A Tasting Board Made of Fired Clay: Our Collaboration with Con Alma Design
We recall a dream collaboration with the Mallorca-based brand specialized in handcrafted tasting boards
We’ve often said that we are thrilled when a project or collaboration focuses on showcasing the aesthetic qualities of clay. And in few projects is this intention so sublimated as in the collaboration we did a few years ago with the Mallorca-based brand Con Alma Design.
Although their profiles feature some of the different handmade wooden works they create, the flagship product of Con Alma Design is the tasting boards. As explained on their website, they work with the imperfections of natural materials and artisanal processes, producing on demand, and lovingly preserving the traditional heritage of the land where they live and craft their unique pieces. It’s a philosophy we deeply recognize in our own way of working.
A couple of summers ago, they used our 20 x 10 Rectangular tiles in Antique White for a limited series of boards. They complemented the pieces with a small handcrafted wooden handle, which they make, like all their items, in their small workshop. And the result is simply spectacular: a product that celebrates the beauty and delicacy of clay, a material that enhances whatever is placed on its surface, creating the perfect blend of presence and subtlety. The photos speak for themselves.
What a Tasting Board Made of Fired Clay Allows
Fired clay is no stranger to the kitchen. In fact, the earliest traces of fired clay found in human history were intended for storing food and water, followed by tools for consumption (such as plates and cups).
Although more modern materials like steel and technologies like induction plates and ceramic hobs have displaced traditional clay cooking forms, we still find it in kitchens around the world, and it’s a staple in any respectable professional kitchen.
Fired clay is easy to clean, absorbs heat slowly, and releases it quickly, allowing food placed on it to maintain a stable temperature for a longer time (and not to mention that it’s also beautiful). In the case of our tiles, the Antique texture we achieve through a controlled aging process gives all the pieces a smooth and silky texture, perfect for walking barefoot on, but also for placing on the table.
Moreover, it is a material that can be treated and glazed in various ways, depending on the specific culinary use of each product. We’re used to seeing it in other projects related to the culinary world, in countertops, walls, and panels, but it was in this project that we saw it for the first time in a tasting board. It’s one of our most delicate collaborations, and we can only applaud the result.
