Archive for the ‘Kitchenware’ Category

We love this sculptural stainless steel ‘Bloom’ bowl designed by Helle Damkjaer for respected Danish Jeweller/accessories maker George Jensen.

Inspired by the fluid contours of a water lily that the designer encountered in her trips to Thailand, this beautiful organic form would be a welcome addition to any modern interior -  fruit optional!

Available to view at Atomic or in our Online store.

This must be the most stylish espresso set that we have shown to date!

Named the ‘Galassia’ which translated from Italian means ‘Galaxy’, it was made by Balzano, an Italian company that we have limited information on.

Apart from the beautiful form and chrome hardware one of the most distinguishing features of this set is the unique anodized finish on the metal which gives each piece the colour and appearance of a ceramic.

Set consists of: One stove top espresso maker, one milk jug and one sugar container.

Dated mid to late 1970′s

Made in Italy.

We love this sculptural ´Atollo´ fruit bowl by renowned Italian industrial designer Enzo Mari.

First designed in 1965 and made till the late 1980´s by Milan based design company Danese.

The form has an organic and fluid quality which is directly related to its method of manufacture.   The bowl starts out as a 2-mm perforated sheet of vacuum-pressed PVC that is fitted into the shape of a crater, so that its holes can stretch and compress according to all the possible variations around the deformation of a circle.

The final product is an extruded mass of elliptical forms which appear to be forming and altering before our eyes!

Stamped ´Danese Milano´ ´Made in Italy´

Keep grilling well into Fall with this stylish burnt-orange Ball B-Q by Canadian designer William Wiggins.

Designed in 1970 and made in Canada this BBQ puts the Pop back into balcony or backyard cooking any time of the year!

Featured in ´Design in Canada´ by Rachel Gotlieb & Cora Golden.

Floor version can also be viewed at the ever informative Canadian Design Resource website.

Keep your cool this summer with this iconic HL-1 personal desk fan.

Designed in 1961 by Reinhold Weiss and made in West Germany by Braun,  it has to be the most beautiful and minimal desk fan ever made.

Constructed from steel and heavy duty ABS plastic it comes equipt with two fan speeds and an adjustable visor to direct air flow for optimal cooling.

It can also be wall mounted should your desk be full of paperwork!

All things considered it no wonder that this modernist fan can be seen in the permanent collection of the MOMA in New York.

It is also illustrated in many design publications including  ‘Sixties Design’ by Philippe Garner, published by Taschen

Just in this minimal stainless steel bowl by iconic Danish architect and furniture maker (think Swan & Egg chair) Arne Jacobsen.

Christened the ‘Cylinda Line’ for its sleek minimal form the range included Salt & Pepper shakers, sugar bowls, Ice buckets, Jam pots and coffee sets.

The majority of these functional steel vessels were designed between 1964 to 1967 and made by respected Danish design manufacturer Stelton.

The pure timelessness of this series has ensured that it has lived on in many a self respecting modernist home well into the 21st Century.

Stamped ‘Stelton’ on base

There are some design items that just bring a smile to your face immediately you view them. The ´Merlino´ kettle made by Italian kitchen company Barazzoni is most definitely one of them!

Designed by Maurizio Duranti in the mid 90´s the form and colour reference an earlier design movement known as ´Memphis´ that emerged from Italy in the early 80´s. A design aesthetic known for it´s playful colours and animated shapes.

The Kettle or Bollitore  is fabricated from high grade stainless steel with high quality resin handle, but the most endearing feature of this piece has to be the fantastic Rooster head whistle!

Complete  with original box.

We love this great little pocket corkscrew that just came in.

Named the `Capsule` the handle very cleverly unscrews so that the metal bit can be folded down and concealed within. The result is a nice little pocket size object. Perfect for when up north at the cottage or for those impromptu summer picnics in the park!

We love the geometric form of this polished steel bowl by world famous Italian design company Alessi. Designed in 1977 by Giulio Confalonieri it references an `Art Deco` sensibility  whilst retaining a harder edged futuristic style that was prevalent in much of Italian design during the mid to late 1970`s.

As a design company Alessi are considered one of the most respected in Italy. The designers who have created for them are some of the most influential within the design world right up to present day. Notable designers have included Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass, Michael Graves, Achille Castiglioni, Philippe Starck, Frank Gehry, Jasper Morrison, Richard Sapper, Zaha Hadid and of course Carlo Alessi himself.

Alessi was founded in 1921 to produce crafted products in metal for eating and drinking, by Giovanni Alessi and remains even today a privately owned company.

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This wonderful ceramic tea set by San Francisco firm Vandor has to be the most fun set we have ever had!

The patten is called ´Cloud & Rainbow´, and has a distinctly ´Pop Art´ sensibility, so it is no surprise to discover that it is dated 1978.

Interestingly the Vandor label on the underside of the teapot indicates that they were made in Japan. We have not been able to find much information on Vandor but it is quite possible that the company commissioned the design from a Japanese ceramic factory or decided to imported them into the US after viewing the design at an international trade show.

Design speculation aside, we  guarantee that you will be on ´cloud #9´ every time you serve tea with this set!

Theses beautiful enamelled steel bowls known as ‘Krenit’ are the enduring design of Danish metal-ware designer Herbert Krenchel.

Krenchel studied civil engineering at the Tekniske Hojskole (Polytechnic) in Copenhagen and in 1953 he established his own design practice. He initially operating as a freelance designer for the metal-ware manufacturer Torben Orskov & Co. The same year he designed his well known (and now highly collectible) ‘Krenit’ bowl, which won a gold medal at the 1954 Milan Triennale.

Theses highly rational enamelled vessels were machine pressed from millimetre-thin sheet metal and enamelled in  different vibrant colours. The exterior would always be a matt black thus creating maximum contrast to the vitreous colour within the interior. The simplicity of the form and thinness of metal were also heavily influenced by early Japanese metalsmithing.   Interestingly the ‘Krenit’ bowl also established a benchmark for quality and production in the world of industrial manufactured domestic ware during this period.

We particularly love our current set in chartreuse green!

As far as corkscrews go this has to be the one of most animated and fun ever designed!

The ´Anna G´ corkscrew is the creation of design maverick Alessandro Mendini who played a pivotal role in the ´Memphis´ movement of the early 1980´s.  The ‘Anna G’ was designed for the Italian company Alessi and was originally presented as a mascot for an Alessi marketing operation.  It’s distinctive human-like features quickly brought it to public attention, so much so that it proved to be one of the company’s best sellers throughout the 1990′s. A year after it first appeared it was followed with a whole ‘family’ of objects.

Interestingly Alessandro Mendini has just reintroduced the ‘Anna G Etoile‘ corkscrew as a limited edition commemorative piece made out of  gold and set with Pave diamonds!

Available through Harrods of Knightsbridge, London, UK

From the 1960´s through to the late 1970´s the German company Braun were producing the most superb ´modernist´ kitchen appliances and electronics.

This coffee grinder model KSM 1 designed by Reinhold Weiss is no exception. Designed in 1967 it combines form and function effortlessly.

The 1960´s and 1970´s seemed to be a golden age for Braun producing one design classic after another. One of the reasons surely has to be the number of highly talented industrial designers  that worked for the company during this time including the highly talented and influential Diter Rams.

We also love Braun´s choice of colour!

This is quite possibly the most fun nut cracker ever made. Designed by Stig Jorgensen and produced by the Danish company Dana-plast throughout the late 1960`s and 1970`s it was made in a number of bright `pop` colours.  We love this bright canary yellow version!