Starter Bakery, Oakland, California
Starter Bakery in San Francisco uses Smink Studio tiles along the length of the countertop wall. Screen-printed in neutral colours, the tiles work in harmony with the wood countertop and concrete floor. They reflect soft natural light back into the urban industrial space. Like all our tiles, these are handmade in a process that takes around a month. With their variation and minor imperfections, the tiles tell the story of their production.
Starter Bakery has been baking bread and pastries in California for over 13 years and we were delighted to supply our ceramic tiles to their first café-bakery, which opened recently in Oakland.
Designed by Caha Design, it’s a zen-like, soft industrial space which lets the warmth and colour of the food take centre stage. In fact, if you’ve ever found yourself staring at the rows of bread in an artisanal bakery and got a little lost in the beauty, then you’ll understand this space.
The repetition of form and texture in the bread, with every loaf subtly different, is reflected in the tiles. Each one is handmade: an everyday object which is similar yet subtly different in color and texture to the rest.
The tiles are screen-printed in colours 005, 402 and 410 on a soft white base glaze. The rounded shapes of tiles E4 and E5 from the Eclipse range are off-set by the occasional AL1 tile with a sharp triangle, from our After Lowry range.
Starter Bakery in San Francisco @starterbakery
Design by @cahadesign
Construction by @cooklinesf
Photography by @kristenloken