Forging Some Fun Sterling Silver Baby Gifts. Welcome! by RICHARD and 5.5 Designers

Bienvenue! A collection of whimsical and modern Silverware for Baby by Parisian silversmiths, RICHARD in collaboration with 5.5 Designers.



To celebrate its centenary, the RICHARD Goldsmith Workshop invited the collective 5.5 Designers to shake up its codes and tradition and reinterpret its expertise in a collection of unusual baby and birth gifts. With curiosity, passion and humor, RICHARD goldsmiths has imagined "Welcome!", a collection that is the antithesis of mass-manufactured products and yet has the undeniable stamp of fine Arts and Crafts.


above: silversmith at Richard forging the collection

Born with a silver spoon in your mouth, or rather a service spoons in their hands. This collection of "birth spoons" was born of the encounter between real expertise and a desire to bring up to date that forgotten tradition of family ties at the time of arrival of the a child.



Spoons were originally made of wood, they were then mostly made of tin. But in wealthy families, it was tradition that the sponsor offers his godson or goddaughter a sterling silver spoon at the time of his or her baptism. This object was thus a symbol ensuring prosperity for the child. The sponsor also offered a cup, a metaphor for money, with the first name and date of birth. These beliefs were widespread and many of us still have our baby cup, rattle and cutlery in a drawer.


above: the egg cup under construction

Today, the act of giving birth or baby gifts is still practiced, but the spoon, the object of life par excellence seems to have gone by the wayside. It is by diverting the archetype of the spoon, using it as raw material, that RICHARD and 5.5 have designed a collection that revisits the classic gifts of birth.

Below are all the pieces in the collection followed by images of the crafting of these items.

The curved spoon functions as both a napkin holder, a place to store the bib or as a teething ring:



By cutting and welding the spoon surfaces to a cup, they become a generous handle and the ears of happy little character.



Planted in a dish, the elegant egg cup has a place for blotters:




The addition of multiple sterling silver rings and handle detailing turns this spoon into a lovely rattle:




This beautiful spoon is equipped with a guard and detailing on the handle:




Welding two spoon surfaces together makes this double as a feeding tool and a place to hold snacks:



All these variations on the iconic baby gifts are versions that make you want to be senile or make older children wish they were still young.

RICHARD:

Since its founding in 1910, the Richard Goldsmith workshop covered forged sterling silver using traditional methods of French goldsmiths. A recognized expert in restoration of antique pieces, Richard Goldsmith Workshop also produces custom-made parts, prototypes and limited series.
www.orfevrerie-richard.com



above: 5.5 designers, Paris 2011

Cutest Smoke Detector Ever. The Chick-A-Dee Chirps You To Safety.

Smoke alarms, which are traditionally functional rather than decorative, are a vital tool to help protect your home and your loved ones. That's why the Dutch Association of Insurers held a competition to design fire prevention solutions, with entries from students taking various design courses in the Netherlands.



The Chick-a-Dee® by Louise van der Veld was the winning entry. The Chick-a-Dee is a well-designed smoke alarm in the shape of a bird.





The bird is perched on a branch, which also serves as a mounting system. The Chick-a-Dee ® comes in 5 color variations and can easily be fitted to the ceiling.




The Chick-a-Dee design is based on the clip-on birds one often sees as decorations on Christmas trees. The designer chose this shape because birds have always been known for their warning calls. It is a well-known fact that that birds warn each other of danger by calling loudly. In the previous century, miners used to take canaries in small cages with them into the mine, because these birds are sensitive to poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide. These gases are both colourless and odourless and can hardly be sensed by man. As soon as the canaries showed even the slightest sign of distress (by no longer singing and chirping) it was a clear signal to evacuate the mine as quickly as possible. The bird's presence gave the miners both a secure and pleasant feeling.




The Chick-a-Dee ® takes its name and appearance from the American Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapilla). This name is a tribute to its warning call, the phonetic Chickadee sound. At the smallest threat, the bird calls chick-a-dee-dee, and in more serious circumstances, the call becomes a loud dee-dee-dee sound. As soon as smoke is detected a 85 db alarm signal is activated. The alarm signals that the battery is dead by playing by playing the alarm signal. Under normal conditions, a control light flashes once a minute. The Chick-a-Dee can be tested by pressing the test button. The batteries are easy to replace.



The Chick-a-Dee smoke detector was specially designed for the Baby and Kids market. The Chick-a-Dee smoke detector is equipped with a 1.5 year battery lifetime and a three-year warranty. Dimensions: length 17 cm, width 17 cm, height 12 cm


images and product description courtesy of Chick-A-Dee and The Initiator and Company

Buy it here

Or buy it directly from Chick-a-Dee in various colors here.

The Baby C Cradle - A Modern Walnut Wood-Lined Womb For Infants.

The Baby C is a modern cradle inspired by the warm, closed environment of a mother’s womb. With a polyethylene shell and a walnut wood interior, the cradle comes with a specially designed mattress:







earlier in the design progress:



Designed by Dripta Roy, co-founder of Puur Design Studio. Available in Europe this fall for €2650 + taxes, by winter in North America—can be pre-ordered at sales@puur.ca.

Baby Cradle Becomes Two Rockers When It's No Longer Needed.

Designer Martin Price, a 2009 graduate from Central Saint Martin with a First-Class Honours Degree in BA Product Design, came up with the idea to design and craft a baby cradle that when outgrown or no longer useful can actually be sawn in half to become two functional rocking chairs.



The result is surprisingly attractive - both the cradle and the rockers are elegant and attractive pieces, each on their own as opposed to looking piece-meal.




The project grew out of his research and dissertation about looking into people's attachment to their possessions and understanding how they use objects to trigger memories of events and stories in their lives.

The piece was created in his workshop using ash wood with a foam mattress:

The computer rendering:

The inspiration:



Martin lives and works in Brighton and is presently working as an intern for Roger Arquer.


See more of Martin's work here.


If you are a fan of modern rockers and rocking chairs, be sure to check these out: