One of my design heroes is Louise Fili. Her eye for typography and aesthetics is world-renowned. She also helped cultivate the talents of other amazing designers like Jessica Hische who has gone on to be her own epic creative talent. That said, Princeton Architectural Press has worked with Louise Fili to design some products over the last few years that speak to her visually and creatively. She’s made double-ended colored pencils in traditional colors and metallics and now a set of nesting tin boxes called Tesori ($24.95).
Tesori is Italian for “treasure” which is fitting for a set of tin boxes. I imagine one of these boxes in 30 years developing a few dents and rust patina and being filled with various bits of ephemera from a lifetime of collecting and squirreling away of little treasures.
The smallest box easily holds small items like clips, ink samples, hand held pencils sharpeners and the like. I lined the bottom of the boxes with decorative paper to coordinate with the lids and help to absorb sound when items are placed inside. I would like to replace the paper with felt at some point for more sound absorption.
The medium sized box will hold average-sized fountain pens easily. Postcards or letters would also fit nicely in this box.
The largest box is perfect for regular pens, pencils and other regular, writing tools.
The boxes are made of a heavier gauge tin and the edges are rolled so they won’t scratch your desk. The enamel finish is smooth and glossy and the colors are bright but have a retro vibe with a creamy, ivory yellow that reminds me of a vintage candy box or cookie (biscuit) tin. I’ll certainly find a way to put these to good use.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Princeton Architectural Press for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Oh, these are sweet! I wonder why tins are so tempting…maybe because they evoke the ones that used to contain cookies.