If you’re wondering what modern design is all about, we’re ready to talk your ear off. But since a picture is worth a thousand words, we’d likely bring a great example to the table.
Good thing we know just the vase for the job: the Omaggio vase. This piece is so great—and so quintessentially modern—that we’re dedicating a blog post to it.
But why does this vase exemplify modern design? Because it embodies so many hallmarks of the aesthetic we love: it’s sleek, simple, functional, and marked with pure color.
And it’s got a nice backstory to boot.
Kähler: A Meeting Place for Great Design
For generations, the Danish ceramics company known as Kähler has created vases along with dishes, pots, kitchenware, and more—and made its mark forever on the modern design movement.
The story began when the potter Herman J. Kähler opened a small ceramics shop in 1839. When his sons Frederik and Herman took over the workshop in 1875, the venture started to gather speed.
The younger Herman traveled Europe before returning to the workshop full of inspired impressions. He built a new facility and began experimenting with a commitment to artistry that attracted many distinguished Danish artists and put Kähler ceramics on the world map.
With Kählers at the helm for 4 generations, the enterprise dedicated itself to understanding and adjusting to the latest trends. Over time, many of Kähler’s signature pieces have become collectors’ items and icons of design. And to this day, Kähler serves as a meeting place for distinguished artists and designers.
Like the talented pair who designed the Omaggio vase.
Stilleben and Omaggio
At the Stilleben design studio and retail store in Denmark, Ditte Reckweg and Jelena Schou Nordentoft sell housewares that reflect the simple, functional designs characteristic of the modern movement.
Long “fascinated by Kähler’s epoch-making ceramics, which have played an enormous part in putting Denmark on the map when it comes to art and design,” they were delighted to participate in the workshop.
And we all get to benefit.
With its fusion of modern expression and function, Stilleben’s Omaggio range has met with great success and become a true classic.
The vase is a piece that is very classical in shape, with stripes that feel a bit provincial and modern at the same time. Made in Portugal, where the stripes are hand painted in most offered colors, the finished vase takes full advantage of the functionality and artistry possible through ceramic design.
When incorporating an Omaggio vase into your own home, give it a place where it can show itself off. And don’t be afraid to combine a small collection in varied colors or a single tone. The effect is simply striking yet easy to achieve.
Now that’s great modern design.