Here: Tabletop Bistrobar → Crisp-id presents Tabletop Bistrobar, a ceramic set developed for the restaurant Casino in Bern. The 13-piece tableware is basically divided into two sets for lunch and dinner, distinguished by slick, wave-like ornament and adapted to each meal’s requirements. The strong yet elegant identity delivered by the brick-red collection underlines the care lavished on the dish, and also offers a large variety of presentation options despite the limited number of pieces. This is due to the detailed design of each piece, such as the dinner plate that can be turned over and used as a platter for starters. This thoughtful versatility reflects an economy of means aimed at committed care for the environment, a value embodied by the restaurant’s philosophy.
crisp-id
Product + Object
There: Production and collaboration process → The two designers, Jérôme Rütsche and Felix Spuhler, developed the set over several years, paying close attention to the restaurant’s needs and ideas. The starting point was to reflect Casino’s philosophy of working with local products and reducing food waste. Crisp-id, founded in 2017, wanted to expand the focus from the food to the dish, questioning the use of anonymous tableware that is often imported from distant, low-wage countries. While the glass is produced by Glasi Hergiswil and the wood underplate at Bruni Holzdrechslerei in Thun, the designers had to reach out to Germany to find the nearest manufacturer able to produce a serial red ceramic robust enough for a restaurant. In collaboration with Hartenfels in Westerwald, which mostly produces roof tiles — an origin reflected in the ornament — they developed a new red ceramic based on the local clay deposit.
Everywhere: Questioning how things get to the table → With their Tabletop Bistrobar, Rütsche and Spuhler prove possible and make visible the industrial yet local production of everyday objects that often slip out of focus. Among their collaborations, including Flik-Flak and Klotzli, their work with the Lausanne-based start-up la fraîche, which rents and sells hydrocultures for indoors, conveys a similar engagement. The duo designed the scalable shelf that integrates the water and electric circuits, working with the Swiss-based factory Lasatec on production.
As such, their work forms part of a larger movement within design which reflects on the whole production chain of objects, and aims to reduce the impact on the environment while inviting users, through an aesthetic experience, to reflect on their immediate surroundings.
As such, their work forms part of a larger movement within design which reflects on the whole production chain of objects, and aims to reduce the impact on the environment while inviting users, through an aesthetic experience, to reflect on their immediate surroundings.
Education → Jérôme Rütsche: BA in Industrial Design, ECAL, Lausanne, Felix Spuhler: BA in Industrial Design, ZHdK, Zurich
Project(s) → Tabletop Bistrobar – Casino Bern, 2019