Blanco re-thought the sink drain

So much of what goes into a house goes in there because that's the way things have always been done. No one ever really thinks about the inherent, inherited inefficiencies of things like sink drains.

Well Blanco does think about these things and they just unveiled a new, three-piece sink drain that's pretty clever.

The Blanco 3-in-1 offers a deep strainer basket with engineered holes on the sides and bottom that keeps water flowing while it collects waste. An exaggerated lip makes it easy to pull up and empty without coming in contact with any of the gunk caught in the strainer. It's made from stainless steel and it's dishwasher-safe to boot. The third part of this wonder product is a one-touch, secure lid that will allow you to fill a sink with water and hold it there without having twist or turn a thing. Even better, these strainers will fit any standard new sink or retrofit into an existing sink.

Meeting up with the great minds at Blanco design is but one of the reasons I'm excited to take part in a Blanco-sponsored junket to Germany next month. Thanks Blanco! You can learn more about Blanco sinks and faucets on their website. Blanco products are available worldwide.

Hey! Wanna win a Brizo faucet?

Brizo Faucet brings a fashionable sensibility to the home and now's your chance to get some of that same sensibility into your home. Thanks to a generous offer extended by the house of Brizo itself, I am giving away one Brizo kitchen or bath faucet to a lucky winner I'll pick at random on December 14th, 2010.

These faucets have a suggested retail price of up to $700, and any one of them your heart desires can be yours if you're the winning entry.

Entering couldn't be easier and in fact you'll get two chances.

First, leave a comment after this post. There's no magic phrase you have to type or essay to compose. Just leave a comment.

For your second chance, go to Brizo's page on Facebook and click the Like button. Some of you may already Like Brizo on Facebook and if that's the case, you've already entered once. Pretty slick, huh?

You don't even need to pick which faucet you'd like yet, just enter now and you can decide later. This contest will run for the next two weeks.

On December 15th, Brizo and I will tabulate the total number of entries and then select a winner at random. I'll let the winner know immediately and I put him or her in touch with the Brizo gang directly. Brizo will ship your faucet out immediately.

So remember, just leave a comment here and then head over to Facebook and hit the Like button on Brizo's page. Good luck!

Help a design student out

Evan Morikawa is a student at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Needham, MA. He loves design, building things, and finding interesting new ways to solve old problems. He has a kitchen gadget he's putting into production and he asked me to tell him what I thought of it.

Frankly Evan I'm flattered but who cares what I think? If it helps, I think it's an elegant piece of functional sculpture. I'm far more interested in helping you get your idea in front of an audience. I believe very strongly in giving good ideas a leg up and Evan, yours is a good idea.

What do you guys think? Is it an elegant piece of sculpture? Is this something you can see using yourself or giving as a gift? What words of encouragement and advice do you have for a new product designer who's offering up his first design?

Evan's producing these prototypes through the end of the week and you can order them through his website. He's selling them for $45 a piece and you can contact him directly with questions through his site.

A quiet counterpoint to the TSA

I found these while I was taking a Thanksgiving break and I thought they were clever.

The text of the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution is printed in metallic ink and will show up on the TSA's body scan images. You can find them here.

Thinking about the TSA's latest power grab and that Palin woman's assertions that those of us with a D in our political affiliations somehow hate the Constitution reminded me just how much I admire the Constitution of the United States. Here's the text of the Fourth Amendment:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Sarah, if you're reading this you probably ought to read the whole thing some time. Here's the Constitution and here's The Bill of Rights.

As irritating as the TSA's security theater can be, the idea of someone seeing my bits in a scanner doesn't bother me very much. I'm far more concerned about the general climate of paranoia that allows all manner of Constitutional abuse to go unchallenged. That same climate of paranoia is what allows failed politicians who libel their fellow citizens to write best selling books and it allows a minority political party to use metaphors of war to describe their disagreements with The President.

The United States is in serious trouble and that trouble can't be chased away by bureaucratic muscle-flexing or by pitting citizens against one another in the search for a scapegoat.

Now, who'll be the first one to volunteer to wear these undies through an airport?

Thanksgiving re-runs: My last post on faucets

This is a series on faucet finishes I wrote and ran originally in February 2009. I'll be back tomorrow with fresh stuff!

Fixtures, fixtures everywhere but what does it mean and what should I pick? Well, what it means is that there are a bunch of manufacturers who make a bunch of finishes and the one you should pick is the one you like. Many thanks to Kohler for all of their help with this series. They make a high quality product at a price point that's a value proposition. A Kohler faucet is not a faucet you'll be replacing any time soon. They are as sound mechanically as they are beautiful too.

So here are a couple of fun facts I got from my pal Sarah the product manager at Kohler. 

Brushed nickel is the number one selling finish for kitchen faucets.

Chrome is number one on baths.

A new finish has a ten year run rate. By that I mean that when Kohler introduces a new finish, they expect it to remain in production for ten years. Though exceptions to that ten year rule abound. Chrome and nickel have been consistent best-sellers since the 1930s and oil rubbed bronze has been in production for the last 15.

As an aside form me, expect oil rubbed bronze and its kin to be the next ones forced into retirement.

What's making a strong come back are warm gold tones. And that's designer speak for brass. You heard it here first kids, inside of five years all the cool kids will be sporting brass faucets and cabinet hardware. Again. Ugh. I never liked it much the last time around, but who am I to buck a trend? So here's a run down of some of Kohler's cool fixtures and finishes.

Never use harsh abrasives or lime-dissolving chemicals to clean a new faucet of any kind. On a faucet with a living finish, the heavy duty cleaning stuff will remove your hard won patina. On consumer-grade faucets, a thorough clean with the big guns will damage the clear top coat and end up reducing the life of the finish. Remember, a soft cloth and a mild detergent are your plumbing fixtures' best friends.

This is the Antique in  faucet in Brushed Nickel

This is the Purist in Polished Chrome

This is the Clairette in Stainless

This is the Devonshire in Brazen Bronze

This is the Devonshire in Oil Rubbed Bronze

This is the Finial in Vibrant French Gold

This is Memoirs in Polished Chrome

This is Pinstripe in Polished Nickel

So your options are seemingly endless, but know that a quality faucet will last forever. So remember that when you're considering your finish options. Forever. Hmm.

So thanks to my pals at Kohler for all the good information. I now know more about faucet manufacturing and finishes than I ever thought existed. If you ever have a question about this stuff, just shoot me an e-mail. I'm sure I'll be able to answer it.