Ever since her childhood, Camille Kunz has been shaping objects through ceramics, but not only. Experimenting with materials and giving them form lie at the heart of her practice. During her studies, she specialised on textile. A graduate in Fashion Design from HEAD–Genève and Winner of the Chloé Prize at the Hyères Fashion Festival, she worked for several years in the fashion industry, notably in Milan as a head designer. Even during this time dedicated to textile, she retained a keen interest in the craft of ceramics. The latter has always given her a sense of harmony – a balance between the fast pace of fashion collections and the work with clay, which imposes its own rhythm that can’t be rushed.
In 2023, she turned her focus on ceramics, a practice more aligned with her values. Overseeing each step of the process, she works with both the material – stoneware or porcelain – and the colour by adding pigments into the mass, creating a marbled effect and using different glazes. In her workshop in Cully, nothing goes to waste. Thanks to her ‘surprise clay’ – a skilful blend of different batches – she embraces the unexpected. The pieces created from this mix come in refined shades of grey, celebrating the natural beauty of the material.
From her previous career remains the skill to envision an entire universe for each collection, to tell stories through each tableware set, while the current artisanal work nurtures an embodied memory, a characteristic unique to the craftspeople who perfect their practice through countless repetitions. ‘Over time, your body is guiding you,’ she explains. To accompany people in their daily lives, she used to develop ready-to-wear collections. Now, she infuses every meal with a certain art de vivre, that’s why she chose to focus on tableware, staying true to her approach.
Contributing the art of hosting, she collaborates with chefs and creates pieces that elevate their art. Beyond form and function, she ensures that the ceramics and the dishes harmonise and complement one another. Thus, each bespoke piece enhances the sensory experience, down to the smallest detail. Indeed, she even considers the sound the dessert spoon will make. ‘It has to sound right.’
Serving different functions, these versatile pieces can be used for a variety of ingredients – the soup tin also doubles as a dessert plate paired with its sauce boat. In the hospitality world, the glazes are carefully selected not only to comply with safety standards, but also to offer resistance to marks left by cutlery. Everything is carefully thought through to create a memorable dining experience.
She has collaborated with L’Appart in Lausanne, the Auberge de Montheron, and the Cabanotel in Valais, among others. For À La Carte | Pop Up, the table d’hôte nestled in the hills overlooking Montreux, she has created a complete menu in collaboration with Chef Pedro, a feast where ceramics and cuisine are closely intertwined.
Geraldine Morand
Alessandro Di Palma