Concept
«Sweet Ruin» — a ceramic tableware collection inspired by Vera Khitilova’s film «Margarettes» (1966). Two Maries decide the world is corrupted and throw an endless banquet: they eat, cut, knead, and crush everything around them. The tableware continues this feast. From a distance, it appears as a dinnerware set in the colors of marshmallows, mint candies, and violet pastilles; up close, glossy cockroaches crawl across it, and the handles and finials are revealed to be worms.
The collection includes the «Banquet» dessert plate, the «Two Maries» matching cups and saucers, and the «Sweet Corruption» candy dish—a ceramic tableware collection inspired by Vera Khitilova’s film «Marguerite» (1966). The two Maries decide the world is ruined and throw an endless banquet—eating, cutting, crumpling, and shattering everything around them. The tableware continues this feast. From a distance, it is a service of marshmallow colors, mint candies, and violet pastilles; up close, glossy cockroaches crawl across it, and the handles and finials turn out to be worms.
Project Goal — to transform a provocative image into a mass-producible product. All items were designed in 3D for plaster casting into gypsum molds. The creatures are placed on the edges, handles, and lids, outside the eating area. The Cockroach — features a single, unified mold for all items; the worm-handle is cast separately. One mold system yields several color and decorative options.
The collection is built on contrast: candy colors set against the remnants of a celebration. Each piece draws inspiration from a scene or motif from a film.
• Banquet — a ruined table at the film’s climax. Cockroaches crawl along the rim of a plate toward the feast. • Scissors — Maria cuts everything around her and herself. The edge of the plate appears to be cut in a jagged line. • Two Marias — cups are sold in pairs, pink and mint, like two protagonists. • Insect Collection — pinned butterflies in a lover’s apartment. A ring of cockroaches on a plate. • Eve — a paradise scene. An apple candy dish from which a worm emerges.
Visualization
Material and shrinkage
For the collection, cast porcelain slipware was selected, fired finally at 1280 °C. Porcelain more accurately renders fine relief—the screw rings, legs, and the seam on the cockroach’s back—and does not absorb moisture after firing, which is important for tableware. The total shrinkage of the mass during drying and firing is 13%.
Therefore, the master model is made larger than the finished product. The size is calculated using the following formula:
where s = 0.13. All master model dimensions are multiplied by 1.149:
Object bodies are simple bodies of revolution without undercuts. Everything complex (worms, roaches, leaves) is cast separately and attached with putty once the jacket is hard.
Solutions implemented during the adaptation for production:
1. The cockroach on the bottom of the cup is applied as a relief. Since the inner surface is not formed with slip casting, the cockroach is pressed separately and attached to the bottom before glazing. The relief height is 1.5 mm, with a transparent glaze on top, leaving the surface smooth. 2. There is one cockroach for the entire series. The appliqué is made in two sizes: 25 mm for the saucer, plate, and cup base, and 40 mm for the candy dish lid. Two open molds service all items. 3. The legs and antennae lie on the surface. They do not detach from the background and do not cause undercuts; the thickness of the leg is about 2 mm. The imprint is removed from the mold as one piece and does not break during drying.
Master Model and Tooling
The collection was designed entirely from scratch in Blender. The bodies were constructed by rotating a profile, while the worms and cockroaches are separate objects, mirroring their manufacturing process.
The forms maintain a fixed geometry, while the color and decoration change with every batch.
• Color: pastel glazes—marshmallow, mint, lemon, violet. One cup shape yields a pair of «Two Maries.»
• Cockroaches: dark brown glossy glaze, applied with a brush over the relief.
• Worms: fleshy pink glaze, with eyes as black spots beneath the glaze.
• Safety: lead- and cadmium-free glazes, food-safe for contact with food.
Module Summary — a system that allows you to release a collection in series: a worn work uniform can be recreated using cap, and the cockroach and worm can transition from one item to another. This makes it easy to add new items to the collection without needing new decoration tooling.
