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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!
