Among the many material forms of Art Deco—from buildings to furniture to cars—clocks somehow seem to make the best use of the machine-age motifs that make the style so wonderful. Feverish geometric forms, mind-bending symmetry, high-contrast colors, modern and ancient materials combined with ticking mechanics and streamlined electricity in order to measure something more imaginary: time. Here are 18 clocks of that era that we just adore. More »
For a moment there, I wasn’t sure if these sculptures were real, however, they are. These incredibly tiny sculptures were created by an artist using a microscope. They are incredibly detailed for art of this scale, and I imagine need to be quite careful when you’re around it, otherwise it could be crushed or simply blown away.
Russian artist Nikolai Aldunin has to keep his hands perfectly still in order to build his microscopic art. He takes inspiration about a Russian folk tale about Levsha, a left-handed craftsman so talented that the was able to put horseshoes onto a flea, and cues from the Bible.
Nikolai uses syringes, toothpicks, and superglue to make his art, and he works under a microscope as he crafts them.
[via Daily Mail via designboom]
Designer Aga Brzostek took the Snuggie one step further to create the Autumn/Winter Chair, a.k.a. a giant foam chair with a blanket attached. Has she gone too far? More »
It’s a hassle having to look through various drawers to find a battery that’s in the size you need. It’s even a larger hassle if you have a bunch of batteries but can’t find one in the size you need. Panasonic’s emergency flashlight took that into consideration by allowing people to use it with batteries in various sizes.
For everything else, there’s the Battery.Family.
It’s basically four 1.5-volt batteries housed in one huge size D battery. With each ‘family’, you get a size C, size AA, and size AAA battery aside from the D-sized one. The AAA actually contains the power source, while each of the larger casings just contain the contacts to fit the appropriately-sized battery. It’s like those Russian Matryoshka stacking dolls, but in battery form.
Battery.Family was designed by Soohwan Kim, Junho Yoon, Dohoon Lee and Hyojin Park and it is, unfortunately, just a concept design for now. But here’s to hoping.
[via Yanko Design]
I’ve long thought that one of the coolest technological innovations in recent times is 3D printing. The technology originally allowed manufacturers to rapidly prototype parts and products. 3D printing technology is far from inexpensive, but the cost has come down as more consumer oriented 3D printers have hit the market. Nokia is now helping people who have access to a 3D printer and might want to create custom shells for the Lumia 820 smartphone.
Nokia has offered new detail on the Lumia 820 3D printing community project. As part of the project, Nokia has offered up 3D templates, case specs, recommended materials, and best practices for individuals to 3D print their own customized shells for the Lumia 820. Nokia calls the materials its 3D Printing Development kit or 3DK for short.
The idea is that individuals can 3D print their own cases for the smartphone or businesses can begin taking orders for customized Lumia 820 shells. I think this is a very interesting idea, not that I expect this to make Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 smartphones any more popular with most users.
Some smartphone manufacturers let users hack the software on their devices, so it’s nice to see someone allowing users to hack the hardware to suit their needs.
I don’t know about you guys, but I have more salt and pepper shakers than I really should have in my house. But it’s stuff like this that makes me add to my collection of offbeat shakers with no end in sight.
Designed by Labyrinth, these salt and pepper shakers are made up to look like those annoying traffic cones that always seem to be right in the middle of the lane you just moved into – or in the parking space you were about to take. At least when you knock these over, you won’t risk damaging the undercarriage of your car – but you might end up with some bad luck if you tip the salt over. Spilt pepper, on the other hand, will just make you sneeze.
Each traffic cone shaker measures about 4-inches-tall, and they come in a nice box perfect for gift-giving. The pair sells for $32 to $37(USD) over at the designboom shop, depending on whether you live in Europe or elsewhere around the globe.
Amazing, incredible toys, and space-saving stackables—these are just a few of the wonderful things we came across in the last couple of days. Take a moment to chill, and check out the most beautiful items of the week. More »
The dvent of digital photography has transformed how we view the world around us. The breadth and scope of our image capture devices has exploded. But not even the most ingenious action cam can compare to the sheer audacity of these awesome rigs collected by our friends at Ooobject. More »
Your stuff is probably scattered all over the floor, but there’s a better way to store it. The Manhattan Cabinet will make all your crap look less like crap. More »
Skull-based accessories are usually only popular with a certain demographic who’ve embraced the morbid side of life. But damned if this Last Laugh watch from Mr. Jones hasn’t crossed the border into mainstream territories with a clever mechanism that shows the hour and minutes on the skull’s teeth. More »
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