Design Indaba Expo 2010: Inception Collection
The debut line of colorful Corian housewares from ambitious South African design duo Snapp
Launched at last month’s Design Indaba expo, the Inception Collection from Snapp was one of the more attention-grabbing product collections there. With its use of brilliant hues and bold forms, the group of five objects stood out from much of the more craft-based wares on view.
Founded by industrial designer Jonathan Fundudis and mechanical engineer Renko Nieman, the Johannesburg-based firm aspires to lead the field in contemporary South African product design and manufacturing. The brand fabricated their inaugural collection entirely from Corian, which they selected for its ability to be machined, thermoformed, laminated and finished using both new technology and traditional production techniques.
Highlights from the collection include the Lamellae fruit bowl (top), inspired by the underside of mushrooms, the Slice cutting board (next image), in which two wedge-shaped voids allow for both handling the board and scooping chopped food, and the alluring Twi-light table lamp (above), which turns on and off by pressing the top cap.
Since Corian is a notoriously expensive material, and producing these pieces in small batches could be quite costly, we’re interested to see how the gentlemen at Snapp can scale up their design projects to reach a wider South African, and international, audience. They’ve certainly got some good ideas, so watch for more from them in the years ahead.
