With a global reputation as a supplier of cups, saucers, and more, the philosophy of Walküre Porcelain  is clear: With their more than 110 years of experience and innovation, Walküre manufactures first-class products and offers them in a value-oriented way, made with top quality design and craftsmanship. All made in the heart of Bavaria, home to many of Germany's porcelain specialists.

We're looking forward to reviewing the Walküre line of porcelain tabletop products for hospitality at the upcmoing NRA Show at booth #9150.

If you're interested in learning more about Walküre and its entire collection of products for the foodservice and hospitality industry, go here: http://www.walkuere.de/

Art and coffee.....the perfect blend. Coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages. Hot or Cold, Dark or Decaffeinated there is a cup for you.

This is the motto that illy has lived up to. For over 80 years illy has been providing the world with top quality coffee from Trieste, Italy. illy has established themselves as leaders in the market through their innovative marketing strategy and quality product. 

A key part of their marketing strategy has been art. The tabletop is one of the last mediums of advertising and art that is yet to be completely taken advantage of. illy has pushed the boundaries of the norm to create a brand that innovates and redefines a cup of coffee.

By collaborating with artists such as Daniel Buren, illy has turned cups of coffee into pieces of art that are admired throughout the world. Art is a market that is rarely tapped into....... especially in the tabletop world. 

To see all the ways illy has incorporated art to their brand see their website illy.  

Another amazing brand that has sought and accomplished using art to market their product is Italy’s Lavazza. 

Served around the world, Lavazza is a family run business that has sought to distinguish themselves from their competitors: Starbuck’s and Dunkin’ Donuts. What can you do to distinguish yourselves from multi-billion dollar companies? Brand recognition and quality leads to an increased market share as well as a competitive brand.

Being different, and breaking from the norm has allowed their brand to develop in to world-leader in the coffee industry. Lavazza’s evocative and risqué advertisements have left the world wanting to know more about this Old Italian Brand. Pushing the boundaries has rewarded Lavazza with the brand recognition only given to a select few brands.

The illy brand, aside of being a high quality, is also associated with high prices and inherently, restricted to a niche market. Couple their high prices with their powerful "art marketing" campaign. 

Both illy and Lavazza, through their branding strategies have become exclusive, expensive, and recognized as quality coffee worldwide. The next time you go to make a cup of superior quality coffee make sure you use illy or Lavazza. We love the branding....love the coffee more.
- Daniel Grewal

Kiki Smith (b. 1954, Nuremberg, Germany) is an American artist whose explorations of the human condition, the body, and the realms of spirituality and nature have resulted in works of exceptional power and beauty spanning mediums from sculpture and printmaking to installation, textiles, and glass.  

The daughter of American sculptor Tony Smith, Kiki Smith grew up in New Jersey, according to her bio on www.pbs.org. As a young girl, one of Smith’s first experiences with art was helping her father make cardboard models for his geometric sculptures. This training in formalist systems, combined with her upbringing in the Catholic Church, would later resurface in Smith’s evocative sculptures, drawings, and prints. The recurrent subject matter in Smith’s work has been the body as a receptacle for knowledge, belief, and storytelling. In the 1980s, Smith literally turned the figurative tradition in sculpture inside out, creating objects and drawings based on organs, cellular forms, and the human nervous system. This body of work evolved to incorporate animals, domestic objects, and narrative tropes from classical mythology and folk tales. Life, death, and resurrection are thematic signposts in many of Smith’s installations and sculptures. In several of her pieces, including "Lying with the Wolf, Wearing the Skin," and "Rapture," Smith takes as her inspiration the life of St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris.

The illy website expresses it best saying if coffee is experienced with all five senses, the very objects that hold coffee should please the eye.  Twenty years ago, illy considered how an everyday object like a coffee cup could be rethought – elevated, in fact, to meld the sensory pleasures of coffee and art. 

This insight gave rise to the illy Art Collection: small works of art, taking ceramic cup as medium, transforming the simple pleasure of drinking an espresso into an experience that fully engages the senses and the mind.

Every illy Art Collection project starts with the same, elegant canvas: the iconic, white illy espresso cup introduced by renowned architect and designer Matteo Thun in 1992.  Taking cup as muse, more than 70 of the world’s foremost artists have created collections since -no two ever alike, and each a revelation. 

Jeff Koons, James Rosenquist, Julian Schnabel, Robert Rauschenberg, Michelangelo Pistoletto and Marina Abramovic are just some of the contemporary masters who have contributed to the collection, along with emerging talent from around the globe.  

To learn more about illy and the illy Art Collection go here: 
http://www.illy.com/wps/wcm/connect/en/art/the-latest-cup

To check out the entire collection of great products for hospitality from Service Ideas, go here:http://www.serviceideas.com/

Diversified Ceramics has long been known as an incredible reliable source for high value, dependable tabletop and, now, with their new STUDIO GLAZE line, they can add high-quality aesthetics, as well. For someone looking to differentiate their coffee service, while not breaking the bank....Diversified Ceramics' newest introduction - STUDIO GLAZE - may just be the answer.

To learn more about Diversified Ceramics and their lineup of great, American-made tabletop products, go here:   http://www.diversifiedceramics.com/

Coffee. Sometimes....it IS just about the coffee.  So, as an operator, you may a cup and saucer that is straight forward, honest, and won't have the guest remembering more about what they drank from rather than how the coffee was that they actually drank.

Diversified Ceramics has been making great, honest tabletop items right here in America since 1976. Their Barista Service collection is a great example. All the right sizes for espresso, cappuccino, or lattes....and made in a traditional coffee color, with the all the strength and durability that Diversified Ceramics has come to be known for. And, of course, Diversified has complete custom capabilities to make your own signature collection if you do a little re-inforcing of your own brand. The color palette for their glazes is incredible

Started in 1976, Diversified Ceramics has grown from a company that manufactured only two coffee mugs to producing over 200 items and 60 different colors. Today, Diversified Ceramics specializes in manufacturing vitrified china for the foodservice industry that is American made, single-fired and lead-free. 

From standard ovenware to the manufacturing of custom products for the chain operator, the company's success has been based on exceptional quality, value and service. Their new Barista Service is another step in that journey.

To see the entire collection of Diversified Ceramics items for the hospitality trade, go here:http://www.diversifiedceramics.com/

Was this the coolest new tabletop item of the just completed IHMRS Show in New York? 

Jono Pandolfi Designs cup and saucer (in both coffee and espresso size) from their Eleven Madison Park Collection. The collection's coffee-colored matte finish, textured glaze on the outside gives the guests a sensory experience to the touch and the smooth glazed interior makes for a unique and memorable coffee and espresso drinking experience. Chefs and restaurateurs who want do something new interesting on their tables would be wise to look at Made in The USA products from this artistic source.

Hard to say if this was the single coolest new tabletop product, but for sure it was among a handful of very interesting new items for those who are serious about elevating and differentiating the dining experience for their guests. 

kalokagathia: a union of beauty and goodness



illy. About a lot more than just espresso.


What is your brand about?

Come on...Double Espresso......don't fail me now!

illy.....addictive ......in all the good ways.