Tired of plastic and tin on your kitchen appliances? Watch out for Bodum’s upcoming Bistro line, which wraps familiar contraptions in colorful rubber, dotted with grip-friendly nubs.
You might have previously seen the same rubber skinning on Bodum’s rubber toaster from last year. As it turns out, feedback from that went very positively, prompting the company to expand the line to cover a whole host of kitchen items that, because of their pastel-colored surfaces, look more like toys than mom’s new favorite home gadgets.
The Bodum Bistro line consists of seven new appliances, consisting of the BISTRO Electric Burr Grinder (which uses conical burrs for grinding coffee, instead of chopping blades), the BISTRO Blade Grinder (a more traditional grinder with stainless steel blades), the BISTRO Electric Juicer, the BISTRO Handheld Blender (a two-speed blending wand), the BISTRO Electric Water Kettle, the BISTRO Hand Mixer (with five mixing speeds) and the ETTORE Electric Water Kettle (which is actually an 80s design that the company resurrected). Obviously, the nubbed rubber skins are largely decorative for most of the items, although they would be especially useful for items that require regular handling, such as the hand blender and the handles for various containers.
Personally, I’d like to see more gadgets, especially durable handheld electronics, clad in similarly-colorful nubbed rubber skins. This could be a trend about to happen – one I’d welcome with my wallet open. As long as China can make it cheap while retaining the aesthetic, of course.
Slated for release in the fall, pricing for the Bodum Bistro line is as follows: BISTRO Electric Burr Grinder ($99.95), BISTRO Blade Grinder ($29.95), BISTRO Electric Juicer ($99.95), BISTRO Handheld Blender ($49.95), BISTRO Electric Water Kettle ($69.95), BISTRO Hand Mixer ($59.95) and ETTORE Electric Water Kettle ($99.95).