Wednesday, September 5, 2012

New Menu Blade Wine Series Steals the Show

The new Menu Blade Wine Series designed by Design Wright that makes its debut this Fall received a resoundingly positive response at the New York Gift Show.

As we all know, wines release their true aromas when they come into contact with oxygen, significantly improving the taste experience. Blade adds 430% more oxygen to the wine. A result which no other decanting pourer on the market can match.

The decanting pourer has inspired an entire series of Blade wine accessories including the decanting pourer, a vacuum pump, waiter’s corkscrew and twist corkscrew. The series is aerodynamic as well as ergonomic and all tools are equipped with a rubber coated surface for good and comfortable grip.

Please see below a video featuring the series.



August 2012 New York International Gift Show

In case you missed the New York Gift Show this August, please see images of the Menu booth below. We had a very successful show this season, with the new Blade Wine Series stealing the show.






Monday, August 20, 2012

A NEW GRAPHIC LANGUAGE LETS YOUR WALLS COMMUNICATE A TASTE FOR DESIGN AND FUNCTIONALITY

Design:
Norm

Materials:
Synthetic Felt, Wood, Aluminium

The starting point is a grey felt square. Although the shape and material is plain, the panels can be combined in a variety of ways to create your own, unique wall design to suit the overall character of your home.

The Felt Panels can become a natural and functional detail in your hallway, home office, kitchen/living room or anywhere else in your home. They can be combined to create decorative elements with a clean, graphic look. But the panels are very much intended to be used. Together they create a multi-functional system that serves many purposes.

The basic unit is a simple, grey felt square. It can be used as a small notice board or as a decorative element. Various needs have thus resulted in the creation of various types of Felt Panels; a clock, a mirror, notice board units, a coat rack, a key holder or a letter holder – the opportunities are endless.

The design of the Felt Panels also incorporates an acoustic aspect. Modern homes are often characterised by hard noise and the idea behind the soft felt panels was originally to create soft elements in the home. Felt Panels can thus help improve your home’s acoustics and create a better indoor environment, offering a design experience that is both visual and aural.

Nordic design and materials 
The designers behind Wall Panels are Jonas Bjerre- Poulsen and Kasper Rønn from Danish architecture firm Norm. The pair have drawn inspiration from Nordic nature for their material choices. The warmth of wood and the felt’s wool associations give their modern design an unmistakably Nordic identity. The design of the Felt Panels is strict and sparse. However, subtle roundness creates a softer look that balances the product’s masculine and feminine aspects.

“Our fascination with modular squares comes from the world of graphic design and we are inspired by the works of minimalist artists. Felt Panels are not just functional, they also add a graphic element to complement any stylish home. Just like the letters of the alphabet, the elements can be combined based on your wishes to create your very own, visual language. You can create your very own wall art,” say Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen and Kasper Rønn.

 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

NORM BATH. CLEAN SHAPES FOR YOUR BATHROOM

Design By:
Norm

Materials:
Steel, Plastic

The designers behind Bath are Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen and Kasper Rønn aka NORM. This style duo worships minimalism and functionality and endeavor to design products that meet real-life needs while at the same time pleasing all our senses. These ambitions are successfully combined in Norm’s new Bath series for Menu. All redundant elements have been stripped away, leaving only a clean look and straight-forward usefulness.

The stylish series comprises five items: a pedal bin, toilet brush, soap dispenser, toothbrush holder and a small box with a mirror. The items share the same shape and characteristic rounded base, giving them lightness without compromising on stability. All items stand firmly and securely in place.

Clean lines and simple functionality make the items easy to clean and use. For example, the brushed steel lid of the pedal bin opens easily, without hitting the wall behind it as most other pedal bin lids tend to do.

The toothbrush holder has a clever sieve in its base, allowing water to escape and leaving your toothbrush dry. The practical mirror in the container lid is hidden, yet always close to hand.

“Our work is firmly rooted in Scandinavian design tradition. When a recognizable form gets an original twist, the products seems more fun to use. This is the principle that we have incorporated in the bathroom, where cleanliness is of paramount importance,” explain Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen and Kasper Rønn.





 









Monday, August 13, 2012

BLADE WINE SERIES BRING OUT THE BEST IN YOUR WINE

Design By: 
Designwright

Materials:
Stainless Steel
Plastic

English design company Designwright has created an idea that is as ingenious as it is simple: the leaf shape creates a large surface area, maximizing the wine’s interaction with the oxygen in the air. The front is transparent, allowing you to witness the transformation of the wine’s flavor and bouquet. Four small holes on the front allow the wine to come into contact with even more air, improving the wine’s flavor based on the patented Venturi principle that Menu has made well known all over the world.

The result is incredible; and highly noticeable. As we all know, wines release their true aromas when they come into contact with oxygen, significantly improving the taste experience. Blade adds 430% more oxygen to the wine. A result which no other decanting pourer on the market can match.

The decanting pourer has inspired an entire series of Blade wine accessories including the decanting pourer, a vacuum pump, waiter’s corkscrew and twist corkscrew. The series is aerodynamic as well as ergonomic and all tools are equipped with a rubber coated surface for good and comfortable grip.

Each of the tools has its own, unique and practical characteristics: The vacuum pump prolongs the life of your wine by quickly and easily extracting air from the bottle. The waiter’s corkscrew sits comfortably in your hand and its practical shape makes easy work of uncorking bottles. The twist corkscrew has a clever magnetic closure mechanism that automatically brings the parts back in position after use.

The Blade wine series has been created by Designwright, one of the UK’s most acclaimed design teams, which has been working closely with Menu since 2011. Brothers Adrian and Jeremy Wright have a background in industrial design and focus on both the visual and the technical aspects of their craft. Designwright has won several Red Dot and Design Plus awards and earned the recognition of the British industry organization D&AD.



Thursday, August 9, 2012

August 2012 NYIGF

Come visit us at the Menu booth 3840 at the New York Gift Show 
August 19 - 22. Below images from last show in February.
 
 

Friday, July 27, 2012

MENU has created the avant-garde bird pavilion Barcelona in honor of the legendary
designer Mies van der Rohe. The Pavilion is a combined bird bath and bird table,
made of hardwood acacia and inspired by one of Mies van der Rohe’s  masterpieces – the renowned Barcelona Pavilion from the 1929 Expo.

Another great work of Mies van der Rohe's is the Farnsworth House located in Plano, Illinois, which he began in 1946. According to the Farnsworth House web site, " the Farnsworth House embodies a certain aesthetic culmination in Mies van der Rohe's experiment with this building type. This house is perhaps the fullest expression of modernist ideals that had begun in Europe, but which were consummated on Plano, Illinois."

Farnsworth House http://www.farnsworthhouse.org/history.htm
“Mies van der Rohe as an icon of modern architecture has been our source of inspiration for this unique MENU design. It is important for us to push boundaries and let originaity rule without limitations. A bird pavilion with style of this magnitude clears the road for even more original thinking,” says Bjarne Hansen, MENU’s Creative Director.

"The bird table and bath is inspired by the building Mies van der Rohe designed for the World Expo in 1929 – the Barcelona Pavilion. This example of his work is one of my personal favorites because of the extraordinary materials, geometric simplicity and the large basin reflecting the architecture,” explains Bjarne Hansen.

Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavillion

Menu Barcelona Bird Feeder
The new and avant-garde garden feature is an arresting and decorative manifestation that pampers birds with a place to both eat and go for a dip. The bird bath - a beautiful black basin that arrestingly highlights the signature acacia wood - can easily be separated from the table, cleaned and refilled. The bird table is elegantly placed under the roof of the pavilion where the bird feed securely can be placed on two spikes.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

MOBILE DESIGN TABLE FOR FREE URBAN LIVING

Design by:
Andreas Engesvik
Materials:
Painted Wood

Modern urban life now has its own table that is perfect for a trip to the beach or forest. Pin Table is made for people who want to design their own space in just moments. In the garden, at the park, or in the city.

Norwegian Andreas Engesvik, one of today’s hottest designer names, developed Pin Table with a simplicity that fits urban lifestyles, where the relaxed and the impulsive are paramount. The table is on a post that you simply push into the ground with the button at the top of the post, instantaneously creating space for a picnic or a good conversation over a cup of coffee.

Pin Table is made of high quality wood and painted in five high-gloss colors. It matches any park, lawn or beach.



Friday, July 20, 2012

"This is Not a Pipe" - Menu Pipe Candleholders

Design by:
Pernille Vea

Materials: 
Cast Iron
Silicone
Glass


Designer Pernille Vea talks about her latest creation.

“Ceci c'est pas une pipe.” The title of that famous painting also suits the outdoor Pipe Candleholder because it is not a pipe. But it is greatly inspired by the practical form of a pipe. Hence the name.
However, the pipe is not the only source of inspiration for the Pipe candleholder. Designer Pernille Vea also takes inspiration from the Vikings’ rough candleholders, forged as a nail at one end and a candleholder at the other. They could be banged in wherever needed – in a wall, a wooden pole, or a tree.

The Pipe candleholder is created with the same powerful convenience, but is cast rather than forged. Bang it into one of the many possible spots in your garden and create a unique lighting design. Then it’s just a matter of lighting the candles and enjoying the cozy atmosphere outdoors.






Wednesday, July 18, 2012

NORM WINE SET PROVIDES A GOOD GRIP

Design by:
Norm

Materials:
Stainless Steel
ZN-Alloy
Rubber Coating
Silicone
The Norm wine set provides a good and comfortable grip when handling your wine. This set from Menu includes a vacuum pump, an practical wine stopper and a genuine waiter’s corkscrew.

The wine set features a clean and simple bottle design that matches other Norm designs, such as the groundbreaking aerators, Wine Breather and Cool Breather. All of the pieces in the set have a rubber coated surface that provides a comfortable and good grip, making it easy to handle wine properly.

The vacuum pump sucks the air out of the wine bottle, creating a vacuum. This enables the wine to keep longer. The waiter’s corkscrew is designed with a knife at one end to quickly remove the foil and, at the other end, a stable spiral corkscrew and lever. The Norm wine set comes in carbon and ash shades.


Monday, July 16, 2012

A SOLID WINE TOOL FOR CONNOISSEURS


Design by:
Norm

Materials:
Stainless Steel
ZN-Alloy
Rubber Coating
Silicone

The Norm waiter’s corkscrew sits well in your hand. Menu presents a solid wine tool with a good weight to it and a comfortable rubber coated surface that provides a firm grip.

A comfortable rubber coated surface provides a firm grip when opening your wine. The corkscrew is designed with a knife at one end to quickly remove the bottle’s foil. And the stable spiral corkscrew and lever at the other end can easily handle both old and long corks.

The waiter’s corkscrew features clean lines that match other New Norm designs, such as the Wine Breather and Cool Breather aerators.





Friday, June 29, 2012

10 Things We Learned in Scandinavia

 We saw this blog post by Build LLC the other day and thought we'd share it. Enjoy!

10 Things We Learned in Scandinavia

By BUILD LLC

Last week we were invited to be part of Pecha Kucha #36 at the Nordic Heritage Museum in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. It was a blast closing out the event and we had a ton of fun watching the other participants; see the full roster here. The theme was “Nordic Love” and we decided to divulge the top 10 things we learned while studying in Scandinavia. Afterwards, we were thrilled that so many people asked if the presentation would be up on the blog. So we said, “Heck yeah, we’ll put it up.” Enjoy.

Intro
In the fall of 1993 we each boarded an airplane from our respective universities with our sights set on studying architecture in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the time we knew very little about Denmark; we knew about the popularity of cheese, the public acceptance of funny sweaters and the abundance of oddly named pastries. We had no idea how influential Scandinavia would be in our lives and our careers as architects.

 1. Everything can be designed.
Everything was designed well in Scandinavia, from entire buildings right down to glassware at the local cafe. The Danes even applied their design skills to the hot dog bun, or pølse, as they called it. The bun was baked with a hole perfectly sized for a hot dog (insert humorous but harmless phallic observation here).


2. Good design always trumps fashion.
The objects that surrounded us in Denmark weren’t just well designed, they were timeless. They were designed in such a way that you bought something once. You used it your entire life and then handed it down to your grandchildren. A great example of this is the famed PH5 lamp designed by Poul Henningsen in 1925 and manufactured by Louis Poulsen.


When things are designed well, like chairs, and books, and cabinets … you don’t need fashion. This is the Egg Chair designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1958. Did we mention that the Scandinavians are also very skilled at marketing?


3. Modest private spaces – celebrated public spaces.
In Scandinavia, people live modest personal lives with unpretentious, economical homes. Energy, resources and pride are put into the public spaces. This is one of the many courtyards along Copenhagen’s main shopping street, the Strøget.


Locations like plazas, courtyards and mezzanines become places to gather and celebrate the daily rituals of life. The Royal Danish Library is an excellent example of an indoor gathering space. The new addition, designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen, was completed in 2006 and is an extension to the original library from 1648.


4. Public transportation needs to be the path of least resistance.
Not only is there an excellent public transportation system in Copenhagen, but the policies around using public transportation are also very clever. At the time of our studies, anyone who bought an automobile was given a train pass. Even after you had abandoned the public transportation system the Dane’s still didn’t give up on you. The encouragement to use public transportation was astonishing.


Copenhagen’s “five finger” transportation system reaches each of the 5 main prominent neighborhoods. Like most things Scandinavian, they’ve taken a complex system of information and have boiled it down to an elegant and easily understandable diagram.

  
5. Personal freedom trumps rules.
This is the Carlsberg Brewery, where decades ago employees of the brewery were allowed to consume six beers per day on the job (seriously). Naturally, workers maxed out their daily limit more often than not.


When the brewery eliminated the limit, making it possible to drink as many beers as one liked, the number of beers consumed per employee went down.

  
6. Being good is more important than being famous.
The anonymity of Scandinavian designers always impressed us. Every time you turned a corner in Denmark you found great architecture by architects you had never heard of, architects that don’t care about popularity.


Scandinavian’s don’t yearn to be rich, famous or published. It’s enough just to do good work and have a good life.  This is the folding chair designed by Hans Wegner in 1949.


7. Lower your expectations and you’ll be happier.
The Scandinavian countries are cultures that believe they have enough; they’re happy with things just as they are.


The Dane’s do not tie their happiness to the stock market or what they’re driving.  Simple pleasures and daily routines can offer as much joy in life as you want them to.

  
8. Anybody can cook well.
When we lived in Scandinavia it was all meatballs and potatoes. There was no point in going out to eat because there wasn’t any good food. And because no one would go out to eat, new restaurants wouldn’t open up.


Now the Scandinavians have the best restaurant in the world, NOMA. On a typical Danish menu you can now find terms like herb emulsions, sea foam, and foraged blueberry meringue. If the Danes can pull out of this culinary tail spin, anybody can do it.


 9. Save the schnapps for last.
There is etiquette to drinking in Scandinavia: you start with a beer or two, then move onto wines with dinner and maybe an after dinner drink. Later in the evening, Farfar heads down to the cellar to fetch a bottle of that schnapps he made a few summers ago. This is an ancient drink for the soul; it embodies the tradition, the beliefs and the happiness of an entire culture.


There is a social significance of sharing drink; it happens with good people around a table of food and stories and wine stains. It can’t be bought, it can’t be acted out, and it can’t be found on Facebook.

  
10. We all need more hyggelig.
The Danes have a word, hyggelig, that doesn’t even translate in the English language because we don’t have enough of it. Its closest relative is “cozy” but even that doesn’t come close to encompassing everything that hyggelig embodies. It’s about a calm, comfortable surrounding with good friends or loved ones, often while enjoying good food and drink. And it’s something we all need more of.