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Four years ago I drove to New York from California with my faithful beach cruiser strapped to the roof of my car. I rode the hulking thing to work and play for three solid years, but after pedaling fifty pounds of steel up an extra steep bridge one hot, Summer day, I decided it was time to get a “real” bike, something lightweight and fast. I love my current bike, a speedy little Specialized, but whenever I see the classic, swooping lines a beach cruiser my California heart goes pitter-pat.
Today I discovered Public bikes, a light-weight beach cruiser-style bike. It’s about a year too late for me, but if you’re inclined to cruise these easy-shifting, seven-speeders are super affordable. Normally they’re $595, but for another week ( SALE ENDS 3/21 ) you can knock $100 off the normal retail price – just in time for the warm spell that’s sweeping the East coast.
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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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al10000 kaj series by karim rashid.
You know Alessi for their gorgeous kitchen tools and tableware, but I’ll bet you’re not as familiar with their line of watches, designed by the likes of Karim Rashid, Achille Castiglioni and SANAA, among others. They offer some classy aluminum and leather varieties, but I like Rashid’s happy-looking polyurethane model, Kaj (above).
I’ve noticed a trend towards brighter, almost childlike accessories for designers in the last few years. Go to any design conference and you can’t help but notice the sea of black and white clothing is punctuated by glasses and watches that are not only unique, they scream I AM UNIQUE from across the room. Pink lucite glasses and a watch made from neon rubber are the designer’s calling card. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – bring on the fun eyewear! And, from Alessi, the fun wrist wear. [ alessi watches ] [ alessi shop ]
al2400 neko series by sanaa
al22000 daytimer watch by will alsop & fredrico grazzini
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It’s only the beginning of February and already Alessi is killing it with their (Spring/Summer) 2012 collection. Last week I was impressed by Marcel Wanders’ “Dressed” collection and this week I’m digging Giulio Iacchetti’s “Ape” aperitivo set. Alessi specialized in cocktail products in the 50s and Iacchetti’s design is a clear callback to those days. Designed to be used either in the home or restaurant/bar, the set includes a bowl and spoon for mixed nuts, a container for olives, a toothpick holder, a bowl for chips, a wooden cheese board and a dish for discarded toothpicks and olive pits.
“Three little inventions have been added to the family: a self standing cocktail stick holder, which can also be inserted in the olive bowl if desired, a teaspoon with a special cavity for picking up peanuts, and a steel container with lid for concealing little bits of rubbish from view.”
I love how Iacchetti has used the same stainless steel form for both the dish stem/base and the toothpick holder, so the entire set takes on the dynamic of landscape with varying heights and materials.
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juicy salif | philippe starck | alessi | 1990 | click to enlarge
Two events prompted this post. Two weeks ago I went on a Bertrand Goldberg architectural tour. Two buildings in Chicago, four owners, all architects. Of interest, all four interiors might have been designed by one person, the furnishings were so similar, mid-century modern. Two of the four had the Salif on sparse kitchen counters. Our galley kitchen falls into the latter category. Anyone’s guess what kitchen tools were in their cupboards. The other event, we made grouper ceviche last weekend, an on-going experiment with different recipes so precise citrus measurements are required. We also have a juicer made for cooking, the OXO Citrus Juicer with a measuring cup as its recepticle. I purchased it directly from OXO when it won a design award in 2007.
citrus juicer | oxo | 2007
Below are promising juicers selected with the following criteria: simple, manual or small electric that’s easily stored, lightweight output, and well-thought-out solutions with great aesthetics. Several in are in the collection of contemporary art museums. Several will have glitches, like the Salif, no problem for me but to Barbara it can behave like a sobriety test; the Orangin and Flash Lemonade Juicer can be a bit labor intensive to fill a quart IMO. Price range from $8 > $100.
[ links ]
bistro electric juicer | bodum
catcher | graeme davies | joseph joseph | 2009
citrange juicer | quentin de coster | 2010 ( seeds get stuck )
citrus juicer | oxo | 2008
citrus power juicer | metrokane
citrus squeezer | oxo | = http://www.oxo.com/p-463-citrus-squeezer.aspx
citromatic | braun = http://www.braun.com/global/household/juicers/multiquick-citrus-juicers.html
electric citrus squeezer | stefano giovannoni | alessi | 2003
flash chill lemonade maker | takeya
juicy salif | philippe starck alessi | 1990
mandarin citrus squeezer | stafano giovanninoni | alessi | 2001
my squeeze | alessi
orangin | jeren got | 2009
utilo lemon squeezer | blomus
vita juicer | innocenzo rifino / lorenzo ruggieri | bugatti
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Anu Penttinen, a glassblower and designer, isn’t trying to “change the world,” she just wants to make”well-made designs that hopefully make a difference in someone’s day.” The dailiness of design is something I keep hearing designers speak to, whether it’s a better contact lens case or a beautiful hand blown glass dish for your keys, the small things we handle multiple times throughout the day have the biggest impact on our lives.
Penttinen has been working with glass ever since she converted to it from ceramics while she was a student at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki. In 2003 she started her own company, Nounou Design, which she now runs completely by herself – not just all the paperwork, but every item Penttinen puts her name on is blown or formed herself. With her dedication to craft it’s no wonder she’s continually commissioned by Iittala, which began as a glass factory in Iittala, Finland in 1881. You probably know them for their gorgeous tableware, but Penttinen’s latest edition for the brand is the Vitriini Box (available in large and small, wood and glass combinations, from $40-$115 – and no, I didn’t get a freebie for writing this!)
In luscious hues of peach, amber, violet, yellow, blue, green clear, taupe and smoky gray, the boxes look more like precious gems. Penttinen says she doesn’t “believe in gimmicks or designing stuff for the sake of stuff. I love eccentric designs that are very well designed, of high quality but containing an element of surprise, unexpected color combinations or a twist of some kind.” Even if that twist is as simple as swapping a glass base for a beautiful piece of wood, I think she easily fulfills her own credo. Some of her pieces are more intricate, with patchwork, nature inspired motifs, but it’s her simple, back-to-the-basics handblown style I love best. And my dailiness would be markedly improved if I tossed my keys into one of her purple glass cases at the end of a long day instead of hanging them on a nail by the door.
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An innovative shiny, special-shaped spoon designed to wring out your tea bag and keep your fingers dry. I’m still in the habit of wrapping the tea bag string around the bag on occasion but now I have my special spoon to make my tea. After all, making the tea is a ritual tea drinkers enjoy. Tèo is $25 at Alessi. You also can find it in retail stores and museum shops both on premise or online.
Tèo won a best product design at the New York International Gift Fair.
designer: karin santorso
producer: alessi
There is no doubt that all of these items will be found in a museum shop near you. Design-driven producers / museum shops seek each other out. Join the museum and you get 10% off. It beautifully all adds up.
JAMBOX delivers stunning hi-fi audio in a portable wireless speaker so compact you won’t believe it when you hear it. It’s loud. With an output capacity of 85 decibels, JAMBOX fills even the largest rooms. Unlike other portable speakers, JAMBOX is powered by a pair of proprietary, highly sophisticated acoustic drivers, unmatched in their ability to produce extreme high (tweeter) and low (woofer) frequencies from a single, ultra-small dome speaker. They work in concert with an innovative moving-wall passive bass radiator and airtight enclosure to deliver shimmering highs and thumping lows that you can literally feel – the richest sound all in the palm of your hand. Designed by [ yves behar / fuseproject 2011 ] Colors/Finish | grey | blue | red | black | silver price: $200 usd
NEKO WATCH | 2010. Japanese architecture team Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANNA created a modern Neko wrist watch for Italian design company [ alessi ] Made of Polyurethane and available in five colors, Neko watch does not have a fastener but simply embraces your wrist. price: $100 usd
FREDRICK ELEPHANT. Bholu creatures are the creation of [ Australian designer Jodie Fried ]. Each Bholu piece is individually hand embroidered or hand woven by artisans in India using ancient techniques, giving each product its own unique and original personality. By using their traditional skills, the artisans gain an income, hence independence and opportunity as well as keeping a traditional craft alive. Bholu is a Katchchhi term of endearment, and also denotes the naivety and free expression of a small child. This is in keeping with the expressions of the Bholu creatures themselves, who will appeal to children and adults alike. Plush, expressive Frederick Elephant is 10″ x 4.5″ x 7. Bright red with big white ears. Each creature is packaged in an organdi bag. Made of wool and acrylic. Slight variations will exist, as creatures are hand embroidered. price: $55 usd
point us to a musuem shop. we’ll add it to the list… [ bauhaus archive museum | berlin ] [ cooper-hewitt | nyc ] [ design exchange | toronto ] [ design museum shop | london ] [ mad museum | short hills nj ] [ mca | chicago ] [ MODA | atlanta ] [ moma | nyc ] [ triennale design museum | milan ] [ tate | london ] [ victoria and albert | london ] [ vitra design museum | weil am rhein de ] [ wolfsonian fiu | miami ]
Etre FIVEPOINT Gloves are a stylish way of keeping your hands warm while using your iPhone, iPad, iPod and other touchscreen devices.
Thanks to their special capacitive contactwoven® fingertips, they do what other gloves don’t: They let you use touchscreens without having to take them off. While nearly all modern touchscreen devices employ the kind of capacitive technology described above, some (typically, older devices) rely on resistive technology instead.
Resistive touchscreens consist of two extremely thin metallic layers overlaid by a sheet of glass. When you touch the glass, the two underlying metallic layers are pressed together causing the device to register your touch. So, unlike capacitive touchscreens, they are pressure sensitive, which means that they can be manipulated with any object whatsoever—including your fingers, a stylus, a pen or even your nose. You can operate resistive touchscreen devices while wearing any pair of gloves. However, in order to be able to operate all touchscreen devices, Etre FIVEPOINT Gloves will work. [ fivepoint gloves ] [ etre ]
C5 stays put thanks to a unique Secure Loop design. Adjustable loops hold the in-ear headphones firmly in place. An ingenious innovation where a cushioned loop fixes quickly and comfortably in the inner ridge of your ear. This, together with the tungsten balanced design, holds C5 in place for improved sound, and also makes it ideal for use on the move and during activities.
price: $180
producer: bowers & wilkens
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