The Boby by Joe Colombo: Revisiting a Classic

During our visit to the visit to the Rosebowl Flea Market this weekend, we noticed a few of these carts for sale. The shiny dense plastic and freely moving wheels invited touching. Our friend had never seen one but we immediately recognized the Boby Taboret, designed by Joe Colombo for Bieffe in 1969 and now part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York...

Originally designed to meet the storage needs of artists and graphic designers, its many drawers and shelves can make this "Portable Storage System" fit into any space, small or large. We'd use it in a bathroom where it can store everything from make-up to hair dryers, curling irons and towels within easy reach; in a kitchen, fitted with a wooden cutting board to form a small island; in a home office, to hold a small printer, a shredder and office supplies; as a landing strip to corral umbrellas, mail, sunglasses, extra keys, change and all the other detritus of life; or, even as a unique and fully-equpped bar cart, ready to serve our guests drinks in the living room. Available through many art supply stores, we found it online and on sale at Jerry's Artarama. Available in white, red, black or aluminium.

Other Portable Storage Posts:

Comments (14)

it kind of looks like our trash trolley!

Something I love that I can afford? Get outta here!

That's not a boby. It is a knock-off.

Yeah, the one in the picture is a knock-off. The one for sale at Jerry's Artarama is the real deal, though.

I have a three-drawer unit in my bathroom, but the two-drawer unit would probably be more practical for most storage needs (the three drawers are really shallow - great for artists with lots of paint and such, though).

These things have littered the sets of science-fiction programs and films for decades. Space: 1999 made extensive use of them back in the early '70s (they'd mix and match parts from black and white units for a custom look) and Star Trek: The Next Generation used them as well (painted to act as medical trolleys in various sickbay sets over the years).

Almost 40 years old, they still look like something from the future. Joe Colombo was a freakin' genius.

Hey, I think I've got an original, here! I've got the white one, and it's been around here for over 20 years... thing is, it yellowed... Anyone know what I could do to fix that?

It looks like what hairdressers use to hold rollers, perm rods, etc.

You can't really un-yellow plastic, but you could try taking it apart, cleaning it and applying a vinyl dye. Unlike regular paint it's actually absorbed into the plastic.

My old black one has a wow in it from being too close to a heater many moons ago and it's a nightmare to dust, but I still love it.

Krylon makes spray paint for plastic. Maybe you could just add a coat 'o white over top the yellowing plastic?

I've had mine, an original, since the 70s. I've used it in my studio and my bathroom. Now it's a nightstand. It's a very versatile storage piece.

i had the white one as a nightstand as a teenager. with all it's storage componants, it enabled my packrat tendencies.

Genevieve- Applying paint or dye to the cart will make a horrendous mess of it. You can probably remove much of the yellowing by applying compound and then polishing it. It is the best technique, one that we utilize restoring yellowing damages to plastic, finishes, and fiberglass at Olek Lejbzon & Co.

Thanks for the tips, everyone...

I think I'll try that, mid century geek... or maybe I'll just leave it ''as is''..

i have 6 of this BOBY trolley at home, and i'm saying that THIS IS NOT ORIGINAL BOBY designed by Joe Colombo produced firstly by Bieffe the from 1999 by B-LINE S.r.l. If you want to see an original one just click: http://www.b-line.it/prod-boby-en.html !!