HAY presents the Sobremesa Collection, a series of kitchen and market-based accessories designed by Egyptian, New York City-based artist and chef Laila Gohar.
Egypt-born and New York-based artist Laila Gohar uses food as a means of telling stories. Together with HAY, she has designed a collection of tableware and kitchen accessories that celebrates the joy of hosting - from sourcing ingredients, to cooking, setting the table, and finally sitting down and enjoying the people around the table. The collection is called ’Sobremesa’, which is the Spanish tradition of ’relaxing and enjoying idle moments, and each other’s company at the end of the meal’.
The collaboration between HAY and Laila Gohar has been the result of a long-time mutual admiration between Mette Hay, Founder and Creative Director of HAY Accessories, and Gohar. Gohar explains, ’Of course, it’s a collaboration with HAY, but it also feels like a personal collaboration between me and Mette. The direction of the collection was shaped very organically: There were all kinds of little objects lying around my studio when Mette visited me in New York City, and I noticed which ones she was drawn to. I then used those objects as loose inspiration in terms of the colours and the forms of the Sobremesa Collection.’
Mette Hay agrees, noting that while the collection is new for Gohar, it is a natural extension of her previous work at the same time: ’When I reach out to people whom I greatly admire [such as Laila], it is essential that I bring something to the table as well: something that sparks their excitement. Working with Laila has felt very natural and yet, designing products was not something she had done at the time we first connected.’
The Sobremesa Collection includes brightly-hued tableware such as porcelain serving bowls in a variety of sizes and tones, a hand-painted stoneware vase, jug, cookie jar, and bean pot; beautifully embroirdered pieces made of OEKO-TEX® linen, including a tablecloth and napkins to go along with colourful placemats.
Of these handcrafted items, Gohar says, ’The pieces feel democratic; that’s why a collaboration with HAY was so exciting. I wanted to make a line that people can use in their everyday life: Maybe you have a tablecloth that you inherited from your grandmother, which you can then mix with the Sobremesa Vase. I generally like this idea of mixing and matching, and being able to create your own visual story with different pieces.’
The Sobremesa Collection doesn’t only include items for the table; Gohar has also designed a charming bast market basket, handmade in Morocco, as well as a classic netted market shopping bag made of recycled cotton. The market shopping bags come in four bright colour combinations.
The overall collection speaks to Gohar’s design universe, both aesthetically and in terms of daily life. Gohar says, ’All of the items together create an extension of my own world. I approach them as a little fantasy or dream. I don’t necessarily prescribe to the idea that you need to lay out the tablecloth and put the vase right in the middle. It’s more exciting to use bits and pieces, and incorporate them into your own world - so I see these styles as adaptable and unique.’
Finally, Mette Hay notes, ’I am very proud that, through the Sobremesa Collection, those who follow the HAY universe will have access to Laila’s work. Something I really enjoy providing for our community is passing on inspiration - and I personally feel very inspired by Laila.’
The collection is currently available at us.hay.com.