Design of the Week (No.18)

Stir-ring my imagination this week is:

(No.18) The MazeCafé by Friend & Friends

I came across this the other day and I'm a bit surprised I haven't seen it before. The MazeCafé is a cup and saucer with a little maze embossed into the surface of the saucer. So when you inevitably spill your beverage, you can chase the dribble around the maze (presumably until it wells in the middle or falls off the saucer...?!).

Nice bit of product photography here!

A-maze-ing! (oh dear!)

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!

Design of the Week (No.12)

Stir-ring my imagination this week is:

(No.12) Fred and Friends Mr. Tea Infuser

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! 

Mr.Tea retails around £7. I want one :-)