The Extra Virgin Pop Oil Dispenser, a 2021 Paris Design Award winner in the product design category, is a devoted homage to Mediterranean cuisine from design duo AMeBE of Milan. The glass figural container, shaped like Our Lady of Lourdes or The Virgin Mary, is capped off, literally, with a 3d printed crown.
Extra Virgin Oil Dispenser
Born from an idea back in 2012, when far from home and their beloved Italy, artistic duo Alessandra Mantovani and Eleonora Barbareschi set out in search of Extra Virgin Oil, a “sacrosanct” ingredient of the Mediterranean diet and difficult to find.
An essential component of our tables, it replaces holy water in the iconic representation of Design, in a perfect combination of devotion and nourishment.
“There was a need for a container that was worthy of representing this sacred and fundamental ingredient. We started with the well-known Our Lady of Lourdes, thinking about a functional cap that could meet all the criteria of a good table oil. And so, we transformed the crown of the virgin into a drip-proof cap.” – AMeBE
The functional design of the drip-proof crown cap serves as an excellent example of the relationship between craftsmanship and technology.
Supported by donations and crowdfunding, they have not yet reached their full goal. You can help by donating a minimum contribution of 500€ to receive a numbered, “Limited-Edition” EXTRA VIRGIN Pop oil-dispenser or help them to sustain the production here. These funds will serve to partially cover the production of the first 10,000 pieces (the minimum run to offset the costs of printing the bottle mold) and the engineering of the cap.
Extra Virgin “BASE” edition
DIMENSIONS: base 66.5×64 mm x h. 260.5 mm (incl. cap, cap ø30 x h. 22 mm)
Volume: 20cl
Weight of BIANCO STD glass 450gr
Clear blue cap PMMA-ACRYLITE® MDTM
Extra Virgin “PREMIUM” edition
DIMENSIONS: base 66.5×64 mm x h. 260.5 mm (incl. cap, cap ø30 x h. 22 mm)
Volume: 20cl
Weight of BIANCO STD glass 450gr
Clear blue cap PMMA-ACRYLITE® MDTM
Thanks to 3D printing technology, they were able to obtain a prototype that also reflected their aesthetic needs, making it in blue resin (food grade). They then envisioned a version with a 9kt gold cap for collectors and fans of the icon.
Extra Virgin “LUXURY” Edition
DIMENSIONS: base 66.5×64 mm x h. 260.5 mm (incl. cap, cap ø30 x h. 22 mm)
Volume: 20cl
Weight of BIANCO STD glass 450gr
Polished gold cap 9kt gr.175.00
The body, made thanks to the artisanal development of a steel mold, was designed for a mass production of WHITE STD glass with hand-painted finishes for a Luxe version. The oil jug is entirely made in Italy thanks to the excellent workers and technologies of the local industry.
Support the product and pre-order yours here.
About the designers:
AMeBE is an artistic duo based in Milan, composed by Alessandra Mantovani (b. Brianza, Italy, 1983) and Eleonora Barbareschi (b. Tradate, Italy, 1984). Mantovani and Barbareschi met while studying at the Instituto Europeo di Design in Milan, where they received BAs in Industrial Design. In 2005 they moved to New York, where Barbareschi obtained an MFA in Design and Technology at Parsons School of Design. The same year the duo began their creative collaboration, and in 2008 they moved back to Milan to establish their independently owned and led Design Studio.
AMeBE’s ironic and conceptual projects are informed by the unique integration of their arts background with the use of contemporary, cutting edge technologies. The duo’s “forte” lies within their interdisciplinary approach, which gives AMeBE the chance to create with a unique blend of artistic craftsmanship and industrial, digital and aesthetic inventiveness. Their name, in addition to being the acronym of the founders initials (A+M & B+E), is inspired by the ‘amoeba’, the fascinating organism characterized by its continuous evolutions ‘mutable and perpetually transforming’. The term Ameba, or rather Amoeba, is derived from Ancient Greek and means ‘change, transformation’.
All images and information courtesy of Studio AMeBE
Yes, we have an entire Pinterest board of premium and beautifully bottled Olive Oilsfrom all over the world – and links to buy them:
