There is a part of me that would prefer to remain in Renaissance times eating off of huge pieces of bread or cutting boards, or serving all my food on a banana leaf or a huge circle of edible injera, or simply eating out of the pot. I do, sometimes. But today in the West, it is generally more comfortable for others if I set the table. I need new plates.

I began my search browsing online for an upgrade in “tabletop” items from the ones I owned (shudder) while still in college. Plates to keep food clean, contained, and portable. I have a very minimal dining room with an excessively long table. Everything is muted brown and red tones. I was in search of dishwasher safe items in fun and food enticing colors in a matte material to minimize reflections when photographing. I wanted them to be light, relatively small, and elegant with a little flair. I wanted them cheap, but what does that mean? I imagined their embellishments to remain on the lip of the plate.

Plates are deceitful things. Moments later I found myself questioning the role of art at the dinner table and imagining “infusing” my apple pie with commentary on the domestic role of woman in contemporary culture.

Plates today are being produced with cheap plastic materials and used as canvases to solicit questionable dinner conversations. Those couples willing to buy a dinner set will only do so if they can liberate themselves from their parents previously boring bone china existence. Or at least deface the china before setting it neatly back on the table. What do you eat off of?

Melamine
Melamine, an organic compound is combined with formaldehyde to create melamine resin, a very durable plastic used to make cheap everyday kitchenware. It was popularized in the 1950s and then fell out of fashion in the 70s. Melamine resin is now back in favor and being used all over. Political statements and branding are cheap to come by with material. Many melamine plate sites promote monogrammed plates in Kate Spade colors and styles. A Chinese manufacturer also used melamine as a protein in baby formula which gave 1,000 babies renal failure or kidney stones. While the resin is said to be safe, I am too much of a purist to eat off of plastic daily, and too much of a skeptic to believe that it is always manufactured properly.

Bamboo
At the other extreme of the practical materials we have the durable, cheap use of bamboo in cutlery, flooring, toys, and of course plates.

As a material this species of grass is highly renewable. It is one of fastest growing plants, needs no replanting, grows without pesticides or fertilizers, and has an astounding growth cycle of 3-5 years. As a building material it’s even stronger than oak and does not swell or shrink. In nature it reinforces soil to prevent erosion and produces 35% more oxygen from greenhouse gasses than trees.

Bambu is the most common kitchenware seller of the material. It’s certified Organic, Fair Trade, and comes in different lacquerware colors and styles. All green lights, right? I am still trying to find information on processed bamboo. The skeptic in me says that anything with grooves and the propensity for cracking and leaking is not a good everyday dish, even if it is easily disposable. Also, the dishes that are coated have the risk of leaching out formaldehyde like the melamine ones. Anyone else have info/opinions?

Ceramic, Remade
Rehabilitated Dishware, a line by Sarah Cihat juxtaposes new graphics atop the motifs of old ceramic dishes found by digging through the bins at Salvation Army and Goodwill. The graphic portion remains in the original ceramic while the remainder is given a new wash of color. The plates are then fired. She markets the concept as an exercise in sustainability by taking outdated unwanted objects and reinventing them for a contemporary audience.

Searching through Etsy I came across some amatuer artists branding their parents’ dining sets and selling them in similar fashion. Flowers and thick pastel lines give way to rugged wilderness, knives, skulls, and candles. This familiar contemporary iconography is emblazoned on the plates of the 50s to signify a resurgence of home dining and nature enthusiasts from a younger audience.

A more cheeky collection is Trixiedelicious over at Etsy whose pokes fun at cultural labels, sex, and class in a playful and yet very invasive way. The plates themselves are elegant and well executed.

Whatever the detail work, they all certainly don’t go in the dishwasher.

Vintage Ceramic, Fishs Eddy
If you want practical plates with some embellishment you go to Fishs Eddy. Among the thick ceramic, restaurant-style glassware, and series after series of high balls Fishs Eddy stocks vintage. A little bit of casual kitchenware mixed with used restaurant classics. Mixing and matching is enticing, but doable? Fishs Eddy consistently stock similar styles, but growing a collection of plates and cups is still a commitment.

Traditional glass, porcelain, bone china, and earthenware
Once we’re talking traditional, we’re talking practical, muted tones in a single set. All have their pros and cons. Glass is super durable and simple but hard to photograph and necessitates glamorous-looking food atop or inside its container. Porcelain and bone china are generally out due to price. Earthenware is monotone, chips easily, and has general imperfections, but is matte, earthy, and highlights food well.

How do you balance convenience and aesthetic, price and quality? I don’t have a solution yet. As of yet, all I’ve purchased is a solid orange earthenware side plate, and am going my “presentation” pieces from there. I would love to get feedback/input from those out there who have spent time purchasing dinnerware.

Too good to eat
Among the more interpretive and conceptual finds were Virginia Sin‘s Paper Plates and Tasmin Van Essen’s Contamination. Art is always looking for a more practical way into people’s homes and the dinner table is as good as any. These artists used the plate as a canvas or model to sculpt and to great effect. I would love to own one of these, if I could afford ‘em.

My search took me through CLIO, West Elm, Etsy, Fishs Eddy, Tart, Anthropologie, and Elsewares, Notcot.org, Design Sponge, Altruism in the Morning, Design Boom, Mint Design.