TIPSY is the latest item to be included in Corticeira Amorim’s materia collection - a set of new cork products that can be seamlessly and functionally integrated into our everyday lives.
Developed by Japanese designer Keiji Takeuchi, the new wine bottle support, complements SIX, a bottle rack designed by James Irvine and presented in 2015, and thereby strengthens the collection’s link to the world of wine.
This item has a minimalist aesthetic and strikes a balance between art and functionality, taking advantage of the characteristics of cork, in particular its tactile properties.
The Japanese designer Keiji Takeuchi who runs a Milan office for Naoto Fukasawa in Italy, contextualizes the development of this object: “TIPSY’s concept is based on the typical atmosphere of a dinner party and the moment when we open a bottle of wine. Since wine bottles are often one of the key elements for such occasions, i felt there is a room to design something that would simultaneously compliment the bottle and the ambient of such occasions.”
In relation to the chosen material, the designer adds, “this was an intuitive choice. I immediately realized that TIPSY had to be made of cork. Firstly, there’s a longstanding relationship between wine and cork, so that the association was inevitable. However, when transported to a design object, cork has a unique natural warmth and a tactile appeal that fascinated me as soon as i went to Portugal to learn about the cork oak forests and this raw material”.
TIPSY is the 24th item to be included in the Materia collection that was launched in 2011 at FuoriSalone in Milan, at a time when the role and relevance of cork as an ideal material for interior design hadn’t yet been fully perceived.
Through the development of this individual bottle support, Keiji Takeuchi joins a prestigious group of designers who have accepted the challenge posed by Corticeira Amorim for the Materia collection, including the Portuguese designers Daniel Caramelo, Fernando Brízio, Filipe Alarcão, Miguel Vieira Baptista, Marco Sousa Santos and Pedrita and the international designers Big-Game, Inga Sempé, James Irvine, Nendo and Raw Edges.
TIPSY will be soon available in museum shops, and interior and furniture design shops, at the recommended retail price of 29.90€.
