Alessi vs Areaware

Alessi vs Areaware: two brands that sell designed objects for the home, two completely different ideas about what those objects should do. Alessi, the Italian company founded in 1921, commissions architects to make cultural statements. Areaware, founded in Brooklyn in 2005, works with independent designers to make objects that are playful first. Here is how they compare.

Two brands, two arguments about what a designed object should do

Alessi describes its own practice as a “dream factory” — a term coined by Alberto Alessi to distinguish commissioning design arguments from producing functional kitchenware. The full account of how architects like Mendini, Sottsass, and Graves were brought into the fold is documented at the Alessi website.

Alessi has been in Omegna, in the Italian lake district of Piedmont, since 1921. Giovanni Alessi started the company as a metalware workshop, producing nickel, chromium, and silver-plated brass. Useful objects, well made, nothing unusual. The transformation came with his grandson Alberto, who joined the family firm in 1970 after completing a law degree and described the company at the time as “a bit grey,” with “everything made of metal and the factory smelling like car oil” (Smithsonian Magazine, 2003). Alberto had a different idea. He turned to architects and industrial designers, Achille Castiglioni, Richard Sapper, Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass, and asked them to make objects for the kitchen and table. The result was not better kitchenware. It was a Factory of Design, which is what Alberto called it, and the distinction matters.

The objects that came out of Alessi in the 1980s and 1990s were not designed to be quiet. The 1983 Tea and Coffee Piazza project, initiated by Mendini, invited eleven international architects to design tea and coffee sets. Michael Graves and Aldo Rossi were first discovered as Alessi collaborators through that project. Graves went on to design the 9093 Bird Whistle Kettle, which became the best-selling object in Alessi history and is still in production. Philippe Starck designed the Juicy Salif lemon squeezer in 1990, reportedly sketched on a restaurant napkin in Ibiza while eating squid, and said openly that the object was designed to start conversations, not to juice efficiently. The Juicy Salif is now in the permanent collections of MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These are not kitchen objects that happen to be beautiful. They are positions taken on what design is for.

Areaware started in Brooklyn in 2005, when Lisa Yashon and Noel Wiggins launched their first collection at NYNow. The company’s founding lineup included work by Ross Menuez, Harry Allen, Jonas Damon, Jason Miller, and Patrick Townsend, independent designers, most of them American, all of them working in a register that was materially curious rather than historically argumentative. Areaware’s stated philosophy was that “the best design evokes good feelings,” which sounds simple and is actually a serious design position. It means the object is working when you pick it up and something in the way it sits in your hand makes you want to keep holding it. It does not mean the object is making a point.

Areaware announced its closure on May 1, 2025. Cofounder Noel Wiggins cited Trump-era tariffs that would more than double prices, and offered an honest diagnosis of the business model: “To be both a curatorial voice and a manufacturing voice are two disparate and incompatible forces. It is not a great business model. It’s a wonderful creative model” (Fast Company, 2025). The brand is gone. Its objects are not. Amazon still carries inventory, and secondary market supply is substantial. What changed is that Areaware’s design history is now closed. No new collections, no restocking once current stock runs out. That fact changes the stakes of this comparison in a way worth naming directly.

How Alessi vs Areaware actually compare

Design pedigree

Alessi wins this, by a margin that is not close. The Alessi collaborator roster is a reading list for twentieth-century design history: Sottsass (Memphis movement founder), Castiglioni, Sapper, Mendini, Graves, Starck. The Juicy Salif alone, designed in 1990 by a designer who was making a deliberate argument about function versus conversation, sits in two of the world’s most significant design collections. You cannot look at the Alessi archive without encountering the people who shaped the design conversation of the last fifty years. That depth of collaborator history is what puts Alessi kettles in a different category from anything else on the market.

Areaware’s designers are less famous individually. David Weeks Studio designed the Cubebot, launched in 2010, inspired by Japanese Shinto Kumi-ki puzzles and made from sustainably harvested hardwood. Dusen Dusen collaborated on a series of pattern puzzles that are deliberately difficult to complete because the visual pattern resists orientation cues. Harry Allen and Jonas Damon appear in the Areaware catalog alongside a dozen other designers whose names are not in any museum collection. The comparison is not embarrassing for Areaware. The brand had a consistent eye for objects that rewarded close attention. It just operated in a different league.

Object ambition

This one depends on what you mean by ambition. Alessi objects make an argument. The Juicy Salif is deliberately bad at juicing. It splashes, and Starck has been explicit that splashing is not a design failure, it is a feature. The object is not a juicer that happens to look unusual. It is a conversation object that happens to extract a small amount of citrus juice when pressed. The ambition is rhetorical: the object exists to make you think about what a designed object is allowed to do.

Areaware objects invite interaction of a different kind. The Cubebot folds into a compact cube when it is resting on a shelf, and unfolds into a humanoid figure in poses that depend on how you arrange the limbs. The Dusen Dusen pattern puzzles are made to be difficult, not because the pieces are irregularly cut, but because the bold, repeating graphic pattern makes it genuinely hard to orient each piece. The challenge is in the surface, not the structure. Areaware’s ambition is material and tactile, not rhetorical. Neither kind of ambition is more serious than the other. They are differently directed.

Price and accessibility

Areaware wins for everyday buyers; Alessi wins for one significant purchase. Alessi’s most recognized objects are priced as considered gifts or statement pieces. The Juicy Salif runs roughly $60–90 depending on retailer and configuration. The 9093 Bird Whistle Kettle runs $100–130. These are not impulse purchases. They are objects you buy when you have decided to own something specific.

Areaware’s range was wider and lower. The Cubebot Micro ran $15–25. The Dusen Dusen Pattern Puzzle ran $25–35. The Reference Bookend ran $35–50. Areaware had a lower entry point and a broader gifting range. You could buy an Areaware object for someone whose taste you were not entirely sure of and it would land well. You cannot do that with the Juicy Salif. That object requires the recipient to know what they are receiving.

Longevity and brand story

Alessi wins on longevity by the simplest of margins: it still exists. Over one hundred years of production, a Certified B Corporation since 2020, museum-grade archive, active new collaborations. The Alessi catalog is not frozen. You can add to a collection started in 1992 and find new objects that sit alongside it.

Areaware closed in May 2025. The objects that exist are the objects that will exist. If you want a Cubebot, you are buying from current Amazon inventory or secondary market supply. Once it is gone, it is gone from retail. This matters practically: Areaware objects bought now are finite in a way that Alessi objects are not.

Gift potential

Areaware wins for general gifting; Alessi wins for design-aware recipients. The Cubebot works across a very wide age and sensibility range. A ten-year-old and a forty-year-old design director are both going to engage with it, and both are going to enjoy it. The Dusen Dusen puzzle is a gift that communicates something about the giver’s taste without requiring the recipient to share it. If you want to build a small gift collection before inventory runs out, the full range of Areaware design objects is worth browsing while Amazon stock lasts.

Alessi objects read as insider references. The Juicy Salif means more to someone who knows Starck and knows what was being argued in 1990 than to someone who just needs a juicer. That is not a criticism of the Juicy Salif. It is a description of who it is for. If you know the recipient’s taste with precision, Alessi. If you are not certain: Areaware, while stock lasts.

What each brand gets right — and where each falls short

Alessi — Pros:

• Design pedigree is genuine. The collaborators, Sottsass, Castiglioni, Graves, Starck, are the people who made the design argument that 20th century design was having. Owning an Alessi object is owning a piece of that conversation.
• Objects hold their cultural value over time. A Juicy Salif bought in 1992 and a Juicy Salif bought this year are the same conversation.
• Wide product range. Kettles, corkscrews, salt shakers, bowls, clocks, trays. You can build a home around Alessi without repeating yourself.
• The signature lines are made in Italy. Material quality is high for the price point.
• Strong gifting recognition among design-aware buyers. An Alessi object signals fluency.

Alessi — Cons:

• Some objects prioritize drama over function. The Juicy Salif splashes. Several of the more sculptural bowls are not stable on a flat surface. If you want something that works without requiring your attention, look elsewhere.
• Price creep on the significant pieces. The most recognized objects are genuinely expensive for what they are materially. You are paying for the design argument, not the stainless steel.
• The brand has coasted on its 1980s and 1990s golden era. Recent collaborations are less discussed in design press. The archive is stronger than the current output.

Areaware — Pros:

• Objects are genuinely playful in a way that holds up. The Cubebot is not a gimmick. It is a formal idea executed in wood with precision.
• Lower price points make the brand accessible as gifts and impulse buys without cheapening the objects.
• Collaborator diversity. The brand worked consistently with emerging designers and gave them a platform. That editorial function is part of what Noel Wiggins described as “a wonderful creative model.”
• Broad audience appeal. Areaware objects did not require design fluency to enjoy. They worked on you regardless of what you knew.

Areaware — Cons:

• The brand is closed. Inventory is finite. No restocking, no new collections.
• Objects are lighter in cultural weight. Fewer are in museum collections. Fewer have been the subject of critical writing. The Cubebot is an excellent object; it is not in the MoMA permanent collection.
• The “playful everyday object” positioning can tip into novelty at the lower end of the range. Not every piece holds up as a considered design object. The best Areaware pieces do; not all of them do.

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Alessi if you want one significant object that will start conversations, that you will use for twenty years, and that you understand as a reference to a specific design argument. Alessi rewards design literacy. The Bird Whistle Kettle is an excellent kettle by any measure. The design argument it makes is a bonus, not a substitute for function. You can explore the full range of Alessi kettles to find the right one for your kitchen.

Choose Areaware if you want objects that bring a sense of play into daily life, you are buying for a range of people with different tastes, or you want to build a small collection at accessible price points. Areaware rewards curiosity over connoisseurship. The Cubebot and the Dusen Dusen puzzles work for anyone who picks them up. No background knowledge required. Browse Areaware design objects while Amazon inventory lasts.

One note on timing: Areaware closed in May 2025. If there is an Areaware object you have been considering, the time to buy it is now. Alessi continues. The comparison will still be interesting in five years, but only one side of it will still be in production. For navigating the full Alessi range, see how to choose Alessi products — a buying guide organized by function, designer, and price point.

Shop the Collection

Both brands produced objects worth owning. Here are the ones that best represent what each brand was actually arguing for.

• Alessi Juicy Salif Citrus Juicer by Philippe Starck: The object that defined Alessi’s argument, designed in 1990, sketched on a napkin in Ibiza, deliberately poor at juicing, in the MoMA permanent collection. You are not buying a juicer. You are buying a position on what design is allowed to do.
• Alessi 9093 Bird Whistle Kettle by Michael Graves: The best-selling object in Alessi history, still in production. The bird whistle on the spout is not a gimmick; it earned its place. This is postmodern kitchenware that works as well as it argues.
• Areaware Cubebot Micro: The most characteristic Areaware object, folds into a cube, poses like a figure, made from sustainably harvested hardwood. Inspired by Japanese Shinto Kumi-ki puzzles. This is what material-led playful design actually looks like.
• Areaware Dusen Dusen Pattern Puzzle (Arc): A collaboration with textile designer Dusen Dusen that resists easy completion. The bold repeating pattern makes orientation genuinely difficult. Good gift for anyone who is design-curious and has patience for the satisfying kind of frustration.

Further Reading

If you want to go deeper on the Alessi side of this comparison, two books are worth owning.

• Alberto Alessi, The Dream Factory: Alessi Since 1921 (Rizzoli, 2016): Alberto Alessi’s own account of the company, not a brand history but a critical narrative about what it means to run a design factory. The chapter on the Tea and Coffee Piazza project is worth the price of the book on its own.
• Alberto Alessi, The Design Factory (Academy Editions / Wiley, 1994): The earlier, leaner account of the Alessi method, covering how Mendini, Sottsass, Castiglioni, and Graves were brought into the fold and what they were actually asked to do. More analytical than the Dream Factory. Better for design readers who want argument over narrative.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Alessi worth the price?

For the right object, yes. The Juicy Salif and the Bird Whistle Kettle are priced as considered purchases. You are paying for the design argument as well as the object. If you want function without the argument, there are less expensive kettles and juicers. If you want the argument, Alessi is the only brand making it consistently at this level.

What happened to Areaware — is the brand still around?

Areaware announced its closure on May 1, 2025. The cofounders cited Trump-era tariffs that would more than double their prices, along with structural tensions between running a curatorial operation and a manufacturing one. The brand is closed. Amazon and other retailers still carry existing inventory. Once that stock runs out, Areaware objects will only be available on the secondary market.

Which brand is better for gifts?

Areaware is easier for general gifting. The objects have wide appeal and don’t require the recipient to have design fluency. Alessi is better when you know the recipient’s taste precisely and want to give something that signals a specific design conversation. If you are not sure: Areaware works for more people.

Are Alessi products dishwasher safe?

It depends on the object. Alessi’s stainless steel pieces are generally dishwasher safe on the top rack, but the company recommends hand washing for anything with painted or colored finishes, and for objects with mixed materials. The 9093 kettle’s plastic bird whistle should not go in the dishwasher. Always check the specific product care instructions.

What is Areaware best known for?

Areaware is best known for the Cubebot, designed by David Weeks Studio, which folds into a cube from a posable humanoid figure and is made from sustainably harvested hardwood. The brand is also recognized for its collaborations with Dusen Dusen on graphic pattern puzzles. More broadly, Areaware was known for its consistent eye toward objects that invite tactile engagement without requiring design knowledge to enjoy.

Can you still buy Areaware products?

Yes, while supplies last. Amazon carries existing Areaware inventory, and secondary market sources also carry the brand’s catalog. The company closed in May 2025, which means no new stock is being produced. What exists is what remains. If there is a specific Areaware object you want, buying it now is the right call.