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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

plastic fantastic

demilan
Pandora S-Object installation
Grand Hotel et De Milan
Milan Design Week, April 2008

what's in a name?

In Greek mythology, Pandora (meaning "all-gifted") was the first woman, moulded from the Earth by Hephaestus and bestowed with unique gifts of good and evil by each god or goddess. Her beauty was her intrigue, her downfall was her curiosity. 

It's no wonder the industrious Italians behind Pandora Design chose Pandora as their name and muse... their curious plastic pieces are as infectiously entertaining as the legend herself.

Each inventive piece is the work (or gift) of a different designer, the name and product reflective of his or her taste. The "DeLuxe" cutlery is fabulously Baroque in style and available in gemstone colors of translucent plastic ... the "LuxuryMing" chopstix resemble ornate fans in opaque black, white, and red ... and the "ByeByeFly" swatter and the "3Some" ceramic coffee cups (each looking like a stack of three individual cups) introduce a bit of tongue-and-cheek on behalf of the designers. It's all very MoMA New York and will certainly make you reconsider your own tableware. I just wish I could read the Italian website...

Love it? The cutlery sets are available for purchase, but innovation doesn't come cheap. Each 4-piece set of the "DeLuxe" flatware will put you back $30, challenging the notion that plastic is disposable or meant for any old backyard barbecue. 

"DeLuxe" cutlery set, purple
2000 Donata Paruccini & Fabio Bortolani
available at vivre.com

"Sunglass" cocktail glasses, multi
2007 Matteo Ragni

 "Tapas" cocktail plates, multi
2007 Daniel Fintzi

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