$27
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$27
A great gift for anyone who loves to enrich their brain with fun and interesting facts. This book of trivia tries to make sense of everything in the information age. David McCandless visualizes the unique relationships in the data and endless random facts using graphs, illustrations and charts.
Available from Powells for $19.
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A great gift for anyone who loves to enrich their brain with fun and interesting facts. This book of trivia tries to make sense of everything in the information age. David McCandless visualizes the unique relationships in the data and endless random facts using graphs, illustrations and charts.
Available from Powells for $19.
A great gift for anyone who loves to enrich their brain with fun and interesting facts. This book of trivia tries to make sense of everything in the information age. David McCandless visualizes the unique relationships in the data and endless random facts using graphs, illustrations and charts.
This product is sold by David McCandless
$295
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$295
These sparkly earrings from London-based jewelry designers Macha have a tiny rock of silver set into a 9k gold setting, creating a playful twist on traditional materials. The earrings are packaged in a charming branded gift box.
Available from etsy for $265.
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These sparkly earrings from London-based jewelry designers Macha have a tiny rock of silver set into a 9k gold setting, creating a playful twist on traditional materials. The earrings are packaged in a charming branded gift box.
Available from etsy for $265.
These sparkly earrings from London-based jewelry designers Macha have a tiny rock of silver set into a 9k gold setting, creating a playful twist on traditional materials. The earrings are packaged in a charming branded gift box.
This product is sold by Macha
$550
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$550
Unearthen combines vintage watches (each one-of-a-kind) and a quartz crystal pyramid to make a unique timepiece. Available in various sizes in both silver and gold.
Available from Unearthen for $513.
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Unearthen combines vintage watches (each one-of-a-kind) and a quartz crystal pyramid to make a unique timepiece. Available in various sizes in both silver and gold.
Available from Unearthen for $513.
Unearthen combines vintage watches (each one-of-a-kind) and a quartz crystal pyramid to make a unique timepiece. Available in various sizes in both silver and gold.
This product is sold by Unearthen
$298
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$298
This blanket, based on a Edward S. Curtis photograph is made in the USA from 82% pure virgin wool and 18% cotton exclusively for the American Indian College Fund. Measuring 64″ x 80″ the blanket’s beautiful design embodies the elements of the earth and sky.
Available from Pendleton for $298.
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This blanket, based on a Edward S. Curtis photograph is made in the USA from 82% pure virgin wool and 18% cotton exclusively for the American Indian College Fund. Measuring 64″ x 80″ the blanket’s beautiful design embodies the elements of the earth and sky.
Available from Pendleton for $298.
This blanket, based on a Edward S. Curtis photograph is made in the USA from 82% pure virgin wool and 18% cotton exclusively for the American Indian College Fund. Measuring 64″ x 80″ the blanket’s beautiful design embodies the elements of the earth and sky.
This product is sold by Pendleton
$38
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$38
Save your coins on rainy days for a splurge later with Rita Botelho’s Drop Money Bank. The ceramic pieces have a sturdy base and come in a modest palette of colors.
Available from Touch for $44.
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Save your coins on rainy days for a splurge later with Rita Botelho’s Drop Money Bank. The ceramic pieces have a sturdy base and come in a modest palette of colors.
Available from Touch for $44.
Save your coins on rainy days for a splurge later with Rita Botelho’s Drop Money Bank. The ceramic pieces have a sturdy base and come in a modest palette of colors.
This product is sold by Rita Botelho
$6
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$6
Maximize your oven space with this three tiered oven rack. It can hold heavy dishes, is easy to assemble and folds up for easy storage.
Available from Sur La Table for $6.
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Maximize your oven space with this three tiered oven rack. It can hold heavy dishes, is easy to assemble and folds up for easy storage.
Available from Sur La Table for $6.
Maximize your oven space with this three tiered oven rack. It can hold heavy dishes, is easy to assemble and folds up for easy storage.
This product is sold by Sur La Table
$38
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$38
Inspired by the straw dispenser, this pen and pencil cup makes choosing your next writing utensil much easier. Simply lift by the red ball and the contents of the cup lift up–perfect for grabbing that favorite, shortened pencil.
Available from Stylus for $38.
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Inspired by the straw dispenser, this pen and pencil cup makes choosing your next writing utensil much easier. Simply lift by the red ball and the contents of the cup lift up–perfect for grabbing that favorite, shortened pencil.
Available from Stylus for $38.
Inspired by the straw dispenser, this pen and pencil cup makes choosing your next writing utensil much easier. Simply lift by the red ball and the contents of the cup lift up—perfect for grabbing that favorite, shortened pencil.
This product is sold by Paul Koh
$20
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$20
The cooks on your list will love this new rolling pin design, with measurements on the roller and adjustable rings on the sides to roll your dough to the desired thickness every time.
Available from MoMA Store for $20.
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The cooks on your list will love this new rolling pin design, with measurements on the roller and adjustable rings on the sides to roll your dough to the desired thickness every time.
Available from MoMA Store for $20.
The cooks on your list will love this new rolling pin design, with measurements on the roller and adjustable rings on the sides to roll your dough to the desired thickness every time.
This product is sold by Damian Evans
$48
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$48
This set features a bamboo tray with individual mini-saucers and cups with stainless steel spoons that rest on top of each cup.
Available from MoMA Store for $48.
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This set features a bamboo tray with individual mini-saucers and cups with stainless steel spoons that rest on top of each cup.
Available from MoMA Store for $48.
This set features a bamboo tray with individual mini-saucers and cups with stainless steel spoons that rest on top of each cup.
This product is sold by Fellina SOK-Charm
$225
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$225
A must for any freelancer friends. Just one coat of Idea Paint turns any wall into a dry erase board, perfect for the at-home worker to organize their flow charts and to-do lists onto their office walls.
Available from Idea Paint for $225.
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A must for any freelancer friends. Just one coat of Idea Paint turns any wall into a dry erase board, perfect for the at-home worker to organize their flow charts and to-do lists onto their office walls.
Available from Idea Paint for $225.
A must for any freelancer friends. Just one coat of Idea Paint turns any wall into a dry erase board, perfect for the at-home worker to organize their flow charts and to-do lists onto their office walls.
This product is sold by IdeaPaint
$600
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$600
This desk maximizes surface space by concealing cords in a small compartment covered by a retractable top. It’s contemporary look is perfect for a clean sleek work space. It’s BlueLounge’s most ground breaking cable management system.
Available from BlueLounge for $600.
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This desk maximizes surface space by concealing cords in a small compartment covered by a retractable top. It’s contemporary look is perfect for a clean sleek work space. It’s BlueLounge’s most ground breaking cable management system.
Available from BlueLounge for $600.
This desk maximizes surface space by concealing cords in a small compartment covered by a retractable top. It’s contemporary look is perfect for a clean sleek work space. It’s BlueLounge’s most ground breaking cable management system.
This product is sold by BlueLounge
$30
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$30
iLuv offers a three in one power adapter to help eliminate the hassle of carrying multiple chargers while on the go. It’s small size and LED indicator make it a great buy for any tech savvy individual.
Available from iLuv for $30.
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iLuv offers a three in one power adapter to help eliminate the hassle of carrying multiple chargers while on the go. It’s small size and LED indicator make it a great buy for any tech savvy individual.
Available from iLuv for $30.
iLuv Power Adapter
iLuv offers a three in one power adapter to help eliminate the hassle of carrying multiple chargers while on the go. It’s small size and LED indicator make it a great buy for any tech savvy individual.
This product is sold by iLuv
While money can't buy you love, it can come close with a thoughtful, personalized speech written by The Oratory Laboratory. For celebrations ranging from weddings to bar mitzvahs to "other grand affairs," the service is an ideal solution for those who fear public speaking or for those who just need a little help polishing—i.e. most of us.
In this case, we tasked the professional writers behind the service, Nathan Phillips and Victoria Wellman, with a toast to dear old dad.
After filling out a questionnaire with questions designed to pull out personal details and anecdotes (see it after the jump), they delivered a speech that's both sweetly sentimental and sure to inspire a chuckle or two (see below).
The New York-based duo offer other lengths and formats (from a one to two minute "Wilde" to "The Obama") and will work with you over email, in person and/or via webcam to get the sentiments and the delivery right, a process they call "speechification." Contact The Oratory Laboratory through their site to make your meaningful moments even more so.
£20
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£20
Made of beech wood and finished with linseed oil, the handle is built to last a lifetime of use and looks great as it ages.
Available from Labour And Wait for £20.
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Made of beech wood and finished with linseed oil, the handle is built to last a lifetime of use and looks great as it ages.
Available from Labour And Wait for £20.
Made of beech wood and finished with linseed oil, the handle is built to last a lifetime of use and looks great as it ages.
This product is sold by Labour and Wait
by Julie Wolfson
After a slew of lousy relationships cured by heavy drinking, the designer and brains behind I Heart Guts! found restitution in creating Black Heart. Known for their very colorful soft organ creatures, the faux patent leather Black Heart is a welcome macabre addition to the gutsy lineup.
The perfect gift for the rock star in your life, the black heart features shiny fabric, metallic stitching and a bloody red tear drop. We had the pleasure of seeing the quirky organ at indie design show Unique Los Angeles last weekend, where the plush heart made our own melt.
The limited edition heart is $25 and available for purchase from the I Heart Guts website, where you can also peruse their collection of peculiar organ-based goods, like digestive system stickers and gall bladder t-shirts.
by Laura Neilson
Matteo Cibic's desk tamagotchi, an anthropomorphic planter, is an altogether different creation from his contribution to the "Love Design" exhibition at last month's Design Week in Milan. Where his bedside lamp stylishly doubled as a sex toy, the Domsai, which he showed at the exhibition space Monotono, provides a decidedly more G-rated dose of pleasure.
Cibic describes his space-agey little tabletop toys as tamagotchis with regards to the egg-shaped handheld digital creatures that, along with Giga Pets and Nano Pets, became a major gadget trend in the mid '90s. Unlike their digital precursors however, Domsais are far less likely to perish from lack of constant vigilance.
Each Domsai is one-of-a-kind and crafted in Italy, with custom-blown domes that differentiate according to the individual cactus they enclose. Ranging from 25 to 29 centimeters in height, the plants stand on sturdy white or gold-tinged ceramic legs.
Between his lamp and the Domsai alone, Cibic's design interests undoubtedly run the gamut. In addition to art and creative direction for various architecture, design and advertising companies, he most recently established AAAAAAAAAA, a tailoring research workshop specializing in trousers with suspenders.
While the words "love box" might suggest a certain dirty euphemism, Tamarindo Concept's Love Box aims to be a bit more sentimental. Following their original red-and-white ceramic boxes in the shape of anatomical human hearts, they're now pumping out a limited-edition version in a black mineral-based matte polish that comes in a special certified-wood box.
Sized at 11 x 9.8 x 11 inches, this heart is meant to be kept full of love. We just wonder what happens when space inevitably runs out. The newest version of the Love Box costs $170 and only 50 will be made to custom order and come in a special certified-wood box. The red and white versions vary in price from $132 to $141.
Contact Tamarindo Design directly at tamarindo [at] tamarindoconcept [dot] com [dot] br to place an order.
Combining the captivating aroma of Le Labo's Rose 31 perfume with The Laundress' outstanding eco-friendly detergent, this product is a joint creation that elevates "the clothing care experience to a heightened sophistication." While we're usually more prone to opt for unscented soaps, this is a collaboration we'll make an exception for.
The Laundress' biodegradable, non-toxic detergent is an ideal base for Le Labo's award-winning fragrance Rose 31, as both companies share a passion for quality ingredients and redefining luxury. All-purpose, the formula is suitable for both hand and machine washing, while the scent is fitting for both men and women with its Centifolia rose aroma containing hints of spice and cedar.
The 16-ounce bottles are available at Le Labo's retail labs, The Laundress website, and select retailers worldwide for $45.
Finally, chocolate is no longer a guilty pleasure. Le Whif, which just launched yesterday, combines chocolate and aerosol science with their zero calorie chocolate inhaler.
Beginning in the spring of 2008 as part of a culinary art experiment executed by Harvard professor David Edwards and his students, the innovative concept moves "eating habits to their logical conclusion." While we've yet to actually try the chocolate, we're sure this will spark a new culinary craze and lead to even more gastronomic experiments.
Le Whif is available online, and can be purchased by the box (24-count) for 40€.
Melding the frivolity of balloon animals with the function of illuminating your personal space, these Blown Ups are quite the eccentric offering from Thelermont Hupton of London.
Each piece is crafted with silver finished steel and are made from blown glass that combines the traditional handicraft of a glassworker with the every-day-magic of electric light that we often take for granted. They can be ordered online direct from the manufacturer starting at $320.
via DVICE
Two notebooks that allow you to express yourself freely, the new Walls Notebook by design studio the. and Moleskine's upcoming Folio are intended to provide an outlet for the creative class and doodlers alike.
While Moleskine's latest addition to their notebook collection is a large-format, bound tablet with blank pages for your complete imagination, the.'s Wall Notebook comes with 80 pages of NYC backdrops for you to live out graffiti artist dreams.
Moleskine is set to release the Folio Collection in stores in May 2009 and the series will include both a ruled and plain book, a portfolio, a sketchbook and watercolor album. Walls Notebooks is available now from Amazon for $17, which they aptly point out, is much cheaper than jail time.
If there's a single toy category that makes me long for childhood, it's the construction set. This week's Toy Fair in NYC gave us ample opportunity to check out the latest developments in building blocks for kids. Here's a roundup of our favorites.
Mega introduced Xtreme Sports, a series of kits for building both street terrain and stunt parks for skating and biking. Flair Pipe (pictured), one of the action set assortments, comes with a full pipe that can be built into various half pipe configurations. The real kicker for the Xtreme Sports set is the trade-marked MicroMotion controller which lets kids float tricks without their fingers getting in the way of the action. Xtreme Sports will be available through retailers beginning this spring.
Outside the Mega booth, a Halo Wars mascot wandered about, a harbinger of toys to come. With the first ever construction toy sets based on Halo Wars, MEGA has produced a slick collection of figures and vehicles that's certain to please die-hard gamers. The series will hit retail shelves this summer.
Lego, the industry giant, was one of the few toy companies to report growth last year. It's no surprise. The company has been at the forefront of construction set design for decades. One of our favorites from the sprawling booth was the new Power Miners series (be sure to follow the link for hilarious Lego animations).
What continues to amaze us is the level of real-life detail Lego designers bring to their creations. Designers researched and visited mining sites to bring a level of authenticity to these toys that's simply awesome. The 235-piece Thunder Driller (left), which retails for $29, features a working bi-directional drill head similar to those used in tunneling.
K'nex, another construction set behemoth, also had a sprawling booth. Their product line-up, categorized by age based on the complexity of sets, boasted new Collect & Build Air Action, Racecar Rally and Moto-Bot Series but it was the new roller coaster kits that got our attention. New to their Thrill Rides this year were the Lava Launch Coaster and the Loopin' Lighting Coaster. The former comes in at over 4 feet high and produces a volcanic sound that's sure to drive parents mad; the latter is comprised of over 500 part and boasts over 17 feet of track. Both will be available this fall.
It all started with a trusty 1984 Mercedes-Benz 300D. Out of innocent emissions, Further Soap was born, the first bio-diesel soap to come to the market. The result is a light, lingering product that disinfects and softens overworked hands&mdash perfect for cleansing after tinkering with a fuel tank or for daily use. If you didn’t know any better, it could pass for a sweet-smelling indulgence, rather than a bio-degradable feel good wash.
Further is a family-driven product that was born in a Pasadena, California home. Megan and Marshall Dostal dreamed up the concept when after mixing bio-diesel fuel in their garage for their beloved '84 Mercedes diesel. The bio-fuel process creates an excess of glycerin, a byproduct of many hand soaps. Megan was reportedly alarmed with the excess.
Drawing on Megan’s savvy beauty sense as a former events planner for Vogue Magazine, she suggested they begin to tinker with essential oils such as bergamot, olive and exotic grasses to concoct a sustainable soap. To increase their supply source, Marshall approached Los Angeles restaurants for their cooking refuse and then refurbished the restaurants with delicately recycled grease. The rest is a clean sweep. Further retails for $19.
We were lucky enough to attend the opening for the MoMA Design Store's new product collection, Destination Seoul, which highlights designers and products from South Korea. Buyers selected young, emerging Korean designers and their creations across a range of categories for a diverse curatorial of goods usually only found on the peninsula.
As part of the MoMA Design Store's destination series and sponsored by HyundaiCard, the Korea Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP) and Design Seoul, it's the first Korean design collection of its kind in the States, further cementing Korea's place in the international contemporary creative scene. Products range from a spoon reimagined as a bottle opener to mini replicas of Bibimbap, but our favorites from the collection have to be the Sandwich Sponge ($10), Wooden Block Rattle Set ($18) and the Cloud Memo Pad ($8).
Designed by Jaewon Yang and Hyung Jeong Lee, the Sandwich Sponge is an absurd take on the cleaning utensil, playing on the similarity between breads and sponges, as well as the idea of cleaning food with food. The Wooden Block Rattle Set designed by Jae Keun Song is a clever combination of two childhood toys. Made from natural wood finished with linseed oil, each wooden block features a different face and makes a distinctive sounds. And Ami's favorite, the Cloud Memo Pad, designed by Mi-Jung Ju, features Korea's traditional color stripes in the form of a cloud shape. The pad consists of an array of lined and unlined paper of different colors.
All the Destination Seoul products are exclusive to MoMA and available for a limited time online.
The result of years of research in salons, on photo shoots and in labs, leading hair stylists developed Umi Products' line of haircare kits for mixing and layering to create a variety of styles. Each kit is a product duo geared toward different effects (volume, texture, curl, etc.) and packaged in modern white boxes that slide open to reveal a pop-up card indicating the ratio of product to use. The brand is dedicated to achieving the best hair products on the market and we can't disagree so far—even the scents are subtle and pleasing.
Umi Straight makes the Cher look possible. With just a few drops of Umi Sliquid and D fuse, the need for a straightener is almost obsolete and frizz is noticeably reduced—few products out there have impressed us more. It's all but guaranteed that this product will cut your styling time down and won't be surprised if you're hooked after just one use.
Another one of our favorites is Umi Extend, which contains Umi Base Spray and Umi Powder, a great way to extend hair styles for an extra day. A dry shampoo, a few shakes of powder drastically cuts down on greasy hair and revives it with a subtle scent of fresh spring air, also adding control for more elaborate styles.
For those looking to amp up hair with curl and volume, there's an Umi Kit for those purposes too. The curl kit comes with a creme for flexible hold and the same D fuse from the straightening kit to seal cuticles and prevent frizz. It's probably more heavy-duty than average products for curly hair but those with less kink will find success just by using less product.
In the volume kit, a detangling spray acts as a gentle conditioner while the volume spray is amazingly non-sticky (it contains no alcohol) but adds a nice lift.
Visit Umi Products Online Shop to purchase. Prices for the kits start at $25.
