Skaffnets

A series of original acrylic artwork magnets by Australian designers who call themselves Skaffs, the appropriately named Skaffnets are little original vinyl artworks for your fridge or any other magnetic surface. The Mai series has been designed to coincide with the Mai vinyl toy, to be launched early this year. They're available online for $50 each. Also on Cool Hunting: Luke Feldman: The Wonderful World …

Kumi Yamashita

If we had a third thumb, we'd give Kumi Yamashita three thumbs up. The Japanese artist creates stunning visual effects with lighting and simple forms, like letters of the alphabet, children's blocks and shoeprints. Yamashita finds the rare balance between beauty and brains.

Mapplethorpe: Polaroids

I happened upon this new book of Robert Mapplethorpe's early Polaroids around the same time I read Ryan McGinley's recent interview of Jack Walls (Mapplethorpe's long-term boyfriend). Both the collection of black-and-white photographs and the interview are as great for their content as they are for insights into an era not usually glimpsed elsewhere. McGinley's involvement is like the exclamation mark highlighting how relevant Mapplethorpe's …