Three Stars Bomb by Atelier Ted Noten

Atelier Ted Noten
Three Stars Bomb, 2010
Lot: #2439 (500 Matchboxes)

Matches + wax, wick, bronze

Ignite this bomb (don’t worry, it’s safe) and watch three bronze stars appear. Each wax “bomb” hides three bronze stars that reveal themselves as the candle burns — wearable brooches emerging from the flame. Playful and a little provocative, Three Stars Bomb! transforms an everyday symbol of danger into “democratic jewellery,” where lighting a fuse becomes an act of creation rather than destruction.

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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.