London designer Benjamin Hubert has created a range of moulded ceramic tableware for Italian manufacturer Bitossi Ceramiche that celebrates raw seam details created in the casting process.
Seams is a collections of centre pieces, including jars and bottles, made from slip-cast ceramic and finished with a brightly pigmented matte glaze.
The concept for the pieces developed from research carried out by Hubert's studio, which explored ways in which mass-produced products could incorporate one-off details by manipulating a traditional process.
"The studio began the project with a study into the slip casting process to establish how it could be utilised to introduce decorative elements to the product without a secondary decorating process," explained Hubert.
Slip casting is a common method for the mass production of pottery and involves pouring a liquid clay mixture into a plaster mould. The mould creates a surface "seam" detail, which is usually "fettled" or trimmed off of the piece when it is set.
The studio identified these seams as an element that could be transformed into a decorative detail without the need for additional processes.
The plaster casting mould for each piece was split in several places to introduce additional lines across the surface into each object. These mould components can be moved each time a new cast is formed, making each object unique.
"We wanted to showcase the process of making so we selected an iconic archetypal bottle – so the details, process and colours would be the focus," Hubert told Dezeen.
Based in Florence, Bitossi Ceramiche has been manufacturing ceramic ware since the 1920s and has previously collaborated with designers including Ronan and Ewan Bouroullec, Fabio Novembre and Arik Levy.