BOMBAY SAPPHIRE DESIGNER GLASS COMPETITION
WINNER 2007
Top class glass designer Edel Kellett has been declared winner of the Irish final of the Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition, in association with Waterford Crystal with “Narnia”, and is already looking forward to representing her country at the global final being held in April at Milan Design Week, the world’s biggest contemporary design fair.
The talented young Irish designer will be competing on the global stage against 26 other countries in front of an audience of some of the international design community’s most influential figures, and will be hoping to win the overall $15,000 prize. For many years Bombay Sapphire has had a firm commitment to supporting design by commissioning internationally acclaimed designers and this will be the second year that emerging designers from Ireland have had the chance to shine on the world stage by creating the ultimate martini cocktail glass inspired by Bombay Sapphire.
Edel was announced the winner after much deliberation from
the panel judges during a stylish event hosted at Ely Restaurant, CHQ,
IFSC, Dublin 1 on Wednesday, 7th February 2007. The event saw martini
cocktails served to perfection, specially created canapés served
to compliment the Bombay Sapphire Botanicals and the music came courtesy
of master mixer DJ Mo Kelly.
The judges, industry experts Diarmuid Gavin, Alexander Fitzgerald, Barry
Sheehan, Cameron Ross, Sinead Christian, Tiernan O Morain and Leighton
Wall were looking for the ultimate martini cocktail glass. Like Bombay
Sapphire, the martini glass is a symbol of stylist glamour, elegance and
sophistication. Each of the ten finalists impressed all the judges by
creating elegant, innovative and practical yet intriguing designs.
Diarmuid Gavin commented: “I think the competition is an amazing opportunity for emerging Irish designers – to actually see their designs come to life and be produced is fantastic and to have such great opportunities lie ahead of them thanks to this one event.
He continued: “The entries exceeded our expectations, the technical detailing and design concepts are first class – it really was a hard decision and after much deliberation we agreed on the winner”.
Edel’s “Narnia” martini glass is an appreciation of the classic is the martini recipe, portraying the blend of Bombay Sapphire and Vermouth through the coloured base of the glass to the goblet. She was took inspiration from the ice queens and the Ice Hotel build every year. Edel’s piece is a two-part piece; the bottom half is broken into icicle slats, and they’re placed all around the top half. The top half of the glass itself is a classic martini glass design.
Commenting on her win Edel said: “I am absolutely thrilled – I’m studying Glass Design so this is just perfect. I had seen the other finalist’s glasses and knew it would be a tight competition but it is great. I’m really looking forward to representing Ireland in the global final next month and hope to do my country and college, National College of Art and Design proud.”
She continued to say: “Being presented my glass by Diarmuid Gavin, a designer, I admire so much made it all the more special. I think it is great that Bombay Sapphire and Waterford Crystal give Irish students this opportunity.”
Second pace was awarded to Wexford native and National College of Art and Design graduate, Martin Ryan, 23. His glass was inspired by the botanical ingredients used in Bombay Sapphire. He wished to reflect that in the organic shape and in the floral pattern, which surrounded the glass. The glass was similar to a traditional gin glass, but with a softer curve going down to the base, with a wavy top to break away from the traditional clean flat surface, giving the glass a more fluid, elegant look.
20-year old Carlow IT Industrial Design student, Catherine Boland was awarded third position. Coupled with the colour of the Bombay Sapphire bottle, she took her inspiration for her design by changing the idea of the traditional martini glass and making something more appealing for the male market. By taking the stem away, the glass was a mix of a whiskey class shape with a cone inset representing the martini glass shape.
Now in its sixth year, the competition’s popularity with emerging designers continues to grow with more and more countries from around the world taking part. This year, 26 countries will be represented in Milan, including: Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the UK and USA.
The martini cocktail glasses designed by the finalists will
be showcased in Milan as part of an exhibition featuring the work of some
of the world’s most respected designers who have been inspired by
Bombay Sapphire. They include a collection of the ultimate martini cocktail
glasses created by Jonathan Adler, Dakota Jackson, Karim Rashid, Marcel
Wanders and Eva Zeisel.
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