Issued in different colours, this is Alessi’s first series of desk accessories. The plant and animal-like appearance of the accessories - the sellotape holder looks like a rabbit’s head, the letter opener like a crocodile, the paperclip holder like an indoor plant - is not so much a premeditated form but stems from the functionality of the different objects. Designer Khodi Feiz speaks of ‘simple tasks with a smile’. Although the nomination committee asks itself if we really need another ‘paperclip holder-as-knickknack’, this small series of desk accessories does make one covetous. The old - and nowadays often reviled - modernistic motto ‘Form Follows Function’ is here implemented in a cheerful, post-modern way, and that is a rare combination. The series not only has humour but also offers small, functional improvements. While a normal sellotape holder suggests functionality it can’t deliver - the holder invariably falls over when one pulls on it - this ‘rabbit’ does exactly what it promises; it is meant to be held in one hand while with the other the sellotape is extracted from between the ears.
