Sebastian Herkner

Year of birth: 1981, in Bad Mergentheim

Education: Studied product design at the HfG Offenbach am Main

Profession: Designer, specializing in furniture, tableware and interior design

Design philosophy: Combination of traditional craft techniques with new technologies, multicultural influence, focus on materiality and sensuality

Influence on Rosenthal: Start of collaboration in the 2010s; innovative approaches to the processing of porcelain and glass

Important works for Rosenthal:

• Vase series Collana
• Tea service Wan
• Vase Falda
• Vase Hop

Legacy: With his design vases, Herkner gives the Rosenthal brand an open-minded, innovative character and sets new standards for modern porcelain design. Herkner plays with the boundaries of materials and skillfully overturns conventional ideas of form and function with his design. The Falda vase designed for Rosenthal shows how traditional craftsmanship combined with innovative ideas can open up new possibilities for the design and perception of porcelain.

For the Rosenthal tea set Wan, Sebastian Herkner draws on his passion for Asian culture and his trips to China, where the traditional tea ceremony is an integral part of everyday life. “Wan” means “bowl” in Chinese and is the centerpiece of this tea service, which Herkner designed for the Rosenthal Studio-Line. The design of the tea service combines the Chinese tea tradition with European design and thus captures cultural diversity in innovative product design.

The Wan tea service is made of fine, translucent porcelain, which is characterized by a fascinating feel - and creates a harmonious overall concept when combined with glass. The glass lid of the teapot is reminiscent of traditional Chinese tea caddies and lends the tableware a special authenticity.

The Falda vase by Sebastian Herkner is a tribute to the art of folding and a technically demanding feat of porcelain production. Inspired by a piece of folded, gold-colored aluminum paper he found in his studio, Herkner combines clean lines with an exceptionally detailed, pleated collar in the design of the vase.

The impressive gold-flecked collar is reminiscent of Art Deco elegance and gives the vase a luxurious look that almost hovers like a royal nimbus - a halo - around any floral arrangement. The Falda vase is made from a single piece of porcelain - a technical masterpiece that reflects the high standards of craftsmanship at Rosenthal and Herkner's creative vision in equal measure. Whether in the elegant combination of white and gold or in pure white, Falda is an eye-catcher and a stylish art object that combines tradition and modernity in a unique form.