Jill Platner is known for her jewellery, but it was a small section of her website that caught my attention when I was looking for napkin rings. Napkin rings are a complementary item and functionally unnecessary most of the time, but they are occasionally needed, or at least wanted. The homeware accessory market is fragmented and my search for a napkin ring kept turning up lots of old fashioned, ornate or colourful and quirky ones, and lots of ideas on how to wind string, various plants, velvet or lace around the napkin. All either too decorative or too formal when I wanted simple, clean, modern and sophisticated.

Jill makes a small selection of table items in much the same way as she makes her jewellery. Made from hand formed metal, small irregularities are left visible. The structure is an inherent part of the object. Each piece is slightly different, which gives them a bit of movement placed around a table, rather than lining up rigidly.

Everything comes out of the New York studio, and there is a continuity between jewellery and these objects. The same materials and processes are used. While still being mostly functionally unnecessary, they’re still very functional and a pleasure to handle. They possess character that is not quite so obvious in a piece of string.

All images: © Jill Platner