Bronze Baby, Kids' and Children's Products Design · 2025
Shellmine Kids Tableware Set
by Yohei Murai
- A' Design Award 2025 Bronze Winner in Baby, Kids' and Children's Products Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 26,662
- Verification code 0115903462 · Verify this award
About Shellmine Kids Tableware Set
Shellmine Kids is a tableware set designed for infants. The set includes an egg plate, a chick plate, a cup and two bowls. Fifty-seven percent of the material is made from eggshells, and a chick motif makes the mixed white and brown coloring of the eggshell resin visible in the store. Thick bases lower the center of gravity, and the undulating outer surface improves grip, so the pieces are harder to drop. The removable chick plate and the simple shapes allow continued use by adults, which extends the life of the set.
YOHEI MURAI's Shellmine Kids Tableware Set participates in the rich traditions of minimalist product design and contemporary ceramic ware that prize functional clarity and essential form, positioning itself within the ongoing dialogue between utilitarian objects and aesthetic refinement that has characterized thoughtful domestic design across cultures and historical periods, emerging from design lineages that include the postwar Scandinavian emphasis on democratic modernism, the Japanese aesthetic principles of restraint and material honesty, and the contemporary movement toward child-centered design that respects young users' developing capabilities and aesthetic sensibilities, the ensemble demonstrates considerable compositional sophistication in its orchestration of proportional relationships, where three white ceramic vessels of varying heights and bowl depths establish a visual rhythm of nested circular forms that suggest both individual functionality and collective coherence, the bowls appearing engineered with carefully calculated capacities and rim diameters appropriate for different stages of childhood feeding and self-feeding development, from the shallow wide bowl suited to early solid food exploration through the deeper vessels accommodating growing appetites and motor skill refinement, while the tumbler form offers a handleless drinking vessel that encourages grasp development and coordination, each piece exhibiting wall thicknesses that balance structural integrity with manageable weight for small hands, the forms' unadorned surfaces and gentle curves eliminating visual distraction and potential dirt-trapping crevices while the smooth matte finish on the ceramic pieces suggests a tactile experience that balances slip resistance with easy cleaning, the material choices appearing to prioritize safety, durability, and sensory appropriateness for the intended young users, the distinctive yellow tray element anchoring the composition both visually and functionally serves as a unifying platform that contains the individual components while its biomorphic, shell-like contours introduce organic visual interest and spatial definition, this base form's glossy finish and vibrant hue providing the set's singular chromatic accent, a calculated gesture that energizes the otherwise neutral palette and may serve developmental purposes by offering color recognition opportunities and visual engagement without overwhelming sensory stimulus, the yellow hue traditionally associated with sunlight, optimism, energy, and intellectual stimulation while remaining gender-neutral and culturally accessible across diverse contexts, the formal language throughout suggesting influences from mid-century modern design's commitment to honest materials and essential forms, the contemporary slow-design movement's emphasis on longevity and timeless aesthetics over trend-driven obsolescence, and the growing recognition within children's product design that young users benefit from objects that respect their developing aesthetic intelligence rather than condescending through excessive decoration or infantilizing visual treatments, the ensemble's restrained elegance and proportional refinement demonstrating how functional children's objects can achieve visual sophistication while remaining thoroughly appropriate for their intended developmental context and practical use scenarios, the set appearing designed to grow with its users, maintaining relevance and appeal across multiple childhood stages rather than being quickly outgrown aesthetically or functionally, this longevity consideration aligning with sustainable design thinking and the creation of objects worthy of care, maintenance, and perhaps intergenerational transmission, the work inviting viewers to contemplate how everyday domestic objects participate in the rituals of care, nourishment, and family life, how design choices in such objects communicate respect and consideration for all users regardless of age, and how the careful attention to proportion, material, color, and form in utilitarian objects can elevate daily experiences and contribute to environments that support human flourishing across the lifespan, one might observe how the clean lines and essential geometries offer a kind of visual calm that contrasts with the often overstimulating character of contemporary children's material culture, suggesting that thoughtful restraint serves developmental needs as effectively as, or perhaps more effectively than, visual complexity, and asking whether such objects might cultivate aesthetic awareness and appreciation for quality, clarity, and enduring design values in their young users.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Most biomass resin tableware on the market does not look like it is made of biomass resin at first glance. Because they look like conventional products, it is difficult to get people to buy them at a high price. Therefore, by using a chick as the design motif, the raw material, eggshell resin, is made visible, exposing the coloring, which is a mixture of white and brown eggshells. By doing so, we created an opportunity for people to understand what the material is at the storefront. In other words, it is a design that asks people to make a choice about the future global environment.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Egg Plate W230mm D230mm H24mm 380g, Chick Plate W240mm D180mm H22mm 274g, Cup W81mm D81mm H87mm 140g, Small Bowl W96mm D96mm H43mm 110g, Medium Bowl W107mm D107mm H50mm 164g
- Tags
- SDGs, Kids Design, Eggshell Plastic, Biomass Plastic, Environmental Problem
- Production Technology
- 57% of the material is made from eggshells and has acquired the Japanese Biomass Mark 55.
This product can contribute to a recycling-oriented society by turning discarded eggshells into something attractive.
The specific gravity of the material is almost the same as that of ceramics, and it combines the crack resistance of resin with the robustness of ceramics.
Tableware made of this material, for which a manufacturing process was patented in Japan, can reduce CO2 emissions by 37% and petroleum-derived components by 44% compared to conventional resin tableware. - Design Challenge
- We decided to make children's tableware because it sells for a higher price than usual as a gift and therefore biomass resin can be used. Through this product, we can also convey the importance of environmental problems from parents to their children. Education is essential to raising environmental awareness. However, we faced a problem here. Children's tableware is often thrown away as they grow up. Therefore, to extend the life of the product, we made the chicken dish removable and designed a shape that is easy for anyone to hold, thereby creating a product that can be used even as an adult.
- Project Duration
- The project started in August 2022 and finished in July 2023, and was exhibited in GOOD DESIGN EXHIBITION 2023 in October 2023 etc.
- Operation Flow
- The main target of this tableware is infants. The risk of children dropping dishes or cups while eating was reduced by the following methods. By making the bottom of the tableware thicker, we have controlled the center of gravity, which made it harder to fall over. The specific gravity of this material is about the same as that of ceramics, so it can add weight with a small thickness. By undulating the outer surface, it gets caught in your hand when you hold it, which makes it difficult to drop. By helping children eat easily, we support children's desire to eat by themselves.
- Research
- Based on a survey of more than 120 parents with children, Shellmine Kids was designed to have a shape that is easy to hold and functions that are easy to use. The most common request from mothers was for a shape that is easy to wash and can fit in a dishwasher. Based on the results, we filled in the grooves that should have been on the back of the chick dish to make it easier to wash. Such ideas are usually not good for the environment because they increase the amount of resin used. However, since this product is made from 57% eggshells, the environmental impact of adopting such an idea is minimal.
- Inspiration
- This project was commissioned by a Japanese commercial tableware manufacturer to design a set of children's tableware using eggshell plastic. Fukui Craft is the company that introduced plastic tableware to Japan and boasts the largest sales volume. However, environmental problems caused by plastics are becoming more serious worldwide, and the company has developed a biomass resin using eggshells. Biomass resin is an ideal material with low environmental impact, but its high cost makes it more expensive than products made from conventional resin. Especially in the plastic tableware market, where it tends to be chosen because it is cheaper than other materials, it is extremely difficult for tableware made from biomass resin to win the price war. In response to this major problem, we thought about how we could help people choose environmentally friendly products.
- Image Credits
- [ Main image: Photographer Naoki Tatori, shellmine, 2023. ][ Image#1: Photographer Naoki Tatori, Shellmine, 2023. ][ Image#2: Photographer Naoki Tatori, Model: Yuzuha Oka, Shellmine, 2023. ][ Image#3: Photographer Naoki Tatori, Model: Ame Murai, Shellmine, 2023.][Image#4: Photographer Naoki Tatori, Shellmine, 2023.]
Colors of Shellmine Kids Tableware Set
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