Tuesday

Blueprint II



Adding to his Blueprint line for Acme, Russian designer Constantin Boym whips up the Blueprint II watch.

Camobot



This is the red camo edition of Camobot by Mr Jago. This piece is limited to 300 worldwide and stands at about 8" in height.

Available here.

Askew



I'm a fan of Karim Rashid's interior design work and was quite pleased again with the work he did at New York's Askew Restaurant.

I've just recieved a bunch of images and wording from Rashids office and will be doing a full posting for Askew on Land+Living.

SHIFT calendar 2006



Since 2003, SHIFT magazine has been holding a calendar design competition open to designers from around the world.

Check the 2006 roster here.

Monday

MAD*L




Designed exclusively for My Plastic Heart by Team MPH are MAD*L figures. Limited to 300 and already sold out.

Time to hit e-bay.

Swissbit





Let's see...

nail file-check
scissors - check
knife blade - check
memory stick - check

Sony Wega



A few posts ago I went off as to how i'm not easily impressed with the lastest in gadgets and electronics. But I finally succumbed into temptation and purchased this badboy.

The Sony Grand Wega / rear projection LCD has a fantastic picture at a fraction the cost of a Plasma set, plus it uses less energy to boot.

It's all about the environment you know.

more Rhubarb










I just had to toss a couple of more images from Rhubarb. Thier stuff is pretty basic, but again you just have to see it in person to really appreciate it.

Rhubarb



I finally got to check out the Barcelona table lamp by Rhubarb over at local design retailer, Collectiv.

The piece is simple as hell and doesn't exactly reinvent the table lamp. But in person the red satin finish really does make up for any shortfalls one may find.

Friday

chair funk



Anthony at Land+Living just posted a fantastic piece on the vintage furniture line of Chaircouture.

I checked out the site and was instantly in love with the Joy and Joy chairs. A nice break from modern overkill.

sixixis



The one piece lounger chair no.1 and chaise lounge no.3 by UK design outfit Sixixis are pretty wild pieces.

Both have been made using a new patented process of steam bending wood (Ash). For use both inside and outdoors.

one man try



I don't know why, but for some reason I get a laugh out of the one man try tape dispenser. Great product.

light words



A nice idea for a Valentine's Day gift or for whatever is the light words candle holder. Just a few pokes and you got yourself a custom finished product.

sometimes the spoken word just isn't enough to let the world know how deeply complicated you are. so why not punch holes in this cylindrical votive to let the world know how brilliant you are? and if words aren't your thing, punch out a pattern to express your artistic side.

Thursday

Bougie Table Lamp



Lately i've been straying away from the hard lined ultra-modern thing and been appreciating pieces with abit more flare. Case in point is the Bougie table lamp available at Caban.

Designed by Ferriccio Laviani for Kartell, the height of the lamp is actually adjustable. (37-78cm).

Happy Clock



Canadian graphics studio, Happycolour, is set to release a great new line of 9"x9" clock faces early February.

So far there's a over 60 to chose from with more on the way. The new line is to be showcased at an upcoming show at Edmonton retailer, Collectiv.

Wednesday

Film School



It's been sometime since i've done a review, so next up i'm gonna tackle the new self-titled release by Film School.

Tuesday

INTRO



OK a show of hands. How many of you are familiar with the scene in Bulgaria ?

Right....

INTRO magazine is a gem of a mag that explores the current trends and happenings in that countires design culture as well as work outside of it's borders.

Though the writing is all in Bulgarian, it really isn't that hard to appreciate.

Thursday

Kahuna




KAHUNA is a six passenger van from Dodge that features an exterior design that creates an image that is readily associated with California's surf culture. Since it's debut way back at the 2003 Detroit auto Show, the Kahuna is still a ways from the assembly line according to Dodge, but still gives hope to those of us that sold their soul to the mini-van nation.

FROST opening







The opening reception at The Works gallery for FROST 2006 was held this past weekend with a great turnout. The overall exhibit has turned into quite a success story with a larger contingent of International designers from Brazil, Israel and Portugal participating in this years edition.

IDEA
is now in the planning stages for their summer follow-up, THAW which will again be presented by The Works International Visual Arts Society.

Buffalo Roam



Prototypes for the Buffalo of Mars series was displayed at a recent exhibit in Edmonton. The figures are still being developed and will be available in the summer.

Monday

UNKL



If you happen to be in Portland on the 19th of January, be sure to swing by Missing Link and check out new artwok by Unkl founders Jason Bacon and Derek Welch.

Thursday

Nintendo Micro



I'm not one to be overly impressed with the latest and greatest in video consoles these days. The upgrades seem to be there to impress programmers instead of the average player.

That's why i'm a big fan of the Nintendo Game Boy Micro. It has a no-frills approach with it's ultra simple design and gameplay PLUS it's an extremly portable, light weight product that also comes with interchangeable face plates.

Magic Pony





Nathan Jurevicius of SCARY GIRL fame is set for a launch and signing at Toronto retailer / gallery Magic Pony on February 5th.

Planned for debut are :
» NAAL, Keeper of the Mushroom Patch
» Minitreehouse Series 2
» Bunniguru : Japanese Flocked Edition ( 4 colours)
» Scarygirl 10" Figure (2 versions)

Wednesday

'Shelter in a Cart'



Designboom has a great competiton out now called 'Shelter in a Cart'. The objective is to design a cart that can provide shelter and storage.

urban homeless use carts to carry their possessions and to
collect goods (like bottles, cardboard, etc.) that they then return
to various recyclers in exchange for cash. this provides a small
and valuable income. it is essential that your cart design not only
accommodates all these functions but that it is affordable


Deadline to register is February 28th while deadline to submit is March 19th 2006.

Designer of the Year UK



The anuual UK Designer of the Year short list has been announced

Making the list was Gorillaz' animation guru, Jamie Hewlett as well as furniture designer Tom Dixon, humanitarian designer Cameron Sinclair and the design team behind the Guardian newspaper.

The winner will be announced in May.

Way of the Do-Do ?



Over at Land Living there's a great posting on how Dwell has strayed from their original maifesto. I'm surprised at the amount of feedback from readers that feel that the publciation has gone down hill.

But a good point made is the fact that the world of online media seems to be out sourcing the paper publications. A good indication of the growing popularity of this movement is an article that was featured in TIME magazine a couple of minths ago called "Messengers of cool". You can check out a posting that Josh Spear had back in October.

FROST



FROST 2006 kicked off with some nice exposure at Mocoloco this morning. Thanks to Greg Ball at Moco and Cezary Gajewski for taking the photos.

FROST is presented every Winter by The Works International Visual Arts Society and curated by IDEA.

Monday

Granny on the go !




The first run of Hot Granny cushions were unveiled at this years FROST 2006 contemporary furniture exhibit presented by The Works. The project was a collaborative effort with design studio, ITEM and designer Karen Pentland.

The cushions will be available for retail after the exhibit ends on the 3rd of February. As well there are plans to add more pieces to the Hot Granny line.

Serpentine





For the Grand opening of their brand new showroom in the centre of Cologne, Belgian manufacturer Extremis is set to present their latest product, Serpentine garden shower.

Designed by Tom De Vrieze, the piece is to be shown this year during the International Furniture Fair, IMM Cologne.

Tuesday

Team Zissou

After watching Life Aquatic for the umpteenth time the other day, I went in search of some Team Zissou footwear and came upon these bad boys.