Some Pig

“It’s the size of a toaster,” says designer Harry Allen, “or of a real piglet.” He should know. His cast-resin piggy banks, which will be sold at the Institute of Contemporary Art’s gift shop when it opens next week, were modeled from an actual baby pig – it died of natural causes. The finishing is where reality takes a back seat: Allen’s banks come painted in gold, chrome, or pink. (Metallic pigs cost $150 at the ICA gift shop; pink, $95.) “I’ve had the widest range of reactions,” Allen says of his play on the classic toy for kids. “But I think it might be a little creepy for kids.” – Janice O’Leary