Coup de Foudre 002
Aperitivo by the sea
There’s one time of the day we all love in the summer, aperitivo. Wherever you spend your summer, it’s always the best time of the day. Whether you plan for it or it’s impromptu, it always delivers. And there’s always the hope it will lasts longer.
And in the summer, it’s better outside, by the water or near it. Or, if you're in the city, simply pretending. So for this Coup de Foudre, I went looking for the objects that make that hour. I didn't set out with a theme, but the pieces I gravitated towards chose one for me: fish, shells, glass the colour of the sea. A curation of pieces for this exact hour, old and new.
The mixer - Art Deco cocktail decanter-shaker, c.1930–60
Start with the drink, and let it be the good-looking part. This is a multi-coloured Art Deco glass piece that does two jobs at once, decanter and shaker. The colors are spot on for the summer and it’s not something you hide in a cupboard: leave it out to catch the light, it has its place on the counter either way.
The perfect cocktail glasses - cut-crystal cognac glasses in a brass stand, 1950s
Sold as cognac glasses, but a glass this set shouldn’t be tied to one drink. Six old-cut crystal tumblers in a brass stand with a wooden handle, so you can lift the whole set at once, carry the drinks out and serve everyone very elegantly. Whisky, sure, but also a negroni over ice, an old fashioned, a vermouth with a slice of orange if the afternoon’s heading that way.
The long drinks — Iride glasses, Kanz Architetti
The tall glasses from Kanz Architetti’s Iride collection, iride, as in iridescence, each one hand-painted at the base with a colour that light carries up through the whole glass. Fill one and stand it in the last of the sun, and the colour does something ridiculous and lovely. Perfect for an Americano, a Campari soda or a long gin and tonic.
The ice - two ways, because I couldn’t choose
Aperitivo runs on ice, always. And have you noticed? Somehow we never have enough. I fell for two different pieces, so you can pick your temperament.
The maximalist. Artěl’s Frutti di Mare, from the Prague house American designer Karen Feldman built in the late nineties by reviving a nearly-lost Czech engraving tradition. Frutti di Mare, fruits of the sea, is crystal hand-engraved with an octopus, seahorses and the occasional jellyfish, each one done freehand so no two are alike.
The minimalist. A Danish champagne cooler in plain stainless steel, all postmodern restraint and cool metal. It brings the one thing a table of glass and crystal is quietly missing: a bit of hard, bright shine and and a side that doesn't take itself too seriously, even when it looks like it does.
The water - Casarialto Fishtail Murano jug
Someone always wants water, and it might as well be beautiful. This hand-blown Murano jug comes from Casarialto’s Water series, the handle shaped like a fishtail, the whole thing built around coastal living. It's the whole theme in a single jug, and I love it.
The opener - abalone & alpaca fish bottle opener, Mexico, c.1980
A bottle opener shaped like a fish, its body inlaid with abalone shell that shifts blue-green depending on how you hold it, made from alpaca, Mexican nickel silver, around 1980. It comes out of the tradition that turned humble metal and shell into something that looks like treasure. Obsessed with these pieces that feel like found treasures.
The board - Arabia Finland fish trivet, Kaarina Aho, 1950s
Now one of my favourite pieces. These two fish dishes is a trivet, a serving plate and a cheese board, depending on the day, designed by Kaarina Aho for Arabia of Finland in the 1950s, and out of production by the end of the decade, which is part of why finding one feels like a proper stroke of luck. Arabia is the great Finnish ceramics house, and Aho reduced the fish to the cleanest lines.
The bowls - depending on the vibe
The dramatic one. Fornasetti's Vortice, hand-decorated porcelain. Vortice means whirlpool and that’s exactly what it does (I wrote about Fornasetti’s dreamy objects not long ago and clearly still obsessed). Pile it with crisps or fruit, or leave it empty, it doesn't need a job to earn its place.
The sunny one. Ceramica Pinto’s hand-painted pasta bowls, from a workshop that’s sat in Vietri sul Mare since 1850. Four of them, each painted and signed by hand, the colour of a Mediterranean afternoon.
On a graphic, dressed-up table, the Fornasetti leads. On a slow, sun-through-the-glasses one, the Pinto set does. Some nights you want both.
The nut dish - shell cup
Every aperitivo needs something salty within reach. This piece is actually an ice-cream cup, I just chose to use it differently: for almonds, pistachios, or olives. Anything you want to nibble on. Shaped like a shell, which is how it earned its way into this selection. Using a thing for the wrong job is half the fun of hosting.
The dip spoons - silver-plated shell dessert spoons
These silver-plated spoons have little shell-shaped bowls, sold as dessert spoons, but I'd put them straight into the hummus and the guacamole and let them do the serving. More shells, yes, by now that's what's tying the whole table back to the sea.
None of these will beat a beautiful sunset or the friends that make that moment of the day last longer, the one thing we always wish it would, the evening always comes way too quickly. But making it look good with beautiful pieces is the next best thing.
If there’s a theme you’d like me to hunt down for the next edition, leave it below. I’m always taking requests.
Stay cosy until next time, Jx
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I want all of these!!
Super sélection 👍🏻