The Bear in the Clouds – Designer Dimitri Rybaltchenko invites you to explore and daydream

Dimitri Rybaltchenko, RÊVERIE means dreaming or daydreaming. How can a dinnerware collection invite us to dream?

RÊVERIE is a tribute to warm summer days when we gaze at the sky and transform random cloud patterns into imaginative animals. I wanted to create a decor that is both elegant and dreamlike. We have all looked up at the sky and watched the clouds in a daydream. The idea was to bring this childhood experience back to life with elegant lightness – to dream, to escape, to float weightlessly.

Is there a particular childhood memory that RÊVERIE evokes for you?

It’s a bit like the madeleines in Marcel Proust’s novel In Search of Lost Time. The taste of a madeleine dipped in tea brings back childhood – more a feeling of happiness and lightness than a specific memory.

At first glance, RÊVERIE appears to be a cloud motif, and only upon closer inspection do you discover the hidden animals. What was your inspiration?

I like to play with surprise, offering a surprise at second glance, a surprising second reading. To achieve this, I work on the “thickness” of the image, its depth. The result is a qualitative dimension, a "plus" in the story and in the emotional bond. Secondly, I have always had a strong sense of pareidolia, meaning I see figures, animals, and characters in random patterns like the grain of wood, marble, or indeed in clouds. Surrealists such as Salvador Dalí turned pareidolia into an art form. Dalí called it his “paranoiac-critical method.” In his paintings, one can discover many hidden faces, shapes, and symbols. For RÊVERIE, it seemed natural to hide animals within the clouds and use them to tell stories.

Why did you choose animals rather than people, faces, plants, or shapes in the clouds?

Here, animals are characters, actors telling stories. They have great evocative power. Animals are more easily and emotionally embodied than plants. Humans would not have been as lyrical and would have been too anecdotal. It's common to use animals to tell stories. I'm thinking in particular of Jean de la Fontaine, Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland) and Disney.

How did you select the animals, and what stories can they tell?

Some of the animals relate to the foods served on the porcelain: a bear – perhaps in search of honey – on the breakfast plate, a squirrel hoping for nuts in the cereal bowl, and a lively little weasel on the espresso cup. Other animals live in the forests around Fürstenberg Castle, and finally, there are a few more unusual animals that spark the imagination – fish in the clouds or curious parrots.

What does shared enjoyment with such imaginative porcelain mean to you?

That moment when we sit at the table is a moment of pause, a break from daily life. We exchange thoughts, tell stories, and connect. It is an immobile journey that engages the senses and the imagination – a moment of pleasure with great evocative power. My design invites people to dream together and to enjoy lightness and joy. RÊVERIE is a starting point for stories: a love story. A story for a child.

You have worked for renowned French luxury brands such as Hermès, Fendi Casa, Diptyque, Dior, and Saint Laurent. Is there a typical Dimitri Rybaltchenko signature style?

I always try to use a graphic writing style / technique that best serves the idea. I call it a hand. When you look at the projects I’ve worked on over the years, they often have different signatures. I have a thousand ideas and a thousand hands. The technique I used for RÊVERIE is a bit like engraving. It therefore has a classic, elegant look. The twist lies in the small surprises that are not immediately visible and only reveal themselves with time.

Which is your favorite piece from the RÊVERIE collection?

I don’t have a favorite – each piece tells a different story, responding to each other, resonates and forming a whole, they've all been created with great heart and attention to detail.

Thank you, Dimitri Rybaltchenko!