Ole Jensen’s Rubber Tub- 03.31.08
I seldom LOL when reading design sites… but when i hit this entry on Pan Dan, i couldn’t help myself. Ole Jensen’s known for his many simple, vibrant, designs with Normann Copenhagen - and perhaps one of his most iconic is the rubber washing up bowl and brush from back in 2002. So imagine my surprise when i see either a HUGE version of the bowl with a naked man sitting in it …. or the bowl, with a teeny tiny man in it. Upon closer inspection this is infact the bath tub version of the bowl, and it even has a tail hanging off of it with a cork stopper.
Turns out that this Rubber Tub is Ole Jensen’s latest piece for the Salone in Milan at the MINDCRAFT Exhibition. The Danish Crafts site says: “For the MINDCRAFT exhibition Ole has developed a soft bathtub, exploring the EPDM rubber material in new dimensions, taking his artistic point of departure in his success design; The washing-up bowl, for Normann Copenhagen.”
“A soft tub for the body. For children and adults. For play and healing.
In the garden or the stylish bathroom.”
———— Ole Jensen, ceramist and designer.
See more images after the jump! As well as the story behind the original bowl and brush…
Here’s the story of this iconic washing bowl and brush from the Normann Copenhagen page (peek under kitchen accessories to find it)…
Ole Jensen, designer
One day, while washing up in his kitchen at home, Ole Jensen felt reluctant to put his fragile porcelain and glass straight into the stainless steel sink. He also noticed that the sink’s shape was very inflexible in relation to unusual kinds of dishes and tableware, and the idea of a flexible washing-up bowl began to take shape in his mind. The idea was that the washing-up bowl should adapt its shape to whatever object lay in it, so Ole decided to use a flexible material, such as rubber. He then designed the prototype, hand-working the model on his potter’s wheel until the shape was right.
In the production of the washing-up bowl, it was important that its hand-kneaded character came to expression and produced that special aesthetic look that we associate with handicraft. The result was very satisfactory - a shape that is both flexible and durable, in a new, strong material that can also be produced in a wealth of colours. This washing-up bowl adds a poetic element to a repetitive and sometimes tiresome routine, and can be characterised as a piece of industrial handicraft.
Like the aforementioned dustpan brush, the washing-up brush is made of Chinese pig bristles bent and glued to the wood. The brush is produced according to old production techniques, and by the time it is finished, it has received the attention of no less than sixteen female hands.
The washing-up bowl was awarded the prestigious International Design Plus Price in 2002
Here are a few of his other designs you may recall…
Great design, everythins is going to be simplified in the future.
----- ArthurP. 13.04.09 13:52