Extraordinary Rendition: A Private Supper Club

 
Extraordinary Rendition is an occasional private supper club. Friends & Relations was invited to design and build a table to be used for Extraordinary Rendition events. We devised a table constructed in two parts so that it is suitable for smaller gatherings but can seat up to twenty guests. The tabletop is hand-painted in two motifs: a black and white triangle pattern and a brightly colored composition based on Henri Matisse's paper cut-out compositions. The edge of the table is painted metallic gold. There are eight legs in all, four of which are cut into a diamond pattern and four of which are carved in more organic, undulating shapes. We sanded the table legs to a very soft grain and treated them only with oil, so they are soft to the touch. When each section is being used separately, the legs can be situated so that they are equidistant from the corners, and when the two sections are brought together to make one large table, two legs on each half can be moved into different brackets. This creates a visual rhythm and allows for more even placement of chairs around the table.
 

For this inaugural dinner, Friends & Relations designed and fabricated napkins and placemats that, like the tabletop, combine graphic shape and color with a smaller geometric pattern. We made candle holders from the same wood we used for the table legs. We cut 4x4s to various heights of four, six, and ten inches, bored small holes into one side, and sanded them to a smooth finish. Black candles picked up the black in the patterns on the table and the napkins.

For the invitations and menus, we chose turquoise paper. We painted X'x and O's in repeating patterns in across the paper, which we then cut at random in order to break up the pattern. The invitations were hand-written in gold ink and sent in deep red envelopes. At each place setting, we placed a menu that started with each guest's name, also written out in gold ink. Our long, low flower arrangements were set at two points along the table and were surrounded by candles.

As the rooftop setting for the dinner was a wide-open area, we placed canvas tarps at casual angles beneath the table to define the space. We were so lucky that our host's mother owned the beautiful silver and allowed us to use it for our overall design.