Dezeen Magazine

Nendo designs Totte plates and bowls for small apartments

Japanese studio Nendo has designed a collection of ceramic tableware with handles to help store them in compact spaces and carry hot food.

Totte-plate by Nendo

The Totte range of circular plates and bowls is available in three different sizes, and in white, brown, pink, green and blue versions.

Each piece features a rectangular handle with rounded corners that extends from the rim, that is designed to be easier to hold when the plates and bowls are hot.

Totte-plate by Nendo

"Not only has this resulted in new ways of using them but provided them with a strong 'sense of security as a tool'," said Nendo, which recently designed pairs of cone-shaped house slippers that resemble wizard's hats.

Totte-plate by Nendo

The hole in the middle of the handles also allows the range to be hung from a wall for storage. The three sizes fit neatly inside one another, so they can be stored on a shared hook or stacked horizontally.

Totte-plate by Nendo

As living spaces become more restricted, designers are focusing on creating products for compact apartments.

Totte-plate by Nendo

David Roman Lieshout created a semi-foldable bicycle that can be hung on the wall, and Stockholm-based Note Design Studio reduced the dimensions of a typical lounge chair to fit into smaller homes and offices.

Last year, furniture giant Ikea launched a limited-edition range specifically targeted at young, creative city-dwellers faced with small living spaces and uncertain rental terms. British retailer Heal's followed suit with a collection that launched at the 2014 London Design Festival.

Totte-plate by Nendo

Nendo has released a steady stream of products this year, including expandable shelves using carbon fibre, an aluminium chair with interchangeable wooden tops, and a bag designed specifically for architects that could change shape to accommodated differently sized drawings.

"When I start thinking about working on close to 400 projects, it relaxes me," Nendo founder Oki Sato told Dezeen in an interview.

Totte-plate by Nendo

Other tableware designed by the studio includes bowls that are so thin they quiver in the breeze, and a glassware collection made from recycled Coca-Cola bottles that had deteriorated through repeated washing and filling.

Photography is by Akihiro Yoshida.