Last spring, as retail sales were tanking worldwide, Italian design firm Alessi ramped things up. And recently, at its flagship NY Soho store, the company announced that it would unveil three collections in 2010 instead of the usual two, so as to accommodate the firm’s record number of products.
From curvaceous mixing bowls, designed in collaboration with the world’s most renowned pastry chef, to a cunning bathroom trash can, the spring collection offers an extraordinary marriage of form and function, as well as a resounding vote of optimism that the global economy is poised for a sharp rebound.
One of the most charming items was a blank wall clock that buyers can personalise with their own way of marking time. At the clock he created for the Soho shop, it was 10 after ‘Desire’ when the meeting broke up.
Other intriguing items in the collections was the set of pastry tools by Matali Crasset and Legion of Honor winner, Pierre Herme. The mixing bowl features a bright orange bump on its side, the better to cuddle while whisking. ‘You hold the bowl like this,’ Cravedi demonstrated, tucking the vessel in the crook of his arm. ‘The design is based on the carnal relationship chefs have with their bowls!’
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