isabelle von boch has met with local fans of renowned tableware company villeroy & boch to share tips on mixing and matching tableware and explain the importance of family meals.
the eighth generation descendant is an ambassador for the brand her family created more than 264 years ago. she is a strong believer in not leaving good pieces on the shelf and thinks they should be used on the table to enjoy.
“i talk to them about the brand, about mixing it up, thinking outside the box,” she says. “basically explaining the difference between bone china and porcelain and not to be afraid of either one of them… because most of the people that have it don’t use it. so that’s why i’m here to dispel that myth.”
von boch is concerned by the trend away from sharing meals as a family that she has seen in america. beautiful tableware, she says, is a way to enjoy each other’s company and spend time together.
“people still have food and there is a very strong food culture, you know fusion meals… all kinds of food, international foods. in the last 25 years i’ve seen a lot of growth there, so people are very food conscious i find and compared to the states where people eat on the run more.
“i’m on a mission to tell people this is still relevant because it’s about socialising, it’s about keeping the fabric of the family together. it’s not about just working and playing football at night and having the kids over scheduled and having the tv on or doing the text messaging… dinner and meals together is an endangered species and i find that in australia that’s still very vibrant as well as europe and central america.
“i think the whole industry has to fight the fact that nobody sits down anymore and we become irrelevant and it’s not about dishes, it’s not about plates, it’s about ambience, it’s about a way of life. that’s what we have to emphasise, the quality of life is not about selling plates.” despite travelling the world and speaking to people about villeroy & boch for 30 years, von boch remains infectiously passionate about its products. she is excited about amazonia, the latest collection which features flora and fauna of the amazon as well as upcoming ranges anmute my colour and mariefleur, which has been so popular the company has been unable to ship it here.
villeroy & boch sends more white products to australia than anywhere else in the world, but von boch thinks this is changing with a move towards more colour in home décor.
“it’s the trend so we have done very bold, very bright, and then the glass, there’s lots of colour and the other glass concept we have come up with is also red, midnight blue, olive, amber, burgundy, turquoise because clear glass nobody remembers and it doesn’t stand out so much.
“coloured glass like tumblers and high balls and chargers and bowls are a nice accent to your dinnerware because it’s a different material, it accentuates and brings out a summer mood or fall mood or seasonal mood so i think glass in addition to porcelain or bone china is a good idea and colour is a good idea because it wakes up the senses.”
von boch has visited villeroy & boch, myer and david jones stores in sydney and adelaide and will visit stores in melbourne august 16 – 17, brisbane august 18 and the gold coast on august 19.
