D-Vision

D-Vision makes some very nice bowls for fruit and other small food items...Bubblicious takes on the form of the fruit. Flatables is an origami plate, and the Small Apple Dish provides a place for both the uneaten apple and the core.

Jeeyun Chung - Tea To Go

Another find on Jeeyun Chung's website - Tea To Go Sticks and Tablets. A re-branding of the traditional teabag, and loose tea leaves that can be carried around for a nice cup of tea, whenever's convenient.

Vitamin Living - Urban Gnomes

Vitamin's expanded Urban Gnomes series are so cute! Love the new shapes and functional objects (bottle opener, salt and pepper shakers, piggy bank, and kitchen timer) and the new graphic designs.

Via Notcot.

Benjamin Hubert - 100% Futures

Benjamin Hubert sent over his new product lines, set to debut at 100% Futures in London in a few weeks. My favorite is his Labware lamp series which are inspired by laboratory beakers, and showcase the purity of glass blowing through the range of large, geometric glass lamps. Furthering the laboratory idea, each lamp comes with a Portuguese bark topped cork.



The Diamond Chair seems inspired by the Eames' fiberglass shell chairs, but has the surprising detail of an upholstered fabric seat.



Benjamin used thin walled concrete to make his Heavy Lights. I like the playful practicality of the ceramic Yumbrella bowl and banana tree

Frozen Smiles and Fossiliced by Fred & Friends

The Frozen Smiles and Fossiliced novelty ice cube trays from Fred & Friends would bring a smile to anyone's face, no matter how much of a depressed alcoholic they may or may not be. They look really fun but I wish the trays were larger to make more ice cubes.

Vitamin - Hex Plates

New tableware from Vitamin - I love how the geometric design and how it creeps onto the plate.

Oxo Pop-Up Strainer

The Oxo Pop-Up Steamer looks like it should be a communication dish detached from a Mars probe. Instead, you put veggies in it. A pull on the handle expands the fins from storage position to create more cooking surface.

Kechenyi Camille - Eco-Cook

The Eco-Cook is Kechenyi Camille's entry to Designboom's "Dining in 2015" competition. I like the simplicity of the design and the idea of using the same water to cook two different foods. I wonder, though, if the pasta tastes like string beans?

Via Notcot.

Gregory Buntain

Check out this sexy set of salt and pepper shakers - Carbon by Gregory Buntain. Go here for a more in depth post on Notcot.

Antony Joseph Folding Colander

Antony Joseph apparently went through 100 prototypes for the Folding Colander before perfecting the design you see here - so handy! It folds flat once you are done with it, making it the perfect colander for a New York city apartment (if you even have drawers to put it in, that is!).

Via BLTD.

Hot Cold Mug

Charles & Marie are having a pre-sale of their Hot Cold Mug. The mug is made with a heat sensitive pigment that causes it to turn from black to white as it heats up. So, it starts by reading "COLD", and after you fill it up with a hot liquid, the text turn into "HOT". Clever, eh? The Hot Cold Mug is a spin off of Charles & Marie's On Off Mug.

Available for pre-sale here.

Tonfisk Design

Brian of Tonfisk Design sent over their latest iterations from the WARM tea & coffee range and the WARP Bud vase and tall flower vase. Previously only available in white, they've recently launched black versions of the products and the result is pretty hot (as is the Odes Serving Tray. So gorgeous!). Keep your eyes open for these new designs, which will be hitting stores in the spring (ie. soon! I cant wait for winter to be over!)

ZooCreative

Check out this very sexy fruit tray from ZooCreative. I love the different profiles and angles that emerge from the folded plywoood as you move the tray around. The tray is available at Do.

Atelier Doodle

Atelier Doodle sent us their latest project, the Portafrutta, which is a fruit platter made out of a series of 35 wood strips. The form (or terrain, almost) created by the strips starts to suggest where fruit might be placed. Atelier Doodle's desire is to eliminate the bruising that occurs when you pile fruit up on top of each other by creating separations that give each piece of fruit its own space.

Ross McBride

These Anamorphic Cups by Ross McBride offer a fun alternative to the stuffy teacup. Each cup is made of polished stainless steel in order to correctly reflect the distorted text or image on the porcelain saucer.

Triangle Bamboo Trivet by Tatsuoki Nakashima

The Triangle Bamboo Trivet achieves the function of the trivet with very little material and joints. Tatsuoki Nakashima designed the trivet. And it is available at MOMA.

Kathleen Hills

Kathleen Hills sent us a link to her website, and unbeknownst to me until now, she is the designer of one of my favorite Christmas presents - the Milkii. The Milkii is a double spouted milk jug, but I actually use it as a bud vase and it's great! Kathleen has lots of lovely products, but my favorites are the Egg cube, which includes a place for your spoon, and a rolling pin with raised lettering marking everything that you bake as "made in England".

Prepara

I love the Herb-Savor by Prepara. It prolongs the life of fresh herbs up three weeks and looks hot to boot.

Helena Schepens

Helena Schepens is a silversmith by education, but has created a series of very interesting, wooden fruit bowls. Each bowl seems to be sized somewhat particularly to a certain kind of fruit, so I don't know that they will work with fruit across the board, but I love the sculptural quality of the bowls, as well as the dynamic kinetic nature of each.



Via Bientôt Demain.

Notcot Gift Guide

Sean and I put together today's gift guide over at Notcot. It's filled with (mostly) affordable picks from our favorite designers. We hope you will check it out, along with the rest of the gift guide that Jean has worked so hard to put together...

Left to right: Decanter N°2 by Etienne Meneau, Full Contact Spice Grinder by Mint, and Bubble necklace by Brevity (yes, me!).

Happy holidays!

plusminuszero

plusminuszero is a Japanese company headed by designer Naoto Fukasawa. The website description of the company really sums up the work:

It means neither plus nor minus;
it is necessity and sufficiency;
it is something you have never seen but somehow feel at home with;
it is a shape that is very normal yet fascinating;
It is the moment you realize, for the first time, that this is exactly what you have wanted.

The objects above are from plusminuszero's new collection: Coffee and Tea Maker, Toaster, Sliced Bread Dish, and Humidifier Ver.3.

ECAL - University of Art and Design Lausanne

I came across ECAL (the University of Art and Design Lausanne) when searching around for fly swatters for our ideas column. I was especially impressed by the Industrial Design department, who have a great collection of work up online. Here are a few selections from the Souvenirs of America collection (cynical students! but what design student isn't, I guess?):

Clockwise from left: Fabien Cappello, LaChanh Nguyen, Gaële Girault and Valerian Gagnaire

LOTS

Swedish design group LOTS created the conceptual Elektra line of domestic appliances. The image to the left is a toaster (coolest toaster I've ever seen)! The use of black glass provides a nice contrast to the translucent glass.

Serge Atallah - Spaghetti Dozer

Normann Copenhagen recently released Serge Atallah's Spaghetti Dozer. The tool features three different sizes for different portions of pasta, a la The Three Little Bears. I have always sized my pasta portions from the old standby - the 35mm film canister.

Floyd

How's this for multi-tasking - a cup that doubles as a ring while in use. By Floyd.

Via MocoLoco.

Lorena Barrezueta

Renegade Craft Fair was an exhausting but very fun experience...It was great to see some of the people whose work I've long admired. One such person is Lorena Barrezueta, who has taken the form of traditional, disposable food containers and turned them into fine, porcelain tableware. I had seen Lorena's work online before but in person it is even nicer!

ICFF - Thout

Thout's work is full of clever surprises and solutions for compact living. The HoleySTUMP is a reclaimed cedar stump with holes bored into it, conveniently sized so as to store a beer or a soda can, if desired. Thout has also developed a series of UtiliTILES, a modular wall tile system that is programmed for specific functions - to hold a piece of fruit, a cup, a fork, etc.

BKLYN DESIGNS - Desu Design

Love this spice rack from Desu Design. The wall connection is hidden from view, making the shelf float on the wall. I love how the olive oil bottle sits snug in the shelf. The spice rack comes with 15 spice bottles, but unfortunately doesn't come with the olive oil bottle. Being that it is built to spec, it would make sense to me to include a bottle with the rack which you can refill when empty.

The other object in Desu Design's display that I really liked was the Symbol Coat Rack, which you've probably seen before. It's as lovely in person as it is in photo.

Aimee Less

I love the Juki Flatfold Chair by Aimee Less. It comes flat packed and you lace it together to create the final form, with lots of fun colors to choose from. Also interesting is the Pinch refillable spice pouch, which allows you to eliminate waste (both the grocer's bulk-bin plastic bag, and the spice jar at home).

Via design*sponge.

A No-Frills Kitchen Still Cooks via NYTimes

Mark Bittman at the New York Times put a really nice little piece in the paper yesterday titled "A No-Frills Kitchen Still Cooks". It basically outlines how to setup a kitchen that can handle pretty much anything for about $300. The catch is that you won't be cooking in style. I am all for the Bowery and commercial kitchen equipment places. But when it comes down to it, your personal kitchen equipment has a life and story of its own. I agree with Bittman that you can easily setup a kitchen with commercial grade stuff and it will work. But who wants to use a $10 chef's knife? I would liken it to taking a driving tour through Tuscany: you could do it in a Ford Taurus, but wouldn't it be nicer in a Maserati?

Socrates Corkscrew by Jasper Morrison for Alessi

Opening a bottle of wine is often either a chore or a challenge, requiring far more cunning than braun. But when you have a corkscrew as articulated as the Jasper Morrison's Socrates Corkscrew by Alessi, you might as well be using a 50' crane. I love the straight industrial lines and joints as a contrast to the more popular curved ergonomic shapes of today's corkscrews and kitchen gadgets.

Marmot Tea-Zer and Pilsner Mug

The Tea-zer and Pilsner Insulated Mug, both by Marmot, are great travel companions. Brewing tea and keeping it on the go is always a big problem. And warm beer is probably the most disappointing thing known to man.

Shannon Garson

Pretty porcelain bowls from Shannon Garson. I like how the bowls are weighted by the illustration.

Via Housemartin.

Marinade Injector

The Signature Series Cajun Injector, available at Target, solves all the problems of waiting for marinades to season the meat you're waiting around to cook. Simply fill up this commercial grade syringe with the marinade of choice and zap the meat. Simple.

Tea Infuser

This nice little Tea Infuser from Bed Bath and Beyond is nice because you never have to fish it out of your cup or mug like the egg-shaped metal ones that dangle on a chain. The stand is also a nice thing to have for when you want to re-brew the tea leaves.

Barware at Moma

The Soft Machine Wine Opener (left) is a really beautiful corkscrew that works similar to a waiter's corkscrew except the pull is geared instead of pivoting. I like it's slender beak-like arm and the little eye where you can see the meshed gears. The Marli Bottle Opener (right) is a double-sided bottle opener so you never have to fiddle around with the tool. The beer is open when you want it, can't complain about that. Now if they could only invent one that doesn't get lost in the kitchen drawers.

Both are available at the Moma Online Store

UCO Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker

The UCO Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker is one of those odd inventions you might see on tv late at night. The ball is a very curious combination of science, fun and cheap labor (your kids). By playing with the ball and circulating the ice/salt mixture, you freeze the milk in the interior container to make ice cream. If you have ever tried to use one of those hand-cranked ice cream makers, you know what a pain it is. Why not kick a ball around the backyard during the summertime and wind up with some ice cream. As strange as it is, it's pretty cool.

Sternform

You've probably seen this ceramic set by Sternform on a few other blogs (thanks Core77!), but I thought it was worth mentioning here...I like that it's modular and that it creates a nice pattern on your dinner table.

I also love these Tango lamps by Sternform. The Tango lights are flexible and can be reconfigured to cast light whichever way you want.

Bodo Sperlein

I came across Tart in my registry search...Tart sells ridiculously expensive products, but I love these tableware sets by Bodo Sperlein. They are so pretty and romantic! But alas, I cannot in good conscience put these on our registry. $225 for one five piece place setting is just too much!

Lola Goldstein Salt and Pepper Shakers

The Lola Goldstein Salt and Pepper Shakers available at Moma Online Store are an interesting counterpart to the usual salt and pepper shakers. But which is happy and which is sad? I guess it depends which seasoning you prefer.

Pryor & Williams

Two interesting items from Pryor & Williams: the Sandwich Board which is a prep surface and serving tray all in one, and the BIB Tray, which is a multipurpose bed tray/laptop table/coffee table. I like that it is collapsible and easily stored.

Ichendorf

After buying the Bodum Assam glasses, I'm totally into double walled vessels these days. I love the illusion that the liquid is suspended inside the vessel - it's so pretty! These carafes and glasses from Ichendorf are lovely. I'm curious as to how comfortable drinking out of the glasses would be. Available at Unica Home .

Anna Gram

Check out this sexy glass from Anna Gram (a design collaboration between Florian Dussopt, Julie Girard, and Jérémie Reneau). It is at its most functional when drinking a beverage that requires mixing. Swivel the glass and the ceramic ball will dissolve the sugar! I dig.

Vincent Van Duysen

Love these (expensive!) bowls by architect Vincent Van Duysen. The contrasting materials - earthenware containers with a wooden lid - are really gorgeous. These were designed originally for When Objects Work, but are now available through Moss.

Via Designklub.

Orikaso Fold Flat Products

Orikaso makes camping products that pack as a flat sheet and fold up in crazy ways into bowls, dishes and cups. I played with some at EMS the other day and the cup or mug is the most interesting piece. At less than $5USD per piece, they are a good buy and never take up any space in a pack.

Be Open Bottle Opener

The Be Open Bottle Opener is something I first saw Kevin and Alex use on Diggnation. You put it on the top of the bottle, push down and the bottle cap pops off and is held to the opener by the magnetic ring on the bottom. It's seriously a great way to open a bottle. Watch any of this year's video episodes of diggnation and you will see how it works. The stainless steel version is $25.00. I'm waiting for one with the Digg logo.

Laura Bethan Wood

Another cup that makes the most of stains. These are from British designer Laura Bethan Wood. Designed in anticipation of the damage caused by use, a graphic emerges as the cups slowly stain over time. This is one cup that looks better with age.

Via Cool Hunting.

Flexicado

The kitchen is the realm of fringe gadgetry like melon ballers, olive pitters and garlic presses. The Flexicado by David Holcomb for Chef'N is no exception. The tool is run through the halved avocado, and the green fruit is peeled from the skin and sliced into wedges in one motion, ready to eat.

Wobble Salt and Pepper Shakers

I've always loved these Wobble Salt and Pepper Shakers. So cute! They rock back and forth but never fall over. and can be easily unscrewed for refills.

Flöz Design

This is a nice Tea Stick Infuser from Flöz Design. I love drinking tea, but in the case that I don't want to drink a whole pot, this is a nice alternative...

Wappa Cup

This Wappa cup is made from the traditional Japanese technique of bending cedar wood. The cedar wood acts as an insulator, which keeps your drinks cooler or warmer longer. Water enhances the cedar's smell, and hot water brings out the scent even more.

Hable Construction

One of the companies I was introduced to yesterday at the Biz meetup: Hable Construction is a sister-run business (Katharine & Susan). They make just about everything that uses fabric...I especially like the apron line. Very clean, graphic designs. Besides at their online store, you can check out their work in person at their new york store in the west village.

Gift Guide - Kitchen: Bodum & Sigg

Coffee is a semi-essential now. We only drink good coffee on the weekends, when we have the time to make it right. Beans from down the street Porto Rico on St. Marks. And we still love Gimme! (ithaca!). The Bodum Chambord Press is our favorite coffee maker thing. The Sigg Metro Mug makes it good to go.

Gift Guide - Kitchen: Inleaf

Beautiful textiles from Inleaf. The Geranium Cocktail Napkins are $40 and come in five different color combinations. The Fig Towel is $26.

Gift Guide - Kitchen: Ineke Hans

I hate cooking with garlic (not that I cook much) because of how the smell gets all over your hands. Ineke Hans' Garlic Crusher will easily crush your garlic and will keep your hands smelling nice - the 18/0 stainless steel removes the smell from your hands. $20.

Gift Guide - Kitchen: Carlo Contin

I love the Satellite Bowl by Carlo Contin. It makes a beautiful fruit bowl, and being that I live in a tiny New York City apartment, I love that you can twist it to flatten it if you need to save space. $45 from the MOMA store.

Gift Guide - Ceramics: Mint

A very nice looking mortar and pestle from design collaborative Mint. The shapes of the mortar and pestle work together to provide a "full contact" effect which makes grinding spices etc very efficient.

Also very sweet is the Coink - a piggy bank in which you can dump all your change easily (and remove just as quickly). It also has a fun funnel system that reminds me of the McDonalds' penny donation stations. Both are available for $36.

Gift Guide - Ceramics: Barnaby Barford

Barnaby Barford is a London-based artist and designer whose body of work ranges from manipulations and reinterpretations of existing ceramic sculptures to clever pillows stuffed with conversation suggestions. The Solitaire Olive Plate makes a beautiful hors d'oeuvres platter, and also includes instructions on how to play a game of solitaire using the snacks. Designed in collaboration with Andre Klausér, and available from the MOMA design store for $45.

Also clever are the Stamp Cups, designed in conjunction with Valeria Miglioli. Using the inevitable stain left behind by drinking coffee or tea, the Stamp Cup turns the stain into a cute floral pattern. Available as a set of two for $55 from Greener Grass Design.

Gift Guide - Ceramics: Fishs Eddy

Fishs Eddy is a local NYC ceramics and glassware shop started 17 years ago by Julie Gaines and Dave Lenovitz. Their ceramics are commercial grade and stylishly stand up to the rigors of everyday use. The Spot On Series(left) and the Pantone Collection(right) are clean and simple dishes for every meal.

Gift Guide - Ceramics: Tonfisk Design

A porcelain tea set from Tonfisk Design. An oak "bracelet" provides insulation for both the hot liquid and your hand. I mostly love the oversized cork stopper. The teapot is $95 and a set of two cups is $55. Rare Device also caries the matching sugar/creamer set for $70.

Gift Guide - Paper Goods: Sesame Letterpress

Lovely coasters from Brooklyn-based Sesame Letterpress. Each coaster is hand-pressed on heavyweight, absorbent beverage board with a rubber-based ink that won't run. Available for $10 from Elsewares.

Gift Guide - Glassware: Rikke Hagen

I don't drink cognac, but I like the hand-blown "Wobble" glass, designed by Rikke Hagen. It's like a top! The Moma store (who knows about cognac drinking better than I) says that "the glass was designed with bouquet, temperature, and volume in mind. The graceful wobble shape of the glass increases the pleasure, deep color, and movement of the liquid." And for a set of two for $50, that sounds good to me!

Gift Guide - Glassware: Bodum

These Bodum double wall glasses are one of my favorite purchases from this year. Made from a heat-resistant glass, the double wall system allows you to pour both very hot and very cold liquids into the glass, while still holding it comfortably in your hand. Priced at $14.95 for two glasses, they are an inexpensive addition to your drinkware. The sake glasses are $24.95 for six, and while you're at it, you might as well get the teapot, too.

Gift Guide - Glassware: Riedel & Crate and Barrel

Riedel, the Austrian crystalware company, is the originator of the idea that different wines should have different glass shapes in order to emphasize the qualities of each wine variety. If you were so inclined, you could amass a wine glass quiver of some 30 different shapes.

However, these glasses would only be needed for those special occasions when the wine you are drinking is of a supremely high quality. And since we enjoy wine on a regular basis and simply cannot afford a $500 bottle, we enjoy the European method for wine glasses: use whatever is around and enjoy the wine, fool!



These stemless glasses from Crate and Barrel do just that. No pretense, just a simple shape and a heavy base. And at $2.00 each, they are quite a bargain.

Propaganda

Nice "Dish Up" dinnerware series from Thai design house Propaganda. A smart take on the food tray...Also, because of the flat edge, these plates can easily be stored vertically.

Via bltd.

Honeycomb Tumbler

The Honeycomb Tumbler, designed by Carl Rotter in 1940, is mouth-blown and then hand-turned to grind the dimples into the glass to create the final honeycomb form. The optical effect of peering through the glass is mesmerizing and the time invested to hand-craft each glass makes these tumblers more than a joy to hold.

Ceramics

New specialized ceramics are super-light, super-durable, and pretty expensive. Above are two examples of ceramics replacing other materials in product design (metal in this case). On the left is the Nixon Ceramic Player, Nixon's first ceramic watch. Ceramic replaces steel watch band and case and reduces the weight of the watch considerably.

On the right is one of the Kyocera Ceramic Cutlery Series. The ceramic blade replaces the traditional steel blade. Ceramic blades remain sharp for much longer than steel and are more resistant to damages to the blade edge.

Alessi Corkscrews

Alessi is a classic Italian design studio that makes...everything. The Alessandro Mendini Corkscrew is a recent re-issue of one of their classic corkscrew designs. I like the little German one. The Alessi designers have always combined a very playful aesthetic with the very rigorous industrial design, which I appreciate very much.

D-BROS

Sean and I wandered into Future Perfect this weekend and discovered the awesome Japanese collective D-BROS. I love how playful their work is.



Also very cool are these plastic bag vases. It's hard to tell from the photos, but these vases are just heavy duty plastic bags that you fill with water, insert flower, and voila!: instant vase!

Sigg Aluminum Bottles

Sigg is a Swiss company that makes the swiss version of the ubiquitous American Nalgene water bottle. The Swiss do it a little bit better. The aluminum bottles have some sort of crazy inner coating that resists fruit acids and booze. And they're a little bit lighter than plastic. They make all types of bottles, thermoses, kids versions, even old school looking ones with aluminum cups built into them.

Knife Tech

Above there are two examples of beautiful design and similar functions in low and high-tech fabrication techniques. On the left is one of Noa Bembibre's hand-carved glass knives. On the right, Spyderco's Poliwog pocketknife. Noa's represents a modern version of the first cutting implements ever created, the hand-formed flint knife. On the right, the Spyderco Poliwog represents the massive leap in design and fabrication that computer technology has afforded the human creative mind. Both achieve the simplest of tasks, cutting. Yet both do it with incredible thought and attention to detail. Unfortunately, only one is small enough to fit comfortably into a pocket.