The contour Coca-Cola bottle has to be one of the most iconic beverage vessels in the world.
But even when something is that established, it doesn’t mean it can’t be given new life sometimes when there is a great concept.
Coca-Cola must think so too, since they have employed nendo, one of Japan’s top design offices, to come up with Bottleware, a whole new tableware collection to “bring bottle to another level”.
It’s a kind of eco idea fused with classic Japanese artisanship. The bottles will be “up-cycled” from degraded glass contour bottles. After all, Coca-Cola bottles are already collected, cleaned and recycled. But still some of course deteriorate over time and these are the ones that will now be turned into this superb new tableware range, courtesy of Oki Sato and his team at nendo.
Sato says: “We were captivated by the particular greenish-blue tint, fine air bubbles and distortions that are a hallmark of recycled glass, so decided to create simple shapes that would enhance these traits. But we also wanted users to feel a remnant of the distinctive bottle in the new products. Our solution was to create bowls and dishes that retain its distinctive lower shape, as though the top had been sliced off.”
“The dimpling on the bottle base that keeps the bottle from sliding is not ordinarily a strong visual feature, but it’s part of a bottle’s identity nonetheless, and visible to anyone who picks up the bottle to drink. Keeping these ring-shaped dimples on the base of our bowls and plates doesn’t just retain their non-slip quality, but also helps to convey important messages about the way that glass circulates between people as it’s made, used and recycled for further use, and about the connections it makes between people in this process.”
The actual creation of the final products has been entrusted to a small workshop in Aomori in northern Japan, known for its glass craftsmanship utilizing local traditions.
The resulting bowls and dishes are on sale priced from around ¥5,000 ($60) to nearly ¥15,000 (nearly $200). They will be on display as part of Design Tide Tokyo 2012 later this autumn (October 31st to November 4th) and then on sale at highly select stores in the capital in strictly limited numbers.
