"Behold the knights of the round egg! Bound to his chivalry code, Arthur will come to your service each morning as your egg in shining armor." Peleg Design
Yes, an incredibly cheesy tagline and I'm not quite sure you can describe an egg as round(?!) but I don't care! This guy makes my heart warm! Israeli outfit, Peleg Design make their second appearance in my Design of the Week, and it's well deserved. 'Arthur' is an awesome knight come egg cup. I adore the little details; the removable helmet, the spoon shaped sword, and the little feather.
Arthur the egg cup
Ready for battle at breakfast time
Arise Sir Eggalot!
Now Arthur of Egg, remove your helm and let me chop thy head off and gobble your lovely insides! Yummy! Top work Peleg!
Often people mistake my 'Design of the Week' for something I have designed. Sadly, I do not wish to mislead, Design of the Week, is purely a platform for me to showcase some of the great designs other people have come up with, and heap kudos where required. In reality, most of what I do is secret. I'm not talking MI5 secret, just commercially sensitive. And unless the product makes it to market, or I have permission to talk about it from my client, you won't see what I've been up to. This is a shame, but totally understandable.
On that note, I thought it would be nice to share with you something I am allowed to show you, because, for this job, I was the client! Before Christmas I received very strong hints that, instead of talking about the wonders of 3D printing metal (and in particular, silver), I should try actually doing it and create a piece of jewellery for my wife! I've got to admit, I don't usually enjoy designing for myself - it's a bit like working a second job when you're worn out after the first, but this was quite exciting and I was keen to see how it would turn out.
I began by scamping up ideas in my notepad, I thought it would be nice to get some personalisation in there, so it would be a complete one off. I looked at integrating her name or initials and then woke up one morning with an idea in my head. I'd try and make a heart shaped pendant, constructed from our first initials combined together (so 'H' for 'Helen and 'R' for Rik). Conveniently, Helen's middle name is 'Rose' so it also worked as a 'Helen Rose' Pendant.
3D modelling the heart pendant
The next stage was to 3D model the pendant in my CAD software. As it happened, this was a lot easier than it used to be thanks to my new Rhino plugin 'T-Splines'. For those not familiar with the 3D lingo, this is a nifty bit of software that makes organic shapes a lot easier to create. Where traditional 3D modelling software is quite rigid and engineering based, T-Splines is a bit more like working with modelling clay. Anyway, the model was created and uploaded to Shapeways, a 3D printing service based in Holland. Two weeks later I received my model back, printed in sterling silver and hand polished! All that I needed to do then was source a silver necklace, wrap it up for Christmas and take the Brownie points!
A 3D rendering of the final design, note the 'R' viewed from the side
A view of the heart from the front
...and the 'H' revealed on the other side
The final pendant, 3D printed in sterling silver
...and worn around the neck of my wife!
Not content with buttering up my wife after the success of my first 3D printed silver design, I then decided I'd create a piece of jewellery for my mother-in-law's big birthday. Again, I began with her initials 'L.F.' but this time gave it a musical theme (given that she had a career as a music teacher). I took inspiration from the forte symbol in music (meaning loud). Now I'm not for a second suggesting my mother-in-law is loud(!), the symbol is just conveniently 'F' shaped!! For the 'L', I flipped the forte symbol up-side-down and broke the stem of it. And there you go, another bespoke pendant!
A 3D rendering of the 'L.F.' pendant
The 3D printed 'L.F' pendant
So I guess in summary I'm saying, 3D printing is pretty cool! This jewellery was as finished and polished as that that you find on the high street - but completely original. It was also very affordable. The most challenging aspect was coming up with a great idea, but from then on, it was all relatively easy for me. It was worth learning about 3D modelling after all ;-)
In Britain we love bicycle racing, it's about the only sport we're good at these days! Well Sir Wiggins would be delighted with this little mover, a performance road bike modelled as a pizza cutter!
The Fixie Pizza Cutter, available in a couple of colours, comes with a cheeky little stand so you can display your pride and joy on the kitchen top. Does it actually work well as a pizza cutter? I've no idea, but I'll be getting one for sure and will let you know! It's available for around £15.
The YolkFish is a lovely little tool for separating egg yolk from the white. The simple fish shaped silicone form uses suction to pick up the yolk and move it. I love this kind of design, it's cute, functional and fun. I particularly love his bloaty lips! Top job Peleg Design!
The YolkFish, throwing up!
A great bit of packaging too, I'm loving the fact it looks like the fish has latched onto the header card!
I kinda like this, because it reminds me of something I came up with several years back involving an egg and the runny yoke. But then again, is it completely pointless? I guess that's up for debate, but at a boring conference function, it might be just what you need to keep you sane!
Being a freelance designer who works from home and a Northerner with a Yorkshire bias, I can be a little tight when it comes to central heating. Rather than putting the heating on (which would subsequently warm the whole house) I'd rather sit in my office, shivering with a snotty icicle at the end of my nose.
As Winter is clearly drawing in, I thought it apt to find a suitably themed product to help us deal with the icy chill. The Corkcicle Classic is designed to fit inside a wine bottle, to chill your wine to the correct drinking temperature. In fairness, it's probably more of a Summer product than a Winter one, but I found the link amusing (forgive me).
For a further description, I'd like to turn to my favourite designer goods website, Fab.com, who exclaimed that the Corkcicle Classic:
"...can be used in red and white wine (immersion time is less for red wine than for white and is explained on the box). Corkcicle is made of BPA-free plastic and contains a non-toxic, proprietary freeze gel inside. It’s not recommended you chew or eat your Corkcicle; it’s much better suited for chilling wine than for snacking on."
A timely warning indeed, for those of us who like to chew our icicles.
Look on the Corkcicle website, and you'll see they have developed this concept further, with colourful Corkcicles, Corkcicles for your beer and the futuristic 'Corkcicle One' which features an integrated cap to pour your drink from the top and a built in aerator: http://corkcicle.com
What do I think of this product? Well it's bonkers isn't it?! Yes, I can see it being a bit fussy to use, but it's great fun and will get people talking. You can get one for about £20. Alternatively (if you live in the UK), place your bottle on the outdoor step and assuming that you don't have thieving neighbours, you'll have a chilled bottle in 5 minutes!
(No.16) The Curve Salad Set by Veit Streitenberger
I really need to change the name of this feature (it was mid June when I last did a design of the week!). Anyway, sometimes a product catches your eye simply because it is super sexy. The curve salad set pushes all my buttons that's for sure!
The stainless steel servers look to have been effortlessly cast from a single piece of metal, with the handle flowing seamlessly into the spoon. You can't begin to appreciate just how difficult this level of simplicity is to achieve. I'm getting far too excited about a set of salad servers but they're just so elegant I can't help but stare!
With the glass salad bowl you'll need the best part of £60 to buy this set, but man, it'll make one hell of a statement on your dining table. Love it.
Hello readers, I had a rather exciting evening in London on
Wednesday night and thought I ought to share it with you. Peroni, the Italian
lager company, have opened 'The House of Peroni' in Portland Place, London
(right near the Kenyan embassy where I went for my holiday visa interestingly enough!), a residency that will be open for a month and then return again for another month in November. Keen to associate their brand
with Italian design, culture and innovation, Peroni have brought together a host of creatives to
celebrate Italian art and design.
On Wednesday, I went to a talk by Giovanni Alessi, a 4th
generation family member of the famous Italian kitchenware company, Alessi. For
me, as a kitchenware designer, that's pretty cool! Alessi are up there as one
of the leaders in their field. If you've ever been in a department store, you've
probably seen their work before, and if you read my blog regularly, you've
definitely seen it! Giovanni took us through the history of the Alessi company
and discussed the philosophies behind how and why they work. Without spending
ages regurgitating his presentation, I thought I'd just highlight one or two of
the interesting points:
1. Firstly, Alessi still have their factory in Italy and
pride themselves on the fact that they have not succumbed to the commercial
need to have a base in China. In fact, Giovanni was keen to stress that Alessi
are an Italian design company rather than a commercial business. To that end,
the main drive is design with the exploration of cultural and artistic ideas,
rather than just profit (although it helps!).
2. Along with functionality, Giovanni presented two other
key considerations when designing a new product; sociology and poetry. The first point, sociology is
fairly obvious, but the idea that a product should fulfil a poetic need is
interesting. I guess what he was effectively saying is that we can buy
kitchenware to make an artistic statement (rather like buying a painting), as
an expression of our values and interests. So when someone buys you Alessi's
Philippe Starck designed 'Juicy Salif' lemon squeezer and you realise it is a
completely hopeless lemon squeeze, try to appreciate it as an artistic
statement; an exploration of possibilities and stick it on your windowsill!
Dividing opinion, the 'Juicy Salif' by Philippe Starck, an iconic Alessi product.
3. Giovanni is now 31 and still classes himself as an apprentice. He was born into a family of
product designers yet admitted that he was not initially driven to join the
family business. This didn't surprise me, both my parents were teachers and living with them was enough to put me off the profession! I sensed it must have been
hard for him to establish himself (in his own right) carrying the Alessi name and with the weight of
three generations of successful product designers above him. This was evident when he timidly showed us some of the products he'd designed himself. That said, I don't think Giovanni need worry, he's clearly very talented.
Talking about what he has been designing, he was involved in
the design of this ace set of products for the Alessilux range. The team
looked at re-designing the aesthetic of
a light bulb, to make the most of LED technology. What they came up with was a
series of bespoke bulbs intended to be displayed rather than hidden behind a
lamp shade. They then took this one step further and developed portable lamps. I particularly like the portable one that looks
like a little alien in a spacecraft and rocks around on it's base! Great for kids and the outdoors. I've
popped a few photos on my blog but you're best viewing the video to see what
it's all about :-)
A selection of designs from the Alessilux collection
From the AlessiLux Portable Table Luminaire collection, an alien shaped lamp that rocks around on it's base!
Thanks Peroni for setting up the House of Peroni and giving
me the chance to chat with Giovanni. And a big thanks to Giovanni himself, he
seems a thoroughly nice chap and I wish him well for the future.
It's exciting times for product designers. When I was training in Sheffield back in 2004 we were still using workshops. If we wanted to test a design, we went and made it. If we wanted to see what a form might look like, we tried to re-create it in foam or clay. Back then, I was always keen to cut corners (excuse the pun), in my haste and excitement to see an imagined 3D form (from my head), translated into a physical, worldly form. If I could do it on a disc sander I would! Consequently, how often did I shave the end of my fingers off trying to quickly file down a prototype knife blade?! Or super-glue a new piece of foam to my existing model when I'd shaved too much off?! Oh dear, patience was never always my strong point! Back then, 3D printing, or rapid prototyping as we called it, was in it's infancy. Rather crude, not so rapid and very expensive, I dabbled, saw the potential and dreamt of the future. Now, nearly ten years on, technology is catching up. If you're handy with 3D software, you can re-create pretty much anything from the comfort of your home. Yes, some of the techniques are still very expensive, but others quite affordable. As many of you know, I'm in the process of launching my own kitchenware company. I began thinking about designs back in 2005, but needing to earn a living, gain experience and formulate a viable career have got in the way. But now, as I find myself supporting my income as a freelancer, I've finally got the time, budget and energy to follow my dream. A few months back I began prototyping, I now have five models. Sadly, I can't share them with you yet (as they need to remain confidential for a little longer), but I thought it'd be nice to blog about some of the cool things people are doing with 3D printing. It's now possible to print in all types of materials, from resins and plastics, to ceramics and metal. If you have the budget (and it's sometimes considerably cheaper than you'd imagine) the world's your oyster. Check out some of these kitchenware inspired designs (all produced through a company called Shapeways):
Eggtopus, designed by Emporio Gusto
A totally brilliant egg cup, made in 3D printed, food grade safe, ceramic! I love everything about this, particularly the fact that the designer has made it public and you can order your own 3D printed version for only £30! This is a lot for an egg cup I hear you say, but given the fact that a one off ceramic egg cup like this could set you back several hundred pounds using traditional manufacturing methods, it's a steal! What's also great is the designer's product description, very much in line with the cheeky style I like to design my own products:
"Because a soft boiled egg without tentacles is like a H.P. Lovecraft novel without an ominous sense of doom. These egg cups are guaranteed to make your breakfast at least 70% more awesome - also hold your boiled egg in place."
Hidden heart Expresso Cup by 12AM Design
Another clever little design, taking advantage of the 3D printing technology. I kinda wish the outside of the cup was a bit more regular to emphasise the surprise, but it's still really cool.
Monkey Skull Egg Cup by Macouno
Monkey brains for breakfast anyone?
Really like the simplicity of this one, the form does what it needs to do. Cheap too, available for £25.
Saltypus Salt Cellar by Lovettlab
And here's the magazine shot (although I doubt the salt is in it!!)
Yes, a running theme, people love Octopuses ( and Octopus puns!). This one is made from a 3D printed polyamide, not totally sure if it's food safe, but yours for a mere £15. I like the personality that the octopus has been given with very minimal shaping. The down angled eyes are genius. Apparently, 'Pepper Fish' is coming soon, watch this space!
Africa Ceramic by Growthobjects
A nice touch from Growthobjects; for each dish purchased, they are donating 12 Euros to a fight against hunger charity in Africa
An interesting 3D printed ceramic design here, shaped like the continent of Africa. I initially presumed it was designed for olives, but there's more thinking behind it than that. The original concept was based around the Spanish tradition of 'Las doce uvas de la suerte' or 'The twelve grapes of luck'. A tradition dating back to 1895 which involves eating one grape every time the clock bell strikes at midnight on the 31st December. According to tradition, this practice results in a year of prosperity (maybe I will try it!). The dish can of course also be used for olives, chocolate truffles and berries.
Robot Cookie Cutters by Entwurfswerk*
Charming little cookie cutters designed using Shapeway's 3D printed, 'Strong & Flexible' nylon plastic material. You can own one of these for just over £6, or make you own customised shape of course!
Flamingo Cake Toppers by Henry Alfredo
Pretty lady not yet available via 3D printing...
These cake toppers are cute, but I have a soft spot for flamingos, I was born in a hospital near Lake Nakuru in Kenya (you'll have to look it up to make the connection!).
Nothing but EGG by B1GB1OCK Creation
...and finally, something wonderfully silly, that demonstrates just how strong the 'Strong & Flexible' 3D material really is! Man this is as daft as it comes, but I love it :-) Looking forward to showing you how I have been using 3D printing sometime in the near future, keep checking back followers! Much love, Rik xx
(No.15) The Traditional Chippy Mug and Plates by Home Slice Design
I may have lived in Essex for five and a half years now, but despite my propensity to swear in an Essex accent, I still class myself as a Northerner. I grew up on the North-West coast, a hardy part of England, where the Winters are cold and the Summers even colder. Growing up, one of the things I remember with great fondness was Tuesday evenings. Me and r'kid used to go for our swimming lessons followed by a chippy tea. Now having burnt mega calories whipping up and down the pool we were in need of a good feeding. So desperate we were when we turned up at our local fish & chip shop, that the women who ran it would take pity on us and give us a 'chip lolly' to keep us going. For those of you not familiar with chip lollies, it was essentially one of those plastic forks you could pick up on the counter with 3-4 chips stuck on it. This was ace, and helped us survive the five minute trip home without collapsing. So I was pottering around on the net the other day and I came across Home Slice Design, a design team "on a mission to create refreshing products that celebrate the overlooked, everyday Britishness and unsung domestic heroes of our time." What particularly caught my eye was their chippy range, so I thought I'd share it with you. I'll let Eleanor and Steph of Home Slice Design explain it to you: "Everyone knows you can't beat a chippy tea on a rainy Friday night, with lashings of salt and vinegar and picking at the crispy bits stuck to the paper- one of the greatest pleasures in life. The Chippy range was created to celebrate these moments as well as all things fried and all things British."
An awesome mug, I'm sure I remember this motif in my local chippy!
There are those chip forks, used to great effect on the bottom!
Yum yum... mushy peas (left top)
A selection of some of their other plate designs
The mug retails at £15 and the plates are £25 each. Check out Home Slice Design's website for more details: http://www.homeslicedesign.com/
Thank you Home Slice Design, for bringing back such happy memories. I think I'll be making a small purchase ;-)
This one is wonderfully silly, the Igloo Ice Cube Container does exactly what it says on the tin, it's an igloo that contains ice. But not content with merely being a glorified ice bucket, this igloo also has a silicone top for freezing ice in too! Some designer at XD Design had great fun dreaming this up...
...but wait, there's one more trick up it's sleeve, you can use the door at the front as a set of tongs to remove your ice! Ha ha, bonkers!
Is this a pointless novelty item or does it really work? I don't know if I can answer that. I certainly love the principle of it, but can't help thinking it's trying to do a little too much. I don't imagine those tongs are the easiest things to use, but I might be wrong. I'm also looking at the shape of the ice-cubes in the lid and thinking they perhaps they missed a trick. How cool would it be (excuse the pun), if the ice cubes were shaped like igloo blocks? What I mean by that is that they are curved so you can create your own igloo from real ice? Sod the drinks, I just want to play with the ice!
(No.13) The Kikkerland Drowning in Debt Salt and Pepper Shakers by Sebastian Errazuriz
I thought this was highly appropriate for Design of the Week number '13'. This poor little fellow is up to his eyeballs in salt.
Designer Sebastian Errazuriz (great name) says of his product:
"Like so many of us, these two humble workers have found themselves buried under an inescapable debt. Whether its debt or unemployment, these two little salt and pepper shakers humbly attempt to represent the struggle that is the sign of our times."
"As soon as the seasonings are used the two workers slowly emerge, only to find that they will soon be covered again."
A bit arty farty for my liking to be honest, but I like the idea behind it. When I first saw it I thought it was representational of some gangster mob torturing a victim... that's a bit cooler really isn't it?! (well, not for the victim!).
The other thing that is slightly weird is that you save the little man as you use up the salt (or pepper), it's a shame it doesn't work the other way around. It's like debt consolidation I guess!?
I'd like to have seen Indiana Jones in the pepper one, with his whip up in the air trying to escape a pit of quicksand! Maybe I'll save that for the Stir™ range if someone doesn't pinch the idea from my blog ;-)
The Kikkerland Drowning in Debt Salt and Pepper Shakers retail for around £16.50, a bit too much I think. Still, great fun!
This week I begin my look at tea infusers. For a product that you would have thought had become somewhat redundant since the introduction of the teabag, there are a remarkable number of designs on the market. And not only that, there are some really quirky and, dare I say, outlandish, designs! So much so that I suspect this won't be the first tea infuser making it into design of the week.
To kick things off, I bring you the 'Mr.Tea' Infuser (no relation to the ex-special forces, Mandinka hair-styled, plane fearing, 80's tough guy!).
This little dude sits on the side of your tea cup / mug and infuses boiled water through his pants! An extraordinary talent, I hope you'll agree! I love the way he's posed so that he looks comfortable both inside the cup and slumped up against the outside of the cup. It's enough to make me want to buy my tea loose!
This weeks Design of the Week (ish month) is a pot for your honey. What's lovely about this design is how it has taken inspiration from nature. The glass pot itself is shaped like a honeycomb and the dipper inspired by a bee's backside!
Now I have a lot of time for bees, they do a wonderful job for mother nature. We get quite a few bees in Essex and I'm always keen to stick some lavender in the garden for them and buy honey from our local farm shop. For those of you who are not great lovers of honey, you should be. There are so many different varieties and flavours you're missing out!
Anyway, back to design. The Hive Honey Set is available in clear and frosted glass and retails around the £35-50 mark. Not cheap, but you're buying a piece of art and that glass design is not the easiest to manufacture. Love it!
