Just a pinch, in black and white

My favorite kitchen design store in London — David Mellor — calls these little bowls "pinch pots." Perfectly proportioned and circular in section, they are the ideal size and shape for holding just the right amount of salt and pepper — ready for a pinch, should you be so inclined. Carved out of solid marble, these thick-walled, relatively heavy containers stay put when you reach into them, solidly supporting your seasonings.

David Mellor sells a great selection of fine kitchwares, and have been designing and manufacturing their own fine cutlery and silverware for decades.

Coke

I've been aware of several attempts Coca Cola has made over the years to make their namesake beverage stand out in a container more special than the standard vending machine can. Previous iterations have added swollen curves and flutes to the sides of the cans in an attempt to render some semblance of the iconic Coke bottle shape into aluminium but they have ended up looking bloated and forced.

Here's the most successful to date: — They've finally given up on the trying to make it a pop-top can and just stamped a whole screw-top bottle out of aluminium. Problem solved — Great product differentiation leveraging Coke's strong brand and vending machine capable (with some customization to allow for the taller form factor). Available in upscale markets for a hefty premium over that standard cans, these beverage containers are pure style — but they look cool and feel great in the hand. Not sure what Coca Cola has in mind as far as rolling out this new variant. I suspect the smaller size (250ml, 8.5 oz) will limit its widespread adoption, at least in the US.

Butterfly Stool

DRAFT Probably one of my most beautiful possessions, this stool designed by Sori Yamagi, has wonderful flowing forms that evoke the graceful flight and wingspan of a butterfly. I purchased this piece of decorative furniture a few years ago, back before it got really expensive, DRAFT

Fellowship of the Ring

This ingenious hybrid of a household key and the standard key ring - aptly named Keybrid - functions even better than it looks. Its distinctive, unusual form shows off it's main function clearly - ordinary keys can be attached to one of these eliminating the separate keyring. But there are other things hoing for it. upon wider use reveals it's advantages become clear. But even if you don't use it as a ring ( i don't - I use a single house key slipped into my wallet) it has several other advantages. The large hole in the center allows you to conveniently stick a finger inside and The wider diameter of the ring offers greater leverage when twisting, making a crisper clean experience. Feels very solidly made, even though it is fused

Bumble Bar Wrap

A colorful carnival of typography rolls across the wrappers of this line of healthy energy bars. Sporting a retro theme executed in a contemporary manner, this package evokes a joyful exuberance of a festive roadside attraction from days gone by. It instills a sense of fun and excitement that, to be frank, overstates the rather bland, healthy product within: a ho-hum combination of seeds mashed together in a bar that is neither soft nor crunchy. The product just doesn't live up to the joy depicted on the packaging.

Holey Dish

When is a dish not a dish? When there is more air than substance...DRAFT

Contour Writing

A wonderful little notepad my girlfriend brought back from Japan - embodying humor and style, rendered with subtle sensibilities
Each level is marked with numerals as if to denote elevations on a map, however in this case it's page numbers

Skeletal Grip

Looking like the prop from a MadMax movie, this version of the familiar compact Leatherman tool goes over the top in styling. Mixing materials a dark anodised metal along with the silver there'c\s even a carbon fibre cor. I t folds down into a fairly compact form:





With the blade pulled out it makes a wicked looking knife.

The Mighty F4

DRAFT
It's easy to forget how dominant Nikon was in the professional photo segment back in the film days. In the late eighties they stood unchallenged in the 35mm arena - the standard issue for journalists, travel shooters and serious amateurs.

The "F" series was their powerhouse camera - when it was released it brought state of the art technology to the top of their line. Legendary Italian car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro was brought in to style Nikons flagship (he had previously been hired for the industrial design of the lowley EM and the F3. A heavy solid beast this was pure functional design knobs and latches everywhere a perfect fit in the hand design honed from decades of use by pros in the field. What strikes me though is are the aesthetic direction chosen by Nikon and what a departure their current lineup is.

First the graphics on the lenses - numerals, markings Logo and model designations - are now done in gold (yuk! - who's in charge over there?) Harder to see in dim light and at the same time rather garish. Compare a lens from the late 90s with a current sample - function, and the aesthetic rightness inherent because of that - has been overturned.

I picked this DRAFT

Silver Spider

I bought this sleek nut racker in a charming little town in Bavaria called Lauf last summer. Glinting brightly in dazzling chrome, the Philippi Spider Nut Cracker cuts a sharp, menacing profile, looking a lot like a streamlined squid. It's the perfect form for enclosing wallnut-sized prey and because of it's third leg, it avoids the usual problem of the nut popping out of one side of the cracker. All three legs (arms?) pivot open fully, maybe a little too easily, making handling a tad unwieldy until you get the hang of it. The packaging claims it's designed primarily for cracking walnuts rather than seafood, inspite of its crab claw looks.

The Other Wright

DRAFT Russel Wright was an industrial designer that pioneered a kind of soft flowing modern style, mainly in dishware and table accories, in the early to mid 1900s. DRAFT

Clear Cutting

I ordered these on a whim from MOMA a couple months back. About six inches long, these compact scissors are made by that designer Japanese retailer Muji, noted for their philosophy of creating spare, clean products in minimal packaging. Much of their trademark is the use of transparent materials in the design of pens, notepads and storage containers — and they have incorporated that same aesthetic here — I like the way the black anodized blades contrast with the clear plastic handles. They are comfortable to hold and a delight to use — what more can you ask from a general purpose pair of scissors?

Heavy Reading

Moretti Magnificence

I when I embarked on my trip to Europe last summer knew I would have to pick up some more glass trickets from Venice. Mille Flora is on display everywhere on the island — that rather busy-looking glass made from bundling together extruded glass rods that is then sliced up like a roll cake to reveal a detailed pattern. The process is used to make everything from necklaces and earrings to plates and vases, and frankly, most of it is downright ugly. Predominantly blue and white in color with red accents, the decorative motif overpowers any form or shape of the object itself.

But the stuff from Ercole Moretti, a local studio/designhouse/manufacturer, is markedly different in three distinct ways. Their designs are simpler, less flowery, more modern in shape; They use a sophisticated, more-muted color palette including a fair amount of black; and all their items have a wonderful matte finish, in sharp contrast to the usual gaudy glass baubles. This small dish, about 5 inches square is the finest piece I saw on the entire Island of Murano — the "Glass-Making Island" — which I promptly purchased as a gift for my girlfriend. I love the color pallete — the warm yellows and greens — and the primitive circlar shapes, the random arrangement of the bunches of color, all the while looking very contemporary.