Month: May 2012

My Embroidery Kit by Lisa Grue

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Embroidery. The word conjures up the vision of wall hangings in the hallway of your grandmother’s house and delicate handkerchiefs that seem too nice for blowing your nose. Or, in the case of a new embroidery kit from designer Lisa Grue, a grinning skull that cheekily reminds you that “Shit Happens”. Created by Danish graphic designer and artist Lisa Grue, the collection is based on the concept of  Memento Mori — the idea that we must remember our mortality and pause once in a while to enjoy life. The modern embroidery kit contains everything you need to create a piece of quirky decor in the same stress-releasing, meditative way that has been done for centuries. You can pick one up for yourself, and your hippest grandma, from Grue’s web shop in June.  

knIndustrie Cooking Utensils

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These sculptural cookware lines from knIndustrie, an Italian company founded a year ago that now is sold in over 240 stores in Italy alone, were on display at last month’s Eurocucina show in Milan. The pieces are functional for the stove top, and then can be used as elegant serving dishes on the table once you remove the handle. The new FoodWear collection, designed by Rodolfo Dordoni, includes stainless steel casseroles, low casseroles, and pans that can be used on all types of stoves including gas, ceramic glass, thermal, and electromagnetic induction. The line comes with a handle in a black steel finish and two covers, in either bronze glass or polished steel, that can be used upside down as a stand for cake, quiche, cookies or other non-drippy items. Also new from the company (and designed by Dordoni) is WhitePot, which has an inner white ceramic “nanotech” surface, an external stainless steel surface, and a detachable walnut handle. The detachable handles have the added benefit of making the pots easier to store and clean …

Omnioutil bucket

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I usually like to focus on products that are brand new to the market, but these colorful multifunctional buckets from the Japanese housewares company Hachiman Kasai, introduced nearly 20 years ago, just stopped me in my tracks at the last New York Gift Fair. Made of polypropylene with a corrugated texture, the buckets come with a handle and lid that make it easy to be used for storage as well as for a small stool for children to sit on or for short moms to get down the pasta from the top shelf. The buckets are also great for washing up or general outdoor work — there is a small hole in the handle designed specifically to hold a hose so you can easily fill it up. They come in five colors and three sizes (8, 10, or 20 liters), so you can find the right bucket for the job. There is a reason they still sell these after nearly two decades.