Cut

Sensual and elegant – your first instinct is to touch Wolfgang Hartauer’s new trays, to pick them up – and yes, to tip them over. The point at which things usually end in disaster for trays and bowls filled to the brim is where the intentional kinetic aspect comes into play: by gently tapping it, Cut tilts from the vertical and redistributes its contents to its listing counterpart – the most graceful form of supply and demand.

In doing so, Cut, the new tray made of striking cross-grained wood, follows a Hartauer family tradition. While his Meterware organisation system runs as if it were on rails and his Kasa wooden trays revolve around their own axis, the Cut collection relies on tilting as the main source of fascination. The moment comes without a sound. Touching the tray is tantamount to pure tactile pleasure.

Wolfgang Hartauer’s products are ingenious marvels. His experiments with his Kasa trays laid the foundation for the kinetic aspect of the Cut collection. “The stacking trays were cut at an angle on the underside to turn them into tilt trays,” says Hartauer. “The trigger behind the basic cylindrical shape was the realization that the cantilever effect could be further enhanced with a larger diameter.”

“Movement and changeability meet the humble tray” is the central theme behind his three products. His designs are not rigid, but are moving objects that join functionality with kinetics. Yet another special touch: by face milling of the wood slats transverse to the direction of the grain, Cut’s lively outer shell practically screams, “Take me in your hands and move me!”