Saya Takamine · CLIENT: Saya Takamine
This piece is designed to bring people with different food preferences together around a shared plate.It consists of two soy sauce dishes and one condiment dish allowing three different seasonings to be enjoyed. The design balances a compact and easy to handle size with a wide opening that supports comfortable dining. This balance is achieved through a wing like curvature in the condiment dish. Beyond functionality the piece features a clean and linear form accented by a graceful and visually appealing curve.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This compact dish consists of two sauce compartments and one condiment dish, allowing three seasonings to be enjoyed on a single plate. The curved edge of the condiment dish is a key design element, enabling a wide opening that makes dipping easy and a sufficient depth for effortless cleaning, while still maintaining a compact, easy to handle size. In contrast to the piece’s linear overall form, this gentle curve adds a subtle accent and becomes a distinctive feature of the design. By allowing differences in taste to coexist within a single object, the design proposes an alternative approach to shared dining that emphasizes proximity rather than separation.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 80mm x Depth 20mm x Height 83mm
- Tags
- Soy sauce dish, Small plate, Ceramic, Slip casting, Functionality, Two in One
- Production Technology
- The piece is made of ceramic using plaster slip casting molds. The thickness was carefully refined through repeated adjustments to the clay viscosity. Because the condiment dish shape could not be released from the mold as a single form, the sauce dishes and condiment dish were cast separately and later bonded together. This process made it possible to realize a complex, recessed design through slip casting.
- Design Challenge
- Small differences in depth, thickness, size, slope angle, and the offset between the two sauce dishes greatly affected the overall balance. Through repeated cycles of sketching and clay prototyping, the design was refined to achieve both usability and refined proportions, resulting in a disciplined and functional form.
- Project Duration
- The project started in April 2025 in Okinawa, Japan
- Operation Flow
- The two sauce dishes hold liquid seasonings, allowing food to be dipped directly. The central condiment dish is designed for solid seasonings such as wasabi or salt. Additionally, the condiment dish functions as a barrier, preventing liquid seasonings from flowing to the opposite side when poured directly onto food.
- Research
- This project explored how to translate a conceptual design into ceramic slip casting, a method with limited freedom of form. Balancing the desired shape with the constraints of the molding process, the final design was refined through close consultation with an experienced ceramic craftsman, carefully determining which elements were essential to preserve usability. The final form expresses the negotiation between manufacturing constraints and the piece's functional qualities and visual beauty, as well as the outcome of deliberate adjustments.
- Inspiration
- I enjoy soy sauce, while my mother prefers vinegar. Because our seasoning preferences differ, we usually use separate dipping dishes during meals. However, I wanted to create a way for us to share a single dish and enjoy time together around the table. This idea became the starting point for this project.
- Image Credits
- Image #1,2,3,4,5: Saya Takamine, Dai Takano
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