Home on the Range

Small and somewhat sparse, the New York Gourmet Housewares Show seemed a bit overwhelmed by its surroundings at the Jacob Javits Center over the weekend.To be fair, this was the show’s first year, and many producers of kitchen wares had opted instead to show their goods at the far more established San Francisco Gourmet Products Show in May. Furthermore, Susan Jardina, of Jardina Communications, which represented several of the show’s vendors, noted, “Really, if you’re smart, and a small business owner, you’d be crazy not to be at your store right now, at the beginning of October.”But that didn’t stop 400 housewares vendors from flocking to the Javits Center to show their kitchen gadgets, cookware, and cutlery to department store buyers and other industry professionals.Two very different materials showed up again and again in products on display – silicone and bamboo. Silicone was used for everything from oven mitts to cupcake trays. Heat resistant and incredibly durable, colorful silicone products were displayed prominently by large, established vendors such as Kitchen Aid, and at smaller, independent booths as well.Bamboo led the way as the more environmentally sound material of choice. Harder than maple and lighter than oak, this dense and aesthetically pleasing material is perfect for salad bowls and cutting boards and was featured center stage at booths throughout the show.Many of the designs on display – ergonomic carrot peelers and iMac-inspired food processors – seemed a bit tired. But some unusual items were attention-grabbing – if a bit gimmicky – and would add a fun and whimsical note to even the most serious gourmand’s kitchen.Nicolai Canetti of the Canetti Design Group showed off his “Handy Tossers,” 100% acrylic, see-through salad tossers designed in the shape of human hands ($13.50, available at www.flaxart.com). In an Italian accent, Mr. Canetti recounted how at the dinner table he used to tell his son, “In the old days, we would mix salad with our hands.” Then one fateful day, several years ago, his teenage son came home with plastic hands that he had made at school, which could be used to toss salad. “He’s in college now, and is still getting the royalties,” the former design professor laughed. He added, “I design things that stand out visually but won’t interfere with – and will actually enhance – the function.”Valerio Castellano of the Italian design company La Villanella reported that both adults and children enjoy his “Trebimbi Puppets,” a knife, fork, and spoon set ($24, available at www.modernseed.com/trebipu.html). At the top of the utensil handles are little hard-hat-wearing men, whose arms attach horizontally together to form a veritable Village People party-line. “We hope these will keep kids at the table for an extra one or two minutes,” he said. In addition, he mentioned that adults could use them as an hors d’oeuvres set. Referring to their triangular carved-out bases, he said, “I swear, I’ve seen adults do shots of tequila out of them.”Tovolo, a recently formed, Seattle-based design firm composed of four men in their early 30s who looked like they could have been fraternity brothers, displayed a variety of clever kitchen items. Their kitchen timer had a stainless steel magnet base paired with a Y-shaped rubber handle to keep it from slipping ($9.95, not yet on the market). Also noteworthy was their silicone ice tray, which, clearly designed with the obsessive-compulsive in mind, creates a perfectly cube-shaped ice cube ($9.95 for set of two, not yet on the market). Describing the company’s philosophy, Tovolo’s P.T. Caso said, “We take functional items and innovate them.”Also eye-catching was the self-proclaimed “whimsical/functional” Loofah-Art kitchen scrubber, which comes in a wide variety of colors and shapes, from deep purple eggplants to bright red whales ($4.99 at www.colehardware.com; also sold at Whole Foods Markets). Anita Liwette, the company’s founder, said, “After visiting Paraguay, I had this idea to take loofah out of the bathroom and bring it into the kitchen – and it works phenomenally.” The loofah is organically cultivated in Paraguay.Grind’s “Spring Action” pepper and salt mills were also quite striking ($26-$35 at www.kitchenemporium.com). With a simple press of the thumb, lazy cooks can grind their salt and pepper effortlessly. The mills’ spring mechanisms and sleek stainless-steel design give them a “Jetsons”-era aesthetic, proving that functional kitchen items don’t have to be boring.

Home on the Range

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