Designer Spotlight: Bambu
When it comes to design, and especially the sustainable design that we like to highlight at TreeHugger, there are several general ideals that we check out before giving it the thumbs up. Things like materials use, manufacturing process and end-of-life considerations paid (is it recyclable or reusable?) are all important, but one generally stands out: whether or not the design solves a problem. A product can be as green as possible, but if it doesn’t serve a useful purpose and ultimately improve our lives, its worthless.
That’s one of the reasons we love bambu [www.bambuhome.com]. Their products are made of organically-grown bamboo (one of TreeHugger’s favorite materials [www.sundancechannel.com]), and the designs (mostly for kitchen and dining applications) are sleek, modern and smart, and we like them well enough to name them as one of the ”Best of TH: Designers” [www.treehugger.com] in 2005. One of the first designs that caught our eye, way back in 2004, was the Lacquerware collection, featuring bowls (pictured), plates and other tabletop items, each of which is hand-coiled and shaped, and finished with durable, waterproof, and food-safe natural lacquer. Suitable for both hot and cold foods, they’re available in a wide range of colors (including your own custom hue) and finishes.
bambu also makes utensils that we like a lot; we’re particularly taken with the “Give it a Rest” series of utensils, pictured above. Each is hand-shaped from a single piece of organically grown bamboo, then burnished and hand-finished with an all-natural food-safe oil. Paris-based designer Godefroy de Virieu utilized the unique characteristics of bamboo to create a completely new and multi-functional everyday kitchen tool. Bamboo grows “nodes” which are the natural separations in a bamboo culm. The designer was inspired by the bamboo node to create a patented design that cleverly integrates a spoon rest directly into the spoon handle. This conveniently elevates the utensil head, keeping counters and stovetops cleaner and free of sticky, oily messes, and that’s a problem-solving design if we’ve ever seen it.
They aren’t stopping there, though. Earlier this year, they introduced over 20 new products that continue their practice of combining beautiful designs with superb functionality. The “Spoontula” (above, left), whose patented design also comes from Godefroy de Virieu, combines a spoon and spatula to create a unique kitchen multi-tasker. bambu is also introducing a new color range for its Lacquerware series this year, including bold colors like Cayenne, Red Pepper and Kiwi green (above, center). Also new this year is the ingenious Chop Scoop & Serve cutting boards (above, right). The boards are designed to handle several functions: chop and scoop on one side, serve on the other. One end includes a hollowed out taper to provide an easy method to move your freshly chopped ingredients to the plate or pan. Turn it over, and you have a serving tray with a bowl area neatly integrated into the board. bambu just finished showcasing all their new products for 2007, including other designs like the Kids line of utensils and cute “Curvy Servers”, at the International Home & Housewares [www.housewares.org] show from March 11-13, in Chicago, and all their new products are now available at the “bambu Boutique” at greenfeet.com [www.bambu.greenfeet.com].
