apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Gorgeous. I just wonder if there are any textural or sealing problems with the end result?

Beautiful!

I am a smitten kitten with Cat Merrick's Drip Plates!

Apartment Therapy left out my link, so I thought I should post it- CatMerrick.com. In regard to Akay's comment, the plates are coated with a dinner-safe glaze after sandblasting, and then refired, so they are completely functional. Sorry if that wasn't clear, and thanks for taking a look!

Best,
Cat

Well, I recall in the previous showcases that the women were able to gush over the male designers so all I can say is this: beautiful girl hot wax = great design.

Sorry - I'm not at all fond of this...

I guess I'm rather partial to those old blue winter scene plates - and this just seems destructive.

I think these are great! I loved them when they were posted on AT before. However, since these are made for a dollar, the $30-40 price represents quite the markup, doesn't it?

elegant and mysterious ...

This is lovely and a practical re-use.

I love these plates!

Though I do wish a little more of the scene was left visible, at least on some. This would also be interesting on the heavily flowered plates that were popular for a while (not sure when, but my grandma has a bunch).

I adore these plates. Beautiful.

I love these! I am still not on board with the designer photos, though. A snapshot from a party doesn't help me appreciate or understand this design. I'd prefer another shot of the work.

AT is all about plate abuse today, first the plates with the big bites (the hungry plate) taken out of them and now these. Ugh!

This is art.

creating an entirely new design out of an existing product is great--but the fact that such a curiously obscure result is obtained from an object that is often regarded as dated is fabulous.

Props for creative reuse of a product, but they aren't particularly attractive as objects.

Very artistic, however I would not consider this design. Unfortunately this is a design competition. Thus no stars.

I like the semplicity of the idea because this desing can give a new vibrating light to the old fashioned potteries of anybody's granma. It is brilliant. By the way the process of creation needs the moment of destruction and this one is well done, elegant. Answering to mr bepsf.

It's fully functional and mass produceable through a series of processes. Of course it's design. There are innumerable examples in industry of processes that mass produce subtly unique objects.

I think there is still an important distinction between mechanically reproduced art and design.

This is mechanically reproduced art, albeit one that is more functional.

Is a Thomas Kinkade painting design as well? No, just a terrible piece of mechanically reproduced "art."

(Just an example, I don't mean to infer that these are anywhere near as awful as Kinkade paintings.)

These are beautiful, functional, design objects, and the work with found objects shows an ethical framework often absent from the NYC art and design community, where many fancy themselves to be paupers yet condone extravagance and excess in their work and with their lifestyles.

Price point seems low to me. Sandblasting is a time-consuming process, and if you break down the price by the amount of work that go into each one less the cost per item, the hourly is less than the federal minimum wage. 70-80 (retail) would be more reasonable (keep in mind, also, that retailers keep a large proportion of what people pay for the finished product, so independent designers generally profit very little).

I keep coming back to this page. I really like something about these... not sure what it is, but I think they're great.

I really really like these. Yes it's pretty expensive, so I'd probably only get one ever. I wish some of the lines could be straighter, but I guess you get rounded lines when you're just dripping wax. I really like the exposed scenes, and I think formal would look really good too.

Beautiful work, Cat!

I'm sorry, I don't like those plates.

Beautiful work!

i am really intrigued by cat's plates... i think it is the idea of looking through something to get to the remaining image... really interesting concept ...

Kate's Great Plates!

These are really beautiful.

$30 retail for one of these plates is quite reasonable! If they go for keystone wholesale, which is half, then that's $15 per plate. Materials labor overhead = way more than $15.

From a quick search on the designer, it looks like she went to the School of Visual Arts and Pratt and currently lives in Brooklyn. None of which is cheap. She'll probably use the "profits" of her plates to pay back her student loans and pay rent.

Quality costs. Supporting American independent designers costs. Let's not quibble over price, when it comes to beauty and good design. THREE STARS for sure!

Very cool. Might be fun to make a series of 6-8 to be sold together, with the design worn away a little more on successive plates.

I will mention that I agree with another poster's comments, that I feel like I want to see just a little _more_ of the original design. Although perhaps the viewer's discomfort with the "destruction" of the design is intentional in the piece?

Thanks for posting this!

I quite like them. I like how your eye fills in the rest in the only slightly erased areas. Meanwhile the outer limits with more removed leave more room for your imagination of what was once there. Charming

When I first saw this plate I immediately felt a warm feeling. Maybe bc I love the cold and snowy regions like Scotland where I used to live with my Brit husband. It looks lovely and snowy!

very cool!

Really interesting piece!

Awesome! I've never seen this method before-very clever!
Alice

Beautiful! Amazing design and green - what could be better?