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A ceramic jar with a speckled white glaze and a grey lid. A pink circular handle sits on top, with a thin red cord wrapped around the body and lid.

Lunch vessel lust for Ben Fiess' Utilitarian Ceramic wares

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Date
25 May 2012

I’m going to go ahead and assume that all other places of work foster the same strange fascination myself and my colleagues have with each other’s lunches. Our editor, for example, inexplicably eats two of everything, one of the directors goes through a lot of pate and the other day someone from design ate burger and chips in a wrap. For me though, it’s all about the vessel. I thought I’d found it, the perfect container – an enamel tiffin with compartments and carry handle – but then the internet presented me with Utilitarian Ceramic by Ben Fiess and I was left wanting.

Ceramic surfaces are an endless source of fascination for Ben and these forms, “inspired by mass-produced objects and architecture” are tangible elements of a process-led curiosity. His prolific preoccupation with materials and colours has driven this Minnesota-based designer to record a brilliantly insightful database of clay and glazes that he uses when creating these functional wares, stacked and arranged in colour-ways with a copacetic joy. I want one, I want one.

A ceramic vessel with a grey, textured body and a bright red lid. A thin blue cord wraps around the piece, secured by a small circular disc.
Above

Ben Fiess: Utilitarian Ceramic

Two views of a ceramic vessel with a yellow body and a pale grey lid. A blue cord is wrapped around the piece, held in place by small wooden pegs.
Above

Ben Fiess: Utilitarian Ceramic

A ceramic jar with a pale green glaze and a single diagonal orange stripe. A yellow rubber band is wrapped around the middle, held in place by a small wooden peg.
Above

Ben Fiess: Utilitarian Ceramic

A ceramic vessel with a pale green lid and a pink band around the top. A yellow rubber band wraps around the speckled grey body, holding a small wooden disc against the side.
Above

Ben Fiess: Utilitarian Ceramic

A ceramic vessel with a pale green body and a yellow lid. A small green knob sits on top, and a thin yellow cord wraps around the middle.
Above

Ben Fiess: Utilitarian Ceramic

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About the Author

Bryony Quinn

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Bryony was It’s Nice That’s first ever intern and worked her way up to assistant online editor before moving on to pursue other interests in the summer of 2012.

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