LAS VEGAS— The Winter Las Vegas Market celebrated innovative design in a new way on January 24, as show runner International Market Centers, HOMEWORLD BUSINESS® and sponsor Whitford Corp. hosted the Housewares Design Awards, spotlighting outstanding housewares design innovation.
The 2017 Housewares Design Awards were the first ever held at the Las Vegas Market and celebrated winning housewares introduced to consumers between October 1, 2015, and September 30, 2016.
Awards went to 12 best in category winners and three Best of the Best honorees chosen from among them.
Trudeau Corp. took the Cookware & Bakeware best in category honors with the Trudeau Round Cake Pan, made from the company’s Supra Silicone in a patented manufacturing process that also incorporates a steel shell.
Trudeau president, Philippe Trudeau, accepted the award for a bakeware design that he said does the company proud with a combination of functional elements. The structured sides set the solid form and the non-stick, flexible silicone inner surface allows clean release of baked goods.
In the Countertop Cooking & Beverage Appliances category, David Shull, Jura Inc. svp sales and marketing, accepted the award for the Jura Z6, a coffee maker that helps consumers make a greater range of beverages at home. A rotary dial and color TFT display allows users to turn and press to select and brew the kind of coffee they desire, including such varieties as ristretto or flat white.
As the product development occurred at Jura’s headquarters in Switzerland, Shull said the award would be gratifying back at home base.
“This is really an exciting award for us at Jura. I saw this product literally two years ago, before we launched this, in sketches, and I knew it was going to mark their 20th year of automatic coffee machines, and the fact that we’re still getting accolades and awards especially here in the United States means a whole lot. I can’t wait to share this with all of them there,” he said.
In the Countertop Food Prep Appliances category, Electrolux garnered the Housewares Design award, as well as the Best of the Best Gold award, for its Electrolux Masterpiece Food Processor, which offers exclusive Power Tilt technology and a 1,200-watt TurboBoost induction motor. The company noted that a wide dual feeding tube, 17-cup capacity tilt bowl and titanium-coated blades all contribute to effective performance.
The Countertop Kitchenware winner, Nambé, took the award for the Forte Salt & Pepper Shakers, which combine the company’s signature combination of alloy and concrete materials. Tracey Smarsh, Nambé director of retail sales, accepted the award for a kitchenware design that is coated with a food-safe lacquer and aligned for easy handling.
Among Cutlery & Cutting Tools products, the Classic 7-inch Ultimate Everyday Knife from Wüsthof took the Housewares Design Award, accepted by Wüsthof-Trident of America vp/sales, Adam Fischer. The knife combines features typically found in separate knife designs such as a clip-point tip for light butchering and maneuvering around joints, a hollow edge for smooth, precise slicing and carving, and an increase at the bolster for rocking, chopping, mincing and dicing.
“To win an award for delivering what our consumers have asked for and to be recognized by true leaders in the design and housewares industry is just incredible,” Fischer said. “It’s an amazing thing to win an award for doing what you love to do.”
The iRobot Roomba 960 robotic vacuum took the Housewares Design Award in the Floor Care & Cleaning Appliances category, as well as Best of the Best Silver, with a floor care appliance that gets improved performance from localization and mapping technology, the company pointed out. The cleaning appliance has a run duration of 75 minutes before it returns to its base for recharging but will return to work if required until a set job is complete.
In the Gadgets & Kitchen Tools category, Oxo took the honors for the Oxo Good Grips Hand-Held Spiralizer. The kitchen tool also won Best of the Best Bronze. Sherry Shannon, Oxo vp/sales, accepted the award for a kitchen tool that makes spirals with a square cross section to provide uniform, curly and spaghetti-like consistency.
Shannon said the spiralizer arose from Oxo’s focus on helping consumers effectively address their everyday needs in the kitchen, and successfully so.
“It’s actually our first hero product that we designed exclusively in house,” she noted. “It’s one of our best items we’ve launched in quite some time.”
Home & Outdoor Décor category winner Alessi seized the moment with the Ora in/Ora out clocks and Jens
Menke, national sales manager for the company, collected the trophy. Created by designer Giulio Iacchetti, the clocks are crafted to fit in, as they have a minimalist form that suits many different room styles and allows the time pieces to nestle in what might otherwise be unused corners.
The winner of the Home Environment Appliances award, Swizz Style, triumphed with the Stadler Form Eva Ultrasonic Humidifier. Julie Monroy, Swizz Style vp, accepted the award for a home comfort appliance that locates an external humidity sensor in its remote control for precise atmospheric measurement and adaptive technology that maintains exact humidification in auto mode.
As for the Home Organization, Laundry Care & Non-Electric Cleaning category, Colleen Jezersek from Coaction Public Relations accepted for Casabella Holdings and its Spin ‘n Dry Mop. An internal mechanism and centrifugal force combine in use to drive dirty water out of small holes, leaving the mop head clean and dry.
In Personal, Health & Garment Care, EpiladyUSA vp, Amir Abileah, collected the trophy for the Epilady Drop Wet/Dry Rechargeable Epilator. The company designed the tapered 5.5-inch epilator to make it easy to grasp in a wet environment.
In the Tableware, Serveware & Beverageware category, Frieling USA took the design award, accepted by vp/sales and marketing Yung Lindenbeck, for its French Press. The coffee maker uses a patented dual filtration system that combines a pre-filter, a super-fine screen and a stainless steel ring inside the collar that keeps grounds in their place.
