Tag: everyday objects

  • Kinto Water Bottle: Fluid Pottery

    Kinto Water Bottle: Fluid Pottery

    Doesn’t Beauty, although “useless”, nevertheless hold a mysterious grip among its enraptured beholders? Oscar Wilde once remarked that to put usefulness first, we lose it. But to place beauty first, what we do will be useful forever. And part of the reason that beautiful everyday objects will be “useful forever” is that it is conserved and cherished by the user by virtue of the object being beautiful – and that is exactly what I experienced with my Kinto Water Bottle (as with the case, in a larger scale, of historical buildings being conserved and not destroyed due to their beauty – watch “Why Beauty Matters” at the 17:20 mark).

    My Kinto water bottle is the first water bottle that I actually cherish. Here are three actions that I wouldn’t do for any other water bottle:

    1. Not bring it to the tennis court (I play tennis) and place it on the dirty floor.

    2. Leave it to dry when not in use so as to prevent algae growth.

    3. Look at it repeatedly and think to myself, “what a lovely water bottle this is.”

    Indeed no other water bottle has caught my attention as the Kinto water bottle for its curved shapeliness that is, first of all, unique to say the least but also creating a seamless form from bottom to top analogous to a pottery piece deserving of display. Its plastic (made from recycled material) is sturdy and perspicuous like glass – that also comes in five colours (clear, amber, smoke, blue, green) and three sizes (300ml, 500ml, 950ml) – which paired up with its soft curves amplifies the pleasure of looking at the water contained within as if the water is at one with the bottle.  

    Kinto Water Bottles in five colours and three sizes
    Kinto Water Bottles in five colours and three sizes (Image Source: Shopee)


    Drinking water from the bottle also feels great due to its “practical size sprout” which apart from being designed for easy refilling and washing also enables one to drink comfortably, and exceptionally so I must say – no awkward contortion of lips to get a sip as we do for some water bottles! Also, the lid opens with just a few twists which – to my surprise – does aid in the ease of the drinking-water experience as does the handle moulded to the lid contributes greatly to the portability department in enabling one to pick up the bottle and to make carrying it around a breeze.

    Ought “form follows function” or “function follows form” in the creation of everyday objects? I say, both are essential but the best marry both in perfect unity and harmony as in the case with this Kinto Water Bottle – as I would term it: Fluid Pottery.

    *Featured Image Source: My Own


    If you like click and purchase the Kinto Water Bottle here: https://amzn.to/43WuTN9. I may earn a small commission if you do so but at no additional costs to you. Thanks for your support, Cheers! 

  • Nepia Nose Celebrity Pocket Tissue (鼻セレブ): A Revelation in Softness

    Nepia Nose Celebrity Pocket Tissue (鼻セレブ): A Revelation in Softness

    As strange as it might be, all that I am about to describe is absolutely honest:

    Never had a tissue paper elicited in me such delight and astonishment as to pause with wide-eyes and exclaim (to my giver), “Wow! What is this? It is so unbelievably soft!” I take a second look, exchanged glances with my (now chuckling) interlocutor, and stared again – at the wrinkled tissue which had just served its purpose in removing the food stains from my mouth, but more:

    I utterly could not believe how a tissue could feel and be that way – it glides instead of scrubs (which was what I was accustomed to in “normal” tissues all my life hitherto), pampering flesh with its gentle touch. “This tissue is different”, and hurried my giver to show me the packaging where it came from.

    This is how it looks:

    Nepia Nose Celebrity Pocket Tissue (鼻セレブ)

    “Ah.. Japanese I see… 可愛い!”

    Apart from the Ringed Seal, pictures of other cute white-fur animals (like the White Rabbit, see video below) adorn and blend well into the matte semi-opaque sleeve to exude a cute, sleek and premium look which – must be said – also feels great to touch!

    The tissues themselves are scentless, 2-ply, and made from 100% fresh pulp (with no fluorescent dyes) which are ideal for delicate skin, leaving its users worry-free about chafing and reddening skin (think: red chapped noses). As to the secret to its otherworldly softness? According to Nepia, special “triple moisturising” ingredient and “plant-delivered squalane” contained in the tissue are key in making it moist and soft by absorbing moisture from the air (a sponge tissue? – amazing).

    So, do the qualities of Nepia’s pocket tissue warrant her name, 鼻セレブ (“Nose Celebrity”)?

    Well it does seem like a relatively popular choice for tissue buyers as evidenced from its rank of 7th in Amazon’s best-seller list of pocket tissues at this time of writing. And as far as I’m concerned, a product worthy is a product worth celebrating, and so it is for Nepia’s 鼻セレブ – highly recommended!

    *Images and Video Source: My Own


    If you like, click and purchase Nepia 鼻セレブ pocket tissues here: https://amzn.to/3Hx2CDU. I may earn a small commission if you do so but at no additional costs to you. Thanks for your support, Cheers!