Subko Coffee
Outstanding Design Achievement: Vessels Finalist
THE SUBKO CERAMIC COLLECTION: A Study in Form and Function
The ceramic vessel is more than a container; it is a conduit. It holds, it invites, it elevates. For Subko Specialty Coffee Roasters, its Ceramic Collection represents a blend of the earth’s elements with a human touch, a narrative of heritage and craftsmanship fused into every curve and contour. This collection is a love letter to the South Asian tradition of pottery, reimagined for the modern palate – a statement in design that doesn’t just hold specialty coffee, but tells a story.
Locally Crafted, Universally Resonant
In a world where the allure of the machine-made often overshadows the tactile warmth of the hand-forged, Subko’s ceramics stand as a testament to the human element. Each piece is made in Daronda village, near Santiniketan, West Bengal, Indian, a place where the red earth meets the hands of the artisans of Sienna (মাটি) Store, who have honed their craft over decades.
These ceramic designs are not just aesthetic; they carry the voices of those who shaped them. The packaging, labeled “Earthen Expressions: Artisan Stories from Sienna,” reveals the lives and legacies of the karigars: Bahadur Soren, Santoshi Mai, Purnima, and Sukal Soren. For these artisans, pottery is not a skill but a lifelong devotion, a practice passed through generations. With every piece, they offer not just a cup, but a fragment of their world.
This is how tradition can be contemporized: not through mimicry, but through a seamless blend of old and new. It is this philosophy that defines Subko’s approach to design – respectful yet innovative, rooted yet daring.
Precision in Design: Form Follows Function
To craft something beautiful is one thing; to make it functional is another. The Subko Ceramic Collection balances both. Each cup has been volumetrically designed for precision, allowing baristas to pour the exact volume of the beverage being served in it. The result is a range of cups that provides an intuitive brewing experience to the barista, allowing him / her to pour liquid into the cup just to the point required – 8oz for the Cappuccino or 12oz for the Latte. Furthermore, the volumetric design enables the brand to achieve a key quality metric – consistency in the serving size with every cup, no matter how busy the bar is.
Every element, down to the unique pastel brand shades of green and beige, was meticulously selected to enhance the specialty coffee-drinking experience. It’s an extension of the drink itself, designed to complement the aroma, flavor, and warmth of the brew. The process is deliberate, each cup takes approximately 40 days to make, a time span that mirrors the slow, deliberate craft of hand-thrown pottery.
A Touch of Gold: Celebrating Diversity
Inlaying 24k gold into the ceramics, Subko pays homage to the linguistic diversity of South Asia. Each piece features the word “Subko” in 14 indic scripts, reflecting the brand’s ‘multi-script’ visual motif. This choice is more than decorative; it is a celebration of the cultures and languages that make up the subcontinent, a bold assertion that South Asian design need not conform to Western templates to be ‘modern.’ The gold inlay along the lip of each cup glistens subtly, a quiet nod to the region’s history of intricate artistry.
Subko is not merely selling specialty coffee; it is reimagining how coffee can be experienced. It is creating vessels that echo the subcontinent’s stories, told through the languages etched delicately in gold, whispering from the cup’s surface to the lips of those who drink.
Design for the Public: Accessible and Authentic
Available across Subko’s flagship stores in Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore on retail, the Subko Ceramic Collection isn’t reserved for just the cafe experience. It is meant to be touched, held, and used wherever one chooses to drink a cup of coffee. Each piece is retailed in beautifully designed rustic kraft packaging that transforms the mundane act of unboxing into an encounter with Subko’s world, a world where every detail, from typography to texture, reflects a philosophy of design that is distinctly South Asian.
This collection is not just a product range; it is an invitation. To hold, to feel, to connect. To experience a new kind of storytelling, one that begins with the earth, passes through the hands of artisans, and ends in the quiet, solitary moment of sipping specialty coffee from a cup that carries a legacy.
The Subko Ceramic Collection, handmade by the artisans of Sienna (মাটি) Store, stands as a model of how design can bridge cultures, traditions, and times, transforming something as simple as a cup into a vessel of history, craft, and beauty.
Outstanding Design Achievement: Vessels Finalists
Created Co.
Ergo-Ware
ICOSA Brewhouse
Loveramics
Subko Coffee
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