Espress Yourself
Good pun meets great design
While stopping by Cafe Intramuros at this year’s Wanted Design, we stumbled across “Espress Yourself”, a line of espresso cups fashioned by a collective of NYC designers. The group of five created their cups in a mere two months leading up to the show, using a combination of rapid prototyping, computer-aided design, 3D printing and CNC machining to help speed up the process. The porcelain beauties that they produced reflect a reverence for coffee and a fresh look at the morning ritual.
With no more than 100 pieces per design and a limited time frame, the designers didn’t have the option to export labor. The pieces were made using an old yet efficient method of porcelain slip casting. While only Kenjiro Yamakawa had experience in the process, they were nevertheless able to hand-pour, sand and glaze their pieces in time. Erik Strom’s “A Day in the Life” reminded us of Dror’s Vase of Phases, and Marco Leone’s “Sip” took a fresh look at the ubiquitous rim—turning it into a kind of sippy cup for grown-ups. The three-pronged “3 Senses” from Loren Kulesus made for a whimsical vessel while Yamakawa kept it old-school with a cask-inspired mug. As for William Kang, his traditional cup was cleverly contrasted with an asymmetrical geometric handle.
The cups are available individually and as a set in limited quantity from Espress Yourself. We’re expecting five unique interpretations of other common housewares to come from the collective int he near future.
Images by Josh Rubin
