La Glaciere Antique Refrigerator
31 October 2008
“Cool Box”
There is in the Arts and Crafts movement much that is worthy of our attention in these days of slam bam, make-it-in-China-on-the-cheap and American jobs being sent overseas—and the increased insensitivity and immorality of those who take such actions—but don’t get me started on that!
Still, there is much to be said for a product that is made to last, and especially so if one is able to provide something like that for a kitchen that has been made by fine craftsmen with the integrity to make a kitchen the way they really know a kitchen ought to be made. The end design would not necessarily have to be an Arts and Crafts kitchen, but if it were, one could hardly complain. As I said in my first blog this week, those who work in the Arts and Crafts style tend to take on the philosophy—and integrity—of the original Arts and Crafts movement. And with that, I can talk about what seems, at first blush, to be something rather lowly, an icebox.
But, really, when you think about it, that might be just the thing to go with an Arts and Crafts kitchen, some kind of a refrigerator that really looks like an ice box. Only it isn’t—it’s the real thing. That is, to say, it’s the real thing in the sense of being a refrigerator as opposed to an icebox. Because, really now, no matter how attractive an icebox may be—and the pictures in this blog are proof positive, I think, that ice boxes can be a stunning addition to any kitchen—still, they are ice boxes, after all. And what the heck is anyone going to do with something like that? Because, despite what Eugene O’Neill proclaimed in one of his last plays, the Ice Man doesn’t cometh anymore.
The La Glaciere antique refrigerator is, without a doubt, the absolute Cadillac of this particular line of old-time-look-alikes. What they have done is approach the making of their refrigerators as though they were fine furniture made by a, well, Arts and Crafts Movement furniture maker. The end result is an exquisitely crafted, fully pegged, solid French Oak casing with an antique finish. They then go on to adorn it with solid brass fittings and finish it up with your name on a solid brass plate! It’s the kind of work that can only be done in limited production, so they limit their output to just 2000 units worldwide. And what they do on the outside is really just the beginning.
The interior is as much a work of art as the exterior, providing state of the art refrigeration that is also state of the art luxury with its interior satin finish stainless steel shelves, a brass light, stainless steel meat hooks and separate temperature controls for food conservation compartments and the wine areas. Depending on the model selected, one can store as many as 68 wine bottles, and the doors may be glazed or solid wood.
In the end, it still looks like an icebox, which was the whole point of the exercise, really, but yowee, what an icebox! Or should I say cool box?
Joseph
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July 25th, 2011 at 12:02 AM
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