During his culinary trips to Japan, top chef Sergio Herman was completely fascinated by the beautiful, local and pure tableware made there. With Inku, he wanted to translate that Japanese simplicity into a dynamic atmosphere and the glamour of a fully-fledged brasserie.
Sergio wishes to make the delicate character of traditional Japanese products accessible to a wide audience. Unlike Sergio’s previous Surface collection, Inku is much more sophisticated, almost feminine. There is a clear reference to nature, with its abstract structures and the Japanese blossoms that are clearly recognisable within. The radial typography, often associated with the iconic Mount Fiji, also features in the collection. “With the Inku tableware, we can not only decorate the plate nicely but complete tables with blossoms in ceramics,” says Herman. “I don’t just view it as our task to inspire people from a culinary perspective, but I also want to create that with table decoration.” The exceptional thing about Inku plates is that no two are precisely the same. The result is that the layer of glaze creates small imperfections that fit completely into the Wabi-Sabi feeling that Sergio Herman intended with this project.
The extensive collection of plates that varies from small side-plates to bowls to serving dishes will be available in three colours: shell white, matte black and grey-green. Table and cooking accessories are available to complete the collection. In addition to the plate collection, there is a professional coffee and tea set and a line of fine glassware; from wine glasses through champagne glasses to water and cocktail glasses. A few of them are a special edition in ribbed glass, with tender folds as the ribs of a whale gradually fade to the edge of the glass.
