ROOSTER

CucumberLab

Ben Blanc RISD MFA ’04 [Furniture Design] + Andrew Reed RISD MFA ’04 [Furniture Design]
Combining their talents soon after earning graduate degrees at RISD, Blanc and Reed established CucumberLab (www.cucumberlab.com), a product design firm noted for its offbeat approach to household accessories. The Lab’s wide-ranging portfolio includes such successful “experiments” as an inventive phonograph/wine cabinet, a witty umbrella box on a pole, vases that mimic the droop of expired flowers — a collection distinguished by its merging of function, appeal and a sense of the unexpected. As the designers explain, they “answer the question ‘Why?’” by creating products that respond “Why not?” CucumberLab’s limited- and mass-production work can be found in design shops in the US and abroad.