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Kitchenware News & Housewares Review Show Daily Sunday, March 15, 2020 3 8 A New Collection from Michael Graves Design An interview with Donald Strum, Principal – Product Design, MGD. KNSD: MGD has been around for over five decades. How does it fit into the modern housewares landscape? DS: The Michael Graves Design brand has always stood for finding unmet con- sumer needs and filling those gaps with solutions that improve people's lives. Whether it's a teakettle with an unexpect- ed whistle or a toilet brush that you're proud to leave out in your bathroom, Michael Graves Design seeks to bring a smile to consumers faces. It is this focus, rather than considering trend or 'style,' that enables Michael Graves Design to be evergreen and timeless. KNSD: MGD is known for its refined and innovative aesthetic. How do you translate that into housewares for the everyday consumer? DS: We focus on culture: fine art, culi- nary arts, literature, design. We are fasci- nated by understanding how people live, what is inspiring them and what is influ- encing their lives. We are constantly dis- tilling what we see in the world today through a filter of history into new sketches and ideas for products that improve people's lives. KNSD: Were there any challenges in tak- ing architecture principles and applying them to housewares for this collection? DS: Michael Eisner, former Chairman of Disney, once said, 'Michael Graves is an architect for whom design has no bound- aries. There is no such thing as an insignificant object.' Michael's design philosophy is still the basis for all we do. As such, we focus on every detail of every object, knowing there is always an opportunity to make a difference in someone's life. For us, it's very nat- ural. KNSD: What are you most excited for with this new collection? DS: After more than two decades of exclusive relationships with major retail- ers, we're thrilled that Michael Graves Design will now be widely distributed across the retail landscape. KNSD: With this exciting launch for 2020, are there any other upcoming proj- ects you would like to announce? DS: We are currently providing various design services for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. With these product design programs our clients prevent us from speaking about the projects until they launch. We are thrilled to announce a new cosmetics storage collection we designed for Polder called Glamour Grids. The project comes from the sim- ple observation that people deserve better options than the ubiquitous acrylic trays. Whether in a medicine cabinet, in a drawer, left out or on the go, Glamour Grids are a collection of items from which people can choose to optimize their own storage system that look great before, during and after use. We are also very proud to announce that the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation has acquired MGD's extensive product design archive as part of its permanent collection. The Henry Ford Museum plans to create per- manent and temporary exhibitions with the Michael Graves Archive, and in cele- bration of the acquisition, a selection of 21 artifacts is now on display inside Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. For more information, stop by booth #N6346 or go to www.hdstrading.com. Murray Carter Collection Provides Ultimate Cooking Experience Murray Carter is one of the world's lead- ing authorities on Japanese kitchen cut- lery and the official heir to a 420-year- old Japanese bladesmithing tradition spanning 17 generations. Recently, he teamed up with the Spyderco knife com- pany of Golden, Colorado, to create the Murray Carter™ Collection, which faith- fully translates Carter's coveted custom designs into a family of high-perfor- mance production knives ideal for every cooking need. Manufactured in Japan to Spyderco's exacting quality standards, these knives are available in three differ- ent series to accommodate different skill levels and budgets. All three tiers show- case Carter's highly refined expressions of five classic Japanese kitchen knife pat- terns: Petty (equivalent to a Western par- ing knife), Funayuki (ideal for general kitchen tasks), Nakiri (vegetable cutter), Bunka Bocho (similar to a santoku, but more pointed) and Gyuto (equivalent to a Western chef's knife). The tiers of the Murray Carter Collection were inspired by the train- ing progression of traditional Japanese chefs. The top-tier Itamae Series™ is intended for professional chefs and accomplished amateurs skilled enough to appreciate the finest kitchen cutlery. Literally meaning "in front of the cut- ting board," Itamae is a prestigious title reserved for expert sushi chefs. The knives in this series are expertly crafted from laminated steel featuring an Aogami Super Blue core between lay- ers of SUS410 stainless steel. This three-layer construction allows the outer layers to protect and support the ultra-hard carbon-steel center layer that forms the blade's edge. Ground excep- tionally thin and straight for unparal- leled cutting perform- ance, these elite blades are paired with traditional octagonal handles made from stunning burl G-10 (a fiberglass/epoxy lam- inate) with black G- 10 ferrules. Their proportions are care- fully tuned to offer exceptional bal- ance, control and comfort during use. The second tier is the Wakiita Series. Meaning "near the cutting board," Wakiita refers to senior apprentices equivalent to sous chefs or journeyman chefs in Western kitchens. The blades of Wakiita Series knives are precision ground from CTS ® BD1N – a high-car- bon, nitrogen-enriched stainless steel that provides a superior balance of hardness, edge holding and corrosion resistance. These knives are also ground exception- ally thin and straight for superior cutting performance and feature octagonal han- dles painstakingly crafted from solid black G-10. Wakiita Series knives are ideal for skilled amateur cooks who appreciate the perform- ance advantages of and pride of ownership of pre- mium-quality kitchen cut- lery, but prefer the ease of maintenance of stainless steel blades. Japanese chef train- ing begins with the minarai (literally, "to learn by observing"), or apprentice. The knives in the third-tier Minarai Series will feature the same CTS BD1N blades as the Wakiita Series, but their octagonal handles will be injection molded from tough polypropylene plastic. Designed for budget-conscious cooks, these knives will provide the same ergonomics, ease of maintenance and high-performance functionality as the Wakiita Series, but in a more basic and affordable format. Forged by tradition and built by Spyderco, the knives of the Murray Carter Collection are designed to provide the ultimate cooking experience. For more information, visit www .spyderco.com/culinary or stop by booth #S1675. Oasis Concepts Reveals New Entertainment Carts & Storage Racks Oasis Concepts specializes in foldable kitchen islands, foldable storage racks, as well as other household products that are collapsible, portable, requiring no assembly. Its patented precision-hinge folding mechanisms were applied cre- atively to its whole line of foldable products, allowing them to open and close easily within seconds. Each prod- uct is built with durability and conven- ience in mind. When not in use, they can be folded up to just a few inches thick to save space. "The folding carts and racks can be customized to fit your needs. We can make them in a number of sizes and with any number of shelves," said Ng. "You can also choose the materials you would like. We offer powder coated steel of var- ious colors, hardwood such as Rubberwood or Acacia, MDF with woodgrain veneer, plus supplementary materials such as tempered glass and plastics, and of course we can design new items with a creative combination of any of the above materials, plus more in the future." In recent years, Oasis Concepts had added quick assembly products that require toolless assembly within half a minute to no more than two minutes. One of the examples is its round bar table with foldable tabletop wings, which saves space when it is not in use. Oasis Concepts is introducing new entertainment carts and storage racks this month. "We used the same principles that helped create our existing lineup of fold- ing carts, islands, tables and racks to develop these new items," said Kelvin Ng, President. "In the process, a few more patents were achieved. Please stop by our booth to review these new prod- ucts." Oasis Concepts can custom design carts and storage racks to fit your require- ments. See the complete line at booth #S4054. For more information, visit www.oasis- concepts.com, call 800.231.1330 or email sales@oasisconcepts.com.