The New Tradition Collection: a new take on the Christmas bauble by Richard Clarkson studio

Five design studios have been invited to rethink Christmas for The New Tradition Collection by Bombay Sapphire. The project invites each collaborator to recreate a Christmas product in an unconventional way. It’s Nice That will be previewing the creations in the weeks leading up to Christmas that will culminate in a special New Years Eve showpiece designed by Bompas and Parr.

“I liked the concept of a bauble, it’s a simple geometric sphere with a suspension point making for a really flexible foundation for design exploration. There are so many opportunities to explore what a bauble could become and potential experiments for how to evolve the design,” explains Richard Clarkson, founder of Brooklyn-based Richard Clarkson Studio, about his reimagining of the bauble as a terrarium. “I was really excited by the possibility of reimagining an object, in a new light. We tend to focus mainly on furniture and lighting so anything beyond that is a nice addition to our workflow at the studio.”

Richard’s bauble is designed to allow the owner to grow their own juniper berries. A juniper berry, a key ingredient in Bombay Sapphire, is planted in soil and mixed with recycled glass from Bombay Sapphire bottles within the bauble, which can then be removed after the festive period and planted in a garden where it will grow into a tree. What’s inside the bauble is for life, not just for Christmas. “We developed the concept in much the same way we develop any idea. We start with the basic elements and confinements (we call these mandatories), using mood-boards and quick sketches to explore ideas and opportunities,” explains Richard. “In this case there were several mandatories to be considered and balanced: the bauble needed to have references to Christmas and Bombay Sapphire but also have a sense of originality.”

The final design was developed with Bombay Sapphire, and there was a period of testing before the small run of baubles was produced in-house. “Using quick iterative prototypes we were able to quickly gauge how the different elements might be incorporated together to form the final design. This particular stage of the process is very much about play – playing with the different material options, different fabrication technologies and different user interactions. Working closely with the client we then arrived at the final design of a glass terrarium bauble with an embedded LED light,” Richard says.

The resulting product is a thoughtful and gentle response to Christmas that touches on themes of sustainability, nature and the throwaway consumerism of the festive season.

Each of The New Tradition collection is accompanied by a new festive tipple developed by mixologists at Bombay Sapphire. Each mix provides a new take on a classic gin drink. Here you can find out how to make the Cranberry Ginger Twist a seasonal reinterpretation of The Ultimate Gin and Tonic.

SERVES ONE

Recipe:
50ml Bombay Sapphire
50ml premium tonic water
25ml Cranberry juice
25ml Ginger ale
Fresh ginger slices
Lime wedge
Single mint sprig

Method:
1. Fill balloon or highball glass with ice.
2. Add the measure of Bombay Sapphire
3. Then pour in the cranberry juice
4. Fizz up with premium tonic, and the ginger ale
5. Stir well
6. Garnish with fresh ginger slices and a lime wedge.
7. Topped off with a single mint sprig.