When Tina Bobbe began exploring generative AI tools during her parental leave in 2023, she wasn’t aiming to start a design brand. She was looking for a way to reconnect with creativity in a moment when traditional studio time was out of reach. “I found myself missing a creative outlet,” she recalls, “but finding time to design with a baby felt almost impossible.” Then came AI: fast, intuitive, and accessible from her phone. What started as playful experiments quickly turned into viral concepts on Instagram, particularly her sculptural coffee machine designs.
This unexpected visibility became a springboard for Bobbe to shift from speculative images to tangible products. As an industrial designer, the move felt natural. But her approach – rooted in the aesthetics of digital prototyping and bold reinterpretations of domestic rituals – is anything but conventional. “I’m still at the very beginning of this journey,” she says, “but exhibiting physical objects for the first time in August 2024 was a big moment. It marked the transition from digital to physical.” That transition, however, never abandoned the visual audacity of her AI-generated origins.
Bobbe’s work pushes against the utilitarian expectations of household objects, especially coffee machines. “I want to treat them not just as appliances, but as sculptural, emotional objects meant to take center stage in everyday life,” she explains. It’s a reimagining of design purpose: not simply form following function, but form evoking feeling.
This philosophy came to life at Milan Design Week 2025, where Bobbe showed her piece for DEORON – Elevating Objects: the Pipe Frame Mini. It builds on her earlier concept, the original Pipe Frame, which she describes as “really huge – more of an art object than a kitchen item.” The Mini version attempts to strike a balance between presence and practicality. “Though I know it’s still a bit too big for most kitchens,” she admits, “that tension between function and presence is part of what makes it interesting.”
Made from hand-welded stainless steel and finished in bold, glossy red powder coat, the Pipe Frame Mini is unapologetically expressive. Bobbe chose to leave the weld seams visible, despite suggestions to smooth them out. “My welder calls it ‘retro’ because of that choice,” she laughs. “But I think they give the piece honesty and character.”
As her practice evolves, Bobbe continues to build within the same playful, expressive language. Her next object, the Pipe Tray, is designed to carry over the same visual cues into something more universally useful. “It’s a tray with wheels – practical, but with a character I love.”
Whether it’s a coffee machine or a rolling tray, her aim remains consistent: to spark joy and curiosity in the mundane. “Even something as functional as a coffee machine or a tray can spark emotion, invite playfulness, or simply make a moment feel more special. If my objects can do that—just a little—I feel like I’m on the right path.”
This feature is part of an ongoing editorial series spotlighting the designers behind DEORON – Elevating Objects at Milan Design Week 2025.
