There is no getting around the fact that a first date can be one of the most awkward experiences of one’s life. They can be made much less traumatic, however, by simply remembering your manners and being a polite, civilized human being. Designer Christina Guardiola thinks that this can be achieved with a special set of cutlery.

The London designer has created a set of eating utensils called First Date Cutlery. It consists of a knife, fork, soup spoon and dessert spoon. They all have small but significant tweaks that make them different than everyday utensils. The fork and knife each contain small embedded magnets. The two pieces are meant to be crossed over each other between bites, encouraging diners to take a break from eating and get to know each other.

The soup spoon has been specially designed to eliminate slurping and reduce the risk of spills. A slightly protruding side lets diners eat their soup properly: from the side of the spoon, and silently.

Finally, the dessert spoon encourages the daters to get a little closer. It has an especially wide eating surface which is perfect for feeding each other bites. With the unique design, each person gets their own part of the spoon to themselves, eliminating awkward inadvertent first-date saliva mingling.

More from the designer

“This cutlery set aims to smooth over some of the potential anxiety of a first date dining experience by facilitating good table etiquette and encouraging interaction. The cutlery form responds directly to appropriate advice in Debrett’s Etiquette, enhancing the prospect of correct use and diminishing that of an unfortunate faux-pas. Both parties can consequently relax, focus less on formality and more on pleasure.”

“I have designed a cutlery set comprising of a soup spoon, knife, fork, and dessert spoon. The collection explores the interaction between objects, people and table manners in a dinner context, particularly in a face-to-face first date scenario. Bon appetite!”

The post Cutlery Set Designed to Make Your First Date Less Awkward first appeared on Dornob.

Biodegradable plastics made of vegetable material have been available and in use for quite some time, but it’s easy to use these products without thinking about where they’ve come from. Designer Qiyan Deng combined the practicality of the biodegradable plastics with visual and textual reminders of what they are made of.

The series is called Graft, referring to the melding of natural materials and natural forms. The utensils take on the colors, textures and approximate shapes of natural vegetables. The designer realized that vegetables are lovely in nature, so why not honor the vegetable sources of these objects by using their natural shapes and textures in the items they are made into?

Deng took into account the functions that the objects would be used for. The fork and knife resemble savory foods because that is their most likely use. The cup, reminiscent of a citrus fruit, reflects the fact that sweet beverages are destined to be drunk from it. These lovely objects are designed to give the user pause before throwing them away – they may be compostable, but being made aware of their history somehow makes them seem a bit more precious.

The post Composting Utensils Let You to Eat (With) Your Veggies first appeared on Dornob.

They may not be the most useful designs, but there is a seed of functionality and spark of inspiration behind this tableware concept.

The Infinity Set includes: “Cantor fork :: now you can pin a single kiwi seed. Twice in a row. Recursive spoon :: it will never let you spill a drop of soup. Ever. Koch knife :: to delicately cut hair-thin slices out of an egg. A raw egg. The Infinity Set :: the set includes itself. As a subset.”

They boast “limited quantities” but “unlimited price” as a bit of a play of sets, series and the fact that this is simply an idea, or perhaps a proof of sorts (at least of concept).

The post Impractical Fractals? Mathematics-Inspired Silverware Set first appeared on Dornob.

From napkins, bowls and plates down to a range of spatulas, spoons, forks and knives representing a range of sizes, this series of bread-based tableware is nothing if not comprehensive (but definitely has a limited shelf life).

Created by artist Andere Monjo, each carefully hand-crafted piece was clearly a labor of love, somewhere at the brittle-but-soft intersection of two classic crafts: dinnerware construction and meal preparation. Edible dishware is not a new concept, as anyone who has eaten out of a bread bowl can attest to, but this is definitely a unique extreme when it comes to making things from simple flour and water.

Unfortunately, the ingredients and process clearly require a bit more work before you could imagine seeing these on store shelves – getting bread to be as sharp as a knife or a serving spoon able to carry heavy loads … well, these still have a ways to go. Still, isn’t it kind of satisfying to imagine eating a whole meal with these and then snapping into them like crackers afterward? It’s a clever way to reduce waste.

Via MocoLoco:

“Flour and water were the mixed media that made up Baked Table, an unusual installation by Andere Monjo at Designersblock’s Bargehouse during the recent London Design Festival. Drawing upon the tradition of baking bread as a craft, Monjo created a complete set of tableware, including linens out of flour and water that formed dough that hardened to a more brittle state. Various seeds were used to highlight details in the ’embroidery’ or “ceramics.'”

Flour and water were an unusual choice of artistic media for artist Andere Monjo, who usually works with more conventional materials like textile, paints and canvases. But it’s interesting to see how that artistic skill translates to totally different objects, maintaining a similar organic, improvisational feel.

You can keep up with what Andere Monjo is doing these days on Instagram @anderemonjo.

The post Edible Dishes Made of Flour and Water first appeared on Dornob.

Flatware has been around virtually forever, and rarely changes shape since it is so well suited to its purpose – how can one really improve upon a knife, fork or a spoon? This dinnerware collection might just represent a bend in a long, historically-straight road.

A tight curve wraps the back end of each piece, forming a slip-on clip out of the stainless-steel silverware handle. Slide it onto the side of a drinking glass, or use it to close a packet of coffee (instead of losing a scoop inside the packet).

For waiters or at dinner parties, this clever cutlery can be attached to the sides of drinks, serving trays or handheld hors d’oeuvres dishes for easy access and a free hand – no more spoons and forks slipping off the side between bites. This award winning series was created by Ivan Erkic.

“Magic spoon is a project inspired by a functionality and simplicity of a kitchen spoon. Spoon is attached to a cup or a tea/ cofee bag, making it sealed and airproof. IC design, patent pending, Belgrade 2013. Honorable mention – Kitchen tool competition, Chicago 2012.”

About designer Ivan Erkic and his team, now known as IcDesign:

“IC design is full service studio was founded in Belgrade in 2008.
Studio which has been in the business of providing innovative design
solutions for the last five years. Eminent multinational companies and
marketing agencies gave us their trust, thus giving us the opportunity
to contribute to visual identity of several famous FMCG brands.”

“We have specialized in designing 3D POS material, from small solutions
– 3D displays shelves, dividers, dispenser and promo-counters,
to more complex – thematic 3D units and promotional stands.
Also, we create the full interior rebranding of multinational shops.
Furthermore, we design all types of industrial products and packaging.
Apart from that, we provide and develop concept ideas, making 3D models
and elaborative technical documentation with the specification of materials for production.”

The post Bent Spoon Doubles as a Clip first appeared on Dornob.

Some of the best industrial designs in the world have an element of variability, something that makes each instance of that design unique. In this case, what renders each of these outdoor utensil accessories individual is their implementation and use – they change with each stick cycled into use as their handle. Less to wash, less to carry and more sustainable all in one.

This is the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that industrial designers should aspire to, combining eco-friendly design elements, natural variation and functional innovation. The next step, then, is getting the public to see the benefits of such multi-faceted industrial product design strategies.

The post Sustainable Silverware to Go: Reusable Outdoor Utensils first appeared on Dornob.