October 15, 2008. Royal Copenhagen and Lladrò have done it, and now the nearly 300-year old Austrian porcelain company Augarten is the latest to partner with contemporary talent to produce pieces meant to appeal to folks younger than your bubby. At last week’s Vienna Design Week, the young Vienna-based Italian designer Marco Dessi presented his limited-edition line for the company, consisting of one series of half-finished, raw ceramic vessels and another finished, glossy series.
The second group—many of which are printed with colorful reinterpretations of the company’s logo—are crowned with heavy-set rims, actually the pieces used to grip the vases while they’re being painted.
They’re supposed to be sliced off near the end of the production process, but Dessi left them on for decorative effect. We don’t want to reveal much more about the work, though, because Dessi’s going to be featured in I.D.’s January/February I.D. 40 issue. Stay tuned! www.viennadesignweek.at or www.marcodessi.com