It started as a source of irritation in the bathroom. It has since required three years’ work, two German engineers and USD 1 million in development costs. Friday the children’s bath tub “The Flexi Bath” won the Formland Design Award – Spring 2009.

The flexible bath tub, The Flexi Bath, is the result of a source of irritation in the bathroom. Friday, Stinne Fruelund, owner of Play for Life ApS, and Designer Niels Peter Estrup, A Real Cool World, won the Formland Design Award for the product.

– For me it was an issue that our baby bath tub took up too much space – in what was a small bathroom too. So I started thinking that perhaps it could be folded to make it easy to store. After three years we now have the end result – and even a design award in our hands, says Designer Niels Peter Estrup, A Real Cool World, who continues:

– It has been essential for us that the product is environmentally sound, sustainable and produced locally under the right conditions. The cost of producing the bath tub was the same regardless of whether production took place in Denmark or in China so the natural choice was a Danish factory.

Great interest in Asia

The factory in North Jutland that produces the Flexi Bath, can produce 700,000 bath tubs annually. The children’s bath tub is particularly suitable for everyone who lives in small apartments with even smaller bathrooms. Already now, the signs are that the product could be an international sales success.

– We are experiencing a large amount of interest from Asia; especially from Japan, where the children’s bath tub is very much in demand. The Asian product launch takes place in April. Then the markets in Norway and Finland will follow and then the rest of Europe, says Niels Peter Estrup, A Real Cool World.

Heat sensitive drain plug

Initially however, the Danes will be the first to benefit from the children’s bath tub. The Flexi Bath will be commercially available from the beginning of March and is sold by the Copenhagen-based company Play for Life ApS. Here, expectations are high after winning the Formland Design Award:

– The Formland Design Award provides us good support for the launch of The Flexi Bath in Denmark, where our target is to sell 10,000 examples during the first year, says Stinne Fruelund, owner of Play for Life ApS.

The Formland Design Award was presented at the opening of Formland Spring 2009. The award includes a marketing contribution of DKK 100,000. The Flexi Bath is introduced in seven different colours. Besides being foldable in the middle, the children’s bath tub comes with a heat sensitive drain plug that changes colour when the water temperature exceeds 36 degrees. The recommended retail price for the Flexi Bath is DKK 269.00.

Yellow Cab is the name of Vipp’s 2009 Limited Edition. The inspiration for the new line comes directly from the pulsating streets of New York. Here, in the city that never sleeps, more than 13.000 yellow cabs daily leave their clear impressions.

Besides thousands of yellow cabs, New York is now also home to Vipp’s first showroom outside of Denmark. This marks a new chapter in the almost 70 year long history of Vipp.

New York now also spells Vipp and Yellow Cab. The colour of the year immediately leads your thoughts towards the very special impression that overwhelms you when you find yourself in Times Square.

Vipp Yellow Cab is a new interpretation of the classic Vipp universe that will bring new life to your bathroom and kitchen. A chic and dazzling spring colour giving you a little bite of The Big Apple.

Vipp Yellow Cab is available from February 1st 2009 and throughout the year in leading design stores. To find your nearest dealer, please go to vipp.com. 

Behind New York’s yellow cabs

The famous yellow cabs are the lifeblood of New York and have achieved iconic status, just as Vipp has won praise as an international design icon. With the new series from Vipp, Scandinavian minimalism meets the big city pulse of New York.

Today, New York is home of more than 13.000 yellow cabs. This number is known because a special license is required in order to own a yellow cab. The license was introduced in 1937 at a cost of 10 dollars. The license can be sold on by the owner, and the major taxi companies are willing to pay large sums for it. In 2007, the price of a license had risen to 600.000 dollars.

Gasoline powered taxis were introduced in New York in 1907 by young businessman Harry N. Allen. He was also the first to introduce the yellow colour on taxis. He did this after learning that yellow is the colour easiest seen from a distance. In 1960 the city of New York decided that all taxis were to be painted yellow.

PRICES – VIPP YELLOW CAB:

Vipp 9 soap dispenser €85 / USD 119

Vipp 11 toilet brush €155 / USD 199

Vipp pedal bins €185 – €355 / USD 249 – USD 469

Vipp towels €13 – €35

For nearest dealer, go to vipp.com