Decor insulated BYO wine cask cooler with bar stand
Object No. 87/117
The development of this product follows on from the success of the Decor wine cooler designed in 1978. Decor decided in 1984 to take the same approach with a different product, the wine cask cooler. The idea for this new product sprang from the changing preferences of Australian drinkers - cask wine was becoming more popular and Decor decided to meet the needs of this new trend. Designed by Richard Carlson over a period of two years it holds the bag of wine from any 4 litre cask carton and has a separate bar stand with drip tray for use indoors. The design presented many challenges for Carlson. He said, 'fitting the cask bag into a box was like fitting a dozen pillows into the boot of a car'. However his ability to think in terms of mass, volume and space allowed him to translate an awkward situation into an elegant, useful solution which won an Australian Design Award in 1986. This product indicates the popularity of wine sold by the cask, first introduced in the 1960s by Angoves Wines. This type of wine was usually the cheapest available, and the bag reduces the air contact with wine so once it is opened it lasts longer than wine in a bottle. In 2004 around 50% by volume of the wine sold in Australia was cask wine.
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Summary
Object Statement
Wine cask cooler and bar stand, with packaging, plastic / card, designed by Richard Carlson, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1984-1986, made by Decor Corporation, Scoresby, Victoria, Australia, 1986
Physical Description
Insulated plastic wine cask cooler with removable wine chiller and carry handle. Designed to hold the bag of wine from a 4 litre cask carton. There is a separate bar stand with drip tray for use indoors. Packaging consists of a cardboard box.
DIMENSIONS
Height
455 mm
Width
170 mm
Depth
300 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
Designed by Richard Carlson in Melbourne 1984 -1986. Made by Brian Davis and Company Ptd Ltd, Scoresby Vic, 1986 The graphic design for the packaging was by Andy Schmid. Australian design registration 90144 and 91898 The wine cask cooler features a wedge shaped chiller bottle for the wine bag to sit on, this makes it easy to get all the wine from the bag. The process from design brief to finished product took two years. Carlson used sketches, a computer and lots of cardboard models to test the design in its early stages. Next he submitted a polystyrene model to Decor for approval. Finally he did a series of detailed drawings and a timber mock up of the design. 'Fitting the cask bag into a box was like fitting a dozen pillows into the boot of a car' says Carlson. However his ability to think in terms of mass, volume and space allowed him to translate an awkward situation into an elegant, useful solution which won an Australian Design Award in 1986.
HISTORY
Notes
Donated to the museum as new from the manufacturer. This product received an Australian Design Award in 1986. Decor was founded by Brian Davis in 1958 and was originally called Brian Davis and Company Ptd Ltd. Prior to this Brian was working as sales manager of Toltoys toy company but left to found his own homewares company. Brian had a focus on developing his own ideas and employed designers to develop the products, which was unusual for the homewares industry in Australia at this time. The first successful product was a set of plastic 'Habana' beakers in a plastic case. These were significantly cheaper than the aluminium ones available at the time. The next successful product was the Stackfresh range of modular containers designed by Tony Wolfenden and made from a new clear plastic styrene acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN). This was the first time that containers could be stacked in a modular fashion to save space. Following this the Clearseal range of containers designed by Richard Carlson with low density polyethlyene lids became market leaders in Australia. The inspiration for the Decor wine carrier came in 1978 when Brian Davis attended an Australian Design Awards presentation, saw a canvas or hessian wine carry bag win an award and decided that his company could make a better one. Prior to this plastic bags filled with ice cubes had been used to carry wine to restaurants. Richard Carlson was employed to design the wine carrier and quickly developed the final design. The wine cooler had widespread success and was winner of Australian Design Award in 1979 and the 1980 Prince Philip Prize for Australian Design. Following the success of the wine carrier Decor decided in 1984 to take the same approach with a different product, the wine cask cooler. The idea for this new product sprang from the changing preferences of Australian drinkers - cask wine was becoming more popular and Decor decided to meet the needs of this new trend. This new product earnt an Australian Design Award in 1986. Along with the wine cask cooler Decor developed a new wine carrier, ice buckets and picnic hampers as a complete range of products. In 1984 Richard Carlson was awarded the Design Institute of Australia Gold Medal Award for Industrial Design and Andy Schmid, graphic designer, was awarded a Design Institute of Australia National Award for graphic design. Brian Davis, along with designers Richard Carlson and Tony Wolfenden were inducted into the Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2006 there were almost 400 homeware products in the Decor range, including kitchenware, picnicware, gardenware, brushware, baby-care, pet, office and lifestyle products. The BYO wine cooler was still being sold in the USA. References 'Brian Davis and Decor', Design World, June 1983, p 50-55. 'Profile - Decor', Curve, Issue nine, p 26-29.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of The Decor Corporation Pty Ltd, 1987
Acquisition Date
24 February 1987
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