« Still Stuck Storyboarding | Main | Wig Test »
October 29, 2008
Trouble with teaspoons
Now it might not be the same for everyone, but I feel the bowl of a spoon is a thing of beauty. Or, at least, I should say, the bowl of a spoon is mostly a thing of beauty.
For in the bowl of a spoon can be seen a reflection of the Economics of Design, that is: the more you pay the better things tend to look. Again this is not always the case, it’s clearly possible to spend a small fortune on something that looks, to you, distinctly unpleasant.
On the left is a teaspoon of pleasing aspect, made in Sheffield, with a bit of weight behind it, some might say a classic. Next to it is a teaspoon made in Solingen [which is German for Sheffield] again, weighty and of not unpleasant proportions.
Then we get the Ikea special, made in China, and somehow lacking flare, although it feels solid. Finally, on the right, the Wilkinson budget teaspoon, costing about 20p, weighing nothing, feeling horrid, looking grim and generally not the sort of tool you want to be using to get at your boiled egg on a frosty morning.
Time was, teaspoons, like everything else, were made by craftsmen, with individuality and care. So much richness is lost to us by the automation of the manufacturing process, and the economies of scale.
Posted by john at October 29, 2008 11:24 AM
Comments
.......It is very important what teaspoon you choose for eating your gently boiled breakfast egg its not the same at all if the spoon is wrong !!!
Posted by: paula at October 30, 2008 01:08 PM