Etern Drinkware by Zehui Ni is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award in Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design Competition Category.
IronKitchenware· 2022
Etern Drinkware
by Zehui Ni
Client: ZN Design
A' Design Award Winner in Kitchenware Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #140516The Design
About Etern Drinkware
Etern is a glass decanter designed for wine service at the dining table. The form of Etern is inspired by the cross-section of time, and the curved contour presents each moment as its own fragment of eternity. Glass is used for its transparent quality, which shows the colour of the wine and the light appearance of the vessel during decanting. As wine is poured, air passes through the liquid and aerates it. Etern is shaped by glass blowing, and a custom process was developed to match the design. The piece is intended as a calm statement for the table.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award
Etern Drinkware is an Iron A' Design Award winner, a prestigious recognition granted to good designs that meet the professional and industrial requirements expected from well-designed creations. Iron winners demonstrate great skill, high specialization, expert understanding, and creative capacity of their creators. Etern Drinkware is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished creation that is practical and innovative. This Iron A' Design Award-winning design integrates industry best practices and has competent technical characteristics linked with know-how and talent. Etern Drinkware is respected for its thoroughness and is designed to provide quality of life improvements that help make the world a better place.
Interviews
Design Interview
What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
The Etern decanter is inspired by the philosophy of time and impermanence. Each moment in life is fleeting, yet within its own fragment of time, it is eternal. The design reflects this concept through its form, which symbolizes the cross-section of time, encouraging people to cherish and celebrate every moment.
What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
The focus was to create a drinkware piece that transforms the act of decanting into a poetic experience—one that engages the senses and elevates wine drinking into a moment of reflection and appreciation. I aimed to capture the relationship between time, elegance, and celebration through a sculptural, functional object.
What are your future plans for this award winning design?
The goal is to introduce Etern to a broader audience by partnering with dining and lifestyle brands. I also envision expanding the concept into a collection of drinkware pieces that explore similar themes of time and impermanence.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- The Etern decanter is born from the perception of time. Appreciating each fragment of time as eternity from the cross-sections of time. Etern is a statement piece at the dining table about impermanence in time, cherishing each fragment and feasting on life. Both a celebration and remembrance of time, Etern is a one of kind elegance to add to the dining atmosphere.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 2700 mm x 1400 mm X 2600 mm
- Tags
- Decanter, Wine, Drinkware, Tableware
- Production Technology
- Etern is glassware for wine decanting. Glass material for its transparent properties in showing the beauty of wine and the airiness of form while decanting.
- Design Challenge
- Challenge with Etern is the philosophical and harmonious representations of time intersecting with glass blowing. A custom barrier and crust is created to match the design.
- Research
- On a macro perspective, the greatest moments of the planet and life's work, reside on one particle in the universe. Every moment is solidified in the cross-sections of time. Through harmonious elegance, Etern celebrates moments in time as eternity and gracefully performs the arts of decanting. Scholarly inspirations from philosophy, astronomy, and literature on impermanence have been researched for Etern. A graceful and celebrating combination of decanting.
- Inspiration
- Each flower that grows and withered away, is eternal in its own fragment of time. The Etern decanter is inspired by the fragment of time. It celebrates moments as an eternal fragment in life, inspiring people to feast and cherish moments of remembrance. The elegant contour of Etern is a statement piece that represents the cross-section of time and viewing each special moment as its own eternity. One eternal moment is forever.
- Project Duration
- Project duration from May 2021 to Nov 2021, in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Operation Flow
- As wine is poured into Etern, a delightful chorus of air breathing into wine sings a beautiful melody. Etern is about having a drink with the uncapturable time, but feasting on each special moment as its own eternity in time.
- Team Members
- Zehui Ni
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