Zietta Clara’s Ice Knobs and Pulls
Ice, knobs and pulls. Designed by Stacie Isabella Turk. Manufactured by Zietta Clara.
While we tend to focus on larger or “more substantial” products here at 3rings, we do permit ourselves the occasional indulgence, thus profiling smaller pieces that may cross the line from “product” to “accessory” or “houseware.” Yusuke Tsujita’s extraordinary stylings in bamboo for Teori is one such example, as is Eva Solo’s revolutionary Waste Bin—both of which, now that I think on it, would be great options if you’re in the mood for a little Boxing Day bargain hunting).
Door knobs and drawer pulls are another example of smallish items that nevertheless merit our whole-hearted attention, and here I’ll defer to the wisdom of one Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who too-well knew—as did his forebear, Gustave Flaubert—that “God is in the details.” We’ve dealt with this crucial hardware before: Zaha Hadid’s Duelmilacinque graced our virtual pages back in August, as did Jeong-Sun Park’s Knob Light a mere two weeks back. Today, I’m adding a third name to this venerable twosome: Stacie Isabella Turk.
Working with manufacturer Zietta Clara (don’t let the ostensible exoticism of the name fool you, they’re humbly based in sunny Santa Monica), Turk has parlayed her life-long obsession with the intricacies of glass into Clara’s Ice line of knobs and pulls. Described as “flashes of life encapsulated in glass,” Turk’s creations are the product of a visually tactile imagination, “inspired by everything from the way cream looks being dropped into coffee, to buttons on a vintage sweater, to her mother’s tortoise shell sunglasses sitting on the dash of the car when she was five years old.” The evocation of a marbling effect is hardly incidental—”Soap, Gold” features swirling crystalline sinews, alternating shape, trajectory, and color in a symphonic dance evoking everything from the proverbial ancient insect preserved in amber to a miniaturized cosmos. While Soap exudes warmth, “Ice, Mint” is true to the name, looking as if it were harvested from the the Crystal Palace/Arctic Enclave of 1978’s Superman. This illusion of thermal viability is hardly incidental: “Zietta Clara knobs are created by the human hand, designed for the human hand. It is in the hand where they belong. Sensual and cold to the touch, they transform interior design into a tactile experience.” These solid pieces of hand-sculpted, blown glass are not mere adornments or “jewels for the door,” they’re a compelling focal point for transitional spaces.
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