In the dining room of Marlo Thomas’s Manhattan apartment, there is barely an inch of table that isn’t covered in serveware and prepared bites. Yet in light of the pandemic, there is no guest list. “Normally, I’d have you over,” the award-winning actress, author, and social activist tells AD via Zoom call, as she transfers a bowl of brightly hued crudités across the table. “But we’ll have to wait.” It may be a party of one, but the celebration is nonetheless well deserved. This week, Thomas debuts her inaugural home product line, a 10-piece, globally inspired entertaining and tabletop collection available exclusively at Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn.
Current travel restrictions were no constraint on Thomas’s inspiration gathering. A visit to her personal collection was as far as she had to journey to spark design ideas for the entertaining set. Though, to be fair, beyond the French doors of her china cabinet is a trip in itself, made up of an assemblage of silver and porcelain souvenirs collected throughout several decades of travels around the world.
Below, Thomas shares the stories behind her favorite pieces, the post-pandemic party she’s already planning, and more.
Architectural Digest: You’ve had many titles, but product designer is a first. How did this collection come about?
Marlo Thomas: Laura Alber, the CEO of Williams-Sonoma, had come over to my home for drinks before the St. Jude [Children’s] Research Hospital dinner. She saw my wood-and-silver serving pieces and said, “I just love these. I’ve not seen anything like them. You have everything.” And I said, “No, I don’t have a cheese tray. That’s what I really want!” She said, “You draw it, and we’ll make it.” It was the most inviting thing anyone’s ever said to me.
What is the story behind those original serving pieces?
I was in London doing a play, and I’d heard about [the market on] Portobello Road. It was only open on Saturdays, and of course, I had a matinee on Saturdays. So I had to go early in the mornings, which was smart—I came to realize—because it was a cross between a flea market, a junkyard, and an antiques store. Pieces were upside down; there’d be a chair over a tray. You had to rummage through it. The first piece I found was a wood-and-silver wine bucket, which I loved. I went back every Saturday and eventually I found a second wine bucket.
The 10-piece Marlo Thomas Collection includes a Champagne bucket ($169.95), three-part condiment dish ($79.95), and cheese dome ($99.95).
Courtesy Williams-Sonoma
