General Admission: $250

Three-session workshop
Includes all materials, admission fees, light refreshments, and studio space.


Join us for this three-session workshop investigating the visual design, materials, and traditions of presenting creative tablesettings. Participants experiment with table stylings, craft their own metal spoon, and learn how best to photograph food and drink.

April 2
Session I: Stylish Settings
What is the design, etiquette, and social history of formal dining? Sarah Coffin, Cooper Hewitt curator, explores historic, contemporary, and global tabletop decoration. Participants experiment with common items to create a spectacular and inviting table setting.

April 9
Session II: Stir It Up (11am–2pm at Brooklyn Metalworks, 604 Dean St., Brooklyn, NY)
Visit Brooklyn Metal Works, an active studio in the heart of Brooklyn. Participants learn about the art of crafting utensils, experiment with technique and tools, and take home their own fabricated spoon or ladle. All materials and studio space is provided.

April 16
Session III: Framing Food: Plates and Pictures
Kristen Hess, New York City food stylist introduces the photographic art of creating visually enticing and edible compositions. Participants design beautiful tablescapes and mouthwatering plates through the use of color, texture, and shape.

Sarah Coffin was appointed curator and head of the Product Design and Decorative Arts Department at Cooper Hewitt in 2004. She is responsible for organizing national and international exhibitions, publications, and education programs, as well as overseeing the development of the department’s collection. She served as organizing curator for the 2006 Cooper Hewitt exhibition Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500–2005, a rich, contextual journey through the evolution of dining from 1500 to 2005. More than 300 objects, including historic and modern flatware from the museum’s permanent collection were featured.
Listen to Sarah Coffin discuss the Cooper Hewitt Exhibition, Feeding Desire:Feeding Desire

Erin S. Daily and Brian Weissman are the cofounders of Brooklyn Metal Works, a collaborative metalsmithing studio, exhibition space, and educational lab. They have been teaching and working together in the jewelry and metals field since they received their MFAs in Metal from State University of New York at New Paltz in 2004. Brian is primarily an object maker and silversmith, while Erin makes sculptural objects as well as jewelry. They both have a fascination with flatware and utensils and continue to explore these objects as subject matter in their art.
Watch Brooklyn Metal Works: Making Cutlery with Brooklyn Metal Works

Kristen Hess
is a New York City food stylist and photographer specializing in food, still life, and lifestyle photography. She is also the author and publisher of The Artful Gourmet, a celebration of food and cooking through colorful stories, recipes and photography. Kristen is the host and cocreator of Cooking with Color 4 Kids, a monthly cooking show on cable television airing in New York City.

View work and learn more about Kristen Hess: Kristen Hess website