These carafes by Zurich designer Anna Blattert of Swiss collective Postfossil incorporate little baskets to hold fresh ingredients like lemon or mint for making flavoured tap water.

Called Stir It, the tinted glass containers have chunky cork stoppers to hold the basket in place and were on show as part of Postfossil's presentation called Homemade at the Salone Satellite in Milan last month.

See all our stories about Postfossil »

The Salone Internazionale del Mobile took place from 17 to 22 April. See all our stories about Milan 2012 here, plus photos on Facebook and Pinterest.

Here's some more information from Postfossil:

Carafe and tea brush stir it
Out of the collection “Home made”, 2012

This unique glass carafe with tea brush can be used to swiftly rustle up delicious fresh drinks.

Put fresh tea leaves, herbs, slices of lemon or even ice cubes in the sieve and seal in with the cork stopper. Make fresh lemonade or an iced tea in no time by swishing the brush around in the water. The cork stopper can also be used to seal the carafe without the brush.

“stir it” shows how easy it is to mix a tasty and healthy drink using only tap water and a few herbs (which you can pick yourself). You’re sure to receive praise for your new creations!

The high quality carafe of hand-blown glass is available in three colours.

Materials: cork, steel, hand-blown glass
Made in Switzerland
Designer: Anna Blattert for Postfossil

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In this game of chess created by designer Florian Hauswirth of Switzerland, pieces that are taken can be stacked to create new pieces with combined abilities.

Called Democratic Chess, the maple set can be used either as a traditional chess set or played according to Hauswirth's rules.

The design was presented at Ventura Lambrate in Milan last month as part of a presentation entitled Trattoria Utopia by design collective Postfossil.

See all our stories about Milan 2011 »

Here are some more details from Hauswirth:

Democratic Chess - Postfossil Trattoria Utopia Collection 2011

The game of chess as model for a utopian society

The scenario described by a traditional chess set consists of a monarchy with entourage including a castle/city, soldiers/knights and pawns/people. It is a game of strategy, whereby planning for the next move is essential.

Chess – ‘The Royal Game’ – has been played since time immemorial in the most varied cultures from India to Persia, Russia, to the Vikings. Nowadays, computers are increasingly playing alongside chess masters.

Democratic Chess is a new interpretation of the traditional chess game. Not only the form, but also the function of the figures has been re-interpreted, which means that the flow and content of the game can change. Democratic Chess increases the unpredictability of the game, creating totally new and surprising situations.

New ways of playing are made possible by the shape of the figures. Pieces taken are not eliminated but stacked, thus creating new figures, which have more abilities. For example, a knight or even a second queen can be made from several pawns etc.

Democratic Chess can be played in one of three ways:

• normal chess (monarchy) with the traditional rules
• the new, democratic chess, with flexible values and play scenarios
• A constructive children’s game

Material: maple wood, in coloured varnish

POSTFOSSIL sets up its exhibition ‘Trattoria Utopia’ during the Milan Furniture Fair (12 -17 April 2011) in Ventura Lambrate.

The objects exhibited in the exhibition ‘Trattoria Utopia’ provoke discussion, encourage questions and allow new utopias to arise. The interaction in the space is central, as is the exchange between visitors and designers. Trattoria Utopia ventures a peek at the future, suggests possible scenarios and combines these with impossible ones. Visions are presented, but developed together with visitors. Trattoria Utopia is a meeting place that invites one to spend time, make discoveries and to contemplate.

The collection ranges from cutlery, crockery, seating to toys: Objects that can be found in a trattoria, but which also deal with the postfossil vision. The objects are arranged and displayed on and around a large board. Removed from their pure function as exhibits, they can be tried out and tested by the visitors.

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FHNY Collection by Florian Hauswirth	Postfossil at Milan 2010	Doublefacette by Postfossil

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This three-legged wooden chair with adjustable back-rest shaped like an oar is part of a special edition collection designed by Florian Hauswirth of Switzerland.

Above: MWC - Minimal Wood Chair

Called FHNY Collection, the range includes a nutcracker, a set of ceramic vessels with coloured strips at the bases and an oar-shaped wooden scoop.

Hauswirth is part of Swiss design collective Postfossil.

Above: My Wood

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The following information is from Hauswirth:

In his work, Swiss Industrial Designer Florian Hauswirth combines traditional forms and crafts with new technologies. The origin and lifecycles of materials as well as the production methods of objects are important to the Wallpaper* Award Winner 2010. The FHNY Collection, a result from Hauswirth’s artist residency from the Bernese Foundation for Applied Arts in New York, contemplates the origin of objects in terms of material, production and place.

Above: Vessel

Through his designs, Hauswirth raises awareness of the materiality and production processes of everyday objects in a time when industrial globalization and modern production/transportation methods have left us with little or no relation to the work and efforts behind a product As an industrial designer and technical model maker Hauswirth knows these processes well and seeks to embody them in his work by creating durable and sustainable objects.

All objects of this limited edition were designed and produced in New York City.

MWC Minimal Wood Chair

A minimalist chair from solid wood, inspired by the experimental “Minimal Chair“ developed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1948. The mechanical-functional finesse of a moveable backrest, implemented in wood only, improves the comfort of this novel small wooden chair. The furniture allows two different seating positions. Another inspiration for the mechanical wooden chair was Shaker furniture. Shakers were ingenious craftspeople who, centuries ago already developed ball joints from solid wood.

Above: Nutool

Nutool

Nutool is an aluminum nutcracker, an accessory with a tool character. Products exist to serve as a tool to ease our everyday life. The cracking of a nut is something essential – the natural transport- and wrapping-shell of a fruit is being opened. Nutool is best used at the end of a day, with a fresh piece of bread and a glass of wine.

My Wood

The wood used for this scoop derives from a plum tree that grew next to the house where the designer was raised. Nutrition and cooking were very important in the bringing up of Florian Hauswirth and still are today. Not only should we strive for local and organic foods, our everyday objects should live up to the same sustainable expectations.

Vessel (three ceramic vessels)

The ceramics collection plays with the physical relation between fluidity and form. As vessels swim in the glaze, they are being marked - an inversion of the inside and the outside. Through this marking, the production process becomes apparent on the product. Through different prototypes, industrially appearing ceramics were created.

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Doublefacette by Florian Hauswirth	Assemblage 1 by Toogood	Furniture by Postfossil

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Milan 2010: Design collective Postfossil will launch a new collection of furniture as part of the SaloneSatellite at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan next week, including these wooden chairs joined together with adhesives naturally present in the timber.

Called Just Wood Chair 2, the seating is constructed using adhesives naturally present in the wood, which are released by the heat generated when dowels are inserted.

Above: Reflect Chair and Ottoman by Thomas Walde. The chair, through its form, aims to encourage reflection and meditation which in this day and age is often suppressed by other activities. The reduction to structure and naked realisation activate the user and their thoughts. The size and high armrests inspired by Corbusier’s LC2 typologically bring to mind an easy chair, however, it does not allow for much more than to sit down in it, meditate or open a book. The element in front of it corresponds to an ottoman which can also be used as repository or as a stool. Materials: Steel pipe, black.

Other pieces on show will include bottles divided in two for wine water, and a chair made of bent tubular steel with a wooden seat (above and below).

See all our stories about Milan 2010 in our special category.

Photographs are by Philipp Hänger. Captions are provided by the designers.

Above: Deuxpiece by Florian Hauswirth. divided – united. An assemblage between a water and a wine jug. With a good meal you should enjoy good wine and clear water. Mineralwater gets transported around the world needlessly – especially to those areas where clean water is available from the tap. Wine consists of water. The grape is transformed into a colourful, precious liquid through skillful handicraft, knowledge and time.  This postfossil designproject should motivate to drink local water from taps.

The semi-circular form is easy to handle. Additionally it creates a spout through which the pouring is made easy and which prevents dribbling. For the production of deuxpiece liquid glass was blown into the form. The hardened bottle itself holds any liquid and animates to play with the different colours and levels of its contents. Material: Glass.

Above: Containersystem 1530 by Daniel Gafner. With the container system „1530“ several needs can be covered, whether as a room partition or as a side table, you can create the most diverse structures. The simple container elements made from french seapine plywood are based on a raster of 15 and 30 centimetres.

The prominent fluting of the containers allows for a tool-less yet extraordinarily stable interlinkage of the elements with standard foldback pegs. The system „1530“ is the evolution of a travelling library for a collection of art books. The stacking of moving boxes in order to avoid clearing out and putting back in the books every time, was the idea for this library.

Through the reduction to four aligned formats and the possibility of easy, tool-less interlinkage the system can house various sizes of books, media and other objects. Through the matching base element the containers are not directly placed on the floor and are thus better protected from dirt and dust.

Above: Pic by Christine Birkhoven. This table is not only unusual in its form, but also in its combination of materials. The legs made from naturally oiled oak and act almost like a dancer carrying the untreated andesite stoneplate in a rhombus form.

The natural materials stone and wood do not need additional connections: on the underside of the stoneplate are drilled holes which anchor the legs of the table. The weight of the stone gives the table the necessary stability.

Above: Sgabello by Claudia Heiniger. Sgabello is a simple object which, through its asymmetrical form, indicates the different possibilities for use. The materials sheet metal and solid wood are merged structurally and functionally, whilst at the same time remaining completely separable.

The interplay of material thickness and profile gives the frame its structure. The wood formally unbalances the frame and invites the user to explore the different functions of the object. Once Sgabello is unbalanced, new functions emerge, such as a side table or a bracket for book storage.

The shadows created through the metal frame, the colour of the wood and the combination of the two materials award Sgabello its own elegance. Material: Metal frame, powder-coated, solid wood plate (cherry, oak) untreated.

Above: Stone Tools by Christine Birkhoven.  To the stone age and back: this (limited) series wants to take the preparation of foodstuffs to a sapient yet modern level. Material and craft meet each other, irreplaceable in their honesty and individuality.

The objects are intuitive in their application, there are no directions for use or wrong ways of using them. These kitchen utensils want to be handled: to feel the heavy, cold material and to recognise its handiness will turn the preparation of food into an irresistible pleasure.

Above: Valet by Anna Blattert. Valet is an elegantly swung coatrack made from bent wood. Functionally related to the valet stand the clothes are hung on the clotheshanger for airing or hung directly over the bar.

Folded up Valet takes up a minimum of space. The traditional method of steam bending takes advantage of the characteristics of the solid wood and does not require any additives.

The simple folding system allows quick setup and quick storing. The airing out of garments prevents having to wash them excessively and helps to save energy. Material: Oiled nutwood or lackered ash.

Above: Fruit Bowl Trifoglio by Thomas Walde.

Trifoglio is a simple fruit bowl collection.

It's a  new work in the context of design plattform postfossil. Material: stainless steal or enameled.

Above: VASA by Claudia Heiniger. VASA, a flowerpot for herbs. Cooking with herbs spices up life, creates breaks in the hectic everyday life, acts sustainably. In spring the herbs grow in VASA on the balcony. During the months of summer and autumn they blossom and are cut for cooking. During the winter months VASA, including the greens, moves to the kitchen – you keep cooking with taste. VASA is unbalanced and falls over unless coupled magnetically with a second form.

VASA is an invitation to spice up life with herbs – but not just one herb. Inside the porcelain form are magnets which allow for ‚docking‘ of as many herbs as possible. VASA is completed with a saucer which equally docks onto the pot magnetically. Material: Ceramic cast, magnets.

Above: JWC2 - Just Wood Chair 2 by Florian Hauswirth. The evolution of the chair which is made exclusively from wood. Just Wood Chair 2 is the evolution of the world’s first chair made exclusively from wood through the application of the wood-joining technique. This chair consists exclusively of wood and does not require glue in its assembly. The heat generated by placing the dowels releases adhesives present in the wood itself – lignin and hemicellulose – forming a substantial welded bond in seconds. The constructive design of JWC2 plays with separations and connections, formal amalgamation as well as with chequered design. You can stack up to four chairs. Material: Ashwood, Maplewood (Dowels), Color: reaction of the wood with iron oxide and tannin, Association: Sebastian Kraft from the Biel School for Wood Technology (BFH –AHB).

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Florian Hauswirth of Swiss studio Postfossil has designed a set of salt and pepper mills that fit together.

Called Doublefacette, the objects are made of ceramic and cherry wood.

More about Postfossil on Dezeen:

Doubleface tableware
Furniture

The project is an extension to Hauswirth's Doubleface tableware collection - see our previous story.

Here's some information from Postfossil:

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DOUBLEFACETTE:

Salt and pepper have to be on the table; together. The salt and pepper mills Doublefacette complement one another both in a functional and in a formal way.

Inspired by an outline, the forms, as the contents, are complementary. The inverted forms and the interplay of the materials lend attention to an object of utility an extraordinary haptic experience. Design reflects the use. According to the parsimonious way of using salt, the diameter of the salt mill is small. The pepper mill instead spins you twice.

Once spices were rare and precious goods, in particular salt, reserved only for rich people. Doublefacette accommodates history and tradition; proudly carrying its contents. Doublefacette is a figurative object of utility, it awaits either on the shelf or already on the table for serving us several times a day.

Material: ceramic and cherry wood
Design: Florian Hauswirth, Postfossil

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