Unusable Tableware by David Clarke

British silversmith David Clarke creates work which engages and challenges domestic objects.
his aesthetic relates to the subversive nature in which he responds to the traditions of his craft,
often result in surprising outcomes.

His recent project is a series of 'unusable tableware' made from electro plated nickel,
silver and pewter, with exaggerated forms or unexpected flourishes which would not typically
be seen in utensil design.


website

Writing Spoon by Julia Mariscal

This spoon helps you to scribble, and accentuates the texture of the espresso, cappuccino or chocolate, which is used instead of ink. The emphasis is on how the object is resolved. Because it is never anything other than a spoon, but it has that incision on the tip, just at the end. It is a spoon up to the last centimetres, when it becomes a pen.
Website

Flexible Table Cloth

Korean design studio Maezm has created the table-dish-cover; a flexible table cloth with built in dishes. Made from a special, food-safe, injection-molded silicon it can be folded, rolled or crushed making dining and clean-up a simple process! 

Storyware

This is an amazing project selected for the 6th Food Design Competition. Storyware is designed by Ling, Tam, Tomos and Yinghui.

Our aim was to design an object or experience that helps one feel a deeper connection to ones family history, and to create something of great personal value.

Storyware communicates a story through a functional set of objects. Drinking tea is traditionally a communal activity, and a time for families to discuss and share. Stories are harvested from family members, recorded, and then embedded into ceramic using technology similar to vinyl records or wax cylinders. Throwing clay is a traditional craft, and the fragility of the material acts as a reminder of the fragility of family heritage as migration disperses close-knit families and communities.

The tea-cups and their integral narratives are to be protected, enjoyed and cherished.

These tea-cups were hand crafted from porcelain with the help of ceramic students at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Sound was then etched into the outer surface using an ad-hoc dictaphone. The result is a functional set of ceremonial cups with an embedded audio history, which can be played back via analog sound devices.

For this particular set we recorded the voice of Dr. Li. Dr. Li is a retired professor of Tsinghua University who has opened his own vocational training school in inner-city Beijing; teaching impoverished teenagers how to build and repair computers. The school, located in an ancient Hutong,, will soon be displaced due to rapid urban development of inner Beijing. Dr. Li’s story was played back through Storyware cups on a salvaged record player as part of an effort for Chinese cultural retention.

Jamie Oliver TED's speech

This is about food, than it's of course about designing food. And I personally think he is so right!
This is a doable revolution!
Obesity is a problem given by ignorance (meant as lack of knowledge)... food ignorance. Cure the ignorance and you erase the problem.

It's really worth watching this!

Designers MUST be aware of all aspects of the material they work with: food.