I vividly remember when Steve and I moved into our first apartment that had an ice machine in our freezer. This to me, was an ultimate luxury. No longer having to walk carefully from sink to freezer with an awkward tray of water was an upgrade. And of course, struggling with the moveable arm, especially when the tray had been overfilled, did not make the process any easier. The arrival of that ice machine certainly brought a modern convenience to our home.

Then came the surge of the large square ice cube trays. Readily available in silicone, making large cubes that fit perfectly into the rocks glass. These ideal cubes were worth the messy trip from sink to freezer again. I use them occasionally but I struggle with the idea of water freezing in silicone and its safety for our consumption.

I began thinking about the vintage aluminum ice cube trays and the different shapes they came in and set out to look for them. These are three that I found as part of a larger group. The soft sided hexagon tray has been the most unusual one found so far.

I am not encouraging the use of aluminum or silicone for daily ice cube making, but I often bring the different shaped trays on shoots for iced drink options. I think they add to the interest of a shot.

There are stainless ice cube trays sold now that offer a balance between the vintage shaped cubes and the machine made ones, as a safer alternative.

I found this hexagon tray at the prop company auction last month. It was a great find.