I have a theory about dining tables. The theory is that the objects on a dining table tell you something about the people who eat at it — not the food, not the crockery, but the small functional objects that are there because they need to be there and that reveal, in their design choices, something about how the people at the table think about the world. A salt cellar, a pepper grinder, a candle holder, a toothpick holder. These are the objects that stay on the table rather than being brought out for occasions, and they're the objects that guests notice and comment on. The A di Alessi Magic Bunny Toothpick Holder by Stefano Giovannoni is the object on my dining table that has started more conversations than anything else I own, and I want to explain why a toothpick holder is worth thinking about.
The Functional Object Problem
Most functional objects are designed to be invisible. A toothpick holder is a container for toothpicks. It needs to hold them, dispense them, and not take up too much space. That's the functional brief, and it can be met by a small glass or a plain plastic tube. The question is whether a functional object can also be something worth looking at — something that earns its place on the table not just by being useful but by being genuinely interesting.
Alessi has been answering this question since the 1920s. Their position is that functional objects should be designed with the same seriousness as any other designed object, and that the best functional objects are the ones that make you smile when you look at them. The Magic Bunny is the expression of that position in its most playful form: a toothpick holder that is also a bunny, designed by Stefano Giovannoni, one of the most significant product designers of the late twentieth century.
Finding the Magic Bunny
I found the A di Alessi Magic Bunny Toothpick Holder in Green in the Toothpick Holders & Dispensers collection on ALTOE. I'd known about the Magic Bunny for years — it's one of Giovannoni's most recognised designs, alongside the Merdolino toilet brush and the Girotondo range — but I'd never owned one. The green colourway was the choice that made sense for my dining room: the room has warm wood tones and some green accents, and the vibrant green of the Magic Bunny sits in that palette without competing with it.
The PMMA construction — polymethyl methacrylate, the material also known as acrylic or Perspex — is the right material for this object. It's lightweight, durable, easy to clean, and takes colour in a way that gives the green its particular vibrancy. The 8.5cm x 17cm x 8.5cm dimensions are compact enough to sit on a dining table without crowding it, and the slim profile means it fits between other table objects without dominating them.
How It Works
The Magic Bunny works by lifting the bunny's head to access the toothpicks stored in the body. It's a simple mechanism that's been designed to feel like an interaction rather than just a function — you lift the head, take a toothpick, replace the head. The gesture is slightly theatrical, which is the point. Giovannoni's design philosophy is that everyday objects should have a quality of play, and the Magic Bunny delivers this in the most literal way possible: you interact with a bunny to get a toothpick.
This is the detail that starts conversations. Every guest who has sat at my dining table and needed a toothpick has picked up the Magic Bunny, lifted its head, and smiled. Some of them have asked about it. Some of them have looked it up on their phones at the table. Two of them have bought one since. That's the conversation-starting quality that makes a functional object worth having on a dining table rather than just in a drawer.
The Alessi Design Legacy
I want to say something about Alessi specifically, because I think it matters for a purchase like this. Alessi is an Italian design company that has been commissioning work from the world's most significant designers since the 1920s. Their products are in the permanent collections of design museums including MoMA in New York. The Magic Bunny is not a novelty item — it's a piece of design history that happens to hold toothpicks. Owning it is a different proposition from owning a generic kitchen accessory, and the difference is felt every time you use it.
Stefano Giovannoni designed the Magic Bunny in 1998. It has been in continuous production since then, which is the most reliable indicator of a design that works — not just aesthetically, but functionally and commercially. Objects that are still being made twenty-five years after their design are objects that have earned their place.
My Recommendation
If you have a dining table and you want an object on it that is functional, genuinely designed, and guaranteed to start a conversation, the A di Alessi Magic Bunny Toothpick Holder in Green is the one. It's a piece of design history that holds toothpicks. It makes people smile. It starts conversations. It has been in production for twenty-five years because it works. The green is the right colour if your dining room has warm or natural tones; other colourways are available if your palette is different.
You'll find it in the Toothpick Holders & Dispensers, Kitchen Organizers, and Kitchen Tools & Utensils collections, and the broader Home & Garden range on ALTOE. Put it on your dining table. Lift the head. Watch what happens.
— Rosa Marchetti, art historian, Alessi collector, and person whose dining table has started more conversations since the Magic Bunny arrived than in the previous three years combined, Edinburgh
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