Cool Hunting

Alessi's upcoming Spring/Summer 2008 product line builds on their reputation for smartly-designed kitchenware. This season, the Italian company employed the talents of a handful of celebrated designers to create some interesting twists on standard fare.

One example is the sleekly egg-shaped “Pop-Up” bottle cap opener, which is work of Milanese designer Giovanni Alessi Anghini. The pressure-operated mechanism removes the bottle cap in one downward motion and an interior magnet holds onto the loose cap for a simple, neat transaction.

Also, Dutch architect Wiel Arets took a break from making buildings to design a kitchen set consisting of corkscrew, salt grinder and pepper mill (titled "screw.it," "salt.it" and "pepper.it," and pictured respectively). They combine a simple function in an eye-catching form that coincides well with Arets' similar-looking "coffee.it" espresso pot.

These products and more will be available in April on the Alessi online store, or at one of Alessi's retail stores.