A di Alessi "Lupita" Dog Bowl - Orange

• A di Alessi "Lupita" Dog Bowl Blue (Ammi02 Az)

This is the first object in the brand new series Montagna dei Cani, dedicated to our four-legged friends. Dog Mountain is the name of a Utopia: the project for a theme park, unusual in that it is dedicated to abandoned dogs. The number of abandoned dogs is staggering; more and more dogs are running the opposite risk to extinction. It is evident, given the existence of kennels and the typical conditions of the same, that with respect to the number of dogs which populate the earth, there are very few people who can or who want to take care of these animals. Therefore it would be an unexceptionable economic principle, in the truest sense of the word, to choose an abandoned animal instead of purchasing one in a pet store or from a breeder, but unfortunately this is still a rare occurrence.

The centre of our Utopia is therefore a model kennel around which various projects have been developed. For example - a pet cemetery, a residence for dogs with owners, several snack-bar kiosks, and in particular, a series of characters (decidedly NOT Disney) inspired by the kennel guests. The characters would be the protagonists of our theme park animation, as well as of books and cartoons which would be useful in promoting the adoption of abandoned dogs. They would give rise to merchandising projects, and might even become the subject of a film. We like to think that parents would bring their children to our unusual theme park for a Sunday outing, similar to a trip to the zoo in times past, but with a different sense: that of better understanding a parallel world which is, however, very much part of our own. Not the simple curiosity for exoticism or the passive observation of animals in captivity; instead, taking these animals for a walk would make us aware of their need to find a new, permanent home, and would be a positive experience for both man and dog.

If it works, this idea could be adopted in all cities in which abandoned dogs are a problem. What's more, if it really works, it may lead to the adoption of a greater number of abandoned dogs, with the paradoxical yet auspicious result of putting an end to all kennels, even our own model kennel!

As you can imagine, the realisation of such a project requires a lot of time. In the meantime, we have decided to borrow the name of this beautiful Utopia for our line of articles for pets which begins with the Lupita bowl by Miriam Mirri. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Omegna Municipal Kennel.

Born in Bologna in 1964, Miriam Mirri lives and works in Milan. After graduating at the Superior School for Anatomic Design and Studied Communication and Design in Reggio Emilia (where she teaches today), she has worked in London with Nigel Coates and has been assistant to Stefano Giovannoni for many years. Her feminine soul brought to Alessi's products a kind of lovely, delicate, yet ironic spirit.

The metaproject "Family Follows Fiction" began in 1991, and grew out of a desire to explore the emotional structure of objects even more profoundly then we had done in the past. We were interested in the most delicate, intimate, sensory human needs. The objects became ludic tools, telling little tales, giving captivating twists to everyday uses, suggesting a mediation with playfulness& becoming a bridge to the fantastical. For F.F.F. we drew upon Winnicott's words on 'Transitional Objects', as well as Franco Fornari's theory of 'Emotional Codes'. At the outset the idea was to reproduce the process of creation and animation of the object common to the world of childhood and of primitive cultures.

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