Easy Entertaining // Table Two STudio
We’re always searching for chic ways to elevate our entertaining while making it all feel a little… easier.
Enter: Table Two Studio, the design-forward paperware brand founded by longtime friends Gabrielle and Carolyn.
Below, they share their entertaining philosophy, hosting hacks, and where they’re finding inspiration.
For those just discovering Table Two Studio, can you introduce yourselves and share a bit about your backgrounds?
We met in 2013 while living in NYC, working as interns in the fashion industry. We immediately became friends and spent the summer discovering our shared love of design and aesthetics, favorite food and drink spots, and hosting friends at our apartment. Since then, we’ve both worked in the fashion and lifestyle industries; Gabrielle on the brand and marketing side, and Carolyn in Art Direction.
What felt missing from the entertaining space that you were excited to bring to life?
We wanted to bring an elevated but approachable hosting solution to the market. We are still ceramic/porcelain dishware obsessed, but we wanted a more low maintenance way to entertain. We all have busy lives, schedules, kids, careers, and sometimes don’t want to pull out our china for every dinner party or occasion. We felt like there was room for us to introduce a product that felt thoughtful, intentional and interesting, while still keeping hosting as low-stress as possible.
How would you describe the Table Two aesthetic—and how has it evolved since launch?
Our design aesthetic is really rooted in bringing the sensibility of fashion into the table and lifestyle space. We approach hosting the way we approach getting dressed—pulling in what feels current, mixing textures and tones, and balancing statement pieces with everyday staples. It’s about translating trends we’re seeing in fashion–color, materiality, styling, into something tangible for the home. Instead of a perfectly matched table, it’s more layered and directional. Since launch, we’ve learned our customers do love a theme, so we try to blend thematic and holiday motifs with our brand aesthetic.
What’s your favorite summer colorway or print from the collection right now?
We love all the nautical motifs we incorporated into the designs; I think the Lobster Roll Plate is both of our favorite!
When do you find yourselves reaching for paper over porcelain, and how do you make it feel elevated?
We tend to reach for paper when we want things to feel easy and unfussy, like for casual weeknights or larger parties where cleanup matters just as much as the experience. We also grab for them when we want to feel a little bit chicer during our mid-day or late night snacks.
To make it feel elevated, we treat paper the same way we would porcelain. It’s all in the styling: layering with linens, mixing in our favorite glassware, adding thoughtful flatware and florals. We always try to lean into a strong palette or a specific mood, so the table still looks intentional.
What shifts in your hosting style once summer arrives?
We’ll entertain outdoors as much as possible, and our approach to summer hosting style always feels a little more impromptu, and less formal. We love to channel the al fresco dining experience, with candles, florals, and woven chargers.
What are your go-to tricks for hosting outdoors with ease—any essentials you always have on hand?
We love our Zafferano and Pooky lamps for outdoor hosting into the evening. They add such a fun touch of color and depth to the table and feel really low maintenance to pull out. With every outdoor hosting occasion comes wine, and one of our favorite uses for our mini hors d'oeuvres plates is to use them as wine coasters–it’s been so fun to discover all of the ways we can use our paperware that we didn’t think of before launch.
Your ideal low-lift summer gathering: what’s on the table, what’s in bloom, and what are you pouring?
Any recipes from Thomas Straker’s cookbook (plated on Table Two Appetizer Plates of course). Hydrangeas in our favorite hurricanes, and a chilled Sancerre.
