For some, working with your mother might be a recipe for disaster, but for Olympia and Ariadne Irving it’s a dream come true.

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“She has the most unbelievable eye of anyone I've ever met,” says Olympia of her mom, Carolina. Before branching out into tableware with Carolina Irving & Daughters, the Paris-raised textile designer worked as the Director of Home for Oscar de la Renta. Olympia and Ariadne, meanwhile, grew up in New York, and eventually all the Irvings ended up in London where the company is based.

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The trio’s creative endeavors are a true kitchen table affair: designs are masterminded from their conservatory and shaped by their shared love of history and travel. Artisans in Portugal bring their visions for vibrant earthenware to life. Olympia is responsible for overseeing the brand’s logistics and collaborations, while her sister and mom steer the creative reigns: “We do everything together, but Ariadne and my mother can sit for five hours and look at certain designs and be like: ‘OK, that this should be a slightly different pink’,” she laughs.

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The brand launched in early 2020, and has amassed a loyal fan base. Their mission is simple: “We’re designing things for people's homes to make them happier,” says Ariadne. Here, they explain just how they do it.

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Give us a quick background story of Carolina Irving & Daughters…

Olympia: We grew up around such pretty tables; our grandmother was a great entertainer, and our parents have always loved hosting. Ariadne and I would collect plates from antiques markets, and we realized there was a gap between super high-end fine china and mass-produced tableware. We wanted something we could use everyday, put in the dishwasher and not worry too much about chipping. So we thought, why not design our own collection? Mom had already done a lot of research on makers around Europe, and there was a natural progression for us to finally work on something together.

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What’s your design philosophy?

Ariadne: All our products are handmade and we strive to stay true to that. If we have an idea for something which can’t be achieved by hand, we’d potentially drop it because the hand of the artisan in the products feels so special. We don’t look down on mass producing, but we’re not the brand that will be doing that.

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What inspires you?

Ariadne: As my mother and I both studied history of art, looking to the past is our greatest source of inspiration. Whether it's an ancient Greek vase, an English tudor tapestry, or a Matisse painting, we’ll find inspiration not only in the motifs, but also in the colors.

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Olympia: What's amazing about my mom and Ariadne is that they are able to make sense of that mix of different worlds, and create something that feels modern.

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What differentiates your products from the rest?

Olympia: We don’t produce seasonally just for the sake of it; we’re only releasing designs that we've really put our heart and soul into. Everything is something that we’d own and use at home. We’re in constant collaboration with our makers—there’s no middleman.

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What do you love about your collaborators and makers?

Ariadne: It’s thanks to our artisans in Portugal that Carolina Irving & Daughters is what it is. The makers we found were painting simple plates for the local markets; when we went to them with our intricate designs, we realized that these women are actually artists. The team there has grown from three to twenty, and they have expanded as we have.

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What's a universal piece which will instantly elevate any tabletop?

Olympia: Our platters are quite large, so they make for a statement piece in the center of a table, even alongside simple white plates. Food looks so beautiful presented on one, and once it starts getting eaten, you see the colors and motifs coming through.

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Why are you excited to partner with the Expert?

Ariadne: We love the concept of being within the reach of interior designers and their clients. The Expert has such a curated selection of products, so we're very flattered to be joining.

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Our biggest pinch-me moment…

Olympia: It has to be Nancy Meyers buying our Beatrice plates! We were included in an AD feature on her home and she likes our photos on Instagram. We’re mega fans of hers.

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What’s next…

Olympia: Our big goal for 2024 is to also expand more into lifestyle—we’re exploring a range for the bedroom and our serveware collection for spring is going be very flowery, colorful, and wonderfully over-the-top.

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