The one quality that separates Porland products from the rest of its colleagues is that each line has an unexpected “unordinary” to it. They aren’t extraordinary. When you say extraordinary, you tend to think of outlandish patterns or products that might not be so practical. Porland understands its role at the table. They are still plates and bowls and mugs. You can eat and drink out of them. However, you will lose the ability to ever entertain a guest and them not ask, “where’d you get those plates?” And of course they mean dinnerware but everybody notices the plates. Each “ordinary” piece has just the right amount of “unordinary” to it. That's probably why they’ve won the IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) excellence in home and housewares innovation a few times running. Let’s look at a few of our favorites.
Porland Be Happy Collection
Other than the fact that Be Happy is in the name, this collection makes the list for a few reasons. We’ve all seen casual affirmations on really cheap mugs at our local gift shop. And we all know about our “nice” porcelain dinnerware that we only bring out for special occasions. But rarely do we get to see the conversational nature of daily affirmations applied to the really nice stuff. Well we do here in the Porland Be Happy Collection. And it’s as gorgeous as it is fun. And if you happen to be a handmade typography nerd, they are done really well.
Porland Seasons Collection
The Porland Seasons Collection is inspired by the Japanese Wabi-Sabi philosophy that simplicity is more valuable than excellence. And that imperfection can be perfect. A very rustic finish coated with a reactive glaze married with a distinct Southwestern color palette gives the Seasons collection a very unique look. It comes in a few neutrals (ivory/sand, black and dark gray) and two stunning accent colors. The turquoise is a vibrant aquamarine and the red is an electric crimson that are both so beautiful they can be used in either a special or everyday dining setting.
Porland Folksy Collection
Another fun one. There is no way around it. This pattern is absolutely polarizing. In an absolutely awesome way. This pattern is a very bold attempt at fusing Geometric Abstractionism with Art Nouveau. The Porland Folksy Collection marries Dutch florals with modern geometric iconographic patterning and kinda really works. The patterning itself is in a watercolor cobalt blue and the delicate accent borders are a complimentary vibrant carrot orange. The Folksy Collection comes in a couple plate sizes, a bowl and a coffee mug. Like we said, polarizing but very daring. You’ve been warned AND you’re welcome.
Porland Ethos Collection.
There are two series in the Ethos Collection. The Twilight Series and the Rock Series. The Porland Twilight series is meant to project the reflections that we see from water as the sun sets. Where the light grays shimmer into the darker tones and ultimately to black. The transitions are flecked in such a way that it almost seems like thousands of wet pebbles reflecting in the shallow water are assisting the fade to night.
The Porland Rock Series has a warmer color palette and concentric pattern that runs from the middle of the plate or bowl to the outer rim. The outer rim has a complimentary splash (yes it looks like a ripple of water) that has a cool blue translucent quality. You could almost submerge a bowl of The Rock Series into water and not be able to tell a visual difference between the submersed bowl and one at your dinner table.
Porland New Age Vortex Collection
The New Age Vortex pattern is an amorphic swirling ultramarine blue pattern that resembles the perspective as if you were, you guessed it, looking down the center of a vortex or water spout. It’s beautiful, dizzying and hypnotic. The Porland New Age Vortex pattern includes the different plate sizes, bowls and a coffee mug in various configurations.
Porland New Age Smoky Collection
The Porland New Age Smoky pattern is a very calming pearlescent ivory base with a very light smoky marbling. It almost resembles stones smoothed by ocean currents that could be used as calming stones or balancing stones. Each piece contains its own unique marbled texture to create a cohesive flow between the plates, bowls and mugs.
Porland New Age Natura Collection
The Porland New Age Natura pattern is a little somewhere in between Vortex and Smoky. It has the same centripetal swirling movement of a vortex but the smoky sediment feel as Smoky. Let's put it this way. If Vortex is an aggressive wave and Smoky is stillwater, Natura is a gentle current. It has the same cooling color palette as the rest of the Porland New Age collection. And like the rest of the collection, New Age Natura comes in a couple plate sizes, bowls and coffee mugs.
Porland Chopin Collection
The Porland Chopin Collection is about the most classic and conservative as Porland can possibly do. It’s a simple pure white flat porcelain concept with a bit of a twist. Most bowls and plates have a gradual lip. The Chopin Collection from Porland has a very firm vertical lip that almost appears to have a tray-like quality. The bowl and the coffee mug have very vertical returns in their sides as well. Inspired by the poetic genius composer, they almost have a mathematically expected simplicity, but with a little wink to say, “you know, we couldn’t just make this a normal collection.”
