Star’s Bowl

TL;DR

Star’s bowls are from Paikka. They were chosen for their cooling ceramics material to keep food and water cold and fresh for longer, even when the weather is hot. They have a minimal design that is quite elegant. The 3D ceramic bone shape in the middle of her food bowl is mentally stimulating and encourages paced eating.

Why Paikka?

Paikka handcraft their pet bowls from a unique and patented cooling ceramic material. This material provides a tangible benefit over traditional ceramic bowls because it keeps food and water cold and fresh, even when the weather is hot.

The cooling effect of Star’s water bowl encourages her to drink more which helps keep her hydrated. It works by soaking the strange chalkboard-like outer layer of the bowl in cold water. The bowl absorbs this water which creates a lasting cooling effect.

Star’s food bowl has a 3D ceramic bone shape in the middle, which helps to pace her eating to prevent indigestion and bloating. It provides mental stimulation and encourages her to chew her kibble which is better for her dental hygiene.

They’re also a minimalist Scandinavian design with a contrasting black and white aesthetic which looks great. The bowls are painted by hand, giving each their own unique character and a feel of elegance.

How it was chosen

For most of Star’s life, she’s used standard stainless steel bowls, chosen for their durability and because they’re better than plastic. Stainless steel bowls aren’t usually aesthetically pleasing to look at. They have a surgical feel to them that can feel a bit uninviting. Their lightweight design made it easy for Star to knock them over.

The search for a better bowl began out of a lust for something nicer-looking and sturdier. Ceramic was the obvious choice of material. It retains the benefits of stainless steel over plastic while improving on some downsides. Ceramic is heavier, making it harder to topple over. It comes at the cost of being more brittle, but it’s a trade-off that’s worth it for Star. 

There are bamboo bowls from companies like Beco and District 70, the latter of which has a unique and interesting design. However, Star has had bamboo bowls in the past, and experience has shown them to be incredibly difficult to clean. 

With the material decided, it was just a matter of finding a bowl with the desired minimalist design. A far more difficult task than it might appear, especially when standards are as high as they are for Star. Paikka's cooling ceramic bowl was one of only two bowl designs that satisfied those standards. The other was MADE's Archie bowl. 

In the Journal