The Story of Scandinavian Design

"This article was written by Katrin Eyporsdottir, our talented and hard-working trainee from Iceland. As a designer with background in product design, Katrin is presenting her understanding of what has influenced the works of designers from Sweden, Norway and other North-European countries as well as the key attributes that these works possess."
-Smashing Magazine

"While the countries of Scandinavia have extreme differences, they do have some common cultural, geophysical and historical threads. Without implying that certain principles apply to all art and design in this area, this article gives an overview of the influences and state of art and design in the Nordic countries." Read more of The Story of Scandinavian Design: Combining Function and Aesthetics here.

Panthella Lamp (1971) and Panton Chair (1967), by Verner Panton. (Image credit)

Interior of Stockholm Exhibition, 1930 (Image credit)

The staircase and furniture in Aarhus Radhus (Aarhus town hall) were designed by Arne Jacobsen and his partners between 1937 and 1942. (Image credit)

-Katrin Eyporsdottir, Smashing Magazine

42 Concepts - Menu Cool Lunch

Summer is coming, and that means food at entirely the wrong temperature. Danish designer Jakob Wagner comes to the rescue with this beautiful lunch bag.

Cool Lunch is the funky reinvention of the classic lunch box. Cool Lunch is created with one very specific ambition in mind - being a special treat for one person and holds a small cooling element that keeps food and beverages cold and fresh.

A clever handle with velcro allos the Cool Lunch to be mounted with ease and brought along anywhere, anytime: On a golf bag, on a backpack, on the computer bag or over the handlebars of a bike without the lunch being squeezed or demolished.

It comes in either black or white, with the lining in either grey, red or lime.

-42 Concepts, 42concepts.com/design/cool-lunch-bag

QR Codes on Every Menu Product!

Did you know? Each Menu product has a QR code on its giftbox!

How it works: Using the "I-Nigma" app on your Iphone or Android (free on app store and android market), you snap a picture of the QR code and it sends you to the Menu explanation video for that product. On other mobile phones, get a free reader via mobile browser from http://www.get.neoreader.com/ This is a great feature for stores that have customers who are curious about how a product works.

Check out the Menu Wine Breather QR code:

Top Gemstones & Jewelry Sales Rise

Great news for jewelry retailers! According to the National Jeweler, 65% of jewelry retail stores reported positive same-store sales growth for 2010 as a whole, which is up from only 39% in 2009. In addition, retailers interviewed by National Jeweler said that this positive momentum from 2010 is carrying over into 2011.

The best-selling semi-precious gemstones include amethyst quartz and pearl. Our Rabinovich collection boasts a wide variety of pieces featuring amethyst quartz and pearls ranging in color from white to green, so there's something for every taste.

Danish Restaurant Named World's Best

Noma, the restaurant in Copenhagen whose chef Rene Redzepi forages for ingredients, was last night named the world's best for the second year straight.

"The World's 50 Best is important because it's a global tally and there aren't many of those, " Boulud said yesterday in an interview at his London venue, Bar Boulud. "People compare it to the Michelin guid, but they are completely different and we need them both. Also, this event brings together chefs from around the world. It's almost creating a new family."

-Richard Vines, Bloomberg News, London

NYIGF Spring 2011 Top 10

In case you missed our booth at the New York Gift Show, here are the Top 10 Spring 2011 products.

1. Menu Tea Pot




















2. Menu Bottle Grinders
















3. Menu Drop Bowls



















4. Menu Carafe with Wrap

















5. Menu Cool Bag



















6. Menu Cool Lunch















7. Menu Spike Torch



















8. Menu Nordic Wool Thermo Cups

















9. Tealight Shadow - Springtime















10. Knowledge in the Brain by Karim Rashid

John Gidding - Menu Chocolate Fondue Set

Check out the TV segment where HGTV's John Gidding demonstrates the Menu Chocolate Fondue Set.

Danish Chef Named World's Best Chef

Danish Chef Kofoed Rasmus won the prestigious 2011 Bocuse d'Or biannual cooking contest, where the top culinary professionals meet in Lyon, France. This is the first time Denmark has won the world title - beating out 23 other competitors. When he's not busy winning cooking competitions, Rasmus runs his own gourmet restaurant, Geranium.

Rabinovich Spring 2011 Catalog

The Spring 2011 Rabinovich catalog is here!
Download it here and let us know what you think!

HGTV Curb Appeal's John Gidding - Menu Chocolate Fondue Set

Check out this video of HGTV Curb Appeal's John Gidding talking about the Menu Chocolate Fondue Set on Your Life A to Z.

www.johngidding.com

Bounty Hunter Wine - Wine Breather Review

Check out this Wine Breather demonstration video by Bounty Hunter Wine Director Rhett Gadke!

www.bountyhunterwine.com

The Taste Spot - Menu Wine Breather Feature

Check out this video feature on the Menu Wine Breather from The Taste Spot

TheTasteSpot.com

Check out this explanation of the Menu Cool Bowl set by Danish Chef Umahro Codagan!

NYIGF 2011 :: Menu A/S from Core77 on Vimeo.

NYIGF 2011 :: Menu A/S

At this year's New York International Gift Fair there was the typical mix of the good, the bad and the ugly. A standout from the Accent on Design section of the fair this year was Menu A/S, a Danish houseware design company that was founded in 1979 to supply steel products to the catering industry. Since then, Menu has collaborated with an impressive group of Scandinavian and international designers to produce highly functional and beautiful designed tools for living. This season, the brand introduced some great pieces to help you transition from Winder to Spring.

The Glass Kettle Teapot, designed by Norm Architects, can be placed directly on your stovetop and includes a retractable tea egg attached by a silicon "string" that is built into the cap of the kettle. Once your tea is steeped to your liking, simply pull the string and the tea egg secures to the top of the kettle - minimizing post-steeping drips and mess.

An ode to Nordic knit design, the double-walled ceramic cups are a great complement to the teapot. Nordic fishermen would wear these woolen knits out to sea -- each knit pattern is unique to a specific village. If, for some reason, the fishermen didn't make it back to land, their sweaters would wash up to shore and people would be able to identify casualities by the specific designs in each sweater. There's been a recent interest in the fashion world with heritage craft and this series celebrates the ingenuity of Nordic design.

Spring picnic prep came in the form of the reversible carafe wrap, a neoprene cozy that, when soaked in water and then slipped over the Water Carafe, is self-cooling. The carafe itself was a Red Dot winner -- the steel collar and flat, self-closing lid opens with gravity so a simple tip decants liquid!

A product for all the seasons is their Wine Breather, an aerator that has a leak-proof top that allows wine to be aerated directly into the decanter. The unique beaker-like design aerates the wine as it flows along the glass walls of the carafe. With an hour-glass motion, you can poor the wine back into the bottle with a quick flip.

Danish chef Umahro Codagan was onsite for product demonstrations from the Spice Book, a mini recipe takeaway authored by Codagan for Menu featuring healthy Danish snack recipes in both English and Scandinavian. The porcelain, stack-and-serve Steam Tower, a great example of the oven-to-table trend in cookware was on display and my favorite product, a Norm-design Cool Bowl Set -- a serving tray and cutting board combo with a cooling pad option and bowl/cover.

- LinYee Yuan, Core 77

http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/nyigf_2011_menu_as_18456.asp

Menu Creates Wine Breather Website

check it out http://www.menu.as/US/winebreather/

Creative Danes re-introducing Rabinovich

Creative Danes is proud to re-introduce Rabinovich, unique Scandinavian jewelry, to the U.S. and Canada.

Rabinovich is a family-owned company, located in a new production facility in Aarhus, Denmark's second city.

The company was founded in 1990 with the aim of creating jewelry, accentuating the beauty of those who wear it.

Rabinovich jewelry is hand-crafted, mostly in Denmark, in sterling silver, pearls, semi-precious stones, zirconia and gold. The designs have a style of their own, blending Danish sensibilities with South American flair. They are developed in a close-knit group of designers with diverse skills and backgrounds.

After 15 years of evolution and refinements, the Argentinian-born founder of the company, Mario Rabinovich, his Danish co-founder and wife, Jette Poulsen, and their small group of co-designers have found their artistic bearings. In recent years, their team design work has made Rabinovich into one of the most dynamic Danish jewelry companies with a reputation for innovation and style, and rapidly growing sales in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Netherlands.

Download our catalogs here.

Menu Wine Breather Best In Test

Menu asked EUROFINS to perform a testing of the Menu Wine Breather to compare it to other well-known wine decanting products in the marketplace. Here is the conclusion:

The Menu Wine Breather did twice as well as the second best product in the test...and that was just after the first flip around. The Wine Breather added 740% more oxygen after the first flip, and 940% after the second flip, and 1000% more oxygen after being poured into the glass. A remarkable result..."

Top 6 Menu Items From New York Gift Show

In case you missed our booth at the New York Gift Show, here is a line-up of the most popular new items featured.

Aerate wine in minutes...Menu Winebreather

This elegantly designed carafe aerates your wine in one easy step.

A brilliant kitchen tool...Ovenproof Steam Tower

The porcelain bowls can be stacked in the oven, enabling the preparation of several dishes at one - it's already won the prestigious Formland Design Award this fall!

A smaller version of the award-winning Craving and Serving Set...Norm Complete Tray Set

An elegant tray, a bamboo cutting board, a white porcelain dish, and a cooling pad make it possible to arrange and serve everything from a succulent roast beef to a fresh shell fish platter.

Cool Bowl...or coolest bowl?...New Norm Cool Bowl

The New Norm Cool Bowl is ideal for serving crisp salads, fresh seafood, desserts, and other delicacies.Stylish...Functional...Menu Tripod Set

Ideal for storage and individual dispensing of spices adding extra taste and goodness to your meals.Designer tableware for kids...Black Contour Kid's Set

Featuring Pernille Vea's playful black line that adds life to a snail, a crocodile, and a cat that children will love

Menu Wins German FORM Award

The Menu Baggy Wine Coat and the Menu Black Contour Kids Set have won the German FORM Design Award!

Menu Ovenproof Steam Tower Wins Formland Design Award

Menu does it again with another award-winning product - the Menu Ovenproof Steam Tower won the prestigious Formland Design Award on Friday.

The steam tower can cook three dishes simultaneously and can be placed directly on the table straight from the oven, making it undeniably cohesive.

"Congratulations to a product that captures a modern trend" - Formland Award Commitee

Menu's New 0.8 L Water Jug a big hit

The new water jug from Menu is tall, slim and simple – a smaller version of their original water jug. Specifically created for the purpose it was intended, this 0.8 liter water jug fits perfectly on the shelf of your refrigerator door. Just launched in May, both initial sales and re-orders have been very strong for this item.

Check out this demonstration video:



Take a look at the complete press release here.

Menu Newsletter

Want the latest news on Menu products? Sign up for the new Menu Newsletter here!

Don't miss out on the July edition, check it out here.

Menu Tealight Shadows are finally here!

The Menu Tealight Shadows have been perfected and are ready for stores.

The set includes 2 tealight holders and 8 shadows, 2 of each fun design.

Menu Product Feature Videos

Menu's product feature videos are now up and running! Videos demonstrating the Baggy Winecoat, Tripods, Water Jug, Wine Breather, Tealight Shadows, Picnic Cool Coat, and Black Contour line are now available.




Click here to download the videos!

Danish Restaurant Named World's Best Restaurant

NOMA, a restaurant in Copenhagen, was named the world's best restaurant by S.Pelligrino World's 50 Best Retaurants. Chef Rene Redzepi, 32, pictured in NOMA below, travels the region in search of ingredients and culinary inspiration for his seasonal menu, according to Bloomberg.com. Read more here...

Gense to be featured at Swedish royal wedding

Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria is engaged to Daniel Westling, a former fitness trainer, and they've set the wedding date for June 19, 2010, which is her parents' 34th wedding anniversary. According to the New York Daily News, it's going to be a $13 million production.
Swedish Princess Victoria with fiance Daniel Westling

King and Queen of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf and Silvia

Gense's silver line, Mema/GAB, will be providing the official flatware for the reception. Royal families from all over Europe will be dining with the Svensk (Swedish) Model, a classic model created in the 18th century. The wedding series will have the royal monogram and the year 2010 engraved on it.

Mema/GAB has been manufacturing handmade flatware in Eskiltuna, Sweden since 1849. Creating silver flatware requires precision and artistry which is why Mema/GAB is known for their skilled silversmiths and designers, who have carried on the tradition through the years, creating attractive, timeless designs.