your own way.