Owner: Cool Finds URL:http://www.coolfinds.net Join Date: Mon, 02 Apr 2007 05:21:03 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The new design blog. Site statistics:Click here
Tire-track rug. 2007-03-24 16:16:01 As any reasonably frequent reader of these ramblings (I actually believe there are a few) know I have a soft spot for rugs. At least for the unusual and fun ones. The oriental kind leaves me indifferent, I'm afraid. Here's yet another installment in the never ending series of rugs I'd like to own. The tire-track rug from Amazed, i.e. artists Madeleine and Dudley Edwards.
The Serra lounger by Felipe Zanardi. 2007-03-18 21:39:46 Among all the e-mail to Cool Finds the past week, there was one from Felipe Zanardi, a young designer out of Sao Paolo, Brazil, asking if I'd care to have a look at his stuff. Among all his cool stuff I particularly liked this; the Serra
lounger. At almost three meters across, it surely needs a big room, but in the right environment I think it'd look just great. If you don't have the space, then imagine it in the company library or coffee room... The prototype (at least that's what I suppose it is) is covered with plastic grass, but I think I'd opt to have it done in soft carpeting if had the room for a piece like this.
Toolkit cutlery. 2007-03-18 21:39:41 I have to admit I am a bit of a gear head. At least as far as driving goes. I'm not a great mechanic; but I like to watch those who are. I might not be such a great driver either, but I have a few races In cars) under my belt and the Nomex suit to prove it. That's probably why I fell for this cutlery kit. The tip was mailed in by by Berne P. and meant for Smart Stuff, but we could not agree on the smartness aspect, so I chose to share it here instead. I think it is a really cool find. It even has a professional looking plastic toolbox! It is available on Aerostich, it comes in two sizes (kid's and adult) and it is USD 20:- for the small one and USD 24:- for the full size one. Read more:Toolkit
The English butler alarm clock featuring Stephen Fry. 2007-03-18 21:39:17 Not long ago we had an e-mail to Smart Stuff from Simon Carr, the inventor of the alarm
clock above. After considering its features we decided to publish it here on Cool Finds, instead. With all due respect to Mr. Carr, we don't really think it's Smart Stuff stuff. But. We do think its wake up messages recorded by Stephen
Fry are very, very funny indeed. Mr. Fry, being a long time favourite, has recorded fifty messages for the clock, and a few of them are available for play-back on the site. Try the one above for a quick sample. The Voco clock is GBP 25:95 (approx. USD 50:-) on the Voco website. Read more:English
, featuring
Interlocking bookcase system. 2007-03-06 15:54:49 Danish designers Copenhagen-i showed this rather ingenious shelving system called Shelwing at the Stockholm Furniture Fair. The tin shelves and legs interlock making it possible to build a bookcase several stories high without much effort. Back at the office, I had a few moments to browse their promotional CD, and found two other designs I would like to share:
The Mamba rug/magazine holder is made of aluminum and covered with a wool rug. Available in gray, green and red, and this beautiful stainless steel table that would sit just right in the garden if I had one.
An astronaut's pictures... 2007-03-06 15:54:45 This, and the pictures after the link, are supposedly taken by Swedish (oh, yes) astronaut Christer Fuglesang during his time on the space shuttle and the ISS recently. Some of the the pictures i can believe are taken from the altitude of the ISS, but these wonderful shots of the night lit Earth seem to have been taken at a much greater distance from the Earth than the ISS orbit. I may be wrong, I'm far from an astronomer, but the pictures are so awesome I wanted to post them anyway.
Follow the links to larger (and heavier) shots of The North Pole | Africa | Asia | Australia | Europe and North America.
The cactus coat stand. 2007-03-06 15:54:41 I made the rounds at the 2007 Stockholm Furniture Fair this weekend, and although there was not all that much new (to me) and exciting stuff, I found some gems that I want to share with you over the next few days. Today's fair find is the Wild Bill coat hanger from Tveit & Tornøe, a k a Norwegian design duo Atle Tveit and Lars Tornøe. The Wild Bill coat stand is still a concept, but if enough of us show our interest, it could very well be produced. I think it deserves to be. What do you think?
Take a walk on the wild side. 2007-03-06 15:54:38 Now this may seem a bit tacky, but I could not resist, especially since I've posted so many defferent rugs before (see links below). The tiger rug is 100 percent artificial, and no tigers were killed or hurt in the process of its manufacture. From Melta.se webshop for SEK 599:- (approx. USD 85:-).
Cardboard box doormat, bear rug, pawprint rug, bear doormat, rug with integrated pillow, rabbit pawprint rug, british stamp rug, and the unfortunate yeti
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If children would have designed your dining set. 2007-03-06 15:54:33 I cant help it. I love these chairs and the table. I found them on Lucy Merchant's website today. They are called "Mommy's Chair" and since there's no story provided on the site, I can't help but think that they were drawn by children and produced for the fun of it. Made from recycled steel and powder coated, they can be used both indoors and outdoors. Read more:designed
His and hers ball and chain handcuff key rings. 2007-03-06 15:54:29 I got this in an e-mail from the people on Firebox and even though I'm very much aware they just want to peddle their merch, these key rings just were too much fun to pass up. A perfect gift for that certain Valentine. GBP 7:95 (almost USD 16:-) on Firebox. I have already ordered mine, but cheeez, postage and shipping really hurt at GBP 20:- (that's almost 40:- US Dollars for a 16 buck product!).
Non-permanent barcode tattoo for the 90's nostalgic. 2007-03-06 15:54:25 These temporary tattoo
s were designed by barcode artist Scott Blake and are sold in sixpacks with six different barcodes and phrases; SLAVE, HUMAN, TATTOO, PRODUCT, FOR SALE and SCAN ME. Just pick your fav to make a 24 hour statement, 'cause that's about how long they'll last. USD 5:- at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Read more:permanent
Bathtub glass holder. 2007-03-06 15:54:17 This item strikes me as all but essential for the true enjoyment of a nice hot bath after a hard day's work. The bathtub glass holder. It attaches to the side of the tub via suction cup and secures your cold chardonnay to the edge while you enjoy the suds. For the slightly more frivolously inclined it can of course also be used with champagne flutes. Available in stainless steel from Bosign for SEK 69:- (approx. USD 10:-). Read more:Bathtub
Camouflage tent. 2007-03-06 15:54:14 It is often said that the insane looking razzle dazzle patterns of WWI was the origin of camouflage, or DPM (Disruptive Pattern Material), but I think the idea of camouflage must be a lot older than that. But never mind. All modern camouflage is aimed at disrupting the size and shape of the object or person camouflaged, and anybody who watches the news must have noticed the change in US military camo during the war in Iraq. From chocolate chip to digital dots. Here's another take on camo, here's blending in. This tent must of course be pitched in a cow pasture, but that's a small price to pay for such a cool outdoors item. From mat&jewski. Via Cool Hunter. Read more:Camouflage
An extra room in the back of the garden. 2007-03-06 15:54:10 There's been a lot of posting on prefab homes this fall, so maybe this rather cool little guest house, studio, music room or whatever you need could be of interest. The house is called Enkelrum and it's designed and sold by Swedish design firm 436, and it is an attempt to upgrade the garden variety garden shed, or Friggebod, a little. According to Swedish law anyone with property can put in a garden shed without permission providing the shed is no larger than 10 square meters (about 107 sq.ft.) There are a lot of kit sheds on the market, but almost none of them look as nice as this. Its exactly 10 square meters, it comes in four different trims and in one version with the entire front wall made of glass. The deck in front of the house has dual uses, as it folds up like a drawbridge to protect the house when no one is there. Prices start at SEK 129.000:- (approx. USD 19.000:-) plus taxes and the house comes with winter insulation, power connected and spotlights installed, and could b
Beautiful hand made brushes. 2007-03-06 15:54:07 These brushes
are made by hand using the traditional methods used in brushmaking for hundreds of years. The base of the brush is birch, beech or oak and fitted with natural bristles; flexible horsehair for delicate objects, tough piassava for heavy-duty cleaning, and soft goats hair for sensitive faces. There are different brushes for different uses, like dishbrushes, vegetable brushes, bath brushes, nail brushes, shaving brushes (using badger hair), brooms, scubbing brushes and more and they are all made by visually impaired craftsmen and women. More on the Iris Hantverk website (link to the English version). Read more:Beautiful
The shoes that came back from the future. 2007-03-06 15:54:03 During the late eighties when car business was booming, car manufacturer Volvo (then Swedish, now owned by Ford) made experiments to see if any other production method could out-perform the age-old assembly line. In Uddevalla, not far from Volvo's home turf in Gothenburg, a revolutionary new factory was built. Here, the assembly line was replaced with separate work shops manned by teams of skilled and to an extent self-governing groups of workers.
Everything in this cutting edge factory of the future was given a work-over by designers and experts in ergonomics and production techniques. In cooperation with the old and respected Docksta Skofabrik they even designed and produced a special shoe for the workers to wear. The shoe was called Dovo, possibly from combining the first two letters of Docksta and Volvo. The factory was short-lived, however. As the car industry went into less profitable times in the early nineties, the experimental plant was shut down in 1993 after only six years Read more:shoes
Monumental ceramic pixel art. 2007-03-06 15:53:59 These are some of the monumental pixel art by Swedish artist Maria Ängquist Klyvare (Swedish only, but look at the pictures!). Klyvare has worked with mosaics since the eighties, and her artwork seems to get larger and larger. Here are three of her amazing pieces in ceramic tiles. There are several more on the site.
Little girl wellies. 2007-03-06 15:53:55 Possibly the cutest little girl rubber boots you've ever seen.
The lamp lamp. 2007-03-06 15:53:52 No if's or but's. I want this lightbulb. From 100% via Seihin World.
Earthworm bracelet. 2007-03-06 15:53:48 A silver earthworm. How chic. USD 220:- on Bittersweet New York. Via Shawn on Everything and Nothing, who thinks she may be drawn to this bracelet because she liked to play in the mud as a child. I like it because it's cool. And beacuse it must be a great conversation starter. "What's that on your wrist?""Oh, this? It's an earthworm." You take it from there.
Screwdriver lollie. 2007-03-06 15:53:45 From the crazy and fun crative types at Atypyk. The classic screwdriver handle as a lolipop. This was a while back, but we tried to resist and finally failed. There's np mention of what flavor is it though. Read more:Screwdriver
Fabulous urinal art. 2007-03-06 15:53:41 These are probably the only pieces of art you can pee on with the blessing of the artist. Well, at least since Andy Warhol is departed and he just let a select few pee on his art (and only to make it into art). These are the mind bending flower urinals by Clark Sorensen. But, starting at USD 6,500:-, not everyone gets to relieve themselves in one of these. Are you one of the lucky few?
How many calories have you eaten today? 2007-03-06 15:53:38 With this idea for chocolate bar design, you'll always know how much you've indulged yourself. Or, alternatively, you can pick a piece that matches your daily allowance of sweets. From Italian ADF (Agencia per il Disegno & la Funzione).
Balcony flower pot by Rephorm. 2007-03-06 15:53:29 The Steckling flower
pot from Rephorm. What a clever way to attach a flower pot to the railing of a balcony. And what a relief to get rid of those tub shaped pots we've seen so far. Thank you! Via Design Spotter. Read more:Balcony
The Buddington bear rug. 2007-03-06 15:53:23 We seem to be finding a lot of strange and cool rugs nowadays. Here's the Buddington bear rug, depicting a poor bear that lost to the fierce hunter, a more dangerous predator than himself. From Loyal Loot and designed for Cabin.
Sausage and cheese sponges. 2007-03-06 15:53:11 What can I say. The madmen and -women at Atypyk have done it again. Crazy as ever. Fun as ever. Gotta love it. Read more:Sausage
Push pin lamp. 2007-03-06 15:53:08 I've loved these pushpins ever since I discovered them years and years ago. They were so much more fun than the thumbtacks I knew before. I even at one time bought a jumbo pushpin from the Think Big store in New York. It must have been the latter part of the eighties, possibly '87 or '88. Anyway, I remember I stayed late at the office to place the call (this was before the internet) and I ordered a couple of giant crayons, a toothbrush, a tennis racket, the pushpin and a giant Ticonderoga #1388-2 soft, which I still have in my possession along with the pushpin. All the stuff was used in an ads for a local chain of burger joints we were working for at the time. The Push Pin Lamp is USD 19:99 on Hot Gadget.
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