For his third collection with Mateus, Sam Baron crafts fictitious florals to create a collection of plates ideal for springtime
“It’s basically a human need to decorate – to make your daily life more beautiful,” says Sam Baron. It’s a philosophy the award-winning French designer, who has worked with the likes of Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, has brought to his latest collaboration with Swedish ceramics brand Mateus. Dubbed ‘Blossom’, the collection, which launches today, finds Baron’s lyrical motifs – a fictitious take on the lily – hand-painted across dinner and side plates.
Photo: Gustaf Sjövall
Photo: Gustaf Sjövall
This marks Baron’s second floral-focused collection with Mateus. While the previous offering, ‘Flowers’, revealed in pink and yellow, this iteration is a bit subtler and more delicate, playing with a palette of green and blue. Applying florals to everyday items is a notion steeped in tradition. “At the beginning, flowery patterns come from the countryside because humble people wanted to decorate their artefacts,” says Baron. “So they were painting on the furniture, or on a door in the house.”
From the beginning, the collaboration between Baron and Mateus came as organically as a bloom occurring in the spring. While Baron and Mateus founder Teresa Lundahl first met at Salone del Mobile in Milan, they quickly discovered that they had neighbouring homes in Portugal, where the Mateus plates are handmade. “We’ve kept in touch and we see each other in Lisbon – she buys her tea in the same tea shop where I go,” says Baron. “Or I’ll go to her house and we’ll have some drinks.”
Photo: Gustaf Sjövall
Photo: Gustaf Sjövall
Given that Mateus is crafted in Portugal but based in Sweden (Baron notes how impressive it is that in just two generations, the brand has reached icon status here in Sweden), florals were a particularly appropriate choice for the collection. “Flowers link Swedish culture and Portuguese culture,” says Baron, noting that Sweden is famous for its flower crowns whilst Portugal has a rich history of flower production. “So I thought, ‘OK, we have something that is a common language’.” Ultimately, Baron designed a fictitious flower, that draws inspiration from different blooms; a classic garland that snakes around the plates, with an explosion of blossoms in the centre. Given that the plates are handprinted by the women working in the Mateus factory, each plate is a bit unique.
As for what one ought to eat off Baron and Mateus’ Blossom collection? “I am French,” he says. “So I would say cheese.”