Some people collect sneakers, some people collect stamps, and some very lucky people collect
limited-edition serving platters that look like they wandered straight out of an art gallery
and onto the dinner table. The Platter Project from Permanent Collection is firmly in that last
category—a capsule series of artist-made platters that Remodelista has spotlighted as one
of the most compelling new tabletop launches in recent years.

Conceived by writer and curator Fanny Singer, founder of the California-based brand Permanent
Collection, the Platter Project brings together a small group of international ceramic
artists and artisans to make signed editions of platters designed for real use: family-style
dinners, weekend gatherings, and candlelit dessert spreads. They’re meant to be piled
high with food—but they’re also attractive enough to hang on the wall when the
last crumb is gone.

If you love Remodelista’s restrained, soulful aesthetic and you’re curious why
design editors are buzzing about these pieces, consider this your deep dive into what the
Platter Project is, who’s behind it, and how to actually live with a work of art that
also happens to be a very good excuse to invite friends over.

From Cult Houseware Line to Art for the Table

Permanent Collection is a small, Berkeley-based brand known for objects that feel timeless:
linen aprons that could belong in a bistro in Paris, brass egg spoons beloved by chefs, and
ceramics that look equally at home in a museum case or a home kitchen. The point is right in
the name—these are pieces meant to live with you for decades, not a single season.

Fanny Singer’s background in art history and curation, plus a lifelong immersion in the
worlds of food and design, shows up in the way Permanent Collection approaches every new
project. Rather than chasing trends, the brand focuses on:

• Enduring forms — silhouettes that won’t feel dated next year.
• Expert makers — artists and artisans with serious technical chops.
• Thoughtful production — small runs, meticulous finishes, and clear provenance.

The Platter Project is the logical next step in that ethos: a way to commission functional art
from a handful of ceramicists and give it a dedicated stage, with Remodelista acting as the
design-world megaphone for the launch.

What Exactly Is the Platter Project?

At its core, the Platter Project is a curated collection of limited-edition serving platters
made by five artists: Jordan McDonald, Raina Lee, Edmund Davies, Zoe Dering, and Kymia
Nawabi. Each artist created a small signed edition—typically between 15 and 25
pieces—commissioned specifically for Permanent Collection and released together as a
capsule.

A few key details make the project stand out in a crowded ceramics market:

• Small editions, big personality.
  Each platter is handmade, signed, and produced in a very limited run, so you’re
  collecting an object with real scarcity.
• Designed for family-style service.
  The scale, shapes, and profiles are generous enough for roast vegetables, whole fish, or a
  tumble of summer stone fruit.
• Capsule releases.
  Permanent Collection plans to introduce fresh groups of platters every six to twelve months,
  in a range of materials—from ceramic and wood to papier-mâché and metal.
• Display-worthy.
  These platters are intentionally beautiful enough to live on a shelf or wall when
  they’re not in use, functioning as sculpture between dinner parties.

The result is part functional serveware, part limited-edition design object, and part ongoing
series for collectors who like their art with a side of roasted carrots.

Meet the Makers: Five Artists, Five Ways to Serve

One of the pleasures of the Platter Project is the range of voices on the table. Even within a
cohesive palette and restrained overall look, each artist’s contribution brings a
distinct mood, technique, and cultural reference.

Jordan McDonald: A Botanical Rim with Museum Energy

Philadelphia-based ceramic artist Jordan McDonald contributes a generous round platter with a
shallow well and a turned-down rim. The surface is a soft parchment tone, finished in a matte
glaze that feels quietly luxurious rather than flashy. Around the edge, an emerald-hued
botanical motif winds its way like a continuous border, loose but intentional, almost like a
drawing in motion.

It’s the sort of piece you could imagine in a design museum, but in a real kitchen it
becomes the workhorse for holiday roasts, citrus salads, or a towering pavlova. For
collectors, McDonald’s deep knowledge of ceramic history adds another layer: the platter
subtly nods to classical forms while still reading as contemporary.

Zoe Dering: The “Meringue” Oval Fish Platter

Bay Area potter Zoe Dering offers an oval platter that looks like it belongs at a long,
candlelit dinner in a French country house. Hand-built from a slab rather than wheel-thrown,
it has a flatter profile and a rim that dips and curves just enough to feel alive.

The glossy white glaze is intentionally reminiscent of whipped meringue, with a soft sheen
that catches the light. Along the edge, a bas-relief scalloped detail references early
20th-century stoneware fish platters from France—those elongated ovals designed to hold
a whole fish, presented with fanfare at the table.

In modern life, it’s just as perfect for a tangle of grilled asparagus, a composed
salad, or a lineup of sliced citrus. It’s heirloom-minded but unfussy, an everyday
classic disguised as a showpiece.

Kymia Nawabi: Nerikomi-Inspired Geology on a Plate

Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary artist Kymia Nawabi pushes the project into more
experimental terrain. Her wide, round platter is built from two contrasting clays pressed and
layered together so the colors swirl and striate through the body of the piece.

The technique nods to Japanese nerikomi, where stacked and sliced colored clays form
intricate patterns. Instead of rigid geometry, Nawabi embraces the unpredictability: the
marbling suggests aerial landscapes, cliffs, or slices of geologic time. No two pieces are
exactly alike, which only heightens their collectible feel.

On the table, this platter needs very little help. Even a simple pile of roasted potatoes or a
single cake looks intentionally styled when it sits on top of a layered, earth-toned swirl.

Raina Lee: A Watery Racetrack of Color

Self-taught LA ceramicist Raina Lee is known for her volcanic glazes and fearless approach to
color. For the Platter Project, she created a racetrack-shaped platter—a rounded
rectangle with softened corners—hand-built from a slab of stoneware.

The surface is glazed with multiple custom mixes that pool and overlap like an abstract
seascape. Think fog rolling over a coastline, or the view from a plane as land dissolves into
water. The piece reads like a landscape painting you can serve dinner on.

It’s especially striking as a central serving piece: a bed for sliced heirloom tomatoes,
a row of oysters on crushed ice, or a scatter of figs, almonds, and cheese. Even when it’s
empty, the color story pulls focus.

Edmund Davies: Quiet Minimalism with a Calligraphic Twist

Rounding out the group is Norfolk-based studio potter Edmund Davies, whose work leans firmly
minimalist. His mid-sized round stoneware platter is wheel-thrown in an iron-rich blend of
clays, giving the body a subtle depth under a semi-transparent, eggshell-textured glaze.

Across the surface, Davies paints a quilt-like pattern in iron and cobalt oxides. The inky,
gestural marks evoke Japanese sumi ink and hand-stitched textiles at the same time: part
calligraphy, part patchwork. The effect is calm yet graphic, like a quiet statement necklace
that somehow goes with everything.

This is the piece you’ll reach for again and again: for simple weeknight pasta, a rustic
tart, or just a stack of pears. It’s composed but not precious, which is exactly what a
great platter should be.

Why Limited-Edition Platters Are Having a Moment

The Platter Project doesn’t exist in a vacuum. In the broader design world, there’s
a noticeable shift toward tableware that blurs the line between functional object and art:
luxury brands commissioning porcelain collections, fashion houses teaming up with heritage
ceramic manufacturers, and indie studios creating small-batch, hand-painted serving pieces
that sell out in hours.

Several forces are driving this trend:

• The rise of the tablescape.
  Social media has turned the dining table into a stage. A thoughtfully styled platter full of
  fruit, bread, or grilled vegetables photographs beautifully and signals a certain kind of
  slow, abundant living.
• Collecting usable art.
  Instead of hanging every piece on a wall, many design lovers want objects they can handle
  daily—serveware that carries memories of dinners, celebrations, and everyday meals.
• Smaller-scale production.
  Consumers are increasingly drawn to work by specific makers, studios, and collaborations
  that value craft over mass production.
• Long-term value.
  Limited runs, especially from respected designers and ceramic artists, tend to hold their
  appeal and often gain cultural value over time—even if you never intend to resell a
  plate you’ve served birthday cake on.

Within this context, the Platter Project fits neatly into a global movement toward intentional,
art-forward tableware, while keeping its feet firmly planted in the reality of everyday use.

How to Style and Use Platter Project Pieces at Home

Owning a piece from the Platter Project isn’t about carefully placing it behind glass and
never touching it again. These platters are designed to work. A few ideas for putting them to
use:

• Everyday family-style dinners.
  Load Jordan McDonald’s round platter with a roast chicken surrounded by vegetables, or
  use Zoe Dering’s oval for grilled fish and lemon wedges. Bring the entire platter to
  the table and let everyone serve themselves.
• Simple desserts, elevated.
  A humble store-bought cake, a pile of cookies, or a bowl of whipped cream with berries looks
  suddenly intentional when it’s presented on a sculptural platter instead of in its
  original packaging.
• Brunch boards.
  Turn Raina Lee’s racetrack-shaped piece into a brunch landscape: smoked salmon,
  thinly sliced cucumbers, boiled eggs, and bagels arranged in loose color blocks.
• As wall art.
  Several of these platters are striking enough to hang. Plate hangers or sturdy wall hooks
  allow you to display them as a rotating gallery when they’re off duty.
• Entryway or bar tray.
  A platter can also organize bottles on a bar cart or hold keys and mail in an entry, though
  most owners will want to reserve these editions primarily for food and special occasions.

The point is not to baby these pieces into uselessness. It’s to let them quietly level
up the rituals you already have: Sunday pasta, Friday takeout, birthday pie in place of cake.

Is the Platter Project Worth the Investment?

Prices for the current Platter Project editions range roughly from the mid-$200s to the mid-$500s.
That’s a serious purchase for a single piece of tableware, and it’s worth asking
what you’re really paying for.

First, there’s the obvious: the hours of hand-building, throwing, glazing, and finishing
that go into each platter, plus the years of training behind that labor. Then there’s
the edition size. Owning one of 15 or 25 pieces from a respected artist is very different from
owning a platter produced by the thousands.

From a more practical angle, think in terms of cost-per-use. If you reach for a platter at
least once or twice a week—for dinners, snacks, arrangements of fruit, or dessert—the
investment spreads across hundreds, even thousands, of meals over the years. Compared to a
dress you wear a handful of times, or a gadget that’s obsolete in two years, a well-made
ceramic piece starts to look surprisingly rational.

Ultimately, the Platter Project will make the most sense for people who:

• Care deeply about food and how it’s presented.
• Follow contemporary ceramics and design collaborators.
• Prefer to buy a few meaningful pieces rather than a cabinet full of anonymous dishes.

If that sounds like you, this is a launch worth paying attention to—and potentially
acting on quickly, because editions this small don’t linger forever.

Buying, Caring For, and Collecting the Platters

Because each piece is handmade, quantities are limited and restocks aren’t guaranteed.
If you’re serious about the Platter Project, it’s smart to:

• Sign up for Permanent Collection’s newsletter to hear about new capsules early.
• Decide which artist’s voice resonates with you most before a launch goes live.
• Consider how the colors and shapes will work with the tableware you already own.

Caring for the platters is largely common sense. Many studio ceramicists recommend hand
washing, avoiding sudden temperature changes (no going from freezer to hot oven), and treating
the pieces with the same respect you’d give any other work of art. At the same time,
they are meant to be used, not just admired—so don’t be afraid of the occasional
cut mark or sign of life. Patina is part of the story.

For collectors, the Platter Project also opens an interesting path: you could decide to follow
one artist across future projects, build a mini-collection of each capsule release, or focus
on forms you know you’ll use most. Because the project is ongoing, your own “permanent
collection” of platters can evolve alongside the series itself.

Experiences: Living with Platter Project Pieces in Real Life

To really understand the appeal of the Platter Project, imagine a few moments from an ordinary
year and how one of these pieces might quietly transform them.

It’s a cool autumn evening. Outside, the light is fading early; inside, the kitchen
smells like roasted squash, garlic, and butter. Instead of plating dinner individually, you
pull out Jordan McDonald’s round platter, still slightly warm from the low oven, and slide
a whole roast chicken onto it, surrounded by carrots and potatoes. When you carry it to the
table, the conversation pauses for just a second. Nobody says, “Nice platter,” out
loud—but you can feel that tiny collective intake of breath that happens when something
looks exactly right.

A few months later, it’s spring. The produce section is suddenly full of bright things
again: blood oranges, strawberries, tender asparagus. For a casual Saturday lunch, you arrange
citrus slices in overlapping circles on Zoe Dering’s white, scalloped oval, add a drizzle
of olive oil and torn mint, and set it down next to a bowl of burrata. The dish itself took
five minutes, but it looks like something out of a cookbook photo shoot. Friends ask what
you’ve been “doing” to your table lately, and the honest answer is: not much
beyond choosing the right canvas.

On another day, it’s just you. No guests, no event, just a midweek evening when you
happen to have a handful of figs, some almonds, and the last wedge of a favorite cheese. You
set them on Raina Lee’s racetrack platter, where the glazes swirl like shifting tides.
Suddenly, a small solo snack feels considered instead of thrown together; you sit a little
longer at the table than you planned, scrolling less and paying more attention to what’s
in front of you.

One owner might hang Kymia Nawabi’s marbled platter on the wall above a sideboard, where
it acts as an anchor for a rotating display of flowers, candlesticks, and books. Another might
use Edmund Davies’ quilt-patterned piece almost every day—for salad, pizza, cake,
and everything in between—letting tiny marks accumulate over time. The platter slowly
records a history of meals eaten, guests welcomed, and candles blown out.

What ties all these experiences together isn’t just visual pleasure, though there’s
plenty of that. It’s the sense that your table has become a more intentional place, even
when nothing else in life feels particularly organized. You don’t need a grand event to
justify using a platter that was thrown, carved, and glazed by hand. In fact, the magic of the
Platter Project shows up most clearly in the ordinary days, when you realize you’ve
quietly built a ritual around taking beautiful objects down from the shelf and putting them to
work.

Over time, that ritual can reshape how you think about home. Instead of saving your favorite
things for a few “special” occasions per year, you reach for them regularly, build
memories into them, and let them age alongside you. That’s the deeper promise of the
Platter Project: not just launching a new series of objects, but launching a different way of
living with what you bring into your permanent collection.

Final Thoughts

“Launching today” often sounds like a marketing drumroll for something that will be
forgotten in a season. The Platter Project from Permanent Collection, as celebrated by
Remodelista, feels like the opposite. It’s a deliberately slow, small-scale series that
asks you to think long-term: about craft, about the artists behind your everyday objects, and
about how you gather people around your table.

Whether you’re a devoted ceramics collector or simply someone who loves the moment when a
platter lands on the table and everyone leans in, this project is a reminder that good design
can be both quiet and unforgettable—and that the best pieces in your home are the ones
you’ll still want to reach for ten years from now.

The post Launching Today: The Platter Project from Permanent Collection appeared first on Blobhope Family.