SOFIA ALMQVIST CREATES A TASTY NEW DINING EXPERIENCE

Umami changes the geography of the table to stimulate good dining habits

Raise your hand if you often eat in front of the television, or at the computer, or standing in the kitchen, or in your bed. Okay, maybe that last one is just us, but the point is that many individuals no longer sit down at a proper table to eat. Mealtimes are often used for multitasking, however eating is also a profoundly social act.

In order to bring the focus back on the dining table, Swedish designer Sofia Almqvist designed a new type of table. Umami has its own geography intended to entertain and stimulate diners. The playful surface changes user interaction with the object and thus changes the way we eat and interact. It makes mealtime fun again.

The tableware was specifically designed to accompany Umami’s curves with three sizes of glass bowls and single-size ceramic serving plates. The table itself is made from ash and steel.

Umami was first shown as part of Almqvist’s graduate project and was most recently on display as part of the Ung Svensk Form exhibit in the Greenhouse at the Stockholm Furniture Fair. The young designer currently runs her own studio called Kompaniet.