Housewares show wraps the convenient and clever in style
The International Home + Housewares Show was a lot of fun this year.
How can you resist products like a small barbecue grill that doubles as a planter. Or what about the Museum of Robots’ vases inspired by classic chemistry lab beakers and salt and pepper shakers modeled after rockets.
And of course, Urban Butik presents great Swedish style. Consider coat racks cut and bent from a sheet of metal or watering cans you’re happy to leave out as part of the houseplant display.
In many cases, rock bottom prices did not seem the only goal at the Chicago show this year. Manufacturers believe a stylish product can command a slightly higher price.
Here are wares you can buy now or soon.
Style
The Hot-Pot BBQ is designed to tuck on a deck or patio. Black + Blum’s planter sits on top of a little charcoal grill, making it attractive and protected from the weather, Brian Persico said. And if you grow your favorite herbs in the planter, they are at hand to pop on your meat while you’re cooking.
The suggested retail is $124, and it will be available at the end of April.
A beauty from Black + Blum is the Fruit Loop, chrome-plated steel wire bent by hand to create a fruit “bowl.” It’s suggested retail is $40.
Order from black-blum.com.
Museum of Robots is a company owned by Vicki and Richard Kung, Californians who collect robots and midcentury items and have their own design studio.
“To us robots are retro and futuristic,” said Vicki Kung. “They look back and forward.”
Their most popular creations are the salt and pepper shakers shaped like rockets from either wood or recycled aluminum for $52.
But don’t miss the metal vases in polished recycled aluminum shaped like three types of laboratory beakers. A large beaker can be $80, three small bud-vase sized ones $55. The small ones come in brushed aluminum.
You’ll find these in museum shops and at museumofrobots.com.
Born in Sweden watering cans retail for $65, and you have your choice of nine colors, including polished steel. The wall-hanging coat rack of curled steel is $80.
The company also sells less expensive items with cool Scandinavian design like a $10 fly swatter and a little round, clear bird feeder that sticks on a window with a suction cup for $20.
The company’s products are sold in museum stores and online at urban-butik.com.
While we’re in a European mood, check out the Parisan Zebag, which is designed for carrying or storing wine. The colors include lime, red, black and white.
The bag rolls up, and the top and bottom Velcro on so you can carry up to six bottles, or you can hang it on the wall at home to hold them in a space-saving fashion. When laid out on a sideboard or countertop Zebag can hold 11 bottles.
The bad news is this is not available from retailers in this country yet but will cost $65 or a little more when it is. Or purchase online at zebag.fr (click on the British flag for English translation).
Safety
When you’re hiking or camping or in an emergency, you don’t want your batteries to go dead. That’s where Eton’s TurboDyne series comes in. Branded with the American Red Cross, these radios and flashlights, usually in combination, can be charged by hand-cranking. They are priced from $40 to $70, and you can charge your cell phone with them, too. One minute of cranking creates 15 minutes of radio time, said Bonnie Liu, sales manager. They will be available at the end of March.
There’s also a special unit for climbers that clips onto the adventurer’s belt and operates with solar energy. It costs $130.
The company also makes solar-charged docking stations with speakers for iPhones and iPods. The current model is $200, and another one is on the way. Visit etoncorp.com.
New mom Vianka Perez Belyea created Rhoost because she couldn’t find childproofing products with style. We like the rubber corners that are adjustable to fit on furniture like coffee tables and countertops — without damaging the surface with glue or screws. And they are easily portable to take to grandma’s house or on vacation. A set of four is $15.
Rhoost also sells a blind winder to get the cord safely out of the way and cabinet closures that hook together if the knobs are too far apart for one. These are four for $10.
Outlet covers with little niches on the side so you can easily pry one out with the prong of whatever you want to plug in are 12 for $8.
Learn where to buy at rhoost.com.
Green
If you’re looking for green, Nextlife makes products from materials collected from businesses, such as plastic hangers, and turns them into a resin that is approved by the FDA. That means tableware can be made from this recycled plastic. One brand is Preserve Everyday Tableware. And Nextlife says it doesn’t cost any more to be green. Visit preserveproducts.com and check out nextlife.com.
The Laundry Pod from StoreBound is a cross between hand laundry and a washing machine. You put a small load of clothing in it, add water and detergent and turn the crank for a minute or two. Drain and add freshwater for rinsing. Crank more. Then you can drip dry without a lot of drip or squeezing. You should see this in June, and it could be a hit in dorm rooms, boats and recreational vehicles. Visit Storebound.com.