At KOHLER, our designers and artisans find inspiration everywhere, from the color of a vintage ceramic glaze to the shape of a flower petal. Every piece in our Artist Editions collection is a truly inspired creation, beautifully handcrafted and designed to help tell the story of you. Because we know that your sink isn’t just a sink. It’s an expression of your own personal inspiration.
Our experience of the world is shaped by the things we live with every day. From a favorite scarf to the art on our walls and the mugs in our cupboards, the objects we choose give our days rhythm and texture. They express who we are, tell the world what we value, remind us of where we’ve been and who we want to be.
That idea holds as true for a bathroom sink as it does for a treasured sculpture. And it's why we created our Artist Editions collection, to help you tell your story by living a life that's thoughtfully curated.
The designers and artisans who make up our Artist Editions team spend their days pushing the limits of how far they can take a design: experimenting, failing, persisting, and being constantly surprised by what they discover.
They begin by drawing inspiration from the world around them – the entire world. Poring over architecture, textiles, craftwork and collaborating with fine artists, our designers first imagine and sketch the patterns and designs that skilled craftspeople then painstakingly bring to life.
Taking a sink from design to finished product is an intensely collaborative and fluid process. No matter which material the team is working with – ceramic, glass, bronze or marble – there is a period of “seeing what works” when everyone gets their hands dirty. Some of our most successful products are “happy accidents” – unexpected, but stunning results that the team may discover in their journey to the final design.
Getting from prototype to finished product takes a team of skilled artisans and material experts; serious perfectionists who are devoted to their craft.
To create our line of patterned ceramic sinks, a group of dedicated and talented artisans follows the same centuries-old processes used to produce Wedgewood and Spode dinnerware. They hand-apply the patterns our designers create, and that the world’s leading transferware manufacturers deconstruct for application, then fire each piece in our custom kilns.
Our two glassmakers, in contrast, rely solely on one another as they craft each sink. With a precision that rivals watchmaking, using a process that can take days, our glassmakers heat, pour, and either cast, spin or press glass to capture the right form and texture, color and translucency.
No matter the material, the team drives to shape timeless designs that range from smooth and sculptural to intricate and patterned, designs that ultimately become an expression of style and personality.
How we make Artist Editions is really about putting our hearts and souls into crafting something unique and lasting, knowing that for someone, like you, it will be more than a sink. It will be one of the things, one of the pieces, that tells your story.