This is a post about how functional design doesn’t have to be austere design. It’s also a love letter to Denby Arabesque – a discontinued stoneware range.
When I reconnected with Carl Bembridge last week we revisited a conversation we had years ago when we were colleagues at Nottinghamshire County Council and before that at Derbyshire County Council. We talked about how simple, function-first design can be beautiful too.
We also talked (well, I talked) about the design on the coffee cup Carl had been served his drink in. We had met at Denby Pottery Village so of course it was a Denby pattern, but I think even Carl was taken aback by how much I knew and how enthusiastically I talked about the design (Heritage Piazza).
Over the following days these 2 conversations merged in my mind. Functional, sustainable design can be creative, inspiring and – yes – beautiful. Let me introduce you to Denby Arabesque.
Arabesque: a study in function and form
If I suddenly had to give a presentation on any subject but with no time to prepare I would most likely talk about discontinued Denby pottery patterns from the early ’60s to mid ’80s. I’d spend a good portion of that talk on a particular range – Arabesque.
Introduced in 1963 Arabesque is one of the more distinctive Denby patterns. Designed by Gill Pemberton after a trip to Russia the stoneware has a dark brown background with camel and red circle designs across it.
This was a mass produced product, but was hand-painted giving nuance to the design (it did later change to a transfer giving more consistency and I’d argue a little less charm) and had a whole load of interestingly shaped pieces. From the standard round dinner plates to futuristically angular celery boats, at least 5 different shapes of cup and oven-to-table pieces, coasters and even an ice bucket. Extensive is definitely a fitting description for this range.
For me it has always been a part of daily life. It was the dinner service my parents got for their wedding in the early ’70s and was our day-to-day crockery when I was growing up. For them was never replaced by any other service, and
Having inherited their collection I love mooching through local charity shops, antique stores, and Facebook Marketplace to add to the range. It still gets daily use in my household and I have a pretty extensive collection, including the complimentary ‘stone and steel’ Touchstone ‘Garnet’ cutlery.
What’s to love about Arabesque?
In short…everything.
Stoneware is incredibly hard-waring. I’m sure one of the reasons this was in daily use at home, and why so much is still around, is it’s very hard to break. Some of my pieces have survived several fumbles in the washing up bowl and breakages have generally been through dropping direct on to a tiled floor.
The combination of shapes – while I’m no pottery expert I’d think some were quite hard to consistently achieve – and the surface pattern design which was reproduced by hand for so long is a wonder of mass production.
It’s a very tactile range – the stoneware has great heat retaining properties so your brew stays warm for ages, and the D shaped handles are ergonomic. It also has a very distinctive noise. Yes, noise. The sound of the plates being stacked in the cupboard triggers the good feels for me.
I love the story of how the design was inspired, and seeing the similarities and differences between the shapes and patterns on the other ranges Denby was producing at the time. And I love how the range went from standard plate, cup, bowl items through to an extensive range of serving platters, oven-to-table ware, and household items.
Have I fallen in love with my crockery? Very possibly – but that’s good design, right?
Could local government design be more Arabesque?
Each piece in the Arabesque range is purposeful – it is useful and usable. It’s long-lasting and durable. It has a distinctive aesthetic that is both easily recognisable and seeming individual while also being produced for the masses.
I think there is a whole load of stuff local government designers can take from this.
They can look at how everyday design can delight while also being very usable. They can look at how ergonomics can be balanced with aesthetic. They can go further and see how aesthetics can sometimes enhance the use of a thing, not detract from a task at hand.
With the more recent Heritage range the design has also shown it can be updated and change its colours yet still be recognisable. But even within the original range they can see how design can have nuance while recognisably belonging to a collection.
The biggest lesson in Arabesque is how something functional can also have distinctive form. Simple design can be beautiful too. The trend – based on solid evidence – is for minimum usable design, but even within the established patterns I believe there can be a case for enhanced visual design.
Am I saying the Pay My Council Tax journey should be covered in retro circles or include the digital equivalent of a celery boat? No. But perhaps some public sector design could be less utilitarian and more Arabesque while still meeting user needs?
Shall we connect
I’m looking for conversations and opening my calendar for opportunities to connect across 2024. I’m clearly very open to conversations about Denby patterns – Arabesque is my fave but will also chat Gypsy, Troubadour, Minstrel, Bokhara, Kismet, and others. I’ll even entertain discussion of Portmeirion and Midsummer – bring me your pottery and surface pattern chat!
My February is fairly packed with personal commitments alongside work so I’ve not got slots in Calendly open at the moment. Do drop me a message if you’d like to chat though and we can find something that works I’m sure!
If you’re a vendor please check out the latest news on my employer before grabbing a slot – these conversations are not an opportunity to try and sell to me. And if you do work at the same organisation as I do reach out on Teams so we can say hello!
You can also get in touch through the ways on my get in touch page so let’s see what we can arrange.