Ink Dish - Josh Spear, Trendspotting

Porcelain tableware may not top many young urban dwellers wish lists, but that may change if Ink Dish has their way. It comes as no surprise that the company’s target audience said they “don’t want stuffy and formal china, and they don’t want mass-produced mainstream dinnerware.” The Le Mesa, California, company’s current line features blue and white mugs, bowls, and plates with Japanese-style fish designed by tattoo artist Paul Timman. Available through Propeller in San Francisco, a little place called Fred Segal in the L.A. area, and Gore Dean on the East Coast. Its a registry option that won’t make you balk.

Tags: Design, home

umbra

Wednesday, 02.18.09 @ 9:12 pm

this looks very similar to the porcelain that Don Ed Hardy has been painting for years now.

http://tinyurl.com/atpkyn

though I’m sure this is much more affordable.

Mike Jones	Thursday, 02.19.09 @ 2:00 am
those are some awesome dishes! I want!

Dave Harding

Thursday, 02.19.09 @ 2:34 pm

Hi Umbra – You are correct. Ed Hardy’s pieces are priced as art, our pieces were developed to be used everyday and priced from $15 to $299 for a service for four.

To give you a little background: The concept of tattoo tableware came about while I was working on my thesis in business school in 2007 before I had heard of Ed Hardy. Together with our design director, Paul Timman developed eight potential patterns which we tested with a focus group of 200 people. The Irezumi pattern that tested best, and which we produced, was born before any of us were aware that Ed Hardy was working on pottery as well as clothing.

When I first saw the clothing, and then quickly saw it everywhere, I had mixed feelings. On one hand it validated a lot of my ideas that tattoo inspired products would have a large audience. On the other hand, as Ed Hardy continued to grow we knew that we could not get away from comparisons.

Someday Ed Hardy may also produce everyday dinnerware. We will not be able to compete with his marketing dollars so we are competing on design. We feel that the combination of our design director’s expertise in tableware and Paul Timman’s prowess as an artist will allow us to stand apart in that department.

Thanks Umbra for your comments and thanks Josh for telling your readers about our line!