I went to some open studios last week in Boston and met Susan Jane Belton who some years ago was bored, and started painting what happened to be in her studio space, which just so happen to be a pile of to go coffee cups sitting in a corner. Ever since she’s been collecting, bagging, and painting her daily cups of coffee… not all, but the ones the intrigue her. I wish I took a picture of her wall of plastic bags full of coffee cups. Nice simple collection!
Check out Susans work!
A convenient wall of outlet plugs. I’d prefer an inductive wall with magnetic plugs! Anyhow, this beats finding the darn outlet each time hidden beind everything… though I’d fear a flare up.
“Instead of hiding your outlets behind furniture and worrying about the mess of wires tangled behind your entertainment center, consider making an entire wall that’s nothing but outlets. Then you can artfully plug in your appliances wherever the cords look pleasing to you.”
First the Fail Whale shirts, and now the “Anonymous User” shirts! Ya gotta love the twitter fans!
I’m one of those crafty types that fold the paper sleeve you get with chopsticks in a restaurant to make a neat little stand to rest the sticks on, though usually I’ll get lazy and just fold the sleeve a few times. We’ll, if your one that likes disposable chopsticks, but want something a bit more clever, simple, and fun, check out these Bambu SnapStix which add an extra cut on the back end of the chopsticks which snap off to become a stand. sweet!
You can get them for about $2 each.
The benefit to Moq7 is that early purchasers act like supporters, where an early order will get you the real product for a great price, but also help reach the MOQ minimum allowing them to hopefully manufacture many more to retailers around the world.
Give Moq7 a look, check out some cool concepts, and submit any ideas you have. It’s very similar to Threadless in the sense that people submit ideas, people place orders, and once a certain order amount is made by the thousands of other people in the world, it becomes real, and people are happy.
We help manufacturers meet their concept product MOQ’s by offering consumers the opportunity to pre-order next generation goods at closeout prices in a concerted effort to boost innovation and create jobs.
MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) is the number of units that must be manufactured in order for a product to be produced and sold at a reasonable price – high volume / low cost. We pre-sell items prior to production to help manufacturers raise the start-up capital they need to produce the item. The sale price is further reduced for our buyers to reward them for placing orders prior to production.
All money is refunded should we fail to meet the manufacturer’s MOQ. The numbers of units sold and the respective MOQ’s are listed with each concept product on this website.”
Walking the aisles of New York’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair this weekend, it was clear that the Recession was hitting the design world pretty hard. The show seemed to be only 70% of the size of years past, and those who were showing tended to be showing smaller, more affordable products. There was still some good work to be seen, though, including what we thought was the highlight: Kikkerland’s booth.
That’s right, the highlight of the the show was’t furniture at all– it was the booth at Kikkerland, can-structed of 2000 cans of soup, to be donated to New York’s hungry through City Harvest after the show was taken down. Designed by Jan Habraken, the booth was a recession-friendly, environmentally-benign, and captivating show-stealer.
Check out a couple more photos after the jump!
Thought of the week: Exploring new environments pushes for progression, but don’t always go in with the knowledge you carry from your past. Go in with experience, not necessarily your knowledge.
– Compact Kitchen : an immersible kitchen table set.
– Economy Vending Machine: It dispenses when the economy stumbles.
– Objectified Documentary: it’s playing in Boston next week.
– Diesel Side Watch: Putting time on the edge, not face.
– Potato Portraits: face prints on potatoes…neat.
“Maps are useful but never neutral”
I found this sliced up paper graphic incredibly amusing. From the work of Brain Banton.
I was introduced to VerTerra’s intriguing dinnerware products during this years GEL conference. At first sight these unique plates seemed like raw sheets of veneer pressed into structural shapes, but then the founder gave a quick overview of the project. Simply put:
“Our environmentally-friendly plates, bowls and serving dishes are made only from two products: fallen leaves and water. They’re non-toxic, biodegradable, compostable, durable, lightweight, convenient and downright stylish.”
I love it! Collect fallen leaves, steam press them to shape, then deliver it. The plates will run you about a dollar for a pair, but once they get into Wholefoods later this month, I’m hoping Verterra will be affordable enough to be a abundant in everyday gatherings.
I wished I grabbed a few samples when I had the chance, but I’ll just have to wait for the next gathering to get some…unles someone from Verterra can send me some for my next party 😉
If your seeking an alternative, check out Wasura paper plates, which will cost you a bit more, but just as cool looking.
Some pictures from VerTerra’s website after the jump.
As a designer, we rethink how everyday objects should change for improvement, but on the flip side, we also think about how people should reinvent how to use the products that are created for us.
Check out the video above during a game show in Japan about how to undress, cook breakfast, eat, brush up, and dress up all really fast in under 5 minutes. I’ll admit, I’ve used some of these tricks myself, but the undressing, pants on, and tie are a bit new for me!
Awesome relief prints by Bryan Nash Gill. I’d love to see a print using a cold press sheet, or maybe on handmade Japanese paper.
A pretty nifty door designed by Slam Doors. Built for a toddler, kid, and adult to size in 1 door.
Reminds me of a project I did (porsche door) at RISD back in 2002, except my door was designed for a dog, person, Porsche, and window fence when a package was delivered or you just wanted a large opening without anyone walking in .