Project type: University project
Timeline: September 2022 - December 2022
Summary: This project was created as part of a university module. The brief was to design a home appliance. I decided to focus on an appliance from Eastern Europe: the samovar, and redesign it for the Western society, as a ritual of getting friends and family together.
Creating space for meaningful conversation
Today’s world is filled with technology and distractions, making human connection feel like a luxury. The facilitation of conversation in a family or friend group setting is the goal of this project.
Coming from Eastern Europe, I have personal experience and knowledge about the Samovar Tea Drinking Ritual. However, looking into tea ceremonies around the world proved that tea has always served as a supporter of human connection.
A Samovar is more than just an appliance, it's a shared experience
A samovar is a traditional Russian device for boiling water and brewing tea. Water heats in the samovar, then you fill a teapot with tea leaves. The teapot brews on top while the samovar keeps water hot. Tea is poured and diluted with hot water at the table.
Traditional samovars are gold-polished and ornate, but this style is rare in the UK. To introduce them to the UK market, they need redesigned to match local aesthetics. Ideation sketches helped develop concepts that combine traditional details with modern style. The final design was chosen based on technical feasibility, aesthetics, and resemblance to the original samovars.
Bringing the Samovar to the UK
The Nexus Brew Samovar is industrial-looking but retains the traditional look in its details.
To test the design direction, a quick prototype was created using laser-cut cardboard and 3D-printed details. This allowed me to check the scale against diverse users and note the changes which needed to be made, such as scaling up the ON/OFF button, the handles and the decor piece on the tap. The overall design worked well and received positive feedback from users.
The red-coloured accents of Nexus Brew are an acknowledgement of the traditional samovars. A set of 6 ceramic cups and the teapot accompany the samovar as a set. The main body of the samovar is made out of stainless steel on the inside and polypropylene on the outside.
