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There is a subtle historic affinity between the “container” theme and the objects in the Alessi catalogue. Since our origins, many of Alessi’s most interesting, successful and image distinctive products have been expressions of the verb “to contain”. The most recent to emerge was the small “Babà” family, a charming, elegant and clever compendium of the overall container class of item. I consider this to be an extremely fascinating design exercise, that on one hand takes into account technical-production aspects, while on the other it deals with the sentimental language of objects and, finally, reassesses classical domestic functional categories. The shape is soft and all-embracing, but at the same time makes its image impact. Its extra-large dimensions make it the biggest item that Alessi has ever made in its history, using a single sheet metal disc. Finally, the function: these containers are polyvalent in the truest sense of the word: they can become flower vases, wastepaper baskets, umbrella stands, and even a rather out-of-the-ordinary bottle cooler that will hold a half bottle in the case of “Babà Small” to a gigantic Salomon bottle in the case of “Babà Extralarge”!
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