With its Aberta tableware collection, Cologne-based label onomao brings clear shapes and hand-painted colour to the table. The stoneware is made in a Portuguese manufactory.
A brushstroke of blue or orange around the rim: Aberta needs little more to establish its character on the table. The tableware collection by onomao opens upwards in a conical shape, with a sturdy presence and a pleasing restraint. Its name already describes this movement: Aberta means “open” in Portuguese.
Eight essential pieces make up the collection. Designed for everyday use, they accompany the meals that can sometimes become incidental between appointments and familiar routines. A thoughtfully laid table can bring a little attention back to them. Even on an ordinary Tuesday.
Blue, Orange and the Line Between
Aberta’s design principle is easy to grasp: a pared-back shape meets a hand-painted rim. The colour traces the opening of each piece, emphasising the very detail that gives the collection its name.
Blue and orange can also be combined. This leaves room to play when setting the table: a continuous blue line, a warm orange accent, or both side by side. The shared vocabulary of shapes holds the arrangement together.
Aberta is made from stoneware in a manufactory in central Portugal. Its hand-painted rim makes the craft immediately visible. In a design this restrained, a single line carries weight.
From Waves to Workshops
For onomao’s founders, Arthur and Felix Wystrychowski, the connection with Portugal began long before they established their label. The brothers grew up together in Munich, and surfing drew both of them to the sea from an early age. Arthur became a multiple German surfing champion and later studied landscape architecture in Berlin. Felix spent several years in Portugal, where he trained as a chef, before completing further training as a graphic designer in Cologne.
They founded onomao in 2018. Their search took them to small Portuguese manufactories with which they wanted to build lasting partnerships on equal terms. Today, these workshops produce the Cologne-based interior label’s tableware and home accessories.
The brothers’ different experiences give the project a tangible background: cooking, design, spaces and a connection with Portugal developed over many years. At the table, these interests come together.
For the Next Evening Together
onomao’s range comprises four tableware collections. Traditionell, Klassik and Aberta are made from stoneware; Pura is the label’s only porcelain collection. Each explores a different design detail, from Traditionell’s steep plate rims to the interplay of matt and glossy surfaces in Pura.
Aberta focuses on a handful of elements: an opening shape, a robust material and a coloured outline. The result is tableware that slips easily into everyday life while giving the table a character of its own.
Perhaps that is its appeal. These pieces need no special occasion. The next evening together will do.
Further information: onomao.com
