Metropolis Cup and Saucer designed by Belle Kogan
The spirit of the new
Prevailing against a view from most manufacturers that women didn't know machinery, Belle Kogan (1902–2000) distinguished herself as one of the few American women industrial designers active during the founding years of the profession in the late 1920s. She was the first woman to establish her own independent consulting firm, building a staff of three female designers by 1939. For the design of this cup and saucer in 1935, Kogan drew upon the influences of European avant-garde artistic movements and adapted them for a modern American audience.