Caldesign: Simple Home Wares for the Modern World

Decidedly TreeHugger, though perhaps unintentionally, and meta-efficient, the name of the game at Lisbon-based Caldesign is simplicity. Untreated wooden clothes pins hearken back to the days when mom used to hang the fresh clean laundry out to dry, eliminating the extra energy consumed by the dryer, as well as any extra part in the pins themselves. (Springs are great, but who need ‘em in a clothes pin?) Cork trivets and saucers act as design-y insulators for hot serving dishes and cups, updating that 70’s look with something that please the eye and conveniently nest together. And who needs a candle stick when the candlestick holder will do? ...

Caldesign’s cheeky take is a molded-wax candle in the shape of a Louis-the-something holder, wick and all. (We’d love it forever if they tell us it’s made of soy- or beeswax!) And the laughs don’t stop there either: A simple ceramic vase whose neck ends in a pair of lips kissing up at you and the Healthy ashtray, shaped like a barbell and functioning as an ashtray when you stand it on its side, are all part of the fun (and soooo European). We’re not encouraging more smoking here kids, but at least that ashtray’s doing double duty. Now that’s thinking out of the box. Heh heh. Available at NossoDesign in Lisbon, Portugal ::Caldesign [by MO]

cork boards.jpg