Zeroll Ice Cream Scoop

Zeroll Ice Cream Scoop

Creator: Sherman Kelly
Created: 1935
Origin: Toledo Ohio

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The Zeroll Ice Cream Scoop is a cast aluminium Ice Cream scoop with the Zeroll logo moulded into the side of the handle and a color coded button at the end to indicate the size of the scoops produced. The 3 ounce model is the definitive size perfect for serving ice cream at home to be served in a bowl.

The quest to create the perfect ice cream scoop started when the inventor Sherman Kelly spotted someone with blisters on their hands from scooping ice cream all day in a store. He created several prototypes before hitting on a design with a hollow core which he filled with a heat conducting liquid warming the scooping surface from heat transferred from the users hand. The first Zeroll ice cream scoops were sold in 1935 to owners of ice cream stores.

The original Zeroll Ice Cream Scoop factory was set up in  Toledo Ohio close to the inventor Shane Kelly’s home. Shane continued perfecting the production of the ice cream scoop  until he passed away in 1950 handing the business over to his son Ralph Kelly who moved the business and changed the name. In 1981 Entrepreneurs Tom and Art Funka brought back the Zeroll name and brought production back to Toledo, Ohio.

Mason Cash Mixing Bowl

Mason Cash Mixing Bowl

Creator: Tom Cash
Created: 1901
Origin: Derbyshire UK

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The Mason Cash mixing bowl is a sturdy earthenware household mixing bowl with a cane colored, diamond textured exterior and white interior. The cane coloring of the exterior originates from the local clay at Church Gresley in Derbyshire and the diamond texture helps secure handling during mixing. Earthenware is fired once and then a second time with the glaze.

Mason Cash mixing bowls came about during the early 1900s as the company looked to expand it’s range of products. The white interior ensured cleanliness and the two tone coloring and surface texture gave a sense of lightness to something which in use needed to be fairly heavy.

The Mason Cash mixing bowl enjoyed it’s heyday after the second world war as food once again became more plentiful, working class families more prosperous but before low cost imports became more common. The Mason Cash company was established in 1901 and the first Mason Cash mixing bowls can still be found dating as far back as the 1920s. The master potter at the helm when the Mason Cash Gresley mixing bowl was first produced probably to Thomas Cash, the successor to ‘Bossy’ Mason whose name forms the first part of the famous Mason Cash brand name.

Dualit Toaster

Dualit Toaster

Creator: Max Gort-Barten
Created: 1952
Origin: Camberwell London UK

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The Dualit toaster is a commercial stainless steel toaster that has recently found favour in domestic kitchens due to its rugged good looks and built to last to last construction. The level of toasting is selected by means of a rotary mechanical timer and the toast ejected manually which allows the toast to be kept warm until ready for serving.

The Dualit toaster was created to cater for the needs of commercial kitchens in Hotels where a more rugged toaster was needed that could withstand the wear and tear of being used continuously day after day with minimal maintenance. The first of these toasters were made in 1952 and bore a recognisable resemblance to the Dualit toasters of  today.

The original factory was situated in Camberwell London and then moved to The Old Kent Road after the original site was the subject of a compulsory purchase order. Recently production was moved to a more modern premises capable of coping with increased demand from domestic customers. The designer of the Dualit toaster was a Max Gort-Barten of German origin who later settled in London and constantly strived to refine production and design of this classic toaster.

T.G.Green & Co Cornishware



Cornishware Crockery

Creator: T.G.Green & Co
Created: 1926
Origin: Church Gresley, Derbyshire UK

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T.G.Green & Co Cornishware crockery is a distinctive white and pale blue broad striped range of crockery. The white clay crockery is coated with a pale blue coloured mixture of clay and water. The piece of crockery is then turned while wide bands of colored slip are carefully removed to reveal the distinctive cornishware design beneath.

The design was chosen to distinguish the range from the other crockery being produced in the Derbyshire region of England. The Cornishware name was chosen as a reference to the pale blue ocean and white surf of the Cornish coastline. The range was first introduced in 1926 and updated in the 1960s.

The original Cornishware was produced at a small village called Church Gresley in the heart of  Derbyshire pottery country near the town of Swadlincote and only the name is inspired by the Cornish seaside. The original business was a small affair bought by entrepreneur T.G. Green who grew the business, expanded production, built a larger more modern factory and was responsible for many new products and designs including the world renowned and distictive Cornishware.

Felco F-2 Pruners

Felco F-2 Pruners

Creator: Félix Flisch
Created: 1946
Origin: Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane

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Felco F-2 pruners are distinctive Swiss garden pruners with red rubber sleeves on the handles. They have die cast matte finish on all of the hardware apart from adjestment wheel and the sharpened edges. The closeness of the blades can be adjusted by means of a thumb wheel and the pruners can be locked safely closed with the incorporated ratchet mechanism.

The Felco 2 pruners or secateus were designed to fulfill the need for a more efficient pruner to support the growth in agricultural activity after the second world war. Keen gardeners and horticulturalists were soon to appreciate the quality of the Swiss made Felco pruners  making them a firm favorite for decades to come. The Felco 2 pruner was the successor to the first model incorporating some minor improvements only small refinements have been made since to the original highly functional pruner.

Felco 2 pruners are made at Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane a small town in the watch making region of the Jura in Switzerland. After producing his first high quality pruners Félix Flisch purchased a factory previously used for watch making to satisfy increasing demand from within Switzerland, Europe and beyond.

Casio F-91W Wrist Watch

Casio F-91W Wrist Watch

Creator: Tadao Kashio
Created: 1991
Origin: Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

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The Casio F-91W wrist watch is an inexpensive black digital wrist watch with an almost octagonal face and flexible resin strap. The date, alarm and stopwatch functions are accessed via a pair of metal buttons on the side of the case. An accuracy of plus or minus thirty seconds per month is achieved by means of a quartz crystal mechanism and a seven year battery.

The Casio F-91W wrist watch was created in response to the need for a no nonsense everyday wrist watch with general appeal which took advantage of the accurate and reliable quartz mechanisms that were being produced to a very high standard and in great quantities in Japan by the Casio computer company. the first F91W wrist watches rolled off the production line in 1991 and have maintained their popularity for the last twenty years.

The Casio F-91W wrist watch originated from Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan where Casio has it’s international headquarters. Very much a family company Tadao Kashio built the company from the ground up with his father and was actively engaged in product development till deceased at age 75.

Swatch Wrist Watch

Swatch ‘Once Again’ Wrist Watch

Creator: Franz Sprecher
Created: 1983
Origin: Zurich, Switzerland

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The Swatch ‘once again’ wrist watch is an analogue battery-powered wrist watch with a striking minimalist design. The once again model is the definitive original model in black and white with date window. The success of the Swatch wrist watch was achieved through a project to produce a Swiss made slim-line aggressively priced watch with a dramatically reduced number of components and a strong brand identity.

The Swatch wrist watch was created in response to the increasing dominance of Japanese watch makers in the mass market place. The reduced manufacturing costs allowed competition on price and the strong Swiss Watch brand identity differentiated it from it’s numerous competitors. The first Swatch wrist watches were offered for sale on March 1st 1983.

The Swatch wrist watch was born out of collaboration but arguably the most influential figure was Swiss marketing consultant Franz Sprecher who developed the notion of Swiss Watch and the explosively successful brand identity. The first Swatch wrist watches were offered for sale in Zurich, Switzerland and based on their instant success were launched progressively in Europe and world wide.

Lava-Lite Lava Lamp

Lava-Lite

Creator: Edward Craven-Walker
Created: 1963
Origin: Poole, Dorset, UK

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The Lava-Lite or Lava Lamp is a decorative light consisting of a spun aluminium base with a cone shaped clear glass container on top. The glass container is filled with a mixture of colored liquid and liquid wax with a contrasting color. When the lamp is switched on the bulb in the base warms the mixture which gives rise to bubbles of liquid rising and falling hypnotically. The colored liquids density is relatively stable but the density of the liquid wax varies as it is heated  by the bulb and cools as it reaches the top of the glass container. A convection cycle is set up which is maintained by the energy of the bulb.

The idea was developed when the inventor envisioned a decorative lamp based on the principle employed in an egg timer where a coloured wax bubble rose when the egg was ready. Edward Craven-Walker had the original idea in 1963 in Poole, Dorset.

He sold the rights to manufacture the lamp in Chicago United States to Adolph Wertheimer as the Lava-Lite. The lamp has remained in continuous production since it’s inception and enjoys pride of place in the Design Museum London.