Brooklyn ceramics studio Object and Totem has launched a wearable ring-shaped vessel, based on a circular 19th-century flask (+ slideshow).
Able to hold "one shot's worth of liquor" – equivalent to 44 millilitres – the ring-shaped porcelain flask allows the user to slide their hand through the gap in the centre and carry it around like a bangle.
Object and Totem founder Julianne Ahn came up with the idea when browsing a museum's collection of artefacts used by Amish people.
The cultural group – also known as Pennsylvania Dutch – emigrated from Germany during the late 17th and 18th centuries and settled in the northeastern American states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, among others.
"I was walking through the Amish and Pennsylvania German collection one day, and my friend pointed out a hip flask because of its simplicity," said Ahn. "It looked rough and old, but the idea was something I knew I could reinterpret with a modern sensitivity."
"My vision for the flask was to create an additional function to wear it or use as a decorative piece for the home," she said.
Produced by Williamsburg-based studio Areaware, the hand-thrown vessel starts out as a single ball of clay. It is then gradually worked and opened up in the middle until it looks like a "flat doughnut".
"After steadily applying pressure to the middle of the body, you join both walls together," explained Ahn. "You are basically trapping air as you put pressure on the top to seal the form."
"When I set out to make my own version of the circle flask I learned that it is a simple process that requires a lot of patience," she added.
"In the beginning, I got so carried away on the first few attempts trying to refine the outside that I ended up with a few deflated donuts."
A cork stopper seals the protruding spout of the 11- by 10-centimetre flask. It comes in matt white, turquoise and a silver chrome finish.
More commonly shaped to fit in a trouser pocket, hip flasks became popular in the early 18th century and were traditionally made from pewter, silver or glass.
Modern flasks are typically crafted from stainless steel and feature a captive top – a small arm that attaches the lid to the vessel to prevent it from falling off.
British designer Dominic Wilcox also reimagined the typical hip flask design by completely covering it in large spikes, while Tokyo design studio Normal based the design of its Vols mobile phone on the traditional contoured shape.