I have an aversion to fruit bowls, or rather, an aversion to styled fruit bowls; mainly I blame the first issue of Dwell and the manifesto found within. It planted a little seed of awareness, and ever since I’ve shied away from piling fruit up within a bowl, preferring to let it sit in disarray on my counter. I made a semi-conscious decision to let my home look lived in- not too perfect or too organized- and this tiny little decision was a sort of a symbolic flipping of ‘the bird’ (a la Flight Of the Conchords) to all those perfect shellacked photos that I wondered (and sometimes drooled) over in shelter magazines.
So, fast forward to this past week when I realized that fruit strewn about all over the counter was more than a little silly (it wastes counter space) and that really there’s nothing wrong with corralling it somehow*. So, I set about trying to find something modern, natural, and not too expensive. I liked Gus*Modern’s fruit trough, but we have enough stainless steel in our kitchen and adding yet another element would feel a bit too cold and maybe even a tad hospital-ish. All the baskets I found (and liked) were a bit too costly to be used for fruit. And then ta-da! This cork bowl. 38 bucks, pliable, natural, the right sort of dimensions, and slightly strange (in that it is soft and leather-like). It’s made from two layers of cork sewn together, which gives it structure and helps it withstand regular machine washing… and it’s also naturally anti-microbial and stain resistant. It is crowned the winner and hopefully will soon be en route to my humble abode**.
Handmade by Bambu in China.
materials: 100% natural cork fabric
Medium Round Bowl: 9″ diameter, $34.00
Large Round Bowl: 12″ diameter, $48.00
Rectangle Bowl: 12″ long x 8″ wide, $38.00
*tip of the hat to my husband’s persistence that we should find a fruit bowl.
**tip of the hat to you for reading my entire fruit bowl saga.
