Product design studio Tiipoi has worked with Indian master craftsman Khanmung Sasa to create a collection of ceramic vessels using a technique found in Manipur. The cookware collection is inspired by the distinctive black ceramics of the Longpi region and consists of two multipurpose pots and a pan, as well as two serving bowls—called Karipot, Karipan, and Karibowl. The studio’s choice of material allowed for an exploration of a sustainable alternative and facilitated collaboration in its truest form. “Our design for the cookware highlights the localised techniques of the crafting process as well as the versatility of the material composition of the Longpi clay. The combined result is a contemporary and circular piece of cookware that can be used widely, from the hob (both gas and electric) to the oven and the table,” said the studio.
Powdered serpentine stone found in the hills surrounding Longpi is mixed with clay dredged from the Shungvi Kong river found in the valley. Then, rather than resorting to a 3D-printed mould as would be the norm today, “coiling”—shaped by hand over a plaster mould—is the method that has been employed. The products are polished using a variety of improvised hand tools, including bamboo sticks and stones. The objects are fired in an open bonfire and smoked in sawdust made from local foliage. It is this firing process that gives the ceramic pieces their distinctive black colour. “Through this collection, we want to challenge the definition of ‘craft’ as a limiting label. Craft, by its very definition, is a restriction on the scale. Frequently, there is also a restriction on quality or finish. Craft also has a tendency to be carried by nostalgia, existing obliviously to the society that has evolved around it, trapped in a time capsule. “In many cases, the object no longer performs as a functional object, instead becoming a decorative art piece,” Tiipoi concluded.
