Tuesday, March 15, 2011

All that is broken is not lost!

FRAGILE Salt & Pepper Shaker 

This elegant sculpture is a ceramic salt and pepper shaker that comes in one piece and only by breaking it, you turn it into a useful product. The action of breaking leaves its mark on the shaker and you create your own, unique piece. It is very easy, and also very exciting!

The FRAGILE salt & pepper shaker is manufactured by StudioKahn in their small studio in Jerusalem. It was the first prize winner of Designboom's "dining in 2015" competition, competing against 5000 designers!

Mey and Boaz Kahn were born in Israel and live in Jerusalem. They met during their studies at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem and got married after their second year. “Fragile” was the first project they were working on together.  They manufacture most of their products in-house in their studio and develop them through a process that begins with a practical research of the materials.

'Design, for us, is a field that lay on the border of art. We don’t believe that all of the products should be designed with the purpose to make our life easier or more comfortable. We want our design to surround its users with stories and emotions, hope and fantasies, questions and fairy tales. We believe that good design must reveal cultural issues and ask questions about our way of living.'

Thursday, March 3, 2011

It's the Little Things that count

People so often are obsessed with size, the bigger the better, that they often overlook the importance of little things.

Pictured above are the first prototypes that I am developing as a project to help people living with HIV to create means of an income. Living in a country with the highest rate of HIV infections in the world, we are all in daily contact with people living with the virus. Although the public health care dispense free anti-retroviral medication, people still need to maintain a healthy diet to ensure their wellbeing.

These ceramic components will end up in pieces of jewellery, and will teach people a variety of skills, from making the various components to assembling (using traditional skills like beading) to eventually selling the product to both the formal and informal markets.

By owning one or more of these beautiful pieces, you will also contribute to empowering people to support themselves and their families. Follow this blog for images of finished pieces. Inquire about owning a piece or to buy a range at wholesale prices.