All posts filed under: Things for Drinking

Showroom Tour: Spin Ceramics, NYC

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Last week I got a tour of the New York City showroom for Spin Ceramics, the Chinese tabletop brand that has built up a cult following around the world since its founding in 2002. Opened since June at 13 Crosby Street, the shop is Spin Ceramics’ first store outside of Asia. The brand works with a collective of eight independent designers to create modern, quirky pieces that are all stamped with the designers individual “chop” identification mark. Based in the Spin’s Shanghai design studio, the designers come up with concepts for plates, chopstick rests, cups, bowls, and other pieces through methods including drawing, digital modeling, throwing on a pottery wheel, or hand molding clay. Although the pieces are all handmade, Managing Partner Clay Cunningham says that the company produces about 250,000 items a year. Prices range from $25 for a napkin ring to $3200 for a large vase. Cunningham, a former banker, fell in love with the products while living in Asia and believes the company will continue to gain fans now that it has …

Viora Cup Lid

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You probably don’t spend too much time thinking about the design of your disposable coffee cup lid, but Viora would like that to change. Viora’s one-time-use lids, available wholesale to better coffee shops such as Astoria Cafe and Brooklyn Roasters in NYC and Go Get Em Tiger in Los Angeles, claims to offer a better drinking experience akin to sipping out of your favorite mug at home. We’ve become so accustomed to drinking differently from lidded cups that we don’t even realize how different we position our mouths in the process. The small opening of conventional lids means you need to be extra careful not to burn your mouth at first taste, and you can’t blow on the beverage without taking the lid completely off (a process that I usually regret once I’ve spilt hot tea on myself). With Viora the experience is a bit different — you drink your coffee or tea from a drink well in the lid that is designed specifically to prevent spills. The well also gives you a better chance …

Beverage Containers by Ole Jensen for Room Copenhagen

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All of the products in Danish designer Ole Jensen’s new collection for the Scandinavian design company Room Copenhagen are based on Jensen’s hand clay models which have been interpreted into the final industrial pieces by the manufacturer’s in-house design team. In addition to a colander and juicer, the new collection also includes a jug and two different cups designs. The jug comes with an elongated handle in two sizes (.05 liter and 1 liter) in white, yellow, and light blue. The matching Cup 1 and Cup 2 have two different handle designs and come in white, yellow, and light green. All are produced in melamine, a durable hard plastic material. They will be available in the USA as well as across Europe. Prices are $29.99 USD for the .05 jug, $39.99 for the 1 liter jug, and $19.99 for a set of two cups.

Magisso’s Naturally Cooling Ceramics Collection Takes Home Top Prize at Housewares Show in Chicago

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The Finnish home products maker Magisso has won Best Collection Design in the Global Innovation Awards at the International Home + Housewares Show, which wraps up tomorrow in Chicago. The company won for their Naturally Cooling Ceramics collection designed by Simon Steven. Naturally Cooling Ceramics was also a winner in the Fennia Prize 2014 design competition earlier this year. The beautiful collection, which includes a 1 liter carafe, wine cooler, champagne cooler, and ice bucket with integrated tongs, stays cool by simply soaking the pieces in cold water for a few minutes before filling it with food or drink. As an added bonus, you can also create your very own design or write a message on the side of the ceramics with chalk. I appreciate the simple but elegant forms of the pieces combined the low-tech way they stay cool. All images courtesy Magisso. 

C&C Bottle Cutter Helps DIYers Upcycle Bottles

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If it meets its Kickstarter campaign goal of £6,000, the C&C Bottle Cutter will soon have every DIYer in the country transforming their used bottles into glasses, jars, candleholders, light pendants, and anything else they can imagine. Made of laser-cut plywood, the cutter features a custom-made cutter and screws that can be adjusted to numerous positions, allowing it to cut virtually any size bottle. The cutter works in three easy steps. First, users adjust the cutter to the exact position desired and slowly rotate the bottle to make a score line. Then, thermal shock is used to split the bottle by slowly pouring boiling water on the score line, then slowly pouring ice-cold water. Once the bottle is split, the edges can be smoothed with the sand paper that is provided. When the cutter is not in use, it is beautiful enough to double as a bottle holder. If you want to learn more or donate, check out their Kickstarter page. <p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/85335189″>C&C The Bottle Cutter</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user22818991″>bottlecutter</a&gt; on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p> All images courtesy …

3.2.1 Glassware Collection for Kontextür by Jeff Miller

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These handblown and hand-etched Czech crystal decanters and tumblers, designed by New York City-based designer Jeff Miller for Kontextür, would make a good (and luxe) holiday gift for anyone that equally appreciates good liquor and good design. The decanters (available in 32 fl. oz and 16 fl. oz sizes) feature a triangular base and a large mouth for smooth pouring. The decanter’s stopper, along with the tumblers, are encircled by etched bands. Retailing for $400 for the decanters (either size) and $400 for each set of four glasses (tall or short) these are pieces you should really only take out when you are drinking the good stuff.