Tools N Gadgets » Dining

Considering a Slice of Cake

Chris Burns — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:50:53 +0000

Yay let’s have a party! I’d eat cake every day if I could! I remember when I first went to college, I ate icecream every night. Designers at WAGAii are considering how to cut the cake. Really! Each box of Petals consists of a single plastic flower. With it, you can cut a cake perfectly into 3, 4, 6, 12, 5, 7, 8, 9, or 10 pieces. I didn’t get lost in there! There’s two ways to cut! So many options, one single flower of plastic.

Alright check it out. You can either use the pedals of the flower (the top,) or the leaves of the flower (along the stem.)

If you use the petals (the top,) you can cut the cake into 3, 4, 6, or 12 pieces, as each pedal spans 30 degrees. All you’ve got to do is insert the top of the flower into the cake and keep it in place, cutting then between whichever pedals make sense for you. (See the first image below).

If you use the leaves (on the stem,) you can cut the cake into 5, 7, 8, 9, or 10 pieces. This gets a little more complicated. You must first start with a cut, placing against that cut then the pedal marked with the number of pieces you’d like. At the other end of that pedal, make another cut. Move the pedal to that cut, and continue. All done!

And when you ARE done, the flower connects for a lovely decoration.

Designer: WAGAii

For The Aging Chinese In A Western-styled Care Facility

Radhika Seth — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:17:01 +0000

The LUNE Dinnerware may have noble intentions but somehow it negates the pure essence of porcelain and art. Craftsmanship and aesthetic appeal is top-notch: the dishes incorporate culturally familiar forms and symbols that are raised to promote better posture and thermal for keeping the food warm. Design Philosophy-wise; it’s this Chinese style dishes meant for retirement homes and homes for the aged where Western-styled cuisine is served to Oriental folks. So I wouldn’t even want to get into the question, why leave your old folks at such alien facility?

Designer: Christine Lieu

Gorgeous Helen

Radhika Seth — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:06:59 +0000

Helen is Gorgeous and who am I to dispute that! Whoever said women are jealous of each other and can never praise each other’s beauty…..ermmm was right! The only reason why I praise Gorgeous Helen is coz she’s not an actual person, but a set of lampshades for your wine glasses. Wicked me! Anyway, this creative piece of parchment shade comes in 3 different styles: illuminating imprints of pleats, pearls and fringes. Light up some candles in the glasses and team them with these shades to make an impression!

Designers: Anke Rabba & Katrin Kuchenbecker for Dekoop [ Buy it Here ]

So My Fork Makes Me Feel Guilty

Chris Burns — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:00:28 +0000

Statistics in books make me just totally fall asleep. What this projects aims to do is to add another page to the three dimensional world of awareness. “What if this kind of information crawled off the page and seeped into the products that surround us?” That’s what Nadeem Haidary aims to explore. The first image you’ll see is of a fork whose prongs each represent the calories each capita consumes. Frightening?

As you can guess, the capita with the most calories has the prong most likely to pierce the food. The same is true with the plates that go with the forks in this set: the surface area of the plate relating directly to, again, the amount of calories per capita.

This project is called “Caloric Consumption” and if someone tries to make me eat with it when I’m chomping down on some amazing crab legs, I’m totally just not gonna look at the fork and pretend the plate doesn’t have a starving country on it. After the meal I will contribute money to a charitable fund.

Next time on Haidary’s extensive “In-Formed” project: Waste Production and Water Usage!

Joy!

Designer: Nadeem Haidary

Ultraviolet Baby Bottle

Chris Burns — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:01:01 +0000

Dubbed “Pureray” by its creators in reference to its completely amazing ultraviolet rays lamp at the base and amplification pipe up the center. Each bottle is stored with a cap which screws off the top, screws on the bottom, and provides ultraviolet light to disinfect any evil viruses or germs one baby formula on the rocks might have. Made for traveling.

Made for travel is always a silly thing to write on a baby gear package because when that kid is small enough to be called a baby, ANYwhere you bring it is going to be considered “travel” for all the items you’ve gotta bring with. And don’t forget the Cheerios.

And that formula! It’s got to be perfect.

The Pureray comes with two bottles in a holster, each one with a cap that converts to an ultraviolet ray projector for the liquid to be held in the bottle. Get your ray on!

Designers: Hwa-yong Shin & Hannah Kim

This is no “Tippy Cup”

Chris Burns — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:01:16 +0000

When I was a little fellow, I had several new-age solutions for my spilling tendencies. One was, as the title suggests, a “tippy cup.” The tippy cup was a regular cup with a screw-on lid that had a little sippy tip on the top and a weighted half-sphere on the bottom. It worked wonders until I learned how to get the top off! What designer Kenyon Yeh’s got for us here is a simpler solution for a slightly less destructive child.

Yes, this cup will not work if your little monkeys kick it across the room, BUT if they’re just a little bit clumsy sometimes, it’s a nice idea! Quite simply its a cup with a wider bottom and little gap to avoid burnt hands on hot liquids. Though why a kid is drinking much less handling liquid so hot it’ll burn their hand is beyond me.

Also I LOVE THE KID IN THE FIRST PICTURE.

Designer: Kenyon Yeh

Baby Bowl and Spoon Creatures

Chris Burns — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:01:36 +0000

Oh kawaii! Super cute! These are made for any baby that’s on the top of cute, in the head of tableware fashion! It’s the Easy Meal product line from Chicco! Designed by Continuum to be an integral part of a baby’s journey toward independence and youngpersonhood. This project includes a series of plates and cutlery based on fanciful imagery made to work between parent and child during the whole meal ordeal. Whatever works, I am sure you parents are always saying…

Made to support “the spontaneous nature of a baby’s development” – a nice way to put a completely insane time in a child’s life! The plate includes weapons in its arsenal that help in the following ways:

Method(s) for keeping the child’s food warm without danger of burning.

Tops for easy transport of Cheerios to church (or wherever else you plan on bringing them)

Rubber bottom for keeping the food on the table or in the mouth by keep the plate stationary and secure; this also helps the baby use silverware with a bit more ease.

Cuteness.

All of these things are essential.

Designer: Continuum Milan

A New Dimension To Tea Drinking

Radhika Seth — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:22:58 +0000

I never really understood the elaborate ritual of brewing the perfect cup of tea. Maybe I’m uncivilized and vulgar to assume that you simply need to boil the leaves in hot water, add milk and sugar, and you’re done. Ok you snooty people stop cringing… do it your way with the Dione Tea Set. Described as a set of teacups with two hemispheres and a thin net preventing the tea leaves from entering the cup and involving some 180 degrees of rotation, the fuss is about keeping the aroma of the tea leaves alive.

Here’s how it works:

The teacup is made up of two hemispheres. Between the hemispheres is a thin net which prevents the tea leaves from entering the cup. While the aroma from the tea leaves is mixed with hot water, the cup is covered with the top hemisphere, preventing the aroma from evaporating into the air. After 3 minutes, when the tea leaves have released their flavor, the tea cup is ready to be flipped 180 degrees and the leaves will be separated from the tea. All that is needed is one hand movement in order for the leaves to be separated from the liquid, in other words, for the tea to enter into one hemisphere from the other without spilling.

Designer: Vuk Dragovic

Foodle Is Oodles Of Fun

Radhika Seth — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:00:40 +0000

The innovative factor about the Foodle is that it brings oodles of fun to doodling on the dinner table. The set consists of fork, knife and spoon heads that fit snugly over color pencils, and a pad of paper placemats that double up as a doodle board. I’ve seen placemats as puzzle games in family restaurants, but the Foodle goes a step ahead to include a creative cutlery design to make a complete package deal. Good enough for the home and the next door diner as well.

Designer: Peter Dalton