Hasta La Ideas

American designer Louie Rigano has created a range of teapots that combines mass-produced wooden handles and lids with individual hand-thrown bodies.

The body of the pot is made of unglazed clay and each one will be unique.

The lid of the vessel also forms a cup.

Rigano designed the teapot while living in Japan for a year.

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Here are some more details from the designer:

“A series of teapots questioning perfection as an end-goal and exploring the relationships between textures and between mass-production and handmade.

The parts of the teapot that one comes into contact with are streamlined, smooth, and easily mass-produced. The body, however, is handmade and wheel-thrown, unglazed and rough. The unglazed ceramic body is easily capable of becoming well-seasoned after repeated use; which is a prized quality found in old teapots.

The wooden fixtures, which get handled, are able to develop a richly aged surface and patina after repeated use.

The lids, which also serve as teacups, and the handles, both made of oak, are a standard size and shape and can be produced in multiples in industry with ease. The ceramic body is thrown by a potter who simply must make the rim and handle plug the same standard size.

Besides these two requirements, the potter has complete artistic freedom to create the teapot in any shape or dimension.”

I’m originally from New Jersey, though I have been awarded a Fulbright grant and I am currently studying and travelling in Japan for a year.

My focus is on traditional Japanese design philosophy and aesthetics, and their role in modern design and culture. During the course of the year I am designing and fabricating objects that will not only pay homage to Japan’s history, but integrate and rework the precepts of these traditional aesthetics into products designed for mass production in the current age.

This I hope will provide an alternative point of view to the heavily globalized design world. My work deals with pared down ideals. I seek a thoughtful and occasionally humorous meditation on contemporary notions of luxury, utility, and cultural values, conveyed by the most direct and simple means.

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