Hasta La Ideas

Milan 2013: this silver serving set for tea and cake was designed by Dutch studio Scholten & Baijings for Danish silverware and jewellery company Georg Jensen and launched at Spazio Rossana Orlandi last week.

Scholten & Baijings’ Tea with Georg collection for Georg Jensen is based on items used in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, but with added pieces to incorporate the Dutch designers’ love of coffee.

The collection includes a teapot with a sieve, a teapot warmer, a creamer and a sugar bowl, all made from stainless steel.

There is also a porcelain cup and saucer and a double-walled stainless steel espresso cup and saucer.

The set is completed with light blue porcelain dessert plates, a glossy porcelain cake platter and a cake stand that combines a matt porcelain platter with a stainless steel stand.

The tea set was shown at Spazio Rossana Orlandi, where Slovenian designer Nika Zupanc also presented folding lamps powered by wind-up keys – see all news and products from Milan.

Scholten & Baijings recently designed a range of coloured glassware for Danish brand Hay and last year in Milan the studio launched tableware based on the archives of a Japanese porcelain company.

Last year Danish private equity group Axcel sold the Georg Jensen brand to a Bahrain-based investment bank for $140m.

Photographs are by Scheltens & Abbenes.

Here’s some more information from the designer:

At the invitation of Georg Jensen, Scholten & Baijings designed a Tea & Cake collection entitled ‘Tea with Georg’. The title is a nod to the company’s Danish founder, Georg Jensen.

The collection consists of a stainless steel teapot, tea warmer, porcelain cup and saucer, stainless steel espresso cup and saucer, creamer, sugar bowl, cake stand, cake platter and individual porcelain dessert plates.

The design for this everyday tableware is based on a study conducted into the Japanese tea ceremony, freely interpreted for Western use by Scholten & Baijings. Starting point for the design process is the symbolic value the Japanese attach to the tea ceremony, as well as their love of aesthetics, the appreciation of traditional handicraft and the beauty of the material in general.

The teapot with tea sieve and warmer, executed in stainless steel, form the basis of this collection. The design reflects all the qualities of the Georg Jensen brand: the skilful metalwork, the high degree of precision and the meticulous surface finish.

Aside from being tea enthusiasts, Scholten & Baijings are also passionate about high-quality espresso and cappuccino. That’s why in addition to the porcelain cup and saucer they also designed a special double-walled stainless steel espresso cup with accompanying saucer. The saucer features an exclusive detail: an etched line that runs till the centre of the saucer.

In the case of the porcelain teacup with saucer, the line has been executed in silver and runs through the centre of the saucer. This is a reference to the original ‘Silversmithy’, the workplace of Georg Jensen, renowned for his silver products. By also making use of other materials, such as porcelain and coloured synthetics, and by applying different textures, patterns and colours that are recognizable features of Scholten & Baijings’ signature, ‘Tea with Georg’ forms a perfect family. The pieces also combine attractively with existing services.

In addition to cups and saucers, the collection comprises plates and platters for cakes, savoury titbits, fruit and delicacies. The porcelain plates have been hand decorated with light-blue colour gradients. This makes every plate unique. There are two variations: one version with gradients from inside to outside, and vice versa.

There is a large, matching, high-gloss porcelain cake platter with soft blue colour gradients running from inside to outside. The cake stand, conversely, has a stainless steel foot holding a mat porcelain platter decorated with a fine black grid. For the true tea lover, there is a porcelain teacup that, of course, can also be used for cappuccino. The handle grows thicker as it extends over the cup in a flowing motion.

It is thanks to nearly 400 years of Japanese experience in the manufacture of porcelain and the use of innovative production techniques that this ingenious detail can be produced in series. Scholten & Baijings take pride in this unique collaboration. East literally meets West in this unique project that brings Japan and Denmark together.

The post Tea with Georg by Scholten & Baijings
for Georg Jensen appeared first on Dezeen.

French designer Patrick Norguet has designed a reusable cup for McDonald’s that makes scalding hot coffee easier to hold.

Named Tasse, each cup has a protective wrap in one of six different colours.

Five million of the cups have been ordered for McDonald’s branches in France.

Norguet previously worked with McDonald’s to redesign the fast food chain’s restaurant interiors.

Photographs are by Studio Norguet.

Here’s some more information about the cup:

With the success of Patrick Norguet’s interior design for McDonald’s now at large throughout Italy, Switzerland and Holland, the French designer has conceived a free coffee cup on offer in French restaurants. A veritable everyday design project for the great majority: ‘McDonald’s asked me to conceive and design an object intended for all of its clients. The idea is simply to use a code present in the world of McDonald’s for inspiration. This project and the problems that large quantities entail, that is five million copies, raises the question about the need for ownership and the symbolic incarnation of a brand through a viable object. A functional basic with its small elastomer sheath to avoid burning and ensure a perfect grip, free with each menu + coffee.

The post Tasse by
Patrick Norguet appeared first on Dezeen.

Superior outdoor sipping with crystal-like plastic glassware

Nothing kills the buzz of a drink outdoors more than the chunky rim of a plastic cup at your lips. Refining the concept with a few Dieter Rams-worthy design principles, Govino‘s reusable wine glasses and champagne flutes, made from BPA-free, shatterproof polymer, keep al fresco sipping safe while upping the overall experience. Reflecting wine’s color and aroma more like crystal, the streamlined design not only adds elegance lacking from standard party cups, but a thumb indentation helps prevent them from slipping out of hands easily.

Govino glasses, designed to withstand temperatures up to 160°,can be washed and used again instead of tossed out like most alternatives. Each food-safe four-pack sells online for $13.

Graduate designer Daniel Rawlings has created a series of vases by heat-shrinking plastic tubing around broken crockery. (more…)