In the world of recreational lawn games, Croquet has got to be the undoubted king with its slow paced game play and leisurely scoring scenarios leaving little scope for competitiveness though one could certainly break a smug opponent’s face with the big business end of the mallet. Since the game isn’t exactly a sponsor-attracting sport, big sports merchandize making brands like Adidas, RBK and Puma just aren’t interested in spending money on developing modern gear for it. This is where the innovation of French designer Romain Lagrange really comes into play.
On view at WantedDesign, his wooden croquet set dubbed “Gates” charmed the silly trousers off everyone present and the croquet set he designed was equally well praised. The prototype costs well over $400 though the set comprises of two balls, two stakes, six sycamore maple gates and a mallet made of custom-made compressed cork with a leather-wrapped hand-stitched handle. The entire set also comes with a tidy little carrying case of its own with a leather strap matching the handle of the mallets.
Showcased at NY Design Week 2012, the design opens up the possibility of the game being played by its patrons even in adverse weather like when it’s too damn cold to hold the metal handle or when you’ve just had a great manicure and wouldn’t want to spoil it with a rowdy round of croquet!
Via: Core77