So lots of people have been asking me: "What inspired the designs on your new mugs?"
As the name suggests, they are based on the platonic solids. But for those who are less than sure what the wonderful platonic solids are, I thought I would share some of their most significant features of in a blog post.
If you want to read oodles more theorums, equations and mathematical proofs about the platonic solids, I'd suggest Wikipedia - which is also where these images came from.
Platonic solids
Firstly, and most importantly, there are only five platonic solids (by solid, I mean a three-dimensional shape). The fact that only five of these shapes exist, with the following properties, is key to their mystery and allure.
Polyhedrons
The platonic solids are all a type of polyhedron. Polyhedrons are 3D shapes that have flat sides and straight edges that meet at sharp points. There are loads of possible polyhedrons in the universe, all different shapes and sizes, and you will be very familiar with them. For example:
or 
Convex
The platonic solids are all convex (ie. they are like an inflated balloon). The opposite of convex is concave (think of this as a bit like a deflated ballon). The objects would be concave if you could draw a line between two places inside the shape that went outside the shape (like you could in the star picture above). Or just like this:
Identical faces
Next, you may notice that the flat sides of each platonic solid are the same shape. The cube is made up of six identical squares. The pyramid is made up of four identical triangles. So this is unlike a football, which is made up of hexagons and pentagons:
Symmetry
Finally, the Ancient Greeks were fascinated by the beautiful symmetry of the platonic solids. You can rotate them by loads of different angles and they remain symmetrical.
In summary
The five platonic solids:
Simple!
Buy the fine bone china Platonic Solids Mugs from £15 each.
Sign up today and get 10% off your next order
© 2024 Alfred & Wilde.
