Categories

A Simple Problem Deserves A Simple Solution

Notice how most umbrella straps and fasteners only work unilaterally? Roll it up the wrong way and you’ve gotta undo it and start over. It’s never been an annoyance for me since I always make sure to roll it up the right way but that doesn’t mean it’s a problem that should be ignored. The Double Sided Umbrella uses a magnetic peg and ring so no matter which way you roll up the umbrella, it fastens in place.

Designers: Plenty

Sikker Is For Safety

Oh but it’s much much more. The Sikker (Danish for safety) is a jack of all trades baby monitor, radio, alarm clock, and watch. One bracelet stays on baby; the other on parent. The units work in tandem with the base station to transmit basic biometric data about baby’s condition like temperature. The units also transmit sounds and even remotely play music for baby.

Designers: Jessica Mendoza & Henoc Monte

This Clock is Not Upside Down

Hello you late to bedders, did you know we’re awake at the same time? The darkness makes it seem like you’re alone, but I will haunt you FOREVER! No, actually, what I’m saying is that lots of people, especially people who spend the majority of their time on these internets, stay up very late into the night (and usually into the morning then too.) Darkness, that’s where it’s at. It’s where all the good stuff happens if it’s winter, and it’s where it’s funny to run around in a tshirt in the summer. But once inside, we gonna need us a clock.

Designer: Tiancheng Luo

Laptop Morphs Into A Briefcase

What strikes me most about the Playing By Heart (quite a fascinating name for a laptop!) concept is the simplistic way it tries to achieve its set goals. The goals being: portability, smooth looks, multi-level elevation, cooling & sleek form. All it takes is a handle on the back-end of the laptop, steel or aluminum finish for the cover and you have a rocking Laptop Briefcase in your hands! Think about it…no more laptop covers or sleeves either!

Designer: Zhang Shouze

All the Canes in All The World

And this is EASILY the best one ever. Best possible cane. Why? Because it’s made out of a broom handle. That’s right! What better use is there, besides stabbing zombies in their utterly exposed brain matter, for a broom?! None. It goes zombie stabbing, Walking Cane designed by Itay Laniado, then maybe cleaning up the floor. That’s in order of what’s best to do with a broom, not the order you’re supposed to use the broom in. Then it’s just the opposite.

Designer: Itay Laniado

This is No “Imperial” Lamp

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t a lamp the last thing that comes to your mind when you think of the title “AT-AT Walker?” Me, for me, it does. It’s the last thing. But hold on here, wait, take a look at the lamp that goes with that title. It does bear a…very striking resemblance to the Star Wars dark side machine of death, does it not? Yes it does. And it’s a lamp! Who would have thought? It’s made by Life Goods for Ormond Editions to be a futuristic fantasy of luxury lighting.

Designer: Life Goods for Ormond Editions

For The Love Of Steampunk

It’s tough keeping a track on futuristic iterations of computers, so backtracking into the forgotten era sometimes spring up surprises. This retro-steampunk gem is a customized work of art which uses lots of wood and a good measure of brass to get in the right effects. As the designers put it “These custom-made keyboards, framed monitors and computers are completely functional, but with a 19th century/ steampunk aesthetic.”

Designer: Old Time Computer

Not A Speck Of Dust In Sight

Remember the scene in FRIENDS when Monica finishes vacuuming the room and then removes a small handy vacuum to clean up the big one? The Dustpan Vacuum continues the saga….

Shaped as a dustpan to efficiently gather in all the grime; the vacuum system nestled inside the handle, then sucks up the dirt. Accompanied with its special brush, it gets the job done faster. I’m no Monica, but my desk could sure use this!

Designer: IlGu Cha

Lawn Mower Scooter

The title and images say it all. Mowing lawns suck. It’s a back breaking and boring task unless you have a riding mower. But for those of us with small yards, the Lawn Mower Scooter is aces. The electric motor drives the blades and scooter. All the cuttings are stored in a transparent bin in the front. I’m already imagining weekend lawn mower races with my neighbors.

Designer: Vicky Petihovski

Now These Are Some Shears!

I have a secret obsession with scissors. There’s a room in my home where I do all my clothing work and in a box are scissors from Germany and Japan since they seem to make the best steel. I would love to add one more to my collection from designer Michael Antrobus called Ground Tools. A stunning pair of shears made from carefully bent flat steel bars using homemade jigs and presses. The result is minimal, raw, even primal..

Designer: Michael Antrobus

Keep Ya Nuts A Crackin

Or a cracklin. How cracked do you want your nuts? Very cracked, or just opened up a little bit? You need those nuts cracked. Walnuts. And if it’s not the winter holiday season, you’re going to look too weird using a traditional nutcracking agent. So what are you gonna do, then, hey? You need this wild thing right here. It’s a walnut yo-yo. Yo! It’s not just for fun. It’s for cracking your nuts.

Designers: Xiaofei Wang and Beibei Wu

Shadow Walls and Sunshine

If you’re heavy into design, like you’re an addict, you basically can’t stand to see much in your environment that ISN’T put in place by a human being, you’re basically guaranteed to be at least generally alright at both interior and exterior design, the arranging of elements in your environment. And if you are, and you’re a generally make-your-own-profit sort of person in our modern world, you also like to find ways to conserve energy and make things less expensive for yourself. How about harnessing the sun for all of this?

Designers: Drzach & Suchy