heath journal
Building a Collection for Your Life
Many of our original dinnerware designs are the same ones we began with 75 years ago, yet every home collection has its own personality. That’s because timeless design becomes part of your life, expressing how you live.
When you build a Heath collection, let your life be your guide! Choose lines that complement your personal style, shapes that fit the way you eat, and glazes that suit the feeling you want at your table. Our composed sets can help you along, but you’re free (encouraged, even!) to travel across collections and palettes, bringing together pieces that function best for you and add joy to every day.
We’re excited to launch a new multi-part series where we'll explore building your collection, mixing and matching across our pieces, and sharing guidance and inspiration along the way to help you grow a beautiful collection unique to you and your life.
When you build a Heath collection, let your life be your guide! Choose lines that complement your personal style, shapes that fit the way you eat, and glazes that suit the feeling you want at your table. Our composed sets can help you along, but you’re free (encouraged, even!) to travel across collections and palettes, bringing together pieces that function best for you and add joy to every day.
We’re excited to launch a new multi-part series where we'll explore building your collection, mixing and matching across our pieces, and sharing guidance and inspiration along the way to help you grow a beautiful collection unique to you and your life.
Back to Basics
Three iconic dinnerware lines, each introduced at different times in our history, yet all distinctly Heath.Coupe
Introduced in 1948 as Heath’s first dinnerware line—cohesive, versatile, and unmistakably Heath. A timeless shape meets a modern palette, connecting our past with our future. What’s left on the plate: clean, simple lines and subtle handcrafted character, drenched in color.
Shapes: Dinner Plate, Salad Plate, Bread & Butter Plate, Cereal Bowl, Dessert Bowl, Shallow Salad Bowl, Large Serving Bowl, Vegetable Bowl, Deep Serving Bowl, Serving Platter
Alabama Chanin — Coupe
Nestled within Coupe is the Alabama Chanin Collection. Coupe’s classic shapes make the perfect body for the fresh palette and specially developed etching techniques Alabama Chanin brings. The entire collection is inspired by Natalie Chanin’s exquisite hand-stitching.
Rim
Rim was introduced in 1960 as Heath’s answer to the growing restaurant business. Earthy and robust with wide, exposed rims for ease in stacking and handling. A true product of the modern era.
Shapes: Dinner Plate, Salad Plate, Bread & Butter Plate, Mini Plate, Pasta Bowl, Cereal Bowl, Dessert Bowl, Stack Mug, Serving Platter
Nestled within Coupe is the Alabama Chanin Collection. Coupe’s classic shapes make the perfect body for the fresh palette and specially developed etching techniques Alabama Chanin brings. The entire collection is inspired by Natalie Chanin’s exquisite hand-stitching.
Rim
Rim was introduced in 1960 as Heath’s answer to the growing restaurant business. Earthy and robust with wide, exposed rims for ease in stacking and handling. A true product of the modern era.
Shapes: Dinner Plate, Salad Plate, Bread & Butter Plate, Mini Plate, Pasta Bowl, Cereal Bowl, Dessert Bowl, Stack Mug, Serving Platter
Commune for Heath — Rim
Our newest dinnerware line, created in collaboration with the incomparable California design studio Commune, is a modern take on Rim. Features a fully glazed clay body, a foundational palette, and shapes designed for laid-back gatherings.
Chez Panisse
Designed in collaboration with Alice Waters and Christina Kim, the Chez Panisse Line pays homage to French elegance and California clay. The collection is classic but distinct, intended to bring a sense of celebration to everyday meals at home.
Shapes: Main Plate, Salad Plate, Bread & Butter Plate, Soup Bowl, Side Bowl, Café Bowl
Our newest dinnerware line, created in collaboration with the incomparable California design studio Commune, is a modern take on Rim. Features a fully glazed clay body, a foundational palette, and shapes designed for laid-back gatherings.
Chez Panisse
Designed in collaboration with Alice Waters and Christina Kim, the Chez Panisse Line pays homage to French elegance and California clay. The collection is classic but distinct, intended to bring a sense of celebration to everyday meals at home.
Shapes: Main Plate, Salad Plate, Bread & Butter Plate, Soup Bowl, Side Bowl, Café Bowl
Tips of the Trade
Heath’s three core lines were all designed to be multigenerational, multifunctional, and easily mixed and matched. In the rest of the series, we’ll dive deeper into the nitty gritty of mixing and matching. For now, here’s some food for thought around how to start thinking about dinnerware.P.S. We asked our team for their tips, and how Heath shows up in their lives, and on their tables.
Shaping up your collection
Look in your cupboard — which pieces do you reach for most of the time? This can serve as the anchor that we build our sets around.
Our Project Manager Kim swears by the Rim Pasta Bowl for leftover pizza!
What’s cookin’?
What you eat can determine how you eat. Think about the foods you like to eat, and the meals you like to serve.
The Rim B&B plate is the perfect size for our Design Director Rosalie’s breakfast toast. (The B&B plate from Coupe is a bit too small for her liking.) Conversely, the Rim Dinner Plate is too big for her cozy dining table, so she dips into Coupe for the perfect fit.
Touch and Hold
Texture plays a huge sensory role in our experience. Matte or glossy, solid or speckled, the perfect canvas for your meal is personal preference. There’s no wrong answer—only what feels and fits best for your life.
Megan’s a bowl person. She recommends visiting a showroom, and pulling out every single bowl we offer (It’s okay, we’ll even clear a surface for you!). Hold each one and think about how it feels in your hands, how you eat—one of them will hit the spot.
(While you’re there, try looking at the Night Sky glaze in the sun for a sparkly surprise ;)
If you can’t make it to a showroom, play around with our Dinnerware Set Builder. It should scratch the itch for now, but we hope to see you in person soon.
No Wrong Answer
We design classics so that you can be creative. This is your permission slip to build exactly what you want, and keep evolving it whenever you crave a little change.
Behind the Scenes
Glaze Variation: Why It Happens, and Why We Love It
Read More: Glaze Variation: Why It Happens, and Why We Love It
