The story of the fruitbridge

Agota designed and built the very first fruitbridges while a student of industrial design in San Jose. She wanted to create a better fruit bowl to keep fruit fresh longer. Because ethylene gas can get trapped inside a bowl, it can speed up the ripening process and ruin your precious avocados before you can enjoy them. ​

She asked: "What if we turn the fruit bowl inside out?"

We can certainly play with and push/pull some positive and negative shapes and test some forms to fit the given function of holding and protecting fruit. In Agota's case, a bridge-like open shape emerged with the most straightforward round patterns. Experimenting with these new fruit stands in the kitchen showed great results early on: tomatoes, apples, and peaches remained fresh much longer. Agota started sharing the fruitbridge prototypes with her family.​

Fast forward about 20 years. In 2021, she earned a master's degree in biomimicry, and today, she teaches life-centered design thinking while busy sharing Biomimicry's life's principles with her design students. She is passionate about sustainability, regenerative design and firmly believes we can all do our part to help save and revive our environment. She still uses the same old fruitbridges she built long ago, and because they work so well, she wants others to experience and enjoy them, too.

More about fruitbridges 

These fruit stands are made of food-grade stainless steel, using low-energy fabrication methods, including laser cutting and cold rolling, and are hand-finished one by one.

Material is not wasted. Leftover pieces are reused for other small products (tealight holders, keychains).​ The form fits the intended function.

Most fruits are round, and like trees, fruitbridges gently hold them with minimum contact.

About Agota

Agota was born in Hungary and raised in Budapest. At 23, after completing her teacher training, she moved to California, where a new path began to take shape for her: she enrolled in art history and design courses, eventually pursuing a Master's degree in industrial design at San Jose State University. To support herself and help pay for her classes, she worked as a waitress at a restaurant and sports bar.

During this period, she discovered her true passion for design, particularly the importance of thorough research to create meaningful connections with users. Around the same time, she also saw her design hero and biggest inspiration, the lovely, Hungarian-born Eva Zeisel, already in her 90s, speak on stage in San Francisco, an evening Agota would never forget.