The good thing about our recent drive towards Eco-consciousness is that we try to throw much less s*%$ away. The downside, though, is that some of that throw away s*%$ is really goddam cute. Evidently some savvy manufacturers of questionably necessary home goods have caught on to this dilemma because lately I’ve noticed an influx of immortalized (and accordingly price-inflated) versions of your favorite throwaway picnic ware. Perfect for the nostalgic former-frat star and the eco-conscious Brooklyn hipster couple alike, these cheeky knockoffs of such design greats as Solo and Dixie are sure to make you the talk of the potluck. Check 'em out:
My first interest in this trend arose with the discovery of an $80 tin can from one of my favorite brands at good old ABC Home. While the Conservé by French ceramic house Astier de Villatte looks like rusted metal, it’s actually handmade terra-cotta, glazed in multiple layers with the brand’s signature milky white finish. I really love all of their tableware, but something about the casualness of this design interpreted by such an upscale brand makes me chuckle.
On a decidedly different aesthetic note, the venerable sounding “A&G Merch” sells a ceramic Solo Cup, for all those times you really wish you could project a daydrinking college student-vibe while sipping green tea at the office.
I’m in love with these impressively realistic porcelain berry trays, available from Williams-Sonoma. Also they’re only $12. While that may seem a little steep in comparison to the $0 models at the grocery store, by Astier standards it’s pocket change!
This glass decanter from ABC Home is cool, minimalist, and looks just like my Poland Spring bottle after I tear the label off in the anxiety of waiting for my spin class to start. Several of these with different mixers in them would look so cool on a bar (also something I think about during spin class).
If you want to go really, really boho-chic, these Seletti glasses not only look disposable, they, in fact, look like they have already been disposed of. Meta. Admittedly, I’m a huge fan. Leave it to this cool Italian design firm to casually mock our culture of disposable consumerism with a simple water cup.
Artist Lorena Barrezueta takes these spinoffs to a whole new level with her collection of gold-rimmed ceramic tableware. I can’t even make a funny comment about these because they are quite simply gorgeous. Interestingly, Barrezueta seems to capture the sense of nostalgia which makes these shapes so instantly recognizable, but she updates them just enough to make them feel original, and even glamorous.
While I’m afraid that simply taking a gold sharpie to the rim of a pack of Dixie plates won’t give me quite the same effect, I just may give it a try…
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