Vice President of Design, Andrew Klimecki, has designed for Steelite International for 25 years. As the VP of Design, Andrew now has a huge toolkit to choose from. Tableware isn’t just ceramic anymore. It’s glass, melamine, and wood. As a designer, Andrew experiments and explores various materials to craft and create exciting new pieces for the hotel industry. Andrew is a big believer in creating something of our time. He believes you should never set out to imitate someone else and he’s always looking for a unique quality. “When I first entered the tableware industry, there wasn’t a lot of choice across the out of home market. Retail was driving all the trends. That’s completely flipped. Hospitality is the major creative driving force, and it now influences retail. That’s partly the influence of celebrity chefs – they became the new rock stars. Going to restaurants is one of the top leisure activities, and diners expect a show. That means the tableware must ‘wow’ be fit for purpose and function operationally. One of the first things people do now when they sit down to a meal in a restaurant, is photograph the table. They want to blog about it and share it on social media. That doesn’t just mean the food; it means the whole experience. Tableware is not just the backdrop to the food, it’s an experience enabler and it’s just as important as the food. In 2017, the stylish, embossed Willow collection that Andrew designed for fine dining and banqueting environments was awarded the sought- after Red Dot award for outstanding design AndrewKlimecki, VP of Design Steelite ”
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HOTEL DES IGN / www.steelite.com
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