Pia’s Picks: items that bear my name

After five years of regularly scrolling through the Galaxus range, it’s rare to have something knock me off my office chair. But it did just recently. Why? Because I stumbled across about 200 products carrying the same name as me – Pia – that I immediately took a liking to. Pure coincidence? Or fate? In the hope of finding an answer, I took a closer look at the other Pias.

Product types

There are some stuffed animals and earrings called Pia. But for the most part it’s furniture and home accessories, including chairs, lamps and pictures, that share my name. Interesting – it’s among these objects that I feel most at home. That’s why I write about interior design, after all, and not sports, fashion, gaming or movies.

A random sample confirms this must be fate beyond any doubt. Other names, like those of my colleagues Laura, Natalie or Stephanie, are more often found in product types such as pictures, bikinis, perfumes, lingerie or even sex dolls. Interestingly enough, the majority of them write about fashion, beauty and sexuality. So, the name Pia is popular for furniture – and this Pia, for one, loves to write about furniture. There we have the story so far. Next question: where do these items come from?

The name’s origins

The Pia plant box comes from Switzerland; the Pia coaster and marble table from Denmark; the Pia lamp and cake plate from Turkey. Only the Pia carpet is from Germany – like me. The name has been popular there since the 1960s. But it wasn’t until the year I was born – 1990 – that it rose to the top ranks of the most common girls’ names (link in German).

Since then, it has apparently also enjoyed international success in product naming. Zurich designer Carlo Valdés, creator of the Pia plant box, explained his choice to me as follows: «I like short names. In addition, of course, there are practical aspects, such as the first letters. ‘P stands for ‘Pflanzenbox’ (plant box), 'I' for ‘Innen’ (indoor) and 'A' for ‘Aussen’ (outdoor). At the same time, I was looking for a name that also had a graphic meaning: the letter ‘P’ in the logo symbolises half of a heart, the letter ‘A’ a drop of water.»

My parents chose the name at the time mainly because of how short it is. If we Pias don’t share the same derivation or origin, perhaps it’s the qualities attributed to our name?

The meaning

Pia is considered the female counterpart of the Christian male name Pius (link in German) and means pious, respectable and dutiful. I can more or less identify with these three characteristics. But what about the Pia products? Although they are respectable, given they’re decorative and practical, it’s at most the designers behind the products that could be pious. Maybe I’ll find more similarities in the product descriptions ...

Product descriptions

There are indeed some traits here that also describe me.

Here are the products I identify with:

• Plant container – rust-protected: sure, my joints may get stiff, but they don’t get rusty. I make darn sure of that.
• Plant container – suitable for indoor and outdoor use: I, too, enjoy spending time indoors and outdoors.
• Carpet – natural: it’s been ten years since I last dyed my hair.

On the other hand, here are the products I don’t identify with:

• Cake plate – doesn’t absorb water: if I didn’t ingest water, I’d be long gone.
• Cake plate – antibacterial: not applicable, even after two years of continual hand-sanitising. Unfortunately.
• Carpet – a unique piece for nature lovers: unique, yes. But I’m not reserved only for people who love nature.

Other similarities

Most of the objects are rounded, ornate without being over the top, have a simple colour scheme and are exactly to my taste. You could conceivably find any and all of them in my apartment. And I guarantee that no one would get the impression that they’re there by chance alone. Our backgrounds and personalities may not overlap perfectly. But these Pia products and I certainly share a common design language.

Tablecloth

Zone Denmark Pia

Ø 14.5 cm

Wall lamps + Ceiling lamps

60.70

Opviq Pia

Cake stands + Cake plates

39.–

Hermia Pia

Plant stands + Plant ladders

309.–

Pia-Plantbox Planter medium

Carpets

Pergamon Handmade Jute Carpet Pia Round

120 x 120 cm

Coffee tables

383.–

Hübsch Pia

57 x 57 cm

In my «Pia’s Picks» series, I share items from my watch list that you might like too.

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