Unfolding as a series of performative provocations – unconventional dinners staged in unexpected locations – the A New Futurist Cookbook project stems from architect Michael Yarinsky and interdisciplinary artist Allan Wexler’s desire to better understand how design shapes the social dimensions of a shared meal. The newly released Tortugaware dishware collection derives, in part, from this ongoing investigation.
“It explores tableware as a medium for connection, turning simple acts of dining into moments of exchange,” says Yarinsky.
Developed under the moniker of the multi-disciplinary architecture practice Office of Tangible Space that Yarinsky co-founded with Kelley Perumbeti, the new offering is as much a reinterpretation of mid-century modern design – a movement that continues to have influence on contemporary output – as it is an homage to American ceramics, a market that thrived around the same time: the especially cost-effective soup tureens, sugar bowls, and serving platters one could order from any number of catalogs.
Developed with equally dynamic home accessories brand Tortuga Forma, the Tortugaware collection is defined by the incorporation of a signature rolling edge. This decorative, sculptural feature is in fact functional, an ergonomic handle of sorts that makes lifting and stacking the amoebic-form plates much easier. This modality is bolstered by the fact that the objects are made out of high-fired stoneware. They’re also toned in era-appropriate oranges, baby blues, creams, and dark grays.
Addressing the question of how people, environments, and objects interact, this simple yet impactful gesture reflects the ethos underlining the A New Futurist Cookbook project: the notion that design is far more than style. Tortuga Forma shares a similar vision.
“We’ve spent years developing our table perspective, gradually introducing culturally-inspired table linens and pieces that celebrate the intersection of heritage and everyday ritual,” says the platform’s founder Andrea Hill. “The Tortugaware vision was to create a comprehensive dinner party collection that would introduce a fresh formal language to today’s dinner and serveware patterns while honoring these historical precedents.”
Tortuga Forma centers its approach around the creation of future collectibles and achieves this by closely considering material and production. The company collaborates with craft-led workshops, multi-generational family businesses, and larger production facilities in different parts of the world. All are experts in their respective artisanal know-how: traditional techniques that are reinterpreted for contemporary use. The Tortugaware collection is no different.
“Tortugaware represents our exploration of Mexico’s extraordinary ceramic legacy,” Hill adds. “We partnered with a manufacturer whose mission centers on ‘redefining the endemic Mexican object’ – a philosophy that resonated deeply with our own approach to craft and culture. Given the interconnected histories of Mexico and the U.S., this manufacturing collaboration felt like a natural choice bringing layers of cultural knowledge and expertise into the collection. We welcomed their interpretation of the design and listened closely to their technical recommendations.”
The designs are being produced using the semi-industrial method of slip casting, which accounts for a level of consistency in form and quality. The soft edges and nuanced glazework require many interventions from the human hand and so the pieces are essentially hand-made.
Through the new year, the Tortugaware series is rolling out with different dinner, salad, and bread plates, as well as a serve platter. It will eventually be sold as an entire set.
To learn more or to purchase Tortugaware designed by Office of Tangible Space for Tortuga Forma, please visit tortugaforma.co.
Photography by Charlie Shuck, Hannah Whitaker, and Melissa Carnemolla.