THE MYSTERIOUS CALLER
In 2014, we still ran Minimarket as a typical fashion label – attending zillions of trade shows, hosting fashion shows, building huge collections and hoping to calculate the stock for our webshop just right (it never was). A mix of employees and interns all did their very best to keep up with things.
The phone rang a lot. Usually, no one had the time to answer anything that wasn’t scheduled. One day, we had a “message”;
- A Finnish woman called
- What was her name?
- Ehr, I couldn’t hear.
- Where did she call from?
- I am not sure.
A week later, another message of the same sort was given by another colleague, and we started to get the feeling we really wanted to talk to this Finnish caller. Sofie asked to be given the phone if the same caller would be persistent enough to call again. And she was.
So began the collaboration with Rörstrand. The task was to create a series of porcelain, for breakfast and “fika” (coffee with something sweet on the side). It is now used in homes, offices and cafés for just this reason, but it is also great for sushi and tapas dinners. PR value exceeded Rörstrands expectations by far.
“As in all our co-laborations, a part of our creative process is to get to know the production line, to find the possibilities and identify which limitations we can stretch.”
The pattern and the line of color included in all porcelain pieces are attached by hand, with a sort of sticker. Even the black thin line at the base is attached this way, by hand. We experimented a lot with how deep inside each piece the line could stretch before risking that the sticker would end up crooked.
The result is a line entering two sides of each porcelain piece, so that when the cup or bowl is filled, it gives the illusion that the line continuous all the way through. We also developed a new type of cup handle together with Anna Lerinder. This handle was drawn to match the line seen in all pieces, but it also made the cup surprisingly effortless to hold.
After seeing our initial pieces, Rörstrand asked us to add some home accessories to the series; the lidded tin (perfect for “välling”, pasta or crayons), the kitchen towel and the napkins.
Buy Minimarket x Rörstrand here.