The Martell Flask by Yorgo&Co.
Looking back at the last Salone del Mobile, which took place two weeks ago, we remain super impressed by one of the incredible new designs which were revealed in Milano. As part of the yearly wallpaper* Handmade exhibition, the renown designer/art director Yorgo Tloupas – together with his Yorgo&Co company – created an extraordinary design, combining different loves of his: cycling, design, and drinking cognac. The Martell flask (forming a beautiful follow-up to the Pinel et Pinel’s collaboration) as envisioned by Tloupas consists of a top two-thirds, which contains water for the bike ride, and the bottom third contains Martell cognac, for the celebration. Making it our clear favorite out of this year’s wallpaper* Handmade – the magazine’s sixth groundbreaking exhibition dedicated to the marriage of craftsmanship and design, of which the flask in our eyes is a prime example. We just love the both robust and elegant design by Tloupas, having created what without a doubt is the most beautiful flask ever for cycling.
The genesis of the bike flask was the combined interests of its designer Yorgo Tloupas. A keen cyclist who recently spent hours in the archives of cognac maker Martell – researching his redesign of the spirit’s logo for its 300th anniversary this year – Tloupas has tapped into the historical habit of boosting cycling prowess with the odd snifter.
As stated by Tloupas himself – the designer stays far from advocating drink-cycling in this day and age (which clearly doesn’t mean one shouldn’t celebrate after a successful ride), however, the incredible design combines the essentials for a great ride, providing both the crucial hydration during and a well-deserved celebratory drink after. Working alongside Martell’s style director, Axelle de Buffevent, he designed an upper water section in steel, and, to house the cognac, the glass-bottle base that screws into the water flask. The cap is attached with a leather tab, and the whole clips into a standard bike water bottle clasp such as that shown in the images, placed a perfect match for the flask: a chrome frame from Paris bespoke bike maker Heritage.
Photography by Louis David Najar.
For more information and work by Yorgo&Co see here.