http://www.olejensendesign.com/
I really liked a lot of this guy's designs, but i learned about him while looking at teapots, so I'll mostly refer to it. What is interesting to me is that he said it was based on an old mesopotamian teapot, even though most people would call it "modern" looking. I believe that the ability to take old Ideas and put them in a new form language is a huge part of what we are doing in architecture and design. Also, most of his designs are very naked, attempting to create elegance and beauty out of function and simplicity, which interests me more than almost anything else in design.
After class I was thinking about the tea pot that James pointed out. I too thought it was really interesting and as I thought about it more, the way in which the handle is oriented intrigued me further. The handle on the Jenson pot is set to the side of the pot, perpendicular to the spout (where on a traditional teapot it would be in line with the spout 180 degrees around the pot). I found this interesting because what I know of traditional tea ceremonies/parties/afternoons (based solely on knowledge gained from TV and movies such as "Memoirs of a Geisha" and BBC sitcoms :-D) tea is meant to be shared, so having the handle on the opposite side of the spout makes it easier to pour tea for someone else. But, on the Jenson pot, the handle is most definitely oriented to make it easier for one to pour tea for himself! Just thought it was an interesting twist on the concept of tea.
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