Rhonda Bracey: At Random

While we were at The Good Store on Saturday, we noticed that they also stock the eminently sensible (and useful) Reidel Riedel wine glasses, but wine glasses without the stems! According to the Riedel website they call them “O Tumblers“.

We have Riedel stemware and LOVE drinking wine out of it, but, like most people, we only bring it out for special occasions as it’s a bugger to wash and a bugger to have on the table. My husband does the washing up and he’s always frightened he’ll break a glass in the stainless steel sink when he’s washing it. They are really delicate, and the stems and the glass is so fine. Brilliant for drinking out of; hell to wash up! And guests freak out when leaning over the table to grab the vege platter or whatever when those huge wine glasses are in the way.

So these ‘tumbler’ wine glasses are just the ticket. There’s no stem, and they’re dishwasher safe. Which means you can drink out of Riedel glasses at any time without fear of knocking them over, or breaking the stems when washing them. Perfect for those meals in front of the TV that no-one admits they eat!

Yes, we bought some – $45 for a pair of the Cabernet/Merlot glasses.

A few months ago I read about a new store opening in Victoria Park (a suburb of Perth, not far from where we currently live). The owner’s philosophy is to only sell well-designed and useful items – all products stocked have to meet both criteria. Price is not a prime consideration, but usability and good design are. “Ah!” I thought. “Here’s a man after my own heart.”

So on Saturday when we were wandering about trying to sort out phone connections etc. we stopped into The Good Store at 363 Albany Hwy, Vic Park (for all you readers who are Perth locals: where Cadd’s used to be almost opposite the Heart of the Park shopping centre). And there we found… wait for it…

Splayds!!! Yay! They are producing Splayds again! Not the old style ones (like those shown here and here), but newer ones with a brushed stainless finish, a well-weighted handle, and nice form for the eating part. (I’ve packed them already, so no pics…)

Of course, if you’re an Aussie under about 30, you probably have no clue what a Splayd is, but for those over 30, you’ll be pleased to know you can buy them again. For those of you in North America, you may know them by various other names such as Sporks (though they’re not really like a Spork in that there’s no cutting edge).

Whatever they’re called, they’re a darned useful eating tool! As the bloke running the store said on Saturday, most people would never admit in public that they eat in front of the TV, but that’s where Splayds come into their own. That and stirfries. I can’t eat stirfries successfully with chopsticks, so a Splayd is ideal as you can eat the whole meal with one hand and still scoop up all the lovely sauces and juices.

And the price for a set of eight at The Good Store? $40. Can’t get better than that!

(BTW, the owner of the store said they are selling like hotcakes!)