From Bamboo to Cork

Bambu, the maker of bamboo kitchen tools and serving pieces, has launched a new line of products made from another renewable material, cork.

The earthy material has been pressed into a number of modern designs for bowls, cutting boards, and serving trays. The high-density cork products are lightweight and surprisingly impervious to liquids, and, according to the company, naturally anti-microbial and anti-fungal. Bambu claims the product line is "the world's first cork tabletop collection."

I recently gave the cork cutting boards a test drive.

Destination Seoul

Like its earlier Destination Japan collection, the MoMA store has created Destination Seoul, a collection of products created by young and emerging Korean designers. Most of the products, like these Forest Cups engraved with branch designs ($55), are typically found only in South Korea and are available exclusively at MoMA.

Below are highlights of some of the more gastronomically oriented items.

Still Life Fruit Bowl

With Barnaby Barford and André Klauser's novel Still Life Fruit Bowl, you can create a piece of art that changes according to your fruit-buying patterns. The oak frame and earthenware bowl is available for pre-order for $100 at Areaware (though it also looks like something you might try making yourself).

Orla Kiely for Target

The New York Times Home section reports on Orla Kiely for Target, a new collection of limited edition home decor products by the high-end designer. Kitchen and tabletop items festooned with bold, retro patterns include pitchers, cannisters, tumblers, mugs (pictured above) along with melamine bowls, dishes, and other serving pieces. The line will be introduced in Target stores in early February.

Naked Sushi for the Germaphobe

Let's say you like the idea of Nyotaimori (the practice of eating sushi off of a naked body), but you find the whole situation socially awkward, icky, and unsafe.

You may be in the market for Bodylicious X -- contoured, inanimate sushi platters sculpted to look like naked flesh. The trays, available in female and male versions, are €45 each (though you'll need three to form a complete torso) at DesignCode.

[via Charles & Marie]

Spoons, Knives, and Forks That Float

Shelterrific points to these innovative concepts for floating utensils: The ceramic forks, knives, and spoons are shaped with an empty ball in the center so that they will bob up and down rather than sinking to the bottom of your sink (and ending up in the garbage disposal).

The gastronomic buoys might also make for an interesting way to serve food: I could imagine them floating in a container of just about anything brined or, perhaps, in a bowl of bocconcini chilled in water. The utensils' creator, Seongyong Lee, has also designed a plastic ladle that, like the forks and knives, floats upright. Both designs only appear to be concepts at this point, though a hypnotic video of the ladle in action is available on YouTube.

Images: Seongyong Lee.

Fingerfood

There seems to be a small industry dedicated to the art of enhancing one's ability to multitask at a cocktail party. Products range from the completely silly-looking wine glass neck holders -- de rigueur at at a Slow Food wine tasting -- to novelty items like finger forks. Now comes Fingerfood, miniature plates with rings that slip on your fingers to free up the rest of your hand for a glass of wine. Just be careful when you tip your glass. $9.99 for a dozen rings/plates at perpetual kid.

Cool Cruets

Why stop at using thermal glass to reinvent the French press or liqueur, beer, and wine glasses? These hand-blown Double-Walled Cruets will make your olive oil and balsamic vinegar look like they are floating on air. (I don't know if maple syrup is too thick for the spout, but wouldn't these be great for serving warm maple syrup, kept toasty by the insulated glass?). $52 at the MoMA Store.

Bag Your Bread

Out with the bread basket, in with the bag. The 100% cotton Stelton Bread Bag can be folded down to serve small breads and pastries or unfolded to serve baguettes. Magnets in the rim allow you to close the bag and keep fresh bread warm. $35 in a choice of five colors at Plastica. [Via Outblush]

Tools for Living

The New York Times reports that modern furniture retailer Design Within Reach will be opening a housewares store, DWR: Tools for Living, in SoHo this fall. From the DWR website, clockwise from top: "tiffin" lunch tins, cedar sake bottle and cup, stoneware herb pot, and water-filtering pitcher. The shop will open on September 19 at 142 Wooster Street. A second store is slated to open on Octpber 2 in Santa Monica, California.