Smash Cup

A collapsable and environmentally friendly to-go vessel for your coffee

by Chérmelle Edwards Ben Melinger was at a coffee shop when he came up with Smash Cup—an idea to hopefully lessen his (and others’) coffee cup footprint. Combining functionality with eco-friendliness, Melinger takes to Kickstarter today with his simple but effective project: a reusable, collapsible coffee cup. Aiming to be the solution to a common problem, Smash Cup (if funded) will be the first universal …

YKRA Backpacks

Recently opening a physical store, the Budapest-based brand is inspired by camping culture of the '60s and '70s

by Anya Lawrence With Central Europe’s creative scene rapidly evolving, Budapest-based backpack maker YKRA is one of the most exciting emerging Hungarian brands out there. Set up by creative all-rounder Balázs Lakatos in 2012, the brand’s colorful canvas backpacks were born out of a love for the ruggedness and durability of mountaineering equipment as well as the color palettes of the ’60s and ’70s. Much …

XTRAPOP Photo App

Inspired by pop art, another delightful way to jazz up your photos

by Chérmelle Edwards It’s not news that Instagram is a cultural phenomenon. As a visual platform used to tell stories through images, how users design their feed can be a work of art. Thanks to XTRAPOP—a free iOS app—users can add art to photos and create customized collages with a set of stickers, frames and filters. Once the web alias of its LA-based designer, Thomas …