Holiday Goodies Week: Wobbly Plates

Holiday Goodies Week: Wobbly Plates

I can’t remember the last time I was this excited to write a post. Not because I’m tired of blogging—far from it. It’s because today I get to introduce you to my new favorite stoneware, Wobbly Plates by Brigitte Bouquet.

Wobbly Plates are brilliantly colorful, off-kilter, snowflake-individual works of functional art. (Try saying that mouthful three times fast.) I don’t particularly like the word “organic” tossed around as an adjective, but it’s really the best word I can think of to describe them. Pick up a Wobbly and you can feel the person behind the product. Each thick, lace-textured piece is hand-crafted, fired, glazed, and fired some more right here in Brooklyn by Brigitte, a transplant from the Netherlands. I’ve been coveting them for ages, but my addiction didn’t kick in until I won one of Brigitte’s monthly giveaways for Wobbly’s Facebook fans. Seriously, they’re like crack: As soon as I opened the package and saw that sturdy little oval (I won a Tapas Crouton plate in lilac), I wanted more. And more. And more.

That initial acquisition led to a green Bolillo Bowl, a pair of white Tapas Crostini platters, and a pair of Breakfast Croissant plates, also in white. Make no mistake: I was hooked. I was scouring the apartment for things to sell on Ebay, just so I could buy more Wobblies. Harry’s lucky he was a (relatively) well-behaved young man that week, or I might have tried to trade him for a full set.

When Brigitte announced on Facebook that she was having an open studio holiday-shopping event, I jumped at the chance to spend some time surrounded by Wobblies. What I didn’t expect was that I’d have Brigitte—and her studio, stocked with a ceramic rainbow—to myself the entire time I was there. She has to be one of the most charming people I’ve ever met, talking me through her crafting process, showing me the tiles she was making for her backsplash and bathroom (she just moved, home and studio, into a Bed-Stuy brownstone), letting me ask all sorts of silly questions, and even taking me upstairs to her living quarters, to show me her breathtaking, large-scale ceramic art. People, if I ever have several thousand dollars to spare, I know exactly how I’ll spend it. Unbelievably gorgeous work.

I left the studio with another Bolillo Bowl, a Mantou Platter, two Cracker Bowls, and a new product that, at the time, Brigitte hadn’t even officially offered for sale: a Wobbly Spoon. In my kitchen it’s a spoon rest, but if I had a multitude I’d use them to serve individual hors d’oeuvres or tartlets; they’re insanely cute.


My collection has swelled, and I swear I get high just looking at them. The colors! The textures! The wonderful heft!

Now, I’m not telling you all this just to brag. No, I want you to have some Wobblies of your very own. So I asked Brigitte if she’d be willing to create an offer just for you, my readers. And—yippee!—she agreed. For one week only, from November 23 through November 29, you can get 15% off all regular-priced merchandise in the Wobbly Plates store. When checking out with Paypal, click “Note to seller” and enter the code wordstoeatby, and Brigitte will refund 15% of your purchase. Run, don’t walk—if not for yourself, then as the perfect gift for anyone you know who enjoys eating, beauty, smiling, sunshine, or, y’know, crack. Wobblies also make an ideal birthday gift for food bloggers who were born three days before Christmas.

Please note: This offer does not apply to the Wobbly of the Month, which already has a 15% discount. Regular-priced items only!

Tomorrow on Holiday Goodies Week: I’m going nuts.

There’s a new product, and a new special offer, every day during Holiday Goodies Week (even on Thanksgiving!). Don’t miss a single one: subscribe to Words to Eat By, either in a reader or your in-box.