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Dec 16,2007-Dec 23,2007 |
High style for the holidays
A variety of design-friendly gifts with wow appeal
By Mark Curtis
The Christmas countdown is unstoppable now, so for those of you still searching for gifts for family and friends (that would be me and I suspect more than a few of you), here are some design-friendly gift ideas that may point you in the right direction.
I always seem to think of the many products of housewares giant Alessi at this time of year. Perhaps that’s because of their perennial Christmas-centred advertising, but the Omegna-based firm also boasts a line-up of everyday houseware items that combine high design value with either purity or a sense of humour. Much of their catalogue is higher-end priced, but they also offer more affordable items. In terms of pure design, one of Alessi’s recent best offerings is a new espresso maker by design veteran Richard Sapper. This new stovetop stainless steel coffee maker has a minimalist design that echoes Sapper’s acclaimed 9090 coffee maker for Alessi, which earned a Compasso d’Oro award for the manufacturer and designer in 1979.
At the whimsical end of the spectrum, Alessi has always shone with products such as Alessandro Mendini’s Anna G corkscrew and Stefano Giovannoni’s cartoon-like Girotondo series of tableware and accessories. In that same vein, the company has released a series of porcelain figurines for this Christmas, including the Hal Freddo snowman and Christmas Cowboy, a light-hearted portrayal of Santa Claus and one of his reindeer. Both were designed by Massimo Giacon and the LPWK design studio.
For serious coffee lovers on your gift list, a good choice is the Bialetti Moka Express, an industrial design classic created in the 1930s that has been a common sight in Italian households for generations. If they-already-have-one is a problem here, another choice may by Bialetti’s newer Mukka Express, a cappuccino maker with a quirky cow graphic motif. Kitchen and tableware producer Guzzini makes the Coco and Zaza coffee makers, designed by Angeletti Ruzza. Both models are metal with bright plastic handles.Macerata-based Guzzini also commissions work by respected designers such as Giorgetto Giugiaro, Ross Lovegrove, and Ettore Sottsass.
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