Less than ten years after opening his studio in New York, Karim Rashid stands among the contemporary masters of design. In addition to Nambe, Rashid's clients include such well-known names as Sony, Prada, and Issey Miyake. With more than 800 products in production, the 40-year old Rashid has become one of the world's most salable designers. The so-called "sensual minimalism" that characterizes his style - the feminine curve of a wooden lamp stand or the optical pleasure embedded in a glass stacking table - is as evident in his popular Umbra wastebasket as it is in his award-winning line of sleek alloy and crystal products for Nambe. Born in Cairo, Egypt, Rashid grew up in England and Canada. He earned a degree in industrial design from Carleton University in Ottawa, and next studied design in Italy. His work has won more than 50 design awards and has been exhibited by or acquired for the permanent collections of MoMA, the British Design Museum, Toronto Design Exchange, MoMA of San Francisco, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.     "Form is much more seductive when the product's aesthetics are experiential, and not just visual," Rashid says, declaring the importance of engaging the senses. Objects have to blur experience with form so that they are inseparable. Some of Rashid's more popular Nambe products include the Bopp Vase, an unusual and innovative crystal vase named after the Hale-Bopp Comet; the endearingly off-kilter Tilt Wine Decanter; and the Kissing Candlesticks and Kissing Salt and Pepper Shakers.