News

NUDE Bees by Morten Krag, The Cocktail Blog During this time of social distancing, it’s important to stay connected. At the moment things can feel uncertain and each day feels the same. Inspired by feedback from the NUDE Community, we have partnered with our NUDE Cocktail winner and NUDE Insider, Morten Krag, The Cocktail Blog to bring you some cocktail ideas that you can make at home. Each Friday we will be sharing a new recipe on the @nudeglass Instagram account and this blog. We hope our Friday Cocktails might inspire you to dive into your home bar and make a cocktail at home as a fun Friday afternoon treat whether by yourself or virtually with friends and family over a video call. For the first cocktail in the series, Morten has created a recipe that uses four simple ingredients; gin, fruit liqueur, lemon juice, and honey, perfectly presented in NUDE’s Hepburn Coupe.   NUDE Bees Recipe: Add ingredients listed in points 2 to 5 into a cocktail shaker 4 cl Gin 2 cl Liqueur (Cherry Blossom Liqueur used here but the recipe goes well with any liqueur in your cupboard) 2.5 cl Fresh Lemon Juice (or Lime for a more mellow citrus sensation) 1.5 cl Honey (the runnier the better -  and be sure to hit the mixer) Shake with plenty of fresh ice Strain into a freezer chilled coupe Garnish with a *homemade dehydrated Pink Grapefruit (or any available citrus)  Instructions for dehydrated fruit Cut very thin slices of citrus Put them in the oven at 70-80°C / 158-176°F for 3-4 hours Turn them every hour Consider using hot air function in the last 30-40 minutes if you want them extra dark   NUDE Products featured: Hepburn Coupe glass designed by Brad Ascalon Hepburn Mixing glass designed by Brad Ascalon   Creator: Morten Krag Instagram: @thecocktail.blog

To celebrate the Hepburn Collection, designed by Brad Ascalon, we connect this collection to our very first inaugural NUDE Mixologist Competition. Out of dozens of applicants, we have selected 8 finalists. These finalists all have created their NUDE recipe based on NUDE's ethos and inspired by the Hepburn Collection.  We are pleased to introduce you the 8 finalists... Hugo Combe / @hugo.combe - Love LettersInspired by the paradoxical feelings of love and the purity of the Hepburn Collection.   Sondre Kasin / @mrkasin - Illusion Cocktail Illusion Cocktail is a drink that is breathtaking and beautiful in its simplicity and craft; it reflects the perfect balance of elegance and beauty of the Hepburn Collection.   Morten Krag / @thecocktail.blog - The Martini The Martini is the very essence of NUDE's ethos "Simple is Beautiful", it's a clean, fresh, and straightforward cocktail that with th eperfect balance is smooth and sophisticated.   Murray Anderson / @thewestmount - Doctor's Order With a complex journey of flavour, the overall simplicity of Doctor’s Orders still prevails; with both cocktail and glassware proving that less is always more.   Achilleas Plakidas / @achilleaspl - Fall In Fall In marks the transition from summer to autumn. In Summer your soul is free, your mind travels away! But as the seasons change, you have to be more focused.   Jeremy Downer / @downerontherocks - Leaf Me Alone With it’s beautiful golden-yellow hue, sitting perfectly still in the bowl of the Hepburn Coupe, as a small maple leaf floats around the surface like a fallen leaf atop a puddle, it is simultaneously modest and stunning.   Ania Jakutajć-Wojtalik / @aniasvibrantkitchen - Autumn Pear Inspired by her favourite autumn flavours of pear, apple, and cinnamon, Autumn Pear is the perfect cocktail for those cold autumnal days.    Mark Addison / @mark_addison - Cranberry Sauce Punch Based on a jammy swirl of cranberries, spices and orange juice, Cranberry Sauce Punch is reminiscent of everyone’s favorite holiday condiment; topped off with good champagne, the gratitude will definitely be flowing!   

“This is our first collection with Nude and we were impressed by the deep dedication to the craft of glass-making they have. Called Silhouette, the pieces reflect the name in many forms; they are glass, transparent and reflective. The name derives from a constant passion of ours to have a consistency of things to have a sculptural, aesthetic appeal.” Danes Signe Bindslev Henriksen and Peter Bundgaard Rützou are graduates of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. The pair launched Space Copenhagen,their design firm in 2005 where they work across disciplines, producing furniture, lighting and objects for interiors for residential and hospitality projects. The couple often use natural materials, and a subdued color palette that highlights craft. Space Copenhagen’s clients range from international manufacturers including Georg Jensen, GUBI, Stellar Works, and Fredericia Furniture. Restaurant and hotel projects include 11 Howard, New York; the original Noma launched by René Redzepi in Copenhagen; Geranium, Copenhagen owned by Bócuse d’Or winner Rasmus Kofoed; and Geist, run by Michelin star chef Bo Bech. "When we started sketching,our inspiration was purely the material itself’’ Melissa Feldman: Have you worked with glass before? Space Copenhagen: It is our first time working with glass, and the complexity of the craft techniques behind it is deeply fascinating to us. M.F.: What was it like working with the Nude team? S.C.: Our collaboration with the wonderfully skilled craftsmen at Nude has been truly inspiring. Whether fused, cast or blown, the sheer immediacy of the process, the intensity of coaxing molten glass into these exquisite precise forms is quite unique and unlike anything we have experience with. M.F.: What’s your approach when combining form and function? What other types of foods are you imagining would work in these vessels? S.C.: Every case is different. Here, we were interested in how to effortlessly convey a welcoming, generous gesture in the form. The small family of individual bowls can be used in different ways but are all connected by their open, inviting and generous shape. Our intention was to create a very flexible collection. Whether filled with nuts or with a couple of berries, in a group, or on their own, we wanted them to communicate an inviting gesture in an understated but clear way. M.F.: How do you think about incorporating decorative objects like these on to your table setting? S.C.: The sentiment of sharing bowls and trays for a table setting is appealing to us, and we like the simple sculptural ornamental character that glass pieces like these introduce to a space.   M.F.: What was your original inspiration for the Silhouette Collection and how did you begin your design process when creating the collection for Nude? S.C.: When we started sketching, our inspiration was purely the material itself. In the process, its fluid and transparent nature quickly became almost a fourth dimension with a constant interplay between edge, volume and curve, and techniques that are unique to glass determining outcome in ways that were new to us, which was a great learning. M.F.: What other types of accessories are you interested in designing that might relate to the collection you’ve just created? S.C.: We see so many amazing possibilities, whether glass, vases or larger free form objects, which could be really interesting to explore. M.F.: Do you like cooking? If so what in specific? Fish perhaps? S.C.: For both of us cooking is a wonderfully relaxing, social and sometimes almost meditative endeavour, something that takes you out of a busy professional life and into a sphere where it’s about this ritual and experience. We love the Mediterranean and Asian way of sharing a meal, passing the bowl or plate along, a lot of choice, many dishes on the table, that whole interaction around the table. M.F.: Do you have a favorite restaurant besides the ones you've designed? And why? S.C.: We work with restaurants for a living, and seek out food experiences all the time, both in Copenhagen and when traveling. So, to us culinary experiences are so intrinsically tied to the place you’re at, the mood, you’re in, the people you’re with, so singling out a favorite wouldn’t be fair. It could be amazing dumplings in a side street on Lower East Side, fine dining in Copenhagen, or fresh fish in a modest family restaurant in Milan.

The NUDE Grilled Pineapple Mojito Inspired by the tropical summerfruit pineapple, Spoonabilities, a duo from Miami creating beautiful recipes and cocktails, made for NUDE a summer cocktail called The Grilled Pineapple Mojito. The heroes of this cocktail are the pineapple and a Barcelo Especial extra dry rum from the Dominican Republic, presented beautifully in NUDE's Big Top longdrink glass.  Instructions for the pineapple syrup Grill the pineapple rings 3-5 minutes per side, until you get a good char In a small saucepan at medium low heat, add water and brown sugar. Stir until all sugar is dissolved. In a bowl, muddle 4-5 grilled pineapple rings and add rings and juice to saucepan. Cook for about two minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Then strain the syrup. Store simple syrup in the refrigerator for a week. Grilled Pineapple Mojito Directions Muddle the lime juice, 2-3 grilled pineapple chunks and mint in the NUDE's Big Top Longdrink glass. Add ice cubes. Pour in pineapple syrup, rum, and top with club soda. Garnish with pineapple leaf/spike to give it that tropical feeling.   To elevate this summer cocktail, garnish it with pineapple chunks. For the grilled pineapple chunks, remove the skin and top from a ripe pineapple and cut into 1/3-inch slices. Grill until caramelized. Cut into chunks and carefully add it to the cocktail. If you like your cocktail to have an even more fruitier flavour, you can juice the grilled pineapple and add around 60 ml of juice to the cocktail. For this rich cocktail, we suggest to use the Big Top longdrink glass of 430cc as it will be the perfect size to carry all those flavours. Grilled Pineapple Syrup: 4-5 Grilled pineapple rings 1/2 cup of water 1/2 cup of lightbrown sugar Cocktail: 22 ml Grilled pineapple syrup 1-2 Mint leaves 3-4 Grilled pineapple chunks 15 ml Fresh lime juice 60 ml Barcelo Especial extra dry rum Club soda, to top   Creator: Carlos Leo of Spoonabilities Instagram  Spoonabilities

The NUDE Summer by The Cocktail Blog  Inspired by beautiful summer lighting and NUDE's Big Top Collection glassware, Morten Krag, mixologist, reviewer and creator of TheCocktail Blog, created specially for us a summer cocktail, The NUDE Summer. For the base of this cocktail Morten choose Duppys Share, a Carribean rum. The Dubby Share is a perfectly balanced blend of premium rums from Jamaica and Barbados. The fiery Jamaican rum with tropical notes and the Barbadian rum with a warm buttery note finish make the perfect partner for punch and rum cocktails.   The rum is paired with equal parts of Giffard's Pamplemousse Rose liqueur and Elderflower liqueur before topping it off with champagne. When you prefer something different than champagne, a Vermouth & Tonic mixer does the tric as well.   To finish off the cocktail, garnish it with some fresh or dehydrated lime and some fresh mint leaves. To give it something extra, you can add some thinly sliced fresh or dried citrus to give that summery feeling. With the linear pattern of Big Top's glasses, the light catches the colors of the cocktail beautifully and the balanced bottom of the glass offer a great hold during summer parties.  Method: Build directly in the glass 3.5 cl of rum (Duppys Share) 1.5 cl of Pamplemousee Rose Liqueur (Giffard) 1.5 cl of Wilde Elderflower Liqueur (Giffard) Top with champagne or a Vermout&Tonic mixer Garnish with fresh or dehydrated lime and mint leaves Enjoy!   Creator: Morten Krag Instagram  thecocktail.blog  

What if it was possible to create a glass so fine, so elegant, so exquisite, that it could almost make you feel as if it didn't exist?That nothing came between you and the enjoyment of your favorite wine.  It couldn't be done, surely? Our designers at NUDE asked themselves the same question, but after a huge amount of work and dedication have come up with the answer We call it... Stem Zero Stem Zero is a simple and elegant range of highly refined glassware made to satisfy the most discerning wine connoisseur. The glass is so fine and so light that it defies belief. Yet is is strong and reliable, suiting all manner of occasions, both formal and informal.Such is the remarkable quality of the glass that it creates a sensation of weightlessness, that the wine is being held by an invisible force , allowing you to savour the aroma and taste of wine in a way that, until now, was consideredunimaginable.The result is a glass that feels no more than a whisper,a kiss on the lips, encouraging you to enjoy wine to the full. Some look tough but are so fragile.Some look fragile but tougher thanany other… The new Stem Zero with Ion Shielding Technology, reinforces the previously delicate collection, making it twice as strong and flexible as other handmade glasses of similar thinness. Introducing Stem Zero made with our ‘Ion Shielding Technology’.Making it the world’s toughest, yet finest lead free crystal glass.You could say it is beautifully strong.

On the 31st of October 2013 the world of shapes and design blended with the inspiration of strategic and creative ideas. What you are about to read is a tribute to Wally Olins (1930-2014) and the most meaningful outcomes of the conversation he held with Ron Arad. Ron Arad, architect and industrial designer by training, has gone far beyond this formal discipline. He has become a creator in its truest sense. As an Israeli based in London ever since he went there to study at the AA – Architectural Association (1974-79), Ron Arad has worked for prominent clients such as Moroso, Vitra or Alessi. His creations have been exhibited at the Pompidou in Paris or the MoMa in New York City. His first creations were especially influenced by Dadaism, as can be seen with his masterwork, the Rover Chair. It is a design very close to a “ready made” art object, thus reflecting the inherent critique of the Dadaists to the tendencies in the art world. Even nowadays, Ron Arad stays true to his irreverent spirit that nourishes his creativity. After over 30 years working on a large variety of projects, Ron Arad is still true to his original spirit: designing is all about creating something that did not existed before. He is an innovator of shape and function, constantly re-thinking our reality and reinterpreting the objects that shape our lives. He is a firm believer that design is not about embellishment or style, but about the purity in the shape of an object. It’s about creating something new every time, uncovering an object’s essence. On the other side of the coffee table you see the ultimate brand guru, Wally Olins, who passed away in April 2014, about six months after this interview. Just like Ron Arad broke the boundaries of architecture to immerse himself into something bigger, as is the idea of freel shaping objects and spaces, Wally Olins was a pioneer in his sphere. He turned the world of Marketing and Advertising upside down by creating something deeper, more meaningful and lasting: Branding. He was another non-conformist driven by the curiosity in finding the essence that makes businesses, organizations and places unique. Like this, and with his powerful sense of educated intuition he has helped shape businesses, and even nations, transforming them to be more engaging, honest to themselves and relevant. "I am very very interested in new technologies, but I never forget the artisans."  Wally Olins Wally used to say about himself that he did “all sorts of things”. But it’s certain that clarity defined him just as much as courage:”: “I try to be direct and clear. […] It’s nice to be nice, but it’s also nice to be straight.” Perhaps his secret to getting to the heart of everything? On this special October day, these two creative minds meet in Ron Arad’s studio in London. Their conversation needs no thought starter. As they are taking their seats they are already spontaneously starting to chat. Wally Olins: So, Ron, what’s your view on design… Ron Arad: To design is to impose your will on the material to make it perform a function, generally. Of course, this means using different processes depending on the case. Related to Nude and glass, it involves blowing into a mould and turning a bit. In other cases, like metal, it involves me physically, using a hammer. But for a long time I have let other people do this. My fingers used to be dirty but they are not anymore. I moved the physical work elsewhere because I feared becoming a craftsman. I am not. WO: Really? Why is that? RA: Because I am not a craftsman. A lot of things were done by genius craftsmen, before computers, just from drawing sections, using knives and other tools… WO: So, do you think an artist needs to actually build and construct his / her own creations?  RA: Many artists really just give instructions. Think of Chamberlain, he just ended up sitting in his wheelchair and saying this way or that way. Is that constructing your own work? People do whatever they really want. A friend of mine goes to the pottery every day, and that’s what she does. She wants to feel it; she is a potter. That’s crafting. I am not a craftsman. I am not a glassblower. I am not as good as people that made genius things. They know what they are doing, they are conscientious and they are amazing craftspeople. I don’t have the temperament for that. I used to make stuff here, in metal; I bought metal tools, to manipulate metal and I had people who were getting good at it, but I wanted to do other things. When I worked with metal it was exactly what I wanted to do then. But I am not a hand worker. I am not even good at computed modelling. What I do is drawing. WO: Are you saying then that the material, in a sense - glass or metal or whatever it is -, although it matters, because you don’t physically model it, it doesn’t matter that much, right? RA: It’s comparable with my situation towards metal. It’s about whether I do a piece of metal myself or people who are, vocationally, much better than me with the material, actually do it. It takes a skill. Let me draw a comparison to very skilled people. A few weeks ago I went to Cognac and I watched a young guy making a barrel and I was full of admiration for that. That is something I could never do. He doesn’t waste a single movement; he knows what he is doing. He makes 14 barrels a day. It’s an astonishing daily accomplishment. Now, let’s think about the material that Nude’s objects are made of, glass. The company was kind enough to take me to their two factories. One where they do everything physically, personally, blowing by mouth. There were 400 people wearing a uniform, it was crazy! They don’t talk and they’re not all doing the same thing. Each one does his own different thing. So sometimes it happens that our design turns out to be very difficult to make. If they see a struggle I say: Look, there is nothing sacred with what we designed, we can change it.  Wally interjects: So do you mean you can modify it so it can be made more easily? RA: Yes. We started with ignorance and designed a few things that, when they make it, there is almost no point in doing it because it doesn’t come out as beautiful. So when we observed that a few things didn’t work we said: Ok, let’s modify it. WO: Ron, I have a feeling that, in your art, you love to challenge the limits of possibilities? RA: I don’t know about challenge, sometimes I also ignore. I am not a big fan of conventions but I don’t think anything is sacred: “Oh the master did this”… But look, rather than struggle, you should look at it like: Look this is one idea that came on a Wednesday, maybe Thursday will bring a different idea. We should not be slaves of ideas. Ideas should serve us; we shouldn’t serve the ideas. WO: The idea of you being involved in the creation of a very high quality, high design, luxury class product, Nude, how did that emerge? RA: When in Istanbul, what you buy are tea glasses and then, when you are asked how you would like to design for a glass company, what you do is look around and think: how can I make a contribution to this? WO: Is that what you thought, really? That’s very interesting, because you get projects from different people and there are times when you know what to do, but there could be others where your thoughts might be something like: what shall I possibly do with this now? RA: For sure. But here, I didn’t doubt for one second that we could do something. You look at it and you the plate? Why? Different glasses, they are for all the connoisseurs, they know. But not for me. For me, wine is either good or bad, but all those subtleties are not really my thing. When I buy wine it’s about the price or the graphics. And sometimes it’s the nations that I quite like. WO: For me, anything over 12 pounds sterling I get suspicious… (joking) RA: Rather than having glasses ready for any eventuality, create one that serves any eventuality. Red? Or, no, no, White! WO: So then, some clever dude says: I have had white, now I want red! What do you do? Different glass? RA: Well, the name of the series is “Red or White”. But you can turn it around and you have a red ring on the tablecloth. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?   WO: You didn’t walk around asking people: Would you like this? I hope you didn’t… RA: No… Well, I have some friends that are professionals that have restaurants. WO: But you didn’t do focus groups and so on. RA: Market research? No, I don’t do that. WO: Fine, then we are on the same page. I am extremely glad to hear that and I am not in the least surprised. RA: It’s like when I did that perfume bottle once. I did so many interviews about the perfume and I know nothing about perfumes. I don’t know more about wine, now. Same with cognac, I had a lecture about the Cognac and I tried to get them to discuss that the tastes are different and so on… But what about the effect? What about the kind of high you get? Does that enter the conversation? They didn’t even hear my question. WO: Yes, I see. It’s not about all that, for them. It’s very sensible from Nude’s side. If you are doing this very new project and you ask people what they want they are going to be very conservative and look at each other and be very dubious about everything. I think to do something like this you need to intuitively believe in it. RA: Not only that. This is one connection, but there are other issues. We did some stacking glasses. When you think about it, it’s ridiculous that for thousands of years people do glasses that stack on the rim. They get caught and damaged and you can’t open them up. There is absolutely no reason for it. And then you immediately think… why didn’t anyone think of it before? I have been to so many dinners with redundant glasses. I couldn’t understand why, for so many years, people couldn’t do glasses that are allowed to be adjusted. So we did “The A-frame”. If the A goes down they get closer to each other, if the A goes up, they go further apart. People always ask: Form or function? They are not at war with each other; they work together. Like this glasses collection we just created… how do they look? WO: What are you trying to sell me some spectacles? (Joke) Oh this is nice, (Ron brings him glasses) these are clever, because mine always get loose. RA: Also, I am very good at designing things you can sit on! WO: You are talking like an All Star Bauhaus Designer. Form follows function. RA: Oh no, no. Don’t say that! WO: You are just talking like one. I know what you said; you just sound like that. It’s quite funny. RA: I don’t subscribe to any slogan. WO: I understand that. RA: Ornament is crime. WO: Going back to our conversation about glass: did you do a bit of design for glass before? RA: Yes, but never a collection. WO: So now you were seduced to go deeper into designing for glass? RA: Exactly WO: So, what was the motivation for hiring you for this project? Going into something that is less conventional? I´m asking because when I think about my career and experiences I see that there have been very few companies that were able to move upmarket. In the glass market, what you would expect a company wanting to move upmarket to do is imitating the Frenchmakers. So it’s very respectable that Nude is not doing that at all. It’s an admirable move. Even more, that you didn’t find any resistance. Ron, have you been associated much with new luxury brands before? RA: They asked me once to do a special edition perfume bottle. They came to me with a presentation and a mood board and so on. They wanted me to really know the perfume I would design for. I should listen to all of it and design for that; but I ignored it later. I wanted to do the first perfume bottle that is designed for the iPhone generation. WO: Not sure if I like it… Hmm, don’t you need to have a big hand? RA: No, not really. WO: So what kind of stuff are you doing right now mostly? RA: We are doing a lot of Architecture.  

Life is finite. It comes to an end. That’s why it’s important to live it to the full, to treasure every day. A Memento Mori is an object we keep to remind us of this inevitability. It is neither morose nor malevolent, but a simple fact of life. Nude has collaborated with two cutting edge designers to create an exquisite range of Memento Mori in lead free crystal glass. We like to think of them as philosophical ornaments. They give us cause to reflect; to remind ourselves of life’s undying importance. Ali Bakova is a leading light in modern Turkish design. His work is playful yet functional, mixing the classic with the contemporary. Bakova’s extraordinary collection of skulls are both tactile and dramatic. They have a quiet presence that is both compelling and eloquent. Both transparent and opaque, and in a wide range of hues, Bakova’s skulls offer a variety of moods and personalities to reflect the individuality of the owner. The main set of skulls come in jet black, opaque white, crystal clear and sea green. A limited edition have also been fashioned in silver and gold.Each skull is three quarter length and has a flat base. This softens the affect, making the item more contemplative than alarming. A smaller set of skulls - half the size - come in jet black, crystal, and sea green.A still newer range - slightly softer in design - has also been launched in charcoal black, crystal gold and crystal bronze. The very latest item is a crystal clear skull that can be used as a tea-light holder - a playful comment on the concept of inspiration. Taken together, Ali Bakova’s work makes for an arresting and dynamic collection.   Erdem Akan is another renowned exponent of design. He enjoys combining East and West, old with new, reflecting both his upbringing in Istanbul and his education in Britain. Akan has chosen to lay his Memento Mori skull on its side, as if sleeping. The hollowed-out skull acts as a bowl. What you put in it allows you to make your own comment about both life and death. It’s a very original approach, exemplifying the designer’s mordant wit and attitude. Akan’s skulls come in two different sizes and a variety of finishes: smokey green, jet black, and opaque white. There is a subtly gentler mood to his collection, but with the same metaphysical component.   The work of Ali Bakova and Erdem Akan - particularly in relation to these extraordinary pieces created for Nude - once more reaffirm our credo - Simple is Beautiful. But with the Memento Mori collection, this time it is stated in a playfully significant way.