Meet the Judges: Meet our global panel of judges

Meet our judges

Our prestigious panel of judges are truly international and are made up of the best buyers, retailers and experts in the tabletop industry.

Parousiasi

Mary Sarafidis, managing director of Parousiasi, a chain of 39 luxury tabletop and giftware stores in Greece. www.parousiasi.gr

Owned by the Sarafidis Group, which has the largest chain of retail stores in Greece, Parousiasi (Presentation) is a group of award-winning luxury tabletop and gift stores located throughout Greece, and was the first chain in the country to gather leading homeware brands under one roof. Today, Parousiasi offer more than 40 international tableware brands, including Villeroy & Boch, Lenox, Rosenthal and Wedgewood among others. The retailer also produces its own lifestyle magazine and runs a successful loyalty programme as part of their goal to provide customers with an enjoyable experience with substantial benefits.

Sam Hood,

founder and creative director of Amara, UK www.amara.com

Since launching leading online luxury interiors etailer, Amara, in 2005, Sam Hood has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry. From casual dining to barware to serveware, Amara offers a wide selection of products from over 300 unique and iconic brands. Still very much a hands-on buyer, Sam is keen to champion the best emerging talent and share it with Amara’s customers. Sam says: “The knowledge I’ve picked up along the way has enabled me to have a deep understanding of the industry and the many brands available.”

Dom Farfora

Elena Sokolova, commercial director and buyer, Dom Farfora, Russia www.domfarfora.ru

The 56-year-old Dom Farfora (House of Porcelain) is the Russian distributor for several global tableware brands, including Moser and Herend, and further owns a chain of multi-brand retail stores across Russia, selling premium tableware and giftware from global brands, including Lenox, Rosenthal and Alessi. The company is a tablesetting trendsetter in Russia, delivering regular in-store events and workshops and producing its own magazine.

Nick Holland Design

Nick Holland, creative director and CEO of product design consultancy Nick Holland Design. www.nickhollanddesign.com

One of the most experienced and successful international product designers in tableware and housewares, Nick was previously design director at various manufacturers, including Vista Alegre Atlantis for 13 years. Nick founded his own international product design consultancy in 1997 and has worked with tableware manufacturers from around the world, including the UK, USA, China, Italy, Germany and Vietnam. Nick has expertise in materials and manufacturing technologies, including all areas of ceramics, glass, metals, plastics and natural materials. Nick has served on multiple organisations for design in England, including the Design Council.

Hospitality Products

John O’Byrne, buyer for the Irish hospitality market. www.hospitalityproducts.ie

After graduating from the Dublin College of Catering with a degree in hotel & catering management, John spent time training with PV Doyle Hotels (now The Doyle Collection) and three years working at the five-star Westbury Hotel, which was part of THF’s Exclusive Group at the time. Returning to Dublin, John selected and sourced the items for two party rental businesses he helped set up. As a result of travelling to shows and factories all over Europe to source quality products, John saw a gap in the market for a specialist supplier to the fivestar hotel sector in Ireland that would offer tabletop, bedroom, banqueting and kitchen items. In 2011 he set up Hospitality Products and this company now supplies exclusive brands and bespoke products to the top hotels and restaurants in Ireland.

Goodfellow & Goodfellow

Valda Goodfellow, owner and MD, Goodfellow & Goodfellow, distributors of tableware to the UK hospitality sector with exclusive access to some of the world’s best tableware brands for the UK. www.goodf.co.uk

Starting out in January 2012, Goodfellow & Goodfellow (G&G) has established itself as the go-to company for anyone in hospitality looking for innovative tableware. Owners Paul and Valda Goodfellow have exclusive access to some of the world’s best tableware brands for the UK market, including Hering Berlin, Fuerstenberg, Narumi, Montgolfier, Figgjo and Bonna; and they also work with craft producers globally to design and commission projects, delivering unique products. G&G’s ability to create new tableware concepts for all aspects of the hospitality industry enables the company to lead the market in the UK, their ‘plate cave’ is in London’s Little Portland Street and offers tableware collections intended to provide originality and functionality.

Jorge Perez

Jorge Perez, Cuban American designer, TV personality and wedding industry icon.

A luxury living expert and on-air TV personality, Jorge Perez is a renowned Cuban-American designer and tabletop industry icon who has spent many years enveloped in luxury tabletop and bridal gown design. Celebrity spokesperson for Waterford Crystal and Wedgwood China, Jorge has appeared on many TV shows, including BRAVO’s The Real Housewives of NYC, WE-TV’s My Fair Wedding, TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress, and Hallmark’s Home and Family. Jorge has also been featured on the pages of Martha Stewart Living, The Knot, BRIDES, StyleMePretty.com and The Washington Post, to name but a few. Viewers can see him regularly on the US shopping network EVINE.

T is for Table

Michele Trzuskowski, owner of independent luxury tabletop boutique T is for Table, which has stores in Florida and Colorado. www.tisfortable.com

Based in Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm, Florida and at Centennial, Colorado, T is for Table was established in 2000 with the first store opening in 2001. The luxury independent boutique has a focus on tabletop, offering an experiential and inspirational space that offers everything from fine pottery, china, glass, serveware and tabletop accessories, to home décor and jewellery – everything that will set the mood and appeal to the senses. The boutique delivers custom engraving services, home visits and gift registries and offers regular trunk shows and artisan events.

TableArt US

Walter Lowry, owner, TableArt, a premier destination for luxury tableware in Los Angeles. www.tableartonline.

com

Walter Lowry opened his luxury boutique, TableArt, in Los Angeles in 2004. His vision was to present a compelling, curated collection that focused on the concept of dining and entertaining at home. Today, TableArt is a premier destination for discerning shoppers from across the US and globally, presenting a selection from some of the world’s most revered brands, as well as smaller, independent producers. The full collection resides in TableArt’s showroom on Melrose Avenue, but items are also available on its ecommerce site, with new items added regularly.

Studio Levien

Robin Levien, co-owner of Studio Levien, which specialises in domestic products, designing tableware, cutlery and glass for clients worldwide. www.studiolevien.com

Robin Levien is co-owner of design company Studio Levien, with his partner Patricia Stainton.

Based in London, Studio Levien specialises in domestic products for the kitchen and bathroom and designs tableware, cutlery and glass in collaboration with clients all over the world, including Costa Verde, Rosenthal, PT Sango and John Lewis. Robin’s mission is to “design products that are functional, affordable and beautiful.”

William Ashley

Jackie Chiesa, president, William Ashley, a store in Toronto, Canada, that has been setting and accessorising tables for over 70 years. Jackie is renowned for her three decades of tabletop expertise

Table + Dine

Deborah Shearer, founder, CEO and creative director of Table + Dine, a creative lifestyle brand and marketing studio in the home, tabletop and housewares market. www.tableanddine.com

www.williamashley.com

Since 1947, Canadian retailer William Ashley has been setting tables in homes across Canada and is known globally for its quality selection of more than 200 prestigious brands. Jackie Chiesa, who joined in 1981, and was appointed president in 2011, leads the buying team, travelling the globe to curate its assortments. With decades of expertise, Jackie is regularly consulted by tableware designers for her comments when creating new collections and over the years she has hosted numerous tabletop events. William Ashley’s 15,000 square foot flagship store is on Bloor Street’s Mink Mile and is the backdrop for quality brands to meet today’s ever-changing lifestyles.

Deborah Shearer is the founder, CEO and creative director behind Table + Dine, a marketing and merchandising team of professionals, creating digital content for and filling the creative needs for brands and retailers in tabletop, housewares and textiles. With over two decades of experience in creative and editorial production, industry tabletop expert, visionary designer and stylist, Deborah combines her background in retail, marketing and merchandising with a strong unique eye for connecting people to products. When she’s not setting tables with her signature style, you’ll find Deborah enjoying family and friends around her own table with good food and wine, creating unforgettable memories. Table + Dine is located in Nashville, Tennessee and supported by a talented group of local creative talent working with brands from around the world.

Special Judge!

Jason Atherton, Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur. www.jasonatherton.co.uk

Jason Atherton’s career has been on a promising trajectory since he started cooking in professional kitchens in the 1990s. After a stage at Spain’s famous elBulli restaurant in 1998, he went on to work with great chefs such as Pierre Koffmann, Nico Ladenis and Marco Pierre White, before joining the Gordon Ramsey Group in 2001. For almost a decade he worked with Ramsey on multiple launches including maze in the Hilton Prague Old Town, maze grill in Grosvenor Square and maze restaurants in Melbourne and Qatar. Jason launched his first independent restaurant venture in 2010, Table No. 1 in Shanghai, before opening his flagship restaurant, Pollen Street Social in Mayfair in April 2011. Within six months of opening, Pollen Street Social was awarded a coveted Michelin star and has ranked highly in a number of other awards and restaurant guides. In addition to opening multiple restaurants across Asia and the Middle East over the past decade, Jason has written several cook books and appeared on food shows in the UK and abroad including Saturday Kitchen and Great British Menu. Jason is an ambassador for Moët & Chandon and Harrods Food Halls as well as other brands and is a patron for a number of charities including Hospitality Action.

Donna Ferrari

Donna Ferrari, leading journalist and photo stylist and contributing columnist to Tableware International, Donna has reported on the tabletop industry for more than 35 years

Promenu

Elena Vorozheykina, head of retail, at Ukrainian retailer Promenu

www.promenu.ua

Donna is a leading journalist and photo stylist who has reported on the tabletop, housewares, home furnishings and bridal industries for more than 37 years, Donna has travelled the world visiting tradeshows, factories and ateliers to learn first-hand how tableware is designed, crafted and produced. While working as a director of Brides (Conde Nast), Donna’s lifestyle stories won numerous ADC Awards and she was invited to design the tablesetting displays in the lobby of 41 Madison and to present her trending forecasts in lifestyle and bridal at numerous trademarts.

Donna has authored Bride’s Guide to Good Food & Entertaining, conducted seminars for delegates at the UN on etiquette customs practiced in the US, and is also a regular contributing columnist at Tableware International. She has a detailed understanding of product development and manufacturing and a discerning eye for good design and marketable products.

Hutter Group

Promenu is an omnichannel retailer with 15 stores in Ukraine offering premium brands for cooking and serving, kitchen gadgets, small household appliances and home care products. The Promenu chain is a part of MIRS corporation - the leader of the Ukrainian premium household goods market since 1992, the distributor of many global brands such as Rosenthal, Wusthof, Joseph Joseph, Riedel, Dibbern, Robbe & Berking and many others. For over 20 years Elena Vorozheykina has been working with her team to create the best solutions in retail formats, such as the Promenu Emotion points concept. An important factor in a strong concept is the unique portfolio of brands and products. We have been at all major exhibitions every year, including Ambiente, since 1999. Knowledge and understanding of changes in the industry, long-term cooperation with global brands, and at the same time understanding of changes in customer needs helps to determine trends and directions for more successful development. In 2020, Promenu became the Global Honoree 2020 GIA Excellence in Retailing, which is a source of great pride.

Hermann Hutter, owner of Hutter Group, which has eight housewares and gifts stores in Germany. www.thehuttergroup.com

Hermann Hutter has lots of experience in retailing. At the age of 21, he founded his first retail shop, later taking over the 1908-founded Hutter company and building it up into a group for office supply stores in Germany. In 2004, Hermann bought shares in Abt – one of the most famed glass and porcelain stores in Germany, which was later sold in 2017. Today, the Hutter Group has developed into a multi-faceted company with eight stores in southern Germany and online shops for gifts, housewares, glass and porcelain, stationery, books and lifestyle. Hermann is sole owner of Hutter Group, as well as VP of the German retailers’ organisation for glass, porcelain and housewares – Handelsverband Koch und Tischkultur e.V.

Leeuwin’s Serviezenhuis

Amos van Praagh, general manager for the Dutch tableware retailer, Leeuwin’s Serviezenhuis. www.leeuwin.nl

Since 1926, Leeuwin’s Serviezenhuis has been an expert in dinnerware and cookware. They strive to offer the best design, quality, durability and longevity in all products and brands that they carry. For every occasion, every day, every season. Located in the city centre of Utrecht, the shop is now in its fourth generation and continues to be a hot spot for all items on the well laid table and for all the tools for the aspiring chef.

Brigitte Moulinier, France

Brigitte is a French tabletop designer and illustrator. @brigittemoulinier

Dubbed ‘the girl who can paint’, Brigitte Moulinier is one of the rare free-hand drawing designers boasting on-trend, dynamic and sensitive talent. With a background in fashion design and with expertise as an illustrator, Brigitte ranks as a tabletop designer with a particular gift for drawing and colours. She gained her global in-depth knowledge of tableware through countless travels in the US, Gulf region, Asia and Europe. From bespoke design to the mass market, she has an intricate understanding of the different sensitivities of buyers and consumers of each market, meaning she can tweak her designs to match their specific requirements. As a designer of comprehensive tableware concepts for the hospitality world, dinnerware lines for brands or manufacturers, artistic tableware consultancy, and trends and collection realignment consultancy, her expertise knows no bounds.

Dominique Tage

Dominique Tage, freelance tableware designer working in the retail and hospitality sectors.

After a degree in design studies at Esmod Fashion School, in Paris, Dominique worked as a freelance textile designer, developing trends for style offices, and professional press. She then created her own design studio, specialising in the Arts of the Table. Her great experience, skill in hand-drawn surface designs, perception of future trends and reactivity to the request of her clients, brings an international clientele in dinnerware sectors. Client requests are varied including weddings, casual, outdoor, retail, hospitality. Dominique works with porcelain, ceramic, glass, melamine and paper.

Glancy Fawcett

Kevin Glancy, business development director, Glancy Fawcett, a company that’s been supplying the finest tableware to the world’s most luxurious superyachts, private aircrafts and luxury residences for 30 years. www.glancyfawcett.com

Kevin Glancy and his team are project-based global outfitters who supply luxury lifestyle pieces, homeware and designer brands to the world’s superyachts, residences and private aircraft. With over 30 years’ experience in the industry, Kevin and his team have outfitted more than 450 superyachts and have forged long-standing relationships with acclaimed suppliers, artisans and luxury brands. Glancy Fawcett offers a unique and unparalleled service befitting of the top-quality products it sources and supplies. Alongside exclusive brands in everything from crystal and silverware to table linens and porcelain, the company’s in-house design team can also create unique products truly personal to clients, and the company’s architectural division supplies stunning glass panelling and lighting. Its extensive showroom in Manchester, UK, offers one of Europe’s widest range of samples under one roof, where visitors can immerse themselves fully in the outfitting process.

Billy Lloyd, UK

London-based potter and designer, Billy Lloyd has recently become creative director of Monno Design. www.billylloyd.co.uk

Once a potter, then a designer, and more recently creative director of Monno Design, Billy is a prominent figure in the UK’s designermaker generation. Billy was recognised in 2014 for his positive attitude towards craftsmanship and industrial design and awarded with a scholarship from the Royal Warrant Holders Association’s charity. Early champions of his work included Priscilla Carluccio and Sir Terence & Lady Vicki Conran. Billy has worked with various clients in hospitality and retail designing and producing fine bone china and porcelain tableware and kitchen products – clients have included The Conran Shop, Rapha, Cult Vinegar and Bamford. Now, he designs fine bone china and porcelain tableware for Monno Design and leads their new product development.