How Match Pewter Combines Craftsmanship and Quality with Modern Design
Match Pewter beautifully fuses contemporary elegance with old-world artisanship. For over two decades, this family-run Italian brand has harmonized age-old metalsmithing with clean, modern forms to craft timeless luxury tableware and decor.
Read on to learn how Match Pewter blends quality craftsmanship and materials with sleek, contemporary design aesthetics.
The Thriving Marriage of Craftsmanship and Modernity
Match Pewter aptly describes their catalog as “full of items that bridge the divide between antique and contemporary.” Their unique formula successfully blends traditional handmade pewter goods with minimalist contemporary forms.
Match Pewter’s Evolution
In the early 1990s, Luca Toncelli, an Italian architect, purchased an old pewter bowl during a trip to London. He was captivated by its soft, warm glow. It made him think pewter would be great for modern home decor.
So Toncelli did some digging into his country’s history of fine pewtersmiths, which goes back over 700 years. He started a small workshop near Florence and brought in specialty artisans trained in classic molding methods and finishing techniques.
There they use age-old Italian metal-shaping ways to craft sleek new things like super clean-lined candle holders, trays, tableware, and more. The vibe stays modern but keeps part of pewter’s old-world soul.
That’s why their slogan “as new as right now yet as old as back then,” perfectly captures it. Match Pewter takes the best of both worlds – traditional and contemporary – to make totally unique pieces that work in homes today but could’ve been made centuries ago too.
Unwavering Commitment To Quality Materials and Craftsmanship
In Match Pewter’s workshop, specialized artisan teams meticulously hand-make every piece to order using premium Italian materials and century-old techniques. This commitment to quality pewtersmithing is integral to their brand.
The Medieval Metal
Match describes their signature medium as “the medieval metal…used for generations because of its soft, gentle luster and portal warmth.” Crafted with care, Match Pewter preserves the artistry of medieval metalwork by blending 90% pure tin with copper. This makes the Match Pewter utensils a timeless choice for those who appreciate both tradition and quality craftsmanship.
While pewter goods were once common, few companies continue to work with this challenging medium, which demands great skill for proper molding and finishing. Match Pewter perpetuates these endangered ancestral pewtersmith skills in their small Italian workshop.
Preserving Lost Wax Casting Techniques
Lost wax casting allows artisans to perfectly reproduce fine details. The meticulous process involves creating a wax model, coating it in plaster for a mold, melting out the wax, and then pouring pewter to fill the cavity left behind. Workers then smooth surfaces using specialized hammers and abrasive pastes.
By employing the same labor-intensive techniques utilized since medieval times, Match Pewter creates impeccable showpieces that feel at once ancient and avant-garde.
A Modern Design Language Anchored In History
Match Pewter’s contemporary styling belies the deep roots of their time-honored casting techniques. They summarize their mission as “creating pieces with a foundation in history but designed for contemporary living.”
Design Inspiration
Many original Match designs draw inspiration from vintage items such as traditional chalices and goblets. Artisans then reinterpret these antiquated shapes into streamlined modern silhouettes better suited for daily use.
Uniform matte finishes and tapered ridges replace ornate filigree accents to create cleaner contemporary lines anchored in history. The resulting pieces feel comfortably familiar yet refreshingly contemporary.
Beyond Tableware
While Match Pewter’s tableware steals hearts, they make way more than just dishes and glasses. You’ll also find Match bath accessories, desk items, light fixtures and lots more decor stuff.
Certain designs, like their puzzle-piece candle holders or interlocking picture frames, showcase exceptional craftsmanship in shaping pewter into mind-bending contemporary works of art. These are no ordinary cast pieces, that’s for sure!
The Match team thinks hard about every form they design. Things you see every day like simple vases or frames get turned into awesome functional metal artworks when they put their minds to it.
They keep finding ways to evolve regular home goods into extraordinary statement-makers. If it can get the Match treatment, it goes from plain to spectacular pretty quick!
Match Pewter Meets Modern Interiors
Let’s explore some gorgeous modern spaces where Match Pewter blends perfectly with the latest colors, finishes, and forms:
Sophisticated Modern Kitchens
Match Pewter kitchenwares like sleek canisters, live-edge boards, and streamlined tableware bring an approachable handmade warmth to slick contemporary cooking spaces. The rich metallic textures add cozy contrast and bring out the beauty of modern materials like marble, concrete, and black steel.
Elegant Minimalist Dining Rooms
In pared-back modern dining rooms with sparse, midcentury-inspired furnishing schemes, Match Pewter plates, flatware, and barware inject a subtle heritage character and human scale. The pewter nicely bridges vintage wooden chairs with table bases made from lucite, acrylic, or metal.
High-Concept Hospitality Venues
Boutique hotels and upscale eateries aiming to intrigue worldly guests often accent their swanky modern interiors with sculptural Match Pewter vases, candles, frames, and catchalls. They make ideal talking points on sleek lobbies or restaurant entry tables with their fusion of ancient material and contemporary form.
Indeed, Match Pewter spans styles, equally at home in any era yet fitting ideally within our modern moment. The magic lies in how their pieces both ground and elevate whatever setting they inhabit.
Tradition Well Preserved; Innovation Perfected
Match Pewter keeps raising the bar for integrating enduring excellence with style-forward innovation in home decor and entertaining essentials. By upholding centuries-old pewtersmithing heritage yet welcoming contemporary perspectives, Match Pewter captures the richness of past and future within exquisite metalware heirlooms designed to last through generations while constantly feeling fresh.
When you choose Match Pewter, tradition finds renewed embodiment while quality ascends ever higher.
FAQs
Does Match Pewter make flatware and serveware too?
Yes, Match produces a complete tableware collection including expertly balanced cutlery plus serveware like cake stands, chargers, tureens, and more. The range offers cohesive modern luxury styling for complete table settings.
Is pewter durable?
Far less brittle than sterling silver, food-grade pewter resists dents and stands up well to regular use. Following simple care guidelines, Match Pewter pieces stay pristine for generations when treated properly.
Does the lead content raise safety concerns?
Match Pewter meets stringent EU safety standards, so its alloy contains less than 0.3% lead to prevent leaching and make it food-safe for lifetime use.
Final Thoughts
For over 20 years, Match Pewter has blended century-old Italian metal working talents with modern design rules to make a growing range of usable metal art for today’s living.
Their dedication to keeping rare pewtersmith skills alive through workshops run by specialized artisans helps make each unique hand-signed piece feel both old and new.
Match Pewter keeps raising the bar for the next generation of handcrafted pewter goods belonging as much in yesterday’s guild halls as tomorrow’s trendy homes.
