Connection

connection_cube_2
  • Connection is a set of eating tools that were designed to combine Chinese and European eating cultures and unite them through an intercultural eating experience. It consists of a short pair of chopsticks, a spoon and knife attachment, and a multifunctional handle. 
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  • The set was created to take away the inhibitions and connect the cultures.  It is missing out on a fork and contains chopsticks instead. In that way, Europeans are forced to grapple with the use of foreign eating tools to be able to eat food from their own country. The knife and the chopsticks build  a new entity. Also, the included chopsticks are shorter than common in China. They are not made for reaching out on shared plates on the table but for an intercultural eating experience with foreign European countries eating habits.

     

    • The main parts for eating are made out of ceramics. It builds a contrast to the bamboo handle that reflects the Asian culture. The knife resembles a flint stone, the beginning of the development of the cutting tool, and builds a connection to the history of the cutlery emergence. The spoon has a deeper bowl than usual European spoons and is oriented on the Chinese soup spoon. The chopsticks can be stored inside the bamboo stick. The set can be placed in a little bag made out of woven bamboo to make it portable.

       

Process

A foam and a clay model was used to create the ceramic mould.

The Bamboo for the Handle was a gift from a bamboo farmer in a small chinese village close to Xiao Ma that was carefully cut and sanded by hand. 

During the project we got to explore chinese culture and live together with the other students in their student housing. For one month we worked in teams to develop concepts for intercultural eating dishes and tools. 

After the initial ideation phase each student developed their own product for an intercultural eating experience that would enhance the similarities and differences between the eating habits of each culture.

Time period

Winter 2019

 

Collaborations

One month scholarship for an international project with 

Industrial Design Institute at Zhaoqing University in China.

 

Skills
  • Intercultural Design Thinking 
  • Ceramic mould making for non rotational forms
  • Glazing ceramics