To find the right fork for each course, many diners at the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS Dining by Design benefit couldn't just start with the outermost utensil and work their way towards the plate. Designers set the flatware in unusual configurations as an offbeat touch—or perhaps a way to maximize table space.
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Michael Tavano's table for fabric company Schumacher featured utensils with bamboo-shaped handles placed in an X shape atop the plates. His reason: It gets people into the mindset to start eating.
Chopsticks in a simple V shape topped a stack of three aquamarine-colored glass plates at Raymond Joseph of RJ Designs' table for faucet company Brizo. The brown tablecloth was printed with Brizo’s logo in a repeating pattern.
Artistic Tile founder and president Nancy Epstein placed forks and knives—but oddly, no spoons—in black gloves accented with beaded bracelets with placecards attached at each place setting.
Catherine Kiel of Eric Cohler Inc. placed tortoise-handled forks in a crisscross configuration on top of the plates at her table designed for the Greystone Home Collection, a line of textiles, furniture, and home accessories.
