Hosting a Dine and Craft Party

Photography by Gary Payne

Wouldn’t dinner and an (interactive) show be fun? Introduce an engaging new element to your next gathering by adding a craft to the festivities. Inspire more than just a healthy appetite by encouraging your guests to sketch, paint or fold as they chat, nibble and sip.

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Curious Cutlery

Forget the classic silver cutlery this evening and give your guests something to grip that will function to both feed and inspire them. Try iridescent flatware, checkered utensils or an elongated, two-tone set for maximum visual interest.

Portugal classical four-piece rainbow flatware set, from $20: Lekoch

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Dynamo Dishes

Bust out your most enchanting dishes to transport your guests somewhere new each time they glance down to take a bite—from outer space to the streets of Hong Kong or the zoo.

Seletti Moon tray, price upon request: Love & Aesthetics

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Creative Cups

Sip in style with vibrant cups in every shade of the rainbow, glasses that literally rock and containers that keep your drink cool and fascinate with their striking profile.

Duralex glasses, $36 for set of six: MoMA Design Store

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Sixth Scents

Leave no sense unengaged when seeking to set the artistic mood. Bring in stimulation through smell with mineral decadence, a geometrically pleasing incense burner and candles with a shapely silhouette.

Circa Mineral incense burner in rose quartz, $240: Cinnamon Projects

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Inspiring Extras

Don’t stop at the dinnerware. Plenty of other tabletop fixtures provide excellent opportunities for a dose of creativity, from coasters that give the illusion of a 3D mosaic to a cheese plate with a kick and salt-and-pepper shakers that will have your guests debating Corinthian vs. ionic all night long.

DOIY Design Hestia salt and pepper shaker set, $30: Urban Outfitters

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Get Crafty

Start simple, with a free-sketch using crayons that have a touch of Andy Warhol eccentricity, pastels that are works of art on their own or rustic colored pencils. For a challenge, tackle the ancient arts of origami, calligraphy or go wild with some Pollock-inspired painting.

Andy Warhol Soup Can crayons, $10 per can: MoMA Design Store

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Artsy Accessories

Don’t forget to accessorize for the occasion. Wear earrings with funky shapes and flirty fringes in startling shades, a necklace ending in folded brass blossoms and rings crafted from recycled paper.

Flaunt earrings in Smoke, $52: Baleen