Welcome To Monkeys Garden
WORDS: CHYKA KEEBAUGH
IMAGES: MARCEL AUCAR
Dining outdoors this Summer? Of course you are!
A gathering in the veggie patch on a warm sunny day sounds like absolute perfection to me, especially now that I have this cute and colourful collection to set the table with. Inspired by the beautiful illustration work found in vintage Chinoiserie.
As a style, Chinoiserie is characterized by exuberant decoration, asymmetry, a focus on materials, and stylized nature and subject matter that focuses on leisure and pleasure. Chinoiserie focuses on subjects that were thought by colonial-era Europeans to be typical of Chinese culture. Though usually understood as a European style, Chinoiserie was a global phenomenon. Local versions of Chinoiserie were developed in India, Japan, Persia, and particularly Latin America. And now I have my own version!
I am so in love with this melamine collection I created with Harris Scarfe I couldn’t wait to set it up in my vegetable garden and show it off! Melamine often goes hand in hand with picnics, eating with kids, and outdoor dining. I love having the option of having a collection that is a little more sturdy than my usual ceramic or porcelain dinnerware. But by no way does this ease of use mean the plates are simple - like everything I love, it’s layered, it’s brightly detailed, and it is fun!
