Bling H20

[glitzy designer water for sale]

Would you pay 49€ for a bottle of water? I suppose someone crazy about displaying an empty bottle studded with real Swarovski Crystals might...

The owners of De Waterwinkel (translated simply as the water shop) in Amsterdam certainly knows people who would pay beaucoup money for designer water, as their entire store is a retail space for beautifully packaged water from around the globe. (Though they don't carry my favorite water on earth - the Vichy Catalan.)

We were wondering if their main business is largely based on corporate water supply accounts cos we just can't seem to make out the revenue equation one can get out of a pretty shop selling pretty water. We absolutely love the Ty Nant still water's bottle design, conceived by Ross Lovegrove who used to work for Frog as a consultant to Apple.

I have asked my visiting mum to double as special delivery service to bring this bottle back to my little brother as a little gift from Amsterdam. With all the airport security measures, she insisted on knowing the contents of the parcel.

"What's in this?"
"It's a surprise."
(feeling the outline of the parcel) "It's a bottle... what's in it? A special drink?"
"Well, it's a bottle of water..."
"You mean drinking water? Is it the sparkling kind that we had in the restaurant?"
"No..."
(Unspoken expression says: You want me to bring back a bottle of plain drinking water for your brother?)

Well, of course it buffles her that I'm giving her an extra half liter of water to add to her bulging suitcase. And of course, I can't tell her how cool the thing is until she sees the thing herself. Thankfully, my brother thought this was the coolest thing ever. I can only thank my product designer of a boyfriend for coming up with this idea.

In the know:
De Waterwinkel
Amsteldijk Zuid 197
(Across from the College Hotel, near Museumplein)