Product Design: Polly Collins challenges how we we dine with malleable tableware

Date
1 October 2013

If the phrase “changing the way we interact with our tableware” just reminds you of that bit in The Little Mermaid when Ariel is told that a fork is actually a comb for her hair then it might well be time for you to become better acquainted with the work of Polly Collins. Whilst studying silversmithing and jewellery at Edinburgh College of Art, Polly decided to push the boundaries of dining experiences to encourage users to spend more time over eating.

Working predominantly in sheet metal which she treats like a textile, “creating seams and gussets in soft forms”, Polly has created a collection of dining objects made from soft, textured materials, to accentuate the sensuality of food and to slow down the way we eat. She explains: “I am considering a world in which we are friends with our utensils, where we want to spend time with them and to nurture them; a place where we slow down a bit. These speculative forms are creature-like in appearance, each with different personalities and temperaments. They invite us to have a conversation with them, to learn more about them.” Sounds to us like a charmingly innovative way to go approach how we think about food.

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Polly Collins: Slow Dining

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Polly Collins: Slow Dining

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Polly Collins: Slow Dining

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Polly Collins: Slow Dining

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Polly Collins: Soft Coffee

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Polly Collins: Soft Coffee

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Polly Collins: Soft Coffee

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About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

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