The question was, how does one create a sense of identity while occupying a borrowed space? SF is a city of renters, and our little pop-up is no exception. Our placemats are the equivalent of gingerly taping your posters on the walls of a rental flat. A way of asserting a bit of our style and character, but while respecting that we are guests in Specchio. 

Nicole Spear did our first placemats for us, clean, simple and bright, the design is reminiscent of the coloring sheets that used to keep us busy as children, but these have a modern adult vibe (as much as lettuce leaves can.) During our first preview I had numerous guests ask us for crayons, which took me back to childhood.

We are going to do limited editions runs of placemats, and try to time the changes seasonally. We are really excited to work with artists such as Nicole, and bring back this touch of playfulness to dinner.

more of Nicole’s work: http://nicolespear.com/