Collaborative Craftsmanship: A Q&A with Porcelain Tableware Maker Felt+Fat

If you’ve been to Fork, High Street on Market, Volver or any number of other esteemed spots in Philadelphia, you may have noticed something more than just the food. Felt+Fat has been creating beautiful custom-glazed cast porcelain tableware for restaurants since 2013, and you can find their craftsmanship throughout Philadelphia, New York and around the country.

Felt+Fat’s Nate Mell took the time to speak to the story behind how the company got started, its process and the community that makes it all possible.

PA Eats: How did you get started, both in working with porcelain and in designing for restaurants?

Nate Mell: Felt+Fat started from a conversation between me and Chef Eli Kulp. I went to the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia studying glass, and after graduating I maintained a studio practice while paying rent through waiting tables in the city. While working under Chef Kulp at Fork, I was also spending a few days a week experimenting with ceramics at the Clay Studio in Old City. Eli was in the early stages of planning his new restaurant, High Street on Market, when he approached me about making custom plates for it. At the time, I was more a novice in clay than a master, but in taking on the job I started getting advice from an acquaintance at the studio, Wynn Bauer, who had studied ceramics at RISD [Rhode Island School of Design]. Eventually, I asked Wynn if he wanted to work directly on the project together. Wynn came on board, the first line was produced and it all grew from there.

Was the aim always to create pieces for restaurants and dining establishments? How did you decide to go in that direction?

Our work with restaurants started the company, and that happened through chance. Restaurants have become our focus because of that, but are by no means our only focus. We strive to make a great product for both restaurants and individuals! Our recent relaunch of our webshop has been a big move toward making our work more available to the public and not just high-end chefs.

Your products are eaten off of in some amazing restaurants all around the country. Do restaurants generally come to you? Is your business pretty word-of-mouth?

To date, nearly every job we have done has come to us unprompted. It’s all through relationships and word of mouth, either directly or indirectly through social media. The service industry is a tight-knit community; if you know one chef you’re suddenly one degree of separation from every kitchen in the city. Talent is always flowing from one kitchen to another, so if you’re doing a good job or, conversely, if you mess up, people are going to know it.

What does the design process look like, both for restaurants and consumers?

Our work for restaurants and for consumers are one in the same, but we start by designing for chefs/restaurants because we know they demand a product that is both visually pleasing as well as incredibly durable. We don’t put any product into production that we don’t think can survive the rigors of a busy restaurant, so when someone purchases it for the home they will get a really excellent, strong product that’s been tested in the field.

That said, we strive to make work that is simple and timeless but with an awareness of contemporary design. The forms themselves have developed through direct feedback from chefs with concern to their needs and wants for a restaurant setting. Little things like the slope of a bowl or the flatness of a plate can make a big difference when it comes to placing a piece of meat or a sauce.

For colors and finishes, we get to have a lot of fun. Since we make all of our glazes in-house, it means a lot of chemistry and testing and experiments. We are often inspired by things we see in nature or chance occurrences that happen in the studio. We like to respond to the process and what the material wants to do and then push those limits. If you come to the studio you can see shelves and drawers and boxes full of little one-off tests and experiments.

What have been your favorite projects, pieces or collaborations?

It would be hard to pick a favorite exactly since we’ve had the opportunity to work with so many interesting, creative chefs and designers in the last few years. One that comes to mind recently, though, was a breakfast event we did with Mike Solomonov at the VICE news headquarters for their food department, “Munchies.” In collaboration with Trends on Trends we made a bowl that would hold labna, a traditional Israeli breakfast staple. Mike wanted to somehow suspend dripping honeycomb over the bowl to create a beautiful visual experience for the meal. We ended up taking a bowl design of ours, drilling a small hole in the side and having these great custom brass tines produced by our friends Forge & Finish. The little instrument they made for us fit right into the hole and perfectly suspended the honeycomb over the middle of the bowl. It was a great project because not only was the food amazing, but we also got to work with so many different creatives to make this very simple but beautiful moment.

What surprises you most about the work that you do?

I think the thing that continues to surprise us is just how much love and support we get at every turn in this work. We’ve been at this for a little over three years now and have been learning so much as we go. We don’t have any big money backing us or much in the way of business acumen, but every time we need to learn something or we’re in a bind, someone comes through to help us or some job comes up to get us through a tight moment. The creative community, both local and national, has been incredibly warm and generous in knowledge. Chefs have been patient and wonderful with their willingness to give us time. We’ve had friends and strangers volunteer to help us with all manner of project. It’s been such an amazing experience and never ceases to amaze and humble us.

For more information and to browse the online store, visit the Felt+Fat website.

  • Top photo: Lauren Gibson
  • Remaining photos: John Bernardo