george m. beylerian celebrates italian innovation with design memorabilia collection

george m. beylerian celebrates italian innovation with design memorabilia collection
(above) decorative plates by alessandro mendini

for the inaugural collection of ‘design memorabilia: de gustibus’, george m. beylerian — manufacturer, curator, author and founder of material connexion — tapped 32 renowned italian product designers to revive concepts conceived during their lifetimes.

‘carrot globe & kitchen timer’ by elio fiorucci — the gnome inside this functional kitchen globe makes a cameo from elio fiorucci’s fashion brand ‘love therapy’

amongst mario bellini, cini boeri, andrea branzi, achille castiglioni, piero lissoni, michele de lucchi, vico magistretti, alberto meda, alessandro mendini, paola navone, and tobia scarpa, the archival sketches and notes of the late gae aulenti and joe colombo have been collected and produced into a series of table top objects. referencing the theme of the expo 2015 in milan, ‘feeding the planet, energy for life’, the items pay homage to the culture and lifestyle of italy and celebrate the innovative individuals who have made a lasting impact on design history. 

‘girachille’ by achille castiglioni — the heat of a single tealight forces this candleholder’s colorful cylinder to spin

the objects, set to make their debut at MoMA design store in july 2015, are envisioned as an international collection of high-designed functional objects for daily use. ‘design memorabilia’ comprises 32 utilitarian pieces that range in price from $ 12.00-$100.00, with every effort made to make them affordable to as many people as possible. 

‘the idea of design memorabilia is to bring great designs to today’s masses—not only the cognoscenti, but to new generations,’ beylerian says. ‘through design memorabilia’s website and partnerships with select design stores, bookstores and department stores, consumers will now have access to sophisticated contemporary designed products created by the very best global design talent.’

‘medamade oil dispenser’ by alberto meda — gravity magically opens the lid of this oil dispenser as you rotate it to pour

paesaggio italiano (set of 4) by aldo cibic — a bone china miniature vision of the italian countryside

‘trio bud vases’ by angelo mangiarotti — a trio of organic shapes that reveal an architectural relationship between interior and exterior, void and solid

‘salt & pepper’ by piero lissoni — these salt and pepper grinders are a smaller, more human scale of the traditional industrial-looking handle grinders

‘manini chopstick stand’ by d’urbino, lomazzi — the design commemorates the 45th anniversary of de pas, d’urbino & lomazzi’s iconic ‘joe chair 

 
‘formaggiera’ by joe colombo — taken from archival sketches and produced for the first time, the formaggiera is expertly designed to hold cheese, jams and sauces

‘aulenti flatware’ by gae aulenti — originally designed by gae aulenti in 1970

‘icicle ice bucket’ by rodolfo dordoni — this glass bucket slows the melting of ice by separating the ice in the upper half of the glass vessel from the slowly accumulating pool of water below

designers featured in the collection include: gaeaulenti,mariobellini,ciniboeri, andrea branzi, giulio cappellini, anna castelli-ferrieri, achille castiglioni, aldo cibic, joe colombo, michele de lucchi, rodolfo dordoni, d’urbino lomazzi de pas, d’urbino lomazzi, elio fiorucci, gianfranco frattini, king & miranda, ferruccio laviani, piero lissoni, vico magistretti, angelo mangiarotti, federica marangoni, john mascheroni, keith mascheroni, alberto meda, alessandro mendini, marcello morandini, paola navone, roberto sambonet, richard sapper, tobia scarpa, ettore sottsass, antonio rodriguez and matteo thun. 

1/8