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IMoDD Hours:
Thursday – Sunday 12:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Admission
IMoDD Members……………….. Free
General Admission…………….$10.00
Under 12 with an adult………….Free
Active Military and Veterans……Free
The International Museum of Dinnerware Design
524 Broadway Kingston, NY 12401
845-383-1333
[Mailing Address: PO Box 1996, Kingston, NY 12402]
[Shipping Address: 80 Westbrook Place, Kingston, NY 12401]
For IMoDD location and parking, see the map below.
Map
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What’s Up at IMoDD:
Upcoming Zoom Lecture:
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 6:30 pm Eastern time
Red Wing and Beyond: The Designs of Eva Zeisel and Belle Kogan
presented by Scott Vermillion
part of the IMoDD Unforgettable Dinnerware lecture series, generously supported by Illiana van Meeteren
Current Exhibition:
Collecting by Design
Opening Reception: July 9, 4:30 – 7:30 pm
Exhibition open July 9 – November 15, 2026.
LINK to Collecting by Design exhibition page
The International Museum of Dinnerware Design is celebrating its second year in Kingston with a special exhibition of a selection of dinnerware and dining-related objects that have been acquired by the museum, either through purchase, donation, or bequest, since relocating to the Hudson Valley in 2024. Collecting by Design includes thoughtful and beautifully designed dinnerware, one of a kind artwork created by contemporary artists, and work that is best described as quirky and fun. Inspired by Brad Keeler’s 1950-51 Lobster ware, dishes flaunting glossy red ceramic lobsters posed on a bed of cabbage, the opening reception July 9th from 4:30 to 7:30 invited visitors to purchase refreshments from the Cousins Maine Lobster truck parked in front of the museum at 524 Broadway.
The exhibition incudes an eclectic mixture of dinnerware, flatware, glassware, paper napkins and even a vintage Barbie kitchen. Among the pieces not to miss is a slice of cake hand-embroidered with the famous Chinese Blue Willow pattern to match the plate beneath the cake. Constantin Boym’s Upstate Plates may remind one of familiar nearby scenes and cause the viewer to look again. Selected designs from the extraordinary Jerryll Habegger flatware collection will be displayed for the first time as will a paper napkin collection saved from parties and holidays in the early 1900s. Most of the napkins are complete with handwritten notes with the date and the party where the napkins were used. One can almost guess the menu based on the stains that remain along with stories shared.
Collecting by Design is sponsored by Harris Safier
Current Exhibition:
Dining Grails
This exhibition includes fabulously designed objects by leading designers for industry as well as masterpieces by contemporary artists in the tabletop genre such as Eva Zeisel, Russel Wright, Roy Lichtenstein, Eddie Dominguez and Pop-up book illustrator Robert Sabuda.
Link to: Dining Grails exhibition page
à la carte gallery
Our interactive gallery where you can try pulling a tablecloth out from under some dishes! (And share your success by posting a video on Instagram)
Carry Outs
Carry Outs is IMoDDs gift shop featuring books, calendars and some very special dinnerware.
Unforgettable Dinnerware Zoom Lecture Series
The International Museum of Dinnerware Design’s Unforgettable Dinnerware on-line lecture series includes tours of private collections and artist studios, allows one to meet directly with dinnerware designers and contemporary artists, and shares presentations by researchers and authors on major dinnerware manufacturers, including Mid-Century Modern dinnerware. These conversations are presented via Zoom. Our Fall 2026 IMoDD Zoom series began in September 2026 and continues on the second Wednesday of each month through December.
Did you miss any of our Unforgettable Dinnerware lectures? They are available to view on line! Videos of all of our Unforgettable Dinnerware lectures are available as YouTubes through our IMoDD-Videos Page.
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 6:30 pm Eastern time
Red Wing and Beyond: The Designs of Eva Zeisel and Belle Kogan
presented by Scott Vermillion
part of the IMoDD Unforgettable Dinnerware lecture series, generously supported by Illiana van Meeteren
Register HERE and we will send you a Zoom link on the day of the presentation.
In Red Wing and Beyond: The Designs of Eva Zeisel and Belle Kogan, Scott Vermillion explores the remarkable careers of two pioneering women in American industrial design. At a time when the profession was overwhelmingly dominated by men—what was called a “boy’s club”—Zeisel and Kogan forged prolific and influential careers of their own.
Both designers made important contributions to Red Wing Pottery. Eva Zeisel created the iconic Town and Country dinnerware line, while Belle Kogan worked with Red Wing under freelance contract at various times from 1938 through 1962. Her innovative Prismatique art pottery remains highly sought after by collectors. Their work for Red Wing represents only part of their much broader design legacies.
Scott’s presentation celebrates Zeisel and Kogan not only for the beauty and innovation of their designs, but also for the paths they forged as women in a male-dominated profession. Both have been honored through museum collections and exhibitions and by the Industrial Designers Society of America, affirming their lasting significance in the history of industrial design. Along the way, Scott shares a few stories from his experiences with Eva, her daughter, and Belle’s nephew, offering a glimpse into the people behind the designs.
Scott Vermillion is a lifelong Chicago-area resident who studied design at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute of Design. He has enjoyed a career spanning more than 45 years in industrial and graphic design, including serving as Vice President of Design at High Sierra, a Samsonite company.
A longtime collector and historian of American pottery, dinnerware, and decorative arts, Vermillion co-wrote Eva Zeisel: Design, Life and Beauty. He has contributed to several books on mid-century modern dinnerware and served as co-editor of the Eva Zeisel Forum newsletter for eight years. He now administers its companion Facebook page, as well as several other pages devoted to vintage dinnerware.
Vermillion serves on the Board of Directors of the International Museum of Dinnerware Design, for which he has written essays and given numerous presentations on the history of pottery and dinnerware design.
Dorothy Wilson Perkins Lecture at Alfred University presented by IMoDD Director Margaret Carney
September 16, 2025 4:30 p.m., Nevins Theater, Powell Campus Center Alfred University Campus, Alfred, New York
Margaret Carney presented a lecture on the legacy of Charles Fergus Binns titled “Binns@Alfred: n degrees of separation.” The lecture is given in support of the exhibition “History: A Legacy in Motion – Alfred Ceramic Art 1900 – 2025” at the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum. The exhibition presents the extraordinarily diverse practices of artists who held (or continue to hold) full time teaching positions at the New York State College of Ceramics School of Art and Design since its creation by Binns in 1900.
The Alfred Ceramic Art Museum established the Dorothy Wilson Perkins Ceramic History Lecture Series in 1998, thanks to a generous endowment to the Museum by Dr. Lyle Perkins in memory of his wife, Dr. Dorothy Wilson Perkins. Since then the series has brought in exceptional speakers discussing a wide range of topics relating to ceramic history, culture and contemporary practice.
https://ceramicsmuseum.alfred.edu/perkins-lecture-series/carney/index.html
Podcast about IMoDD from Kaatscast: the Catskills Podcast
Kaatscast is a biweekly series featuring Catskills culture, history, sustainability, local interviews, literature, and the arts. Shows are hosted by Brett Barry and produced by Silver Hollow Audio, in the heart of the Catskills. Voted “Best Regional Podcast” 3 years in a row.
The International Museum of Dinnerware Design was established in 2012 with the knowledge that dining is a shared experience that can bridge together different communities. We support all those standing up against the historic inequality and institutionalized racism experienced in the Black community. In solidarity, IMoDD, its board, and its staff continue to amplify equity, diversity, and inclusion and call our community to action with us in this commitment to change.
The International Museum of Dinnerware Design was established in 2012 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We are a charitable 501(c)(3) organization that recently moved into its first bricks-and-mortar facility in Kingston, New York after holding pop-up exhibitions for several years. The International Museum of Dinnerware Design has a curated collection of over 9000 objects.
The International Museum of Dinnerware Design celebrates a significant aspect of our daily lives. The permanent collection features international dinnerware from ancient to futuristic times; created from ceramic, glass, plastic, metal, lacquer, fiber, paper, wood and more.
The collection and related special exhibitions reveal a refreshing approach – featuring masterpieces of the tabletop genre created by contemporary artists, as well as notable historic dinnerware by the leading designers for industry, juxtaposed with an uncommon focus on non-functional fine art that references dining and a bit of kitsch thrown in for good measure.
Here’s the only museum in the world devoted exclusively to dinnerware, making new memories for every visitor. The Kingston-based IMoDD brings enough dinnerware to each special exhibition to whet your appetite.
IMoDD, through its collections, exhibitions and educational programming, provides a window on our material culture, norms and attitudes towards food and dining. A delight for collectors, foodies, and visitors worldwide, IMoDD has been described as creating a dream museum one place setting at a time.