Christmas, well, the actual day has come and gone, but hey, it’s never too early to start dreaming up gift ideas for next year. Music boxes always seem to hit the right note during the holidays since you can enjoy them all year long. They’re also super versatile when it comes to design; there are countless shapes, colors, and tunes to get creative with. Not to mention, the materials can be quite innovative too, like this music box concept made from recycled stuff.
Designer: Hyunbin Kim
Snowie is a fun concept for a Christmas music box built from an unexpected item: coffee grounds. Typically, coffee grounds aren’t what you’d think of for this kind of product, but we are always exploring ways to recycle everyday materials. This music box actually has a unique shape; the base is a large round mound of coffee grounds, giving it a vibe similar to a coffee bean but not quite exactly bean-shaped. Being a Christmas product, it resembles a snowball, just in a brown shade.
It also sports a charming “hat” on top called the Snowie hat, made using aluminum with a polished finish. The hat spring works as the winding mechanism for the music box. After you place it on top and wind it up, expect some festive tunes to play. There’s also a cute magnetic Snowie nose made with coffee grounds and other materials, designed to be a lighter color. While it doesn’t serve any functional purpose, it sure adds character to the music box (or circle) with its adorable nose. It can come in either a round or triangular shape.
By mixing coffee grounds with other materials, you could achieve different colors for the Snowie music box. Besides the brown variant, there are renders showing ivory and white colors; although it’s a bit unclear which other materials can be incorporated. Depends, right? There’s still a year to refine this concept or even bring it to market in time for Christmas 2025.
