Read Before You Eat Table by Marian Bantjes
Marian Bantjes
Read Before You Eat (Table), 2010
Lot: #1593-759 (1 dining table)
Dining table + laser cut, varnish
From a single auctioned dining table, Marian Bantjes crafted Read Before You Eat — a piece that serves both food and reflection. Its laser-engraved message invites diners to pause, read, and consider donating to Doctors Without Borders before enjoying their meal. Blending ornament, wit, and empathy, Bantjes transforms an ordinary table into a quiet reminder that good design, like good food, can nourish more than just the body.
A personal message from Marian Bantjes to your table:
“Get up from this table and go make a contribution to Doctors Without Borders. Donate enough that it hurts a little. Then come back to this table and enjoy your meal. Really, really enjoy your meal.
Droog bought 5,135 leftover items from Dutch liquidation auctions: everything from handkerchiefs and dog baskets to mirrors and salt shakers. They invited 14 designers to “revive” the lots into a collection of 19 products, each sold in editions limited by the size of the lot, and launched the result during Salone del Mobile, Milan, 2010.
The concept was accompanied by a short manifesto (about re-directing creative energy and redesigning lifecycles) and a charming “new owner” photo campaign that documented each purchaser right after checkout.
