Some objects, more than others, show their relationship with our times, the places we live, the people we see, the way we speak, the things we do everyday. We call this characteristic "direct cultural reference."

The expression "Cloud Nine" has become a common term in the American vocabulary. Its origins, somewhere in the first half of the twentieth century, can't be clearly traced. The expression might be tied to Dante Alighieri's vision of a layered heaven, or to the meteorologists' numeric classification of clouds. What we do know, is that the term is used to describe a state of immense joy, somewhat removed from reality.



With the Cloud Nine bathroom accessories, the designer Laurene Leon Boym adopts the popular expression as a metaphor for personal care.

The accessories become a peaceful cluster of clouds, designed to hold soap and other bathroom necessities during those rare moments exclusively dedicated to ourselves.

Designed by Giovanni Pellone and Bridget Means, the Zago® folding trash can is inspired by the place where we live: New York City. That might tell you a lot about our own obsession with trash. In New York trash is everywhere, it is an integral part of the environment.



The Zago folding trash can adopts black and white photographs of New York City street accessories as theatrical icons for trash disposal.



As designers, we spent our educational years in art school; entire days holding paintbrushes in bright rooms where splashes of paint covered every surface. Only a few years later our work environment had completely changed; the paint was gone and a big grey computer had appeared in its place.



In a nostalgic reaction to this change, the Squiggle mouse pad, also by Giovanni Pellone and Bridget Means, was designed as a splash of paint for the desktop. The disappearing element becomes an accessory for the new one.

 

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