Wasteland Superb – Vipp 24!
The classic Danish Vipp 24 waste bin was designed 60 years ago in 1939 by craftsman Holger Nielsen when his wife was in need of a handy bin for her hairdressing salon. Soon dentists and doctors visiting the salon recognized the durability of the bin and started to make orders for the beauty. This was the humble start. Today Vipp bins are exported worldwide but remain a family business run by Nielsens’s daughter Jette Egelund and her children.
One wonders how an item as ordinary as a waste bin deservers any respect at all. Mind you, the bin was first made in the 30’s, long before Andy Warhol’s infamous 32 Campbell’s soup can paintings (1962) became acknowledged art in modern day popular culture. Today, delightful design is an increasingly important aspect of any object no matter how mundane its purpose. Consumerism is a way of life and many of us look for lasting, quality items that also light up the day.
Jette Egelund always had a strong belief in the Vipp design and its international appeal. She decided back in the early 90’s to showcase the bin at fairs in Europe. The big break came in 1993 at a fair in Hanover, where the exclusive German mail order company Manutactum approached Jette. Not long after while on a trip to London Jette paid a visit to the British designer icon Conran’s flagship store, The Conran Shop. She was given two minutes in the purchasing department with a seemingly small chance of convincing them to buy the product, but decided as a last attempt to leave a bin behind for them to take a closer look at. A week later the first big order ticked through the fax.
Today you can buy a series of Vipp designs for the bathroom. The company’s goal is to expand and design items for the rest of the home too.
Within a decade, the Vipp bins have become a designer force to reckon with. Art and design museums around the world have exhibited the bin series – including the Louvre in Paris. Today you can purchase a Vipp no matter what continent you travel in. The Vipps are praised for their simplicity and elegance, and their desirability is only enhanced as new colors are launched in limited editions. Jette Egelund also makes sure she gives back through the company’s involvement in a number of prestigious charity events over the years. Several events have involved international designers of today like Karim Rashid and Ron Arad who have given their interpretations of the bin and decorated it in their own unique styles.
At $385 you purchase a Vipp 24 for life. You get form, durability and function in one. Manufactured to the standard of a handmade car – Vipp’s are the iPods of waste bins. It just simply looks beautiful with its vintage wartime style. It has a slightly domed lid cap, and the bin has a tall, slim and cylindrical body. Almost like an old fashioned fire hydrant with cute Shrek-like ears (handles) on the sides. It comes in four classic colors: crème, steel, black and white. Once a year a limited color edition is launched, this year it’s Reykjavik Blue.
Beyond the classic look, this ever lasting handmade design also serves its functional purpose to the fullest. The treated stainless steel surface is finger print proofed and is therefore very easy to keep clean. The lid closes tight, keeping the odors in thanks to a rubber ring in the top. And don’t worry about greasy hands you can just use the foot pedal. The bin holds the plastic bags especially designed for the Vipp securely without ripping them, and there’s a galvanized inner bucket with a handle to take out for easy cleaning when needed. Best of all, it closes quietly.
As a friend of mine once said, “The bin is insanely desirable and even if I have to eat out of one in order to save up for it, so be it!” Innovative design combined with form and function makes this waste bin another Great Dane in the history of Scandinavian design. Just imagine how Holger Nielsen’s love for craftsmanship resulted in him making an item this ordinary but no less important in every day life that is still in vogue 60 years later and surely for generations to come.
August 2007