This pretty $25 sponge is designed to clean the most breakable thing in your kitchen

It is red. It looks like Pac-Man. And it is pretty enough to sit on your kitchen counter. What is it?

After brooms, toothbrushes, and toolboxes, it’s time for kitchen sponges to get a design upgrade. The Mitts sponge was specifically designed for fragile stemware. It fits into your hands like an oven mitt and works a bit like a beak (or, indeed, Pac-Man). An incision in the middle of the sponge lets you wrap it around the rim, while two finger slots help you control the opening of that incision. “So, you have the dexterity you would get from bare hands, but protected by the sponge,” says Daniele Orellana, who cofounded Mitts with her husband, Lee Kojanis.

The duo estimates that over the past few years, they have broken at least 10 glasses while washing them. (Kojanis holds a WSET Level 3 wine certification, so fine wine, along with fine stemware, is a constant in the household). And when the two dental professionals first sat down to brainstorm ideas for a better sponge, Orellana had just broken another two handblown glasses, worth about $80 each. “Frustration was brewing,” says Kojanis with a laugh.

At the time, the market seemed split in two categories: high-function and low-aesthetic sponges you wouldn’t want to keep on the side of your sink; or sponges that look good but don’t work well. Many in the latter camp were too abrasive and too bulky to swirl around fine stemware. “We wanted a hybrid that had aesthetic appeal,” says Kojanis.

Orellana and Kojanis, who self-funded the entire project, envisioned Mitts as a multifunctional sponge that was designed for wine glasses but could do an equally good job at washing a knife, or brushing kitchen shears. They developed the concept over the course of one weekend, then worked with New York agency Creative Engineering to develop some prototypes.

By far, the hardest part turned out to be the base the sponge sits on. “I was a big pusher for the base,” says Orellana, who knew the sponge would need a container to drain into, and also aspired to use it as a sculptural little vessel for her jewelry.

After experimenting with various formats or different shapes, sizes, and materials—including two versions with one and two prongs to prop the sponge—they landed on a rounded base that looks a bit like a pebble made of resin. The sponge is meant to stand on it vertically, which helps it drain, while a shallow recess hugs it in place.

For now, Mitts is available in red and yellow (a nod to the main wine varietals) though the team is hoping to introduce more shades in the future. The pipeline could also include narrower Mitts for champagne flutes, and a microfiber drying cloth with a Mitts twist. But for now, the pair is focused on their first product. “We love our jobs too much,” says Kojanis. “This has been great side hustle, and we would love to perfect the product we have on the market.”