The Collection

Things we have gathered, used and lived with.

I have always liked collecting things for my home and for my table. Over the years, that habit seems to have rubbed off on my husband too, and little by little the collection has become something we both add to.

Some pieces were found in antique markets, some in small shops in Japan, some from contemporary makers, and some simply caught our eye without us knowing very much about them at first. A bowl, a plate, a piece of lacquerware — sometimes it is the glaze, the shape, the weight in the hand, or simply a feeling that makes us want to bring it home.

We do not really collect in sets. I like things that are slightly different from one another, and I enjoy seeing how they begin to sit together over time. Many of these pieces eventually become part of Cristjen’s Table, changing with the season, the food and the people sitting around it.

Some are valuable, some are very ordinary, and some are important to us simply because of where we found them or what they remind us of.

Where I can, I keep notes on the maker, origin, marks and history of each piece. But this is not meant to be a formal archive. It is simply a record of the things we have chosen to live with.

The collection is always changing. From time to time, we may let a piece go and make room for something new.

Most of all, these are things we collected because we wanted to use them, look at them and keep them close.