Hasta La Ideas

by Laura Neilson

Matteo Cibic’s desk tamagotchi, an anthropomorphic planter, is an altogether different creation from his contribution to the “Love Design” exhibition at last month’s Design Week in Milan. Where his bedside lamp stylishly doubled as a sex toy, the Domsai, which he showed at the exhibition space Monotono, provides a decidedly more G-rated dose of pleasure.

Cibic describes his space-agey little tabletop toys as tamagotchis with regards to the egg-shaped handheld digital creatures that, along with Giga Pets and Nano Pets, became a major gadget trend in the mid ’90s. Unlike their digital precursors however, Domsais are far less likely to perish from lack of constant vigilance.

Each Domsai is one-of-a-kind and crafted in Italy, with custom-blown domes that differentiate according to the individual cactus they enclose. Ranging from 25 to 29 centimeters in height, the plants stand on sturdy white or gold-tinged ceramic legs.

Between his lamp and the Domsai alone, Cibic’s design interests undoubtedly run the gamut. In addition to art and creative direction for various architecture, design and advertising companies, he most recently established AAAAAAAAAA, a tailoring research workshop specializing in trousers with suspenders.