Emanuela Sala

Piatto Unico

Ceramic decorator

©PiattoUnico

©Luca Alberti

©PiattoUnico

Fantasy served on a plate

Emanuela decorates tableware with vintage images
PiattoUnico means “single dish” in Italian
The name alludes to the uniqueness of her pieces

PiattoUnico was born by chance from architect and interior decorator Emanuela Sala’s passion for details and old things. She had been collecting ceramic objects from 20th-century Italian manufacturers for a while when she decided to try and decorate them with decoupage. It was just a hobby. Then in 2016 someone saw pictures of her pieces on Pinterest and it soon became her profession. At the very beginning, she made one-of-a-kind decorative pieces but soon she moved on to small dinnerware collections and objects that can be washed and used in everyday life. Emanuela combines precious ceramics crafted in Italy and visual inspirations from the past, paying homage to the tradition while revitalizing it. According to her, creating ex novo is not always the best option. Sometimes reinventing is the way.

Interview

©PiattoUnico

©PiattoUnico

Where do your decorations come from?: I work on pictures taken from old books and catalogues, from 19th-century scientific texts to design magazines from the 40s and 50s. I de-contextualize, reprocess and modify them. I like making something new while giving a second chance to the long-forgotten creativity of anonymous artists.
Which technique do you use to decorate your pieces?: The first decorative plates were made by just fixing collages on ceramics with some resin. Now the process is more complex. I work on paper, then I recreate the images on the computer and have them printed as ceramic decals, which I transfer one by one to the objects. I finish with a third firing.
Which are the best and worst parts of your profession?: In both cases it’s the research process, which takes time and it’s never easy. I love browsing old books for interesting images, but then I have to find the right ceramics to match them: if the drawings are minimal, for example, I look for elaborate shapes to create contrast.
Do you remember the first object you made?: It was a set of four old-style plates, already decorated with blue dots. I added a few black and white tableware illustrations and called it The doll’s tea break. It was very simple. Now the ideas I express are so structured that’s not always easy to get them. But the name of the collection usually gives you a clue.

Emanuela Sala is a rising star: she began her career in 2016