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Maybe I’m a bit of a museum geek, but I love hearing news about what artworks museums acquire for their permanent collections. My enthusiasm goes double for design objects since they tend to receive less focus than fine art. That’s why I was so excited to learn that The Shop at Cooper-Hewitt recently acquired Sarria, a basket made by Catalan architect Lluis Clotet for Alessi.
The collection started with Foix, a round serving tray. Those same rumpled edges are amplified in Sarria, which is made from the same steel colored epoxy resin, now in super black, a new color version made with a special epoxy. It’s uniquely waterproof – pour any liquid over the surface and it will run off without wetting the basket at all. You don’t have to wait for Cooper-Hewitt to exhibit it, either. Sarria is for sale from the Cooper-Hewitt’s gift shop for the modest price of $75 (it’s $130 everywhere else).
More about Clotet, from Alessi’s bio:
Born in Barcelona in 1941. He receives the architecture degree in the “Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura” of Barcelona in 1965. In that school, he was a drawing teacher from 1977 to 1984. During the 95/96 and 96/97 courses he was a visiting professor in the P.F.C classroom and Projects I and II teacher in the 97/98, 98/99 and 99/00 courses. In 1964 he founds Studio Per in cooperation with the architects Pep Bonet, Cristian Cirici and Oscar Tusquets. With the latter, he collaborates in multiple projects until 1983. In 1984, he joins in partnership with Ignacio Paricio for the architectonic production until the year 2008. He is also a founding partner of the firm “B.D Ediciones de Diseño” There are collections of his work in the Modern Art Museum of New York (USA), in the Industrial Design Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (France), in the Architecture Museum in Frankfurt (Germany), in the Bonnafort Gallery in San Francisco (USA), in the New York World Gallery (USA), and in the Columbia University (USA).
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about perrin drumm
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Your brain may say more form than function but not as much as you might imagine. And the weight and material feel quite appropriate. The mismatch may be the highly philosophical Fionacci sequence with it’s base of the average hand width that determines the knives proportions and the name of these knives: the Meeting Knives. Suggested retail is $1,250 for the set of four though $750 online. You are paying for precision as the knives fit perfectly together. Not surprising that Yves Béhar, designer of the Herman Miller Sayl, a least materials design solution, put a set of these knives on his holiday gift list. The design won the European Design Award for Cutlery Creation. [ designapplause objects ]
designer: mia schamallenbach
producer: deglon
material: stainless steel, teflon
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Just when you thought someone couldn’t possibly design a better corkscrew, Michael Antrobus comes along with Ground Barware, his new line of bar accessories. His bottle opener and corkscrew are made by twisting flat, stainless steel bars into forms that are as elegant and sophisticated as they are minimal. And with the commercial barware market flooded with over-designed gadgets, the simplicity of Antrobus’ pieces (they’re held together by a single weld!) are refreshing.
According to Antrobus, “each object is formed from a single length of 4000 Series Stainless Steel. First, a common tool is used to twist sections of each rectangular blank 180 degrees. A single twist forms a handle for the corkscrew and two opposing twists at the apex of the handle add the functional characteristic of the bottle opener. After twisting the blanks are taken to a fly press where radial bends are added. Once complete and correctly aligned the form of each object is secured with the application of a single precise weld, the weld is ground flush, before the objects are brushed to a matt finish.”
The Ground Barware collection stemmed from a stationery set he worked on while studying at Kingston University. The project aimed to find a domestic application for products made by the British steel industry so Antrobus could keep his entire design process local, from materials and fabrication to production. Like anyone with even half a conscience I’m a sucker for anything with a small carbon footprint, but since I’ve got Mad Men on my mind (series premiere is this Sunday night!) I can’t help but think Don Draper would most definitely have these matte steel babies in his office bar. I’ll drink to that!
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about perrin drumm
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It’s true – whisks (like timers, cheese graters, corkscrews and can openers) are one of those kitchen gadgets that get redesigned again and again, and like the sucker I am I have a drawer full. But still, none of my perfectly functional whisks are quite like Beater, by Ding300 for Normann Copenhagen. The nifty little whisk that debuted earlier this year at Stockholm Design Week solves the whisks biggest design flaw: storage. The bulbous end of a whisk never pack neatly in a drawer, but unlike an ordinary whisk, the little band around the Beater can slide up or down to open up for use or fold away for neat storage.
“We are driven by the romantic notion that a designer invents products aimed at making the world a better place. Our whisk is simple and sculpturesque in form and function and we have made it as space-saving as possible without compromising on the design.”
Beater comes in eight colors: white, grey, light blue, nude, lavender, pink, mint and dark blue.
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about perrin drumm
now at national building museum shop
Eco-friendly paper tableware made of reed pulp, bamboo, and bagasse (sugarcane waste), which is usually discarded in the process of making sugar. Fully biodegradable.
[ national museum shop ] [ wasara ]
<a href="
about phil patton
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top: vipp kitchen tools consists of a breadbox, a salt and pepper mill and a dishwashing set. bottom: storebound laundry pod, a very green salad-spinner for small loads of laundry.
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The 2011 International Housewares Show in Chicago discovers product design formally for the first time. Under the theme “Discover Design” the invitation-only competition design criteria is based on inspired design, quality, brand positioning, outstanding craftsmanship, exclusive market focus, retailer and consumer favorites, and design-focused sustainable product. Discover Design was developed based on attendee feedback regarding the type of companies they would like to see at the show.
the 2011 winning products are…
best collection
elevate collection – joseph joseph
taste the world gravity mills – adhoc
pure black – stelton
kor water black collection – kor water
vipp kitchen tools – vipp
best product
lunch pot – black-blum
callista lemon squeezser – blomus
the laundry pod – storebound
bottlesup glass water bottle – bottlesup
citrange – royalvkb
box cutter – slice
bird feeder – born in sweden
bq-10 tour foldable bbq set – legnoart
magisso cake server – magisso
zebag – zebag
a nod to april 22, earth day 2010, a rotary faucet that dials 5, 10, 15 seconds or more to manage water flow.
the design concept takes us all the way back to the rotary telephone and away from the touch pad mania ( IPad ) of the moment. a pleasing visual-cue-device to conserve.
Designer: eun ji byeon
Resources:
inhabitat
treehugger
yanko design
this is one techie kettle.
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embedded in the handle, the touch display has a clock, a self-timer, temp control between 113 and 212°F. other features include easy opening push-down top lid, maximum capacity of 1.75 liters, and protective overheating system. a 360°connection to the base permits easy use from any position. vera is available in a range of 9 colors like chrome, white, black, cream, lilac, apple, red, yellow and orange. $300 USD.
Producer: casa bugatti