In general I don’t spend time on packaging design, in terms of graphics or solely shape or visual aspects. For my articles there has to be an essential element of structural or material innovation. Packaging technology is the keyword of this blog.
However I will make an exception with this and some following articles. We are entering the period of Christmas, New Year’s Eve, or whatever name you prefer to give to this period at the end of the year. Fact is, it is the period of time in which we are desperately looking for an original present for our loved ones. It has to be original and preferably exclusive. Well, I sorted out my files of this year and sampled some exclusive gift designs with a beautiful and striking packaging as inevitable and dominating element.
Some might be a bit out of your financial power, but it is just a collection of everything. Vodka, whisky and mineral water always are at the top of the list of exceptional designs, as designers often have a free hand. I will put them in separate articles. This first article is a potpourri of all kind, original presents and I didn’t forget the kids.
I not always have technical information about the packaging, but I will share what I have found about it.
Enjoy and make your choice becoming the best Santa Claus there is.
The Chocolate Flower Pot – An unusual packaging material
Let’s assume you are invited for a dinner party. Dinner party etiquette cautions against bringing flowers to a party as a busy host or hostess might not have time to find a vase and arrange the flowers whilst greeting other guests. So our Chocolate Flower Pot is the perfect gift – the vase is chocolate too!
The Chocolate Flower Pot from Holdsworth Chocolates is a 350g milk chocolate vase filled with individual chocolates and decorated with a seasonal flower and hand-tied bow and decorative wrap. Recommended retail price some USD 27.00. Well, not a bad start really.
Coppa Cocktails
Toorank Distilleries launched a range of cocktails just in time for the party season. The cocktails have been created by professional bartenders and the 150ml PET bottle actually looks like a cocktail shaker. All the consumer has to do is add ice and shake. The silver cocktail shaker-style bottles create the impression of a handmade drink. It promises to be as good as a cocktail you would get in the best bars.
The cocktail shakers, with a retail price of USD 3.50, come in the 15 vol% alcohol variants: Cosmopolitan, Mai Tai, Mojito, Long Island Ice Tea and of course Sex on the Beach but with the blending being done already.
The range won awards at the International Wine & Spirits Competition including Best in Class for its Mojito and Bronze medals for the Long Island Iced Tea and Cosmopolitan varieties.
When you want to go for gold
Closing 2011 with the ultimate gesture of luxury, and upholding an annual premium tradition, Moët & Chandon presents the Golden Premium Jeroboam. Moët & Chandon transforms the Impérial bottle into a limited-edition keepsake paying tribute to the brand’s celebrated heritage and allowing champagne lovers to create their own masterpiece.
Cloaked in luxurious, golden leaves, the Jeroboam is hand-gilt by renowned French artisan Arthus Bertrand. Reflecting Moët’s glamorous past, the Jeroboam’s design is closely connected to the noble heritage of the Trianon architecture – Moët and Chandon’s Family estate. Dressed with an engraved medallion and real wax seal, both of which bear the celebrated stamp from Epernay, France, the Jeroboam also features a handcrafted reinterpretation of Moët’s signature tie, which has appeared on the bottles since 1886.
In addition to this edition, “The Gift Box” was also released. “The Gift Box” is basically a bottle of Moët Impérial packaged in a gold box with drawings of tapes for wrapping gifts, which refer to the main edition packaging “The Gift by Moët”.
Fragrance in a flashy necklace
You are probably too late already, but when you were lucky enough to walk the Luxe Pack in Monaco earlier this year, you could have caught a La Factory Swarovski-crystalled necklace. You could have had the best present for your girl-friend or spouse. Ok, I accept, you couldn’t go there and although you have no chance anymore to obtain one, it is nevertheless a beautiful packaging.
The Swarovski-crystalled necklace was a stunning one-off meeting of the design flair of La Factory and Rexam’s sampler technology. It was a combination, that underscored the promotional possibilities inherent in today’s fragrance sampler world, where almost nothing, it seems, is beyond the reach of today’s creative suppliers.
La Factory, a France-based packaging solutions provider to the fragrance industry, created the gold and silver-toned cylindrical sheaths, which housed Rexam Sof’Press mini-dispenser. They were chosen for their slim dimensions, appealing ergonomics and powerful spray characteristics, which recreate the experience of a full-sized retail product.
Sheathed in sparkling Swarovski crystals, the appealing amulets-worn about the neck with distinctive lariat necklaces-created a buzz throughout the exhibition hall.
A dessert from Cinc Sentits
If you are lucky and live in the neighbourhood of Barcelona/Spain or visit that buzzling city during the Christmas season, you have to enjoy the Cinc Sentits.
“Cinc Sentits” is a Barcelona restaurant with a Michelin star. Their cuisine is a sophisticated one but with the traditional country component.
A dessert created by the restaurant crew and sold in gourmet shops during Christmas season needed to be enveloped. The use of cardboard with a toasted brown colour and a garnet coloured rope are reminiscent to the base ingredients: coffee and chocolate. The pack does not envelope every corner of the product, as the designer, Zoo Studio in Barcelona, wanted the end consumer to see the final product, admire it from the first moment.
The fixing system is very genuine. The rope covers and holds the product and, at the same time, gives a very unique look, different from the rest.
The metal pieces allow to fully tightening the cord to ensure a good stability and subjection of the content. In the inner part there is a motif made with fractal snow marks, reminiscent of the season.
Tomorrow I have more. Some vodka, some whisky and some kids items.
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