It’s often easy to get carried away with the newest, the most innovative and the flashiest at the Milan Furniture Fair. And while that is all well and good, there are some products that deserve a nod or two for their attempts to make design more accessible for the everyday person. Two of such products at the fair this year were Naoto Fukasawa’s revised Pizza Table and Cosino.

Pizza Table was first released in 2011 as a wooden side table with a soft bulging rim, from which it gets its name. This year, Fukasawa has re-edited it as a plastic version with light, bent wire legs.

“[The original Pizza Table] was a bit too heavy so we changed the legs to be a bit lighter,” says Fukasawa. “I think I also wanted to design it so that people can buy it easily.”

It’s not just the fact that it is inexpensive to produce that Fukasawa is talking about. He is referring to the way the product has been designed to look very accessible through the use of materials.

“When you buy something, you often think before you buy. You have to make a decision. But sometimes you just ask [on the spot], ‘How much is it? Ok, I’ll buy it!’

“Of course, there are other ways of buying products too – the kind where you think every day for days before you buy. But this is not that kind of product.”

Also not the kind of product that one would consider for days before buying is the Cosino. It is a simple modular shelving system that can be flat packed. Each shelving module consists of a single plastic covering and a timber base, and can be stacked to varying heights according to one’s needs. “For the kids, you get two shelves,” Fukasawa recommends.

The designer says that this is another product that can be bought very easily. “You look at the price, and go, ‘Ah, ok!’ And it’s easy to bring home, too!”

In a time when many brands are facing the pressure to sell more, products like the Pizza Table and Cosino seem to be a worthwhile addition to one’s portfolio of products. 

Magis is available in Singapore through XTRA.

Magis
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XTRA
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