Sur La Table: A Wave Down Memory Lane
The store that sold pots and pans also had a unique design language.
This article was written as a final project for UCLA’s DMA 10, with Ryan Vock, Alice Chen, and Brant Lee.
Sur La Table was a privately-held retail company based in Seattle with one of its stores in Westwood. It sold upscale cooking gear. Cooking classes were also available in the store. Being an upscale store, Sur La Table spent resources on having a good design.
Sur La Table was a privately-held retail company based in Seattle with one of its stores in Westwood. It sold upscale cooking gear. Cooking classes were also available in the store. Being an upscale store, Sur La Table spent resources on having a good design.
The overall aesthetic and ambiance of the store’s interior were taken into careful consideration when the store was being designed. Ranging from maximized natural lighting to conscientiously chosen music, the store was chock-full of precisely-chosen design features. After entering the store, it was hard to ignore the careful attention paid to natural lighting. The long skylight that parallels Westwood Boulevard was a testament to this attention to what would seem like an insignificant detail. Along with the skylight, the floor-to-ceiling windows that peeked out onto Weyburn Avenue and Western Avenue flood the interior with light, giving the store a soft and inviting feeling. Peter York described this liberal use of glass as ‘opulent’ in his article “Trump’s Dictator Chic” (7). In reality, it came off as quite refined and tasteful. This use of glass not only helped improve the appearance of many of the goods through the availability of natural light but also helped the store feel more upscale overall.
The design of the store featured many elements that are supposed to convey the sensation of being in one’s own kitchen. From the neatly organized cabinets and shelves to the light-ash countertops that are reminiscent of a contemporary kitchen, the store brimmed with semiotics. Furthermore, the design featured several hand-written chalk signs to suggest a welcoming feeling for customers. Another clear attempt at making the store feel like a home kitchen was the organization of the bottles and cans of food to make them look like they are in the pantry. By creating this association, the customers were more likely to imagine the products in their homes, thus making them more eager to buy said products. This subliminal marketing scheme was an impressive use of semiotics.
Alongside visual appeals, the store featured a variety of successful design features that pleased the senses. For instance, there was airy and upbeat music playing through the speakers. The music was playing at a volume that would allow it to be easily missed, and mostly provided a subliminal auditory experience that synthesized with the overall design of the interior. The store also kept towels in wooden wine barrels following the aesthetic of a home kitchen/brewery. Additionally, the store featured lights that extended far from the ceiling, giving the space a comfortable and cozy feeling while still showing off the high, lofty ceiling. The lights balance coziness with the luxurious but airy feeling that the high ceiling provided. The lighting also complemented several hanging ornaments that adorned the space above the islands.
However, several design features were unsuccessful in creating a pleasant ambiance. The exposed air conditioning tubes and control center. The tubes gave off a “machine aesthetic emphasizing abstract, geometric forms” (1) of industrial design that contrasted with the cozy feeling of the rest of the store. The storage area in the back of the store was also visible to customers if they browsed the knife section. Ideally, the storage containers would be housed in a closed-off area that would not detract from the perceived ambiance of the store. Also, there were ladders placed casually by the store columns, which broke the immersion of being in a home kitchen. These examples represent a preference for function over form. The exposed air conditioning saved money by removing the need to install a false ceiling, the exposed storage area removed the need to build a wall to hide the containers, and the ladders allowed easy access to restock the higher wall shelves. These features were an example of functionalism: “an object should not disguise the materials of which it is made” (4). In this case, covering up the air conditioning or storage area was deemed as an unnecessary disguise, thus resulting in the exposed ventilation that looks exactly as its function entails. On the other hand, the store’s successful design featured in generating the ambiance and immersion prioritized form over function. The towel barrels, polished wood, and hanging ornamentation all helped improve the ambiance of the store, but they didn’t serve many functions.
The layout of the store was designed to bring in customers and present layers of options for them to buy. The island by the entrance was Christmas decorated and covered in sales and clearance on the most popular items to immediately grab the attention of the customers as they entered the store. The rest of the store was divided up into islands and wall shelves with their own themes that complemented each other and were designed so that when a customer is in the center of a section of islands, all the items were displayed in a clear view and easily accessible. The products were also strategically placed so that the more expensive and brand name items were more in view and accessible while other cheaper brands were often found in the corners of the store. This strategic positioning of products was another impressive use of semiotics. Several large display windows allowed customers to peer into the store and gauge the products inside. These shop windows “now become a glass in stage on which an advertising show was presented.” (6) The windows effectively allow a glimpse of the ambiance of the store along with key display products to attract attention.
The checkout station was located in the center of the store to allow customers to converge into the center as they finish shopping. At the back of the store, the knife section with its large glass display and counter drew attention to bring people farther into the store. The cooking class area of the store is also located in the back so that people coming in for classes have to cross the entire store, which brings more opportunities for them to buy items. Following the same logic, the bathrooms were also located in the back of the store, mostly hidden from the rest of the store as to not detract from the overall ambiance.
Observing the customers, it was interesting to note that a sizable portion was made up of elderly couples. Almost all of these couples were dressed well and seemed to be in no rush to leave the store. Taking their time, they slowly meandered the labyrinth of displays and items. Based on their clothes, many of these couples seemed to be well-off. They were most likely passionate about cooking and had the means to afford luxury items to display in their kitchen. Despite the specific customer base, there never seemed to be a moment when there were less than 10 customers in the store. This is especially surprising due to the prices of many of the items, and the location of the store. Charging as much as $1,700 for certain appliances, the store had to be able to draw a wealthy crowd to stay in business. There were, however, also a few college students in the store, maybe just browsing or looking for something to buy for themselves or a friend. Only select items were very expensive — most of the store consisted of smaller items that were high-end but affordable by college students. Overall, the customers seemed to enjoy the design of the store.
The aesthetic of the entire store was rustic. Emphasis was placed on organicism-there was a lot of wood and warm colors, creating a cozy and inviting atmosphere. Modernism was out — there was no focus on machinery and “plain metal construction,” as was the focus of modernism in the office (3).
Looking at the design of specific objects in the store, form, and function were both taken into consideration. Upon walking in there was an immediate holiday theme: as of mid-November, the store held plenty of Christmas products and some Thanksgiving products. There were adorned plates, aprons, napkins, cooking mitts, cookie jars, saucers, etc. Most of these items are both functional and decorative. There were color-coordinated sections, many items had a hand-made or hand-drawn look to them, and items had a lot of attention to detail. Overall, these items gave the store a festive and cheery feel.
In addition to the holiday products, customers were greeted with an apple cider sampling booth upon walking in. Notice the hole in the barrel for disposing of trash, quite a clever and functional addition. The wooden barrel and the “natural” looking tree stump fit with the store’s rustic aesthetic. The addition of lemon slices added a touch of color and detail, but do not have a functional purpose. Napkins and cups were stacked neatly next to the apple cider jug, just as everything else in the store was quite well-organized and maintained.
Sur La Table displayed an extensive collection of “exclusive handmade European ornaments.” These ornaments were made with lots of attention to detail. They look like they were created by artists, rendered to look quite realistic but still fun and “cutesy”, with touches of shine and glitter.
Sur La Table had several cooking tools that may not be necessities but could be used to delight or make food more fun for kids or people who enjoy cutesy and whimsical objects. For example, their “funny side up” breakfast mold and their egg mold that turns boiled eggs into a dinosaur shape. However, some items in this section were also functional — for example, an egg timer that changes color based on the doneness of your egg.
Sur La Table sold tea infusers in various animal shapes. Although the form did not seem to follow the function, as the animal shape was just there to add cuteness or delight, the object itself still functioned as a tea infuser, illustrating the dually functional and decorative theme that most objects throughout the store had. Furthermore, words on the back of the tea infuser package read “designed in Rhode Island by people,” giving the consumer the feeling that they were supporting independent artists by buying the product.
Looking at the offerings of food items, Sur La Table only bought from quality brands that fit their image, and the prices were quite steep. Sur La Table also sold some products of their brand. There were pricey and exotic oils, fancy-looking sprinkles, sauces, baking mixes, etc.
Sur La Table’s sold their own collection of baking mixes and pancake mixes. The design looks clean and simple, but still colorful. There was a large selection of tastes — blueberry lemon, banana chia, gluten-free buttermilk, apple cider, etc.
Just one snapshot of food products displayed words like “organic”, “imported”, “specialty foods” “non-GMO” “fair trade certified” and “Collection Etienne artisan-made”. The semisweet chocolate says “peanut-free” and “gluten-free”, which was funny because chocolate doesn’t traditionally have peanuts or gluten.
Finally, Sur La Table boasted a large, expensive knife collection. These knives were probably exclusive to people who took cooking very seriously. The knives were presented as highly functional, but some also had carvings and engravings that were purely decorative, serving no function. For example, their priciest Miyabi knives had a Japanese character decoration and engravings on the blade that was reminiscent of Japanese design. These knives cost $500 for a set of four. Customers were not only paying for the quality of the knife but the prestige of owning a Miyabi knife.
Overall, looking at specific objects in the store, there was a lot of decoration, attention to detail in the design, and objects that didn’t serve much of a purpose but could be used as nice gifts or as a special treat for yourself. For the most part, however, the objects were functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. Dieter Rams said that “Good design means as little design as possible,” which appears to be contrary to what Sur La Table did. However, Rams also clarified that he “doesn’t support dull or boring design” — rather, he is against loud and aggressive commercialization (5). Since the designs in Sur La Table were actually quite simple and functional for the most part, Rams probably would not have a problem with the store. Adolf Loos, however, probably would, since he had quite extreme views and he came many decades before Rams, during a time when modernist beliefs still had a stronghold in design culture. He believed that any ornamentation was a waste of labor and money, and even rejected the argument that ornament was a source of increased pleasure in the lives of the wealthy because he thought that ornament should not be a source of increased pleasure in the lives of any person of culture (2). Therefore, the detailed decorations present in objects throughout Sur La Table may be distasteful for Loos.
At Sur La Table, there was no one defining typography. For objects of certain purposes, there were many types of typography. When one entered the store, they were greeted with a multitude of kitchen products, ranging from foodstuffs to appliances. Each product sold had a multitude of font designs. For instance, products could have different typography depending on national origin, Columela, a Spanish olive oil, for instance, had a Latinocentric font, to let any passersby know and to acknowledge that they come from the Mediterranean.
The environment of the typography had a very upscale, but relaxed sense of feeling. Someone walking through the doors would notice that the store utilized a lot of colors contrasting on the fonts. As this was a natural, open space, there was a sense that the fonts popped into the face of anyone who was there. The light from outside helped illuminate the text, helping with the readability of the font. Wolfgang Schivelbush thought that light was an integral piece to a font. “There is a final step in this progression of light: the emergence of light from a roofed-in space into the open air. (6)” What the light allowed is for everyone to take a look at the font, and to appreciate the tiny details that the packaging had to offer. The font also offered a contrast to the other shapes and motifs printed on the bottles.
At the time of visiting the store, it was the Christmas holiday season. There was an entire section devoted to selling Christmas products. Unlike the other sections of Sur La Table, Christmas products had a more festive font to them. They were flowy, and they reminded the customer of home. It also made the font attractive to the eye. From jars to towels, there was a Christmas ornamentation to them. By making a product homely, it made it more appealing to a potential customer.
Sur La Table was a designed environment with a cozy and welcoming feeling. This was accentuated by its rusticness, and natural lighting, which is presented with upbeat music and spaciousness. The store and its objects were a mix of form and function. Objects were high-quality but included lots of ornamentation that does not serve a function. Typography added personal touch. Semiotic signs throughout the store gave customers a sense of being in their own kitchen. The overall character of the space was upscale but cozy and inviting, and on the whole, the store’s use of design is successful.
Sur La Table was a designed environment with a cozy and welcoming feeling. This was accentuated by its rusticness, and natural lighting, which is presented with upbeat music and spaciousness. The store and its objects were a mix of form and function. Objects were high-quality but included lots of ornamentation that does not serve a function. Typography added personal touch. Semiotic signs throughout the store gave customers a sense of being in their own kitchen. The overall character of the space was upscale but cozy and inviting, and on the whole, the store’s use of design is successful.
As the pandemic roars on, we say farewell to a store that for half a century sold the people a shopping experience, as well as culinary art. The store that you saw no longer exists, and is now for sale as a retail store. With rising LA prices and a decline in brick and mortar commerce, Sur La Table’s future remains at odds, but its past is remembered as a place of culinary design and innovation.
