CHALLENGING THE NORMS OF TABLE SETTING
Sandy Chilewich loves to take on people’s perceptions of a properly set table. The founder and creative director of Chilewich, a company that manufactures 40,000 placemats a week in Georgia, sat down to talk about tablescapes with Jura Koncius.
Q Why do people find table setting and tablescapes so hard?
A It’s actually easier to dress your table than to dress yourself. It’s not so personal. You can play with your table and see it as a creative moment. It doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s.
Q How do you set your table?
A For me, setting the table is a very engaging process. I am all about pulling things from your home that can enhance it. I love collecting plates. I like to tell people to set with what they have: The dishes don’t have to match. You don’t have to use flowers in the middle. It’s about colour and texture; try perfume bottles, rose petals, rocks. What about a weird-looking cookie or walnuts on a plate? It doesn’t have to be expensive.
Q What is your take on traditional table-setting rules for where things like glasses and flatware should go?
A I do put forks and knives and glasses in the traditional spots mostly. I usually put the napkin on the plate either just folded or often with a napkin ring. I always feel that a napkin on the side of the plate looks uneven. Often I will put the water or wine glasses on a tray along with a carafe of water or wine somewhere in the middle of the table. This is an opportunity to add colour and texture, and it’s less crowded when you first sit down.
Q How do you use runners for a dinner party?
A I love to take two runners and criss-cross them on a table. Or you can do one runner and two placemats on either edge.
Q Tell us about your latest design, the oval placemats that are cut on an angle.
A “On Edge” is a breakthrough for me because I treated the table like a canvas. The idea came from a Salvador Dali painting of melted clocks, The Persistence of Memory. I tried to drape the fabric, but it did not work, so I actually took scissors and cut it. The oval mats have straight edges that line up with the edge of a table. So many of my design breakthroughs are accidents.
Q What about napkins?
A I like linen napkins, and most of the time I do iron them. I now make my own line of 100-percent linen napkins to go with the colours of the placemats. But I’m trying to develop a very goodlooking washable napkin that doesn’t have to be ironed.
Q How have these mats changed restaurant dining?
A Before I did these placemats, the way you defined fine dining was a white tablecloth, and the way you defined casual was a checkerboard cloth. These have such ease of care, they were a natural for the restaurant industry, although I didn’t even think about restaurants when I designed them.
Q How do you clean the placemats?
A You can roll them up and put them in the dishwasher. But I would not do a heated dry setting. Take them out of the dishwasher, unroll and lay flat. Or you can put them in the sink and soap them up with a sponge and then wipe with clean water.