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KC Catalogue, part 2

KC Catalogue, part 2
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KC Catalogue, part 2

Product catalog summary

Overview of Collections

The document details multiple handcrafted collections by Karen Chekerdjian Studio, emphasizing a blend of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design. The collections include metal accessories, jewelry, brass and copper serving ware, textiles, glassware, toys, and furniture, all reflecting Middle Eastern cultural heritage and artisanal collaboration.

Archetype Collection

This series transforms ancient tools into functional art pieces made primarily of brass and gold-plated brass, housed in oak wood boxes. Items such as ashtrays, flints, hammers, letter openers, and articulated mannequins celebrate historical significance through refined craftsmanship.

Jewellery Collection

Inspired by ancient artifacts and cultural symbols, this collection features gold, silver, and oxidized brass pieces. Notable items include metal stone and sacred bead necklaces and bracelets, as well as the Spike series based on old nails, emphasizing minimal intervention and elegance.

Brass and Copper Collection

Produced in collaboration with Lebanese craftsmen, this collection preserves traditional metalworking techniques while introducing contemporary patterns. It includes a variety of serving bowls, trays, tureens, and snack bowls made from brass, tinned brass, and copper with food-safe interiors, suitable for cooking and serving.

Key Materials and Finishes

  • Brass, copper, silver, gold-plated and oxidized brass
  • Food-safe tinned interiors for serving vessels
  • Oak wood presentation boxes

Serving Trays and Cake Stands

Featuring hand-etched and perforated geometric and arabesque patterns, these trays and stands are crafted from brass, tinned brass, and copper. Highlights include multi-level cake stands with swiveling handles, whimsical bird-handled trays, and Indian thali-inspired breakfast and lunch trays with glass bowls.

Bread and Fruit Baskets / Centerpieces

Brass and tinned brass baskets incorporate Arabic vowel motifs and contemporary typography symbolizing good luck, blending traditional and modern design elements.

Decorative Metal Platters and Trays

Available in multiple sizes and metals, these platters feature etched motifs of fish, birds, and grapes, serving versatile functions from serving food to decorative catch-alls.

Coasters, Trivets, and Table Mats

Made from brass or tinned brass with delicate perforated patterns, these items vary in size and serve both decorative and practical purposes on dining tables.

Candlesticks

Single and multi-candle holders crafted from brass or tinned brass, sometimes combined with mouth-blown glass, range from simple tea candle platters to elaborate multi-candle designs, all handcrafted with unique patterns.

Multipurpose Buckets

Robust buckets with lids made from brass, tinned brass, or copper feature food-safe interiors and are designed for versatile uses such as holding ice, bottles, fruit, or waste.

Stools and Side Tables

  • Derbakeh: Hourglass-shaped stools inspired by Middle Eastern drums, available in low and high versions.
  • Cookie Paper: Folded metal stool/table inspired by cupcake wrappers, made from a single metal piece without welding.
  • Yoyo: Hammered metal portable stool/table with industrial yet handcrafted aesthetics.

Textile Collection

Developed in collaboration with Lebanese women’s associations, this collection includes embroidered placemats, napkins, and kitchen aprons made from Italian toile and linen fabrics. Designs feature motifs such as Japanese blossoms, cutlery outlines, stripes, and birds, combining traditional embroidery with contemporary style.

Kitchen Towels and Souvenirs

White honeycomb cotton towels embroidered with childlike cooking utensil drawings serve practical and decorative purposes. The Souvenir Min Beirut collection revitalizes traditional souvenirs with embroidered pouches and fabric envelopes bearing affectionate messages about Beirut.

Laundry Bags and Fabric Envelopes

Embroidered linen laundry bags and fabric envelopes feature whimsical designs and messages, suitable for storing clothes or personal items, blending function with playful aesthetics.

Mouth-Blown Glass Collection

Honoring the endangered Lebanese tradition of mouth-blown glass, this collection includes turquoise and clear glass bowls, saucers, arak glasses, and half-ball glasses designed for serving traditional Levantine dishes and beverages.

Toy Collection

Handmade wooden toys crafted from various woods include building blocks and fabric playhouses with brass keys, designed to evoke nostalgia and preserve traditional packaging and craftsmanship.

Designer Profile: Karen Chekerdjian

Karen Chekerdjian is a Lebanese-Armenian designer with a background in product design and graphic arts. After international experience, she established her Beirut studio focusing on limited edition furniture and objects that blend conceptual design with artisanal production. Her work is internationally exhibited and sold through galleries and fairs.

Karen Chekerdjian Store

Located near Beirut’s port, the store opened in 2010, combining industrial rawness with sophisticated design. It showcases Karen’s creations alongside curated design objects and organic handmade food products, reflecting her aesthetic and lifestyle preferences.

Challenges and Adaptations

Due to limited manufacturing infrastructure in Lebanon, Karen adapted her approach by emphasizing local artisanal collaboration and hands-on production, fostering a unique 'Industrial Handicrafts' style that merges traditional techniques with industrial aesthetics.

Design Philosophy and Cultural Significance

The work embodies a fusion of heritage and modernity, reflecting Lebanese cultural identity through handcrafted objects that are versatile and internationally appealing. Collaboration with skilled artisans supports preservation of traditional skills and ensures each piece’s uniqueness.

Credits and Copyright

Photography credits include Nadim Asfar, Joe Kesrouani, Tarek Moukaddem, Marco Pinarelli, and -scope Ateliers. Editorial and production by Warren Singh-Bartlett and -scope Ateliers. The document is copyrighted by Karen Chekerdjian Studio with reproduction restrictions.

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Catalog excerpts

KC Catalogue, part 2-1

Karen Chekerdjian Studio

 Open the catalog to page 1
KC Catalogue, part 2-2

Archetype Collection Jewellery Collection Brass and Copper Collection Textile Collection Souvenir min Beirut Collection Mouth-blown Glass Collection Toy Collection Biography Karen Chekerdjian Store Karen Chekerdjian Studio Credits An accessories collection. These pieces are designed in tandem with a specic craftsman. The process is shaped as much by what is possible as it is by what is desired. Though tangential to our main collection, the collaborative process of making the accessories is both pleasurable and rewarding. This line illustrates the versatility of the Studio, as capable of handling...

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KC Catalogue, part 2-3

Archetype Collection

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KC Catalogue, part 2-4

Transforming ever yday tools into icons, this on-going series is composed of objects that are both aesthetic and functional, sculpture and implement. Whether long forgotten or simply overlooked, Archetypes seeks to give these tools their due. Cast in metal and sold in nely crafted oak wooden cases, the objects are presented as precious nds, as if stored for display at some museum. 7

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KC Catalogue, part 2-5

Growing out of the designer’s fascination with the shape of her own hand, the rst in the Archetype Collection celebrates humanity’s rst and most undervalued tool, the progenitor of every tool made since. 22 (l) × 16 (w) × 3 (h) cm Karen Chekerdjian Studio, 2011 Ashtray / Trivet Brushed, oxidised or gold-plated brass, oak wood box Flint reasserts the importance of an implement that was central to life on earth for millions of years. Cutting utensil, scraping implement, re-starter, weapon; the int was the rst multipurpose tool, a prehistoric precursor of the Swiss Army Knife. 14 (l) × 11.5 (w)...

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KC Catalogue, part 2-6

An early iteration of the int, the hammer has been around at least as long as Lascaux. As the gavel, the hammer was transformed from tool into icon of authority, used to deliver verdicts, call crowds to attention and seal deals in court rooms and auction houses the world over. By taking it out of the toolbox and giving it pride of place on the table, Outbid renews and reafrms the value of this essential object. outbid 22 (l) × 6.5 (w) × 4.5 (h) cm Karen Chekerdjian Studio, 2011 Hammer? Brushed or gold-plated brass, oak wood box This absurd desk-set takes the archetypical shape of the house, immortalized...

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KC Catalogue, part 2-7

The anatomical wooden doll used to calculate proportion and which has launched a thousand artists and architects in its time, is here transformed into an icon. Made of solid brass, the gurine is fully articulated and can be posed in any position. An homage, rather than an interpretation, this entry in the ongoing Archetypes Series is the rst guest creation, designed for range by Hagop Tchatalian, a talented master metal craftsman. 33,5 (l) x 6 (w) x 8,5 (h) cm Hagop Tchatalian, 2012 Drawing mannequin Brass, oak wood box Car ved from a stick of wood with a seeming lack of intention, this tool...

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KC Catalogue, part 2-8

Jewellery Collection

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KC Catalogue, part 2-9

Whether they are inspired by ancient artefacts or are reinterpretations of objects in use in other countries, each of these pieces come with their own unique story, screen-printed onto the box in which each is sold. Worked in gold, silver or and oxidised brass, which changes color with each passing day, this collection is about making jewellery more than mere adornment. 17

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KC Catalogue, part 2-10

An exact reproduction of a stone found during a dive off Cape Greco, east of Cyprus becomes a pendant and a bracelet. It is a way to celebrate Nature’s random process – one that mankind does not fully comprehend – shedding light on Karen Chekerdjian Studio, 2011 Necklace and bracelet Gold-plated cast brass or cast solid silver metal stone the sculpting effect time and tide can have on even the most elemental of materials.

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KC Catalogue, part 2-11

A series of faithful reproductions at one tenth of the archeological objects’ original scale, ancient stone anchors are transformed into distinct pieces of jewellery. Reproduced imperfections intact, it is testimony to the beauty that Karen Chekerdjian Studio, 2011 Necklace Gold-plated, natural cast brass or cast solid silver. can only be created by the passage of time. By casting natural Rudrashka seeds from the sacred trees in the Himalayan mountains and stringing them together like pearls in a necklace, the seed becomes the pearl, the Mala becomes the necklace, emulating the “spiritual” and...

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KC Catalogue, part 2-12

Playing with the idea of taking something common and transforming it into something precious, the Spike series is based on a collection of old style nails of different sizes and shapes. Cast in brass and silver and held in place with industrial elegance, the archetypal nature of these pieces makes them difcult to place in time. As well suited to men as women, the series includes bracelets, tiepins, cufinks, rings and broaches; the minimal intervention involved proves there is beauty in simplicity. spike 1-nail necklace and bracelet Oxidised cast brass, cast silver or 22 carat gold-plated cast...

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KC Catalogue, part 2-13

spike Tiepin, money clip, ring, cufinks Oxidised cast brass, cast silver or 22 carat gold-plated cast brass Karen Chekerdjian Studio, 2012 spike 1-nail leather bracelet Oxidised cast brass or 22 carat gold-plated cast brass with kanguru leather Karen Chekerdjian Studio, 2012

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KC Catalogue, part 2-14

Brass and Copper Collection

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KC Catalogue, part 2-15

The Brass and Copper Collection was designed in collaboration with Lebanese craftsmen. Using skills handed down from generation to generation, often from father to son, their know-how is in danger of being lost today. The result is a series of objects decorated with contemporary patterns and designs, produced using traditional methods. Brass and copper was valued in the Middle East not only for its durability but also for its decorative value, while tinned brass and copper was widely used for cooking accessories because it doesn’t react to food. 29

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KC Catalogue, part 2-16

Ranging in shape from low and wide to tall and thin, these hammered metal serving bowls are sold as a set and designed to be stacked one inside the other when not in use, becoming a decorative centrepiece. Thus arranged, the bowls open inside each other like the petals of a mechanical daffodil. COMPLETE SET: S: 20 ( ) × 15 (h) cm M: 30 ( ) × 13 (h) cm L: 43 ( ) × 6 (h) cm Karen Chekerdjian, 2006 Serving bowls/Centrepieces Outside: brass, tinned brass or copper Inside: food-safe tinned brass ower bowl W hether you’re roasting meat, vegetables or seafood, this simple, elegant, narrow oval dish...

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*Prices are pre-tax. They exclude delivery charges and customs duties and do not include additional charges for installation or activation options. Prices are indicative only and may vary by country, with changes to the cost of raw materials and exchange rates.