This just in, the latest in stackable tableware news: Danish architectural firm C.F. Møller stays true to the ideals of “simplicity, clarity, and unpretentiousness” that have guided its practice for the past 90 years with its latest release, the Ensō line of stackable dishes and cups. Every now and then the esteemed practice (it’s the largest in the country) diverges from its wide array of ambitious, award-winning work to design a product or two. Though the firm doesn’t produce “trendy” work (we mean that in the most complimentary way), the Ensō range is right in line with the recent resurgence of the Memphis movement that started in Italy in the ‘80s and is again winning over design lovers, one totemic design after another.
One of the key differences here, of course, is that the collection is pure white, whereas the Memphis movement prided itself on its familiarity with the brightest spots of the color wheel. And, far from being decorative, the towering structure of each 12-piece set serves a function that does, indeed, influence its lovely form.
For starters, a stack of tea cups will not only trap and recirculate heat, but it makes serving the tea itself infinitesimally easier (a boon for servers or hostesses everywhere). It also solves refrigerator and cabinet organization woes. Now leftovers, even those from various courses, don’t need to be unceremoniously (and collectively—eww) scooped into a plastic container at the end of a meal; just stack them all up, slide ’em in the fridge, and move onto the coffee and brandy. Now, isn’t that civilized?
Available in stores and online from aida.com this fall, though visitors to the Formex and Formland fairs in Stockholm will have already had a sneak peek.
