Author: Unison

What says summer more than bold colors and outdoor entertaining? We have carefully combed through the endless possibilities of summer serveware to discover beautiful pieces with a story to tell. They have traveled the world from as far as the northern reaches of China to the plains of Uganda to continue their journey with you and join their story with yours.

Meridian Bowls

The Meridian Bowls are crafted in the Porcelain Capital of China, Jingdezhen. This ancient city has been producing pottery for over 1,700 years, due in large part to the unique nature of its kaolin, a mineral native to the area that allows for the creation of high quality porcelain.

Inspired by the ceramic artistry of the Song and Ming Dynasties, each of the Meridian Bowls is handcrafted by a trained ceramicist using traditional techniques in a modern design interpretation. This combination is intended to highlight in one form a part of the beauty and artistic history of China.

Falcon Pitchers

British manufacturer Falcon Enamelware has been making its iconic tableware since the 1920s. A porcelain enamel coating is fused onto heavy-gauge steel for a surprisingly lightweight and portable end result. Originally created in the Black Country of northern England, Falcon has since its beginning been associated with England’s rich history of manufacturing and innovation. Its steel base ensures that if you drop it, it may chip, but won’t break. Oven-safe up to 530ºF, they can also be used on gas or electric burners.

We’ve loved Falcon for quite some time, and we are proud to add their line of pitchers to our collection. Featuring the glossy, deep colors synonymous with the Falcon name, the pitchers are ideal for a patio or picnic spread, and in their time off from beverage service, they can pull double duty as a kitchenware-inspired vase.

Heathered Black and White Raffia Serveware

This fair trade serveware is woven by groups of women living in small communities in Uganda. Using the easily renewable resources of raffia and sweetgrass, they use techniques passed down through the generations to create these organically dyed serve pieces, each taking weeks to complete. Perfect as a centerpiece or wall decor, each has a weaver profile tag attached and a hang loop on the back for ease of display.

We hope you will love these serving pieces as much as we do, and that you will help continue their story by bringing them into your own. Bring on summer!

What if “the good dishes” could be used every day? Come meet the everyday elegance of the Medaillon Collection.

When this porcelain tableware was first introduced in the early 1960s, it was quickly taken note of as avant garde and a departure from the norm. Gone were the baroque patterns of the last centuries, replaced by the quintessence of simplicity.

Made by German company Rosenthal’s Thomas brand, Medaillon is remarkable for its clean lines and minimalist design. Rosenthal itself was founded in 1879 and prides itself on working only “with artists and designers who may well represent differing directions, but have all dedicated themselves to designing contemporary originals of our times.”

Medaillon, whose name translates from French to our near-cognate “medallion,” is named for the shape echoed throughout the collection, inspiring even the handles on the creamer, teapot, and mug. Its forward-thinking design has garnered it a place in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

Practical yet timeless. Suitable for the everyday or the special occasion. We love Medaillon for its clean design and unlimited versatility.

And how can we talk about tableware without talking about registries! To make registry as fun and simple as possible, we’ve partnered with MyRegistry.com. Just click ‘Create a Registry,’ choose the type of registry (it can even be a wish list for yourself or a nonprofit) and you can browse the site and add to your registry by clicking the ‘Add to Registry’ button.

Happy registering!

For a modern aesthetic, form + function are key. We all want to minimize clutter and have “a place for everything and everything in its place,” and adding a bench to your decorating plan can make all the difference. We’re highlighting three ways to use an indoor bench for your home, making it the new and versatile go-to furniture necessity:

1. Entryway

A bench for your entryway or foyer is the perfect catch for incoming clutter. Use it for seating as you unpack from the day, store your bags, or even add a tray for keys and sundries and use it as a dual bench/entryway table.

2. Bedroom

Clothing can pile up in the bedroom, especially if you’re in a rush in the morning. Incorporate a bench into your aesthetic and use it as part of your decluttering system if you’re too busy to put everything away at once. Having a bed without clothes or things you last-minute took out of your purse will make you feel that much better when you come home, and from there it’s an easy step to taking things off the bench and putting them away in their proper place.

3. Extra Seating

We all have that occasion where we could use some extra seating in a pinch, and a bench is the perfect solution. Relieve it from its main function in the hall, bedroom, or guest room, and make use of its versatility by providing extra seating for two or three more people.

See more seating and storage solutions at unisonhome.com.

The side table: from the raised stone platforms of the ancient world to the minimalist designs of today, it has existed in a multitude of variations. As we know it today, it can be used in practically any room in the home and thanks to the centuries of design history behind it, comes in practically any style.

At Unison, the side table knows its function, but is not intrusive. It is a breath of fresh, open-sided air that pairs beautiful design with an everyday need. With the knowledge that fans of modern + minimalist design might share a love of simplified forms and clean lines, but their individual styles still vary widely, we carry an array of side tables so you can find the one that perfectly fits with your unique design plan.

The Tier Side Table

Available in Gray or Marine, the Tier is perfect as a bedside or end table. It provides reachable storage for that book, laptop, or notepad, but still keeps things looking neat and tidy. Its stacked levels are spacious enough to hold your favorite basket or box (we recommend the Tower Stackable Basket or the Tosca White Basket) and its design is inspired by the modern high rises of the 1960s.

The Tower Side Table

For the minimalist who loves the play of form and angles: meet the Tower Side Table. Steel framing with an ash top, we can’t look away from the new designs we keep seeing as it’s viewed from angle to angle. Simple yet complex, it fits anywhere. Available in White or Black.

The Tri Side Table

We know that the stool’s design is one of the earliest in the history of furniture, and the Tri Side Table draws on that legacy and gives it a modern twist. Composed of a steel top with ash legs, it is stunning in its simplicity and puts the focus on whatever you choose to place on it. Available in White or Black.

(Featured: Grid Black Small Rectangle Tray, Gather Frosted Medium Vase, Braun Black Classic Alarm Clock, Hibi Clear Tumbler, Canal White Table Lamp)

The Lexy Side Table

For anyone needing just a touch of whimsy, the Lexy is a subtle but fun addition to any space. A hexagonal wooden top contrasts with rounded wooden legs that depart from tradition by being incorporated into the surface design. Available in Black or White.

The Block Cart

The side table just got mobile with the jack-of-all-trades Block Cart. Use it as a kitchen cart, end table, bar cart, or for bathroom storage. Its steel trays are easy to clean, and it looks beautiful anywhere. Available in White or Black.

The origins and heart of Unison are in its textiles, and we could not be prouder to introduce Spencer Chambray and Savile Stripe linen bedding to our collection.

Spencer Chambray is named for that most quintessential of Englishmen, Winston Spencer-Churchill, and echoes the cool neutral gray of a classic English suit. A chambray weave is characterized by a white weft and colored warp, which combined produce a mottled appearance. For Spencer Chambray, this appears as a variegated and textured, yarn-dyed gray.

Savile Stripe features a subtle pinstripe and evokes the bespoke tailoring of London’s famed Savile Row. It is also another small nod to Mr Churchill, as his pinstripe suits became practically synonymous with the man himself. Savile Stripe and Spencer Chambray are both woven from 100% European flax linen and stone washed for a final result that is soft, breathable, and visually stunning.

What Does Yarn-Dyed Mean?

Yarn-dyed is fabric dyed in its yarn form, as opposed to piece-dyed, which is when the finished piece is dyed as a whole. Yarn-dyeing holds color much better than piece-dying, as the dye penetrates deeply into the fabric, making it more resistant to fading.

Our yarn-dyeing is done in Portugal, whose history with textiles, especially linen, goes back more than 300 years. Portugal’s commitment to responsibly-made, beautiful textiles drew us to them, and all Unison towels and bedding are made in Portuguese factories and Oeko-Tex certified.

What Are the Advantages of Linen?

Linen, like cotton, is made from natural plant fibers. The world’s strongest natural fiber, it is famed for being long-lasting, breathable, and like full-grain leather, becoming even softer and more beautiful the more you use it. Because of linen’s innate characteristics, it becomes more supple the more you handle or wash it. Our Spencer Chambray and Savile Stripe bedding is stone washed, which much like stone washed denim jeans, give a softness and flexibility to the fabric.

The hollow linen fibers can absorb 20% of their weight in water before they begins to feel damp to the touch. This internal structure also moves air easily, keeping you warm in winter and cool in summer.

What Does Stone Washed Mean?

Stone washing is a process used to soften typically stiff or rigid fabric. Invented in the 20th century, this process uses an industrial clothes washer filled with large stones to pound the fabric and give it a beautiful, worn-in look and feel.

We already knew we loved Philadelphia studio Edgewood Made after carrying their stunning Black Wood Board, Cheese Cutter and Cheese Knife, but then we saw their mirrors.

The Edgewood Made Wall Mirrors, available in solid maple, walnut, and a deep black, carry the same design features that drew us to their other products, including the hexagonal cross section that gives each piece a uniquely angled edge, and which you can read more about in The Natural Artistry of Edgewood Made. But there is another part of the mirrors’ story that got us interested: they were designed using the golden ratio.

This ratio is also known as the golden mean, golden number, and divine proportion, among other names. Essentially, two numbers are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. The result of this is classically known for being the most aesthetically pleasing.

Architects, artists, and designers, including Dali and Le Corbusier, have used the golden ratio to proportion their work, particularly in its use in “the golden rectangle.” Here is where the Edgewood Made Mirror comes in.

Edgewood co-founder David Short describes it as “the ratio is simply used to proportion the length to the width of the mirror. We use these proportions in virtually everything we do.

“In some respects this almost removes us as designers from the piece, instead allowing our designs to be dictated by the rules that we have put in place, such as the edge details  and the golden ratio. This makes all of our designs inherently work together, while simultaneously following patterns found in nature that are naturally aesthetically pleasing.”

No matter what your style, the natural design of the Edgewood Made Mirror is a perfect fit. Available in Maple, Walnut, and Black finishes.

This iconic dinnerware design was originally released in 1964 by designer Massimo Vignelli in Italy and won that year’s Compasso d’Oro award for good design. It swiftly became a touchstone of modern design and has been called an “icon of sixties utilitarian chic.” It was introduced to the United States in 1971 and has never been out of production, with the manufacturer still using its original molds.

Italian designer Vignelli is perhaps most famous for his New York City Subway signage, and the 1970s-’80s map of the system. He also created the American Airlines logo, as well as branding for IBM and Bloomingdale’s, furniture, interiors, and, of course, housewares.

“You can reach timelessness if you look for the essence of things and not the appearance. The appearance is transitory — the appearance is fashion, the appearance is trendiness — but the essence is timeless.”
-Massimo Vignelli

According to Vignelli, the inspiration for Hellerware came from seeing a client using plastic molds to make Mickey Mouse ashtrays. The idea for compact, stackable dinnerware came into his mind, he went home, and designed Heller in two hours. Heller is distinguished by its straight sides and under-sided lip, both of which lend themselves to easy stackability. Hellerware’s durability combines with a classically modern look for a long-lasting but strikingly modern dinnerware set.

Unison began carrying Heller in 2014. Co-founder Robert Segal says “The design represents all the attributes we strive for in our own textile design: quality, versatility, originality, color, accessibility, simplicity, and reduction of form. All of which have made it timeless.” We hope you will enjoy the Heller Collection as much as we do.

Shop The Heller Dinnerware Collection