moma

Set of plates make a great conversation starter

Straight from the destination: Japan collection at the MoMA Design Store, these plates are a fun addition to your dinner table.

Designed by Ikuko Nakazawa to look like chat bubbles in comic strips, the set includes three plates: one large serving platter and two smaller plates for appetizers or little snacks. The Destination: Japan collection was created to showcase "lifestyle products from Japan," and also includes fun gadgets like pencil chopsticks and the previously featured Folding Bread Board.

At the moment, the Chat Plates are on back order. You can reserve a set in the next arriving batch … Read more

Watch that brandy wobble

Just because Valentine's Day is over doesn't mean that you can't share a glass of tasty spirits with your sweetheart: the MoMA Design Store provides you the opportunity with this quirky set of wobbling cognac glasses.

slightly off-putting. Maybe it's just me, but in general, I like to pour dark liquids into vessels that look stable enough to hold them without spilling them all over my carpet. I'm also not accustomed to seeing my food and drinks move around on the table between bites and sips.

But the wobbling glasses, in addition to embodying the … Read more

A very clever cup clip

One of the reasons I bought a notebook computer is so I could get work done in my living room. Until now, this has worked out just fine: I can bring my computer to my coffee table and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee while I write or balance my budget.

But, as they are prone to do in the world of people who still rent, things changed when I got a new roommate.

It wasn't the arrival of a new body in the house that interrupted my typical living room workspace, but rather the arrival of three … Read more

Ethnic fare for your fridge

They may not be the most functional kitchen accessories, but these Korean-themed magnets are a good reminder that sometimes it's nice to splurge on useless trinkets.

The magnet sets were designed for the MoMA's Destination: Seoul collection by Hui Eun Chang, intended as a celebration of South Korean traditions and lifestyle. The Korean Meal set features bean-paste pot stew, fried fish, rice, fried egg, and kimchi. If one plate of Kimchi isn't enough, you can opt for the Kimchi set, which includes stuffed cucumber kimchi, radish kimchi, DongChiMi (a variety consisting of daikon radish, Chinese cabbage, spring … Read more

Take a sip from a Pantone-style cup

If you've ever dabbled in graphic design, worked at a print company, decided to repaint the kitchen, or taken a trip to the grocery store, then you've probably seen a booklet of paint samples, each swatch with its own unique identification number.

This numerical color-standardization system is called the Pantone Color Matching System, introduced in 1963 by the Pantone Company. The company's main product is a series of cardboard strips, printed with closely matched colors and bound as tiny books. These booklets have made color matching a more straightforward task for painters, print companies, and graphic designers. … Read more

Drink coffee like a real New Yorker

Living in New York, I get most of my coffee on the go. This means that I often feel the pangs of guilt that are associated with the amount of paper waste coming out of the city every day. I try to mitigate the problem by holding onto my cup through the day, refilling it with coffee or tea at work.

For hygienic reasons, this is probably not the best idea.

I use my French press religiously on the mornings that I can make time for it, but on my busy workdays, the coffee and bagel cart down the street … Read more

Swirl your way to tea nirvana

One of my favorite jobs in college was at a loose leaf tea shop. I had all of the free tea I could drink, and on principle, they refused to serve coffee. The coffee ban made several customers angry (and me too, when I first started to work there), but after several months of serving and talking about tea, I considered myself lucky to have been exposed to its many benefits. To this day, one of my favorite things to do in winter is curl up on the couch with a cup of freshly brewed hot tea.

Any tea snob … Read more

Serving sporks with style

The holidays represent different things for different people, but for many, they provide a ton of opportunities to entertain. In the month between Thanksgiving and New Year's, from family gatherings, friendly dinner parties, and office holiday bashes, we spend a lot of time eating and drinking.

If you want to buy someone a gift that you'll get to take advantage of next year, then consider these Moscardino Sporks from the MoMA design store. You can use the scoop and fork ends, so they're perfect both for spearing meats and cheeses and for spooning salsa and dip onto … Read more

Wine bottle fills your glass before you pour

November means a lot of things, depending on who you ask. To me, it means two things: Thanksgiving dinner, and the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Some department stores are prone to posting gift ideas and festive decorations as early as October, but many of us wait to start keeping an eye out for presents until the end of November, when stores all over the country drop prices.

A MoMA store gift idea for the wine enthusiast in your family could be this wine glass inside a bottle by Claudio Colucci. The carafe is hand blown so that a … Read more